Coalition science spokesman to push for inquiry into PsiQuantum deal
Opposition science spokesman Paul Fletcher has suggested the investment had not met probity standards and the company received favourable treatment by the Labor government.
The Coalition will push for a parliamentary inquiry into the Albanese government’s deal with US-based quantum computing company PsiQuantum, suggesting the investment had not met probity standards and the company received favourable treatment by government.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws showed PsiQuantum was exempt from the regular expressions of interest process after making an unsolicited submission to the government.
Opposition science spokesman Paul Fletcher said this showed PsiQuantum was “given a head start and the horse had already bolted”.
The documents – notes for department officials who appeared before the Senate earlier this year – also show the Industry Department maintained that companies that had made expressions of interest and PsiQuantum were “assessed against the same criteria”.
The notes also say the government sought advice from legal and probity consultants to ensure the process “offered a fair opportunity to all applicants”.
The government appointed a probity adviser to oversee the entire process in January 2023 – months after it received the unsolicited expression of interest from PsiQuantum.
The appointment was made after Industry Department officials met company representatives and Australia’s chief scientist provided a “brief written assessment” of PsiQuantum’s capabilities.
Following the release of the documents, Mr Fletcher on Monday will bring a motion to the House of Representatives seeking to create a select committee to probe the deal.
The motion is likely to be largely symbolic given Labor controls the chamber.
Mr Fletcher said Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic’s claims the $470m PsiQuantum investment had met probity standards were “utter nonsense”.
“PsiQuantum wasn’t even invited to participate in the EOI process, which suggests Labor had already made up its mind and sealed the deal,” he said.
“Any use of taxpayer funds must comply with the proper standards of transparency, fairness and contestability. Instead, this deal has been cloaked in secrecy from the start, with serious questions still unanswered.“
A spokesman for Mr Husic blasted Mr Fletcher, accusing him of thinking that Queenslanders didn’t “deserve a world-leading project that will strengthen its economy, jobs and attractiveness for private investment”.
“After more than 50 FOI submissions and two Senate estimates hearings, Paul Fletcher’s campaign against Australia’s quantum sector has revealed what we always knew – the PsiQuantum investment was subject to rigorous and lengthy due diligence including through legal, technical, financial and national security,” he said.
“If Mr Fletcher was serious about these government investments, his motion would include examining the way the Coalition government made its $2bn decision on Moderna or their other decision to just back Silicon Quantum Computing.”
There has been doubt cast on the project after the new Queensland state government questioned its commitment to it.
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