'Absolutely normal': Government defends PsiQuantum spending
The Coalition has continued its criticism of the government's investment into a Silicon Valley quantum computing startup by highlighting rising legal costs related to the deal.
A senior Industry department bureaucrat and a Labor senator have defended a spike in legal bills relating to PsiQuantum as the Coalition continued its attacks on the government's investment in the quantum computing startup.
The Commonwealth and Queensland governments are pushing ahead with a joint $940 million investment Silicon Valley-based PsiQuantum, which counts two Australians among its four co-founders, as part of a plan to build the world’s first commercially viable quantum computer in Brisbane by 2030.
After blowback from local quantum startups, the Coalition raised concerns over the deal – including in an interview with Capital Brief this month – and the procurement process leading up to it. On Wednesday, The Australian reported that sources said Industry officials who raised concerns had been frozen out of the process.
The Coalition is particularly concerned about a spike in legal costs over the procurement, after a contract with law firm King & Wood Mallesons worth roughly $280,000 rose to $3.3 million. The contract has been altered nine times since it was first struck less than a year ago.
