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'We can't just stand still': Albanese makes the case for a Future Made in Australia

In an exclusive interview with Capital Brief ahead of the budget, the Prime Minister gives the strongest defence yet of the government's decision to invest nearly $1 billion in a quantum computing startup.

Anthony Galloway
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Anthony Albanese says the quantum investment is about both economics and national security. Lukas Coch

Anthony Albanese has given the most detailed justification yet for a $1 billion investment into Silicon Valley startup PsiQuantum and defended his government's interventionist shift, warning Australia risks being left behind by rival economies if it does not support the industries of the future.

In an exclusive interview with Capital Brief to discuss his flagship Future Made in Australia industrial policy ahead of Tuesday's federal budget, the nation's 31st Prime Minister revealed:

  • The investment into PsiQuantum came after extensive deliberations at the highest levels of government and was influenced by national security considerations;
  • The government's $1 billion spend on solar manufacturing in Australia was motivated by concerns about China's dominance of the solar panel market; and
  • The shift to adopt a more interventionist stance in the economy is being driven by a "convergence" of economics, climate policy and security.

Albanese unveiled the government's green interventionist shift - the Future Made in Australia Act - last month. Since then, he has made a series of major announcements including a $940 million funding package for PsiQuantum, a startup based in the US which counts two Australians among its four co-founders, subsidies for solar manufacturing in Australia and funding for geoscientists to unearth new reserves of critical minerals.