So many questions are swirling around the $1 billion the federal and Queensland governments are investing in US-based quantum computing firm PsiQuantum that getting an answer to one of them feels like a small victory.

The big qualm, of course, is whether it is wise for governments to operate like venture capital investors and pour so much public money into one company – more of that later – but myriad questions also hover over how PsiQuantum was selected when we have frequently been told in the past to marvel at Australia’s quantum stars.