Coalition refers $1bn PsiQuantum deal to national audit office
The Coalition has asked the national audit office to conduct a probe into whether the commitment of nearly $1bn to PsiQuantum is a proper use of public resources.
Opposition science spokesman Paul Fletcher has asked the Australian National Audit Office to investigate whether the nearly $1bn commitment by the Australian and Queensland governments to US tech company PsiQuantum was a “proper use of public resources.”
In a 10 page letter sent on Tuesday, Mr Fletcher asked the Acting Auditor General, Rona Mellor, to examine whether the investment complied with section 71(1) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act.
This states that a minister must “not approve a proposed expenditure of relevant money unless the minister is satisfied, after making reasonable enquiries, that the expenditure would be a proper use of relevant money.”
In his letter, Mr Fletcher said that he believed there were “serious questions about whether the investment is an appropriate use of public money (and) whether the process undertaken prior to making the investment with PsiQuantum meets expected standards of probity, fairness and transparency.”
He told The Australian that the PsiQuantum deal “rings alarm bells and warrants further independent scrutiny.”
“Taxpayers are footing this almost one billion dollar bill and deserve answers to simple questions about an investment which clearly doesn’t pass the pub test.”
Anthony Albanese announced on April 30 that the federal and Queensland governments would invest nearly $1bn in PsiQuantum to build a world-first quantum computer in Brisbane as part of Labor’s flagship Future Made in Australia program.
This would include a joint commonwealth-Queensland commitment of about $470m in equity and loans from each government, with the Prime Minister touting the creation of 400 highly skilled local jobs as a result.
Queensland Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Cameron Dick, recently confirmed the breakdown of the state’s financial contribution in response to questions on notice lodged by the parliament’s cost of living and economics committee.
“The Queensland Government’s investment comprises a US$125m convertible note, a conditional A$200 million Construction and Term Debt Facility and a conditional A$75 million Economic Development and Credit Support Facility,” Mr Dick said. “The nature of the facilities is designed to manage risks and maximise returns from the State’s investment ... All other terms and conditions of this investment are commercial in confidence.”
The nearly $1bn investment in PsiQuantum to build a world-first computer in Brisbane has attracted industry criticism given a due diligence process was established to assess the “unsolicited proposal” from the US based firm a full eight and a half months before the government tested the rest of the market.
In his letter, Mr Fletcher identified 42 concerns with the process followed by the government and said it was “appropriate that the ANAO carries out an investigation as I have requested.”
Separately, the ANAO said on June 27 that it would examine the contract for legal services between King & Wood Mallesons and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources “regarding PsiQuantum” as part its usual audit of the department’s 2023-24 financial statements. The value of contract swelled from $282,300 to almost $3.3m in nine months to May 28.
A spokesman for Mr Husic said that the government’s investment in Psi Quantum was subject to “rigorous and comprehensive due diligence across several areas including commercial, economic, legal, technical, probity, and national security.”
“This is an investment in our economic and national security,” he said. “It will mean hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars of direct co-investment by Psi Quantum in Australia – investment that would otherwise have gone overseas.”
Additional Reporting: Sarah Elks
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