An FoI request from former independent senator Rex Patrick managed to get an Expression of Interest document out of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. This document was used to pretend the Department was assessing all its investment options, when really, it and the Queensland government had already decided to give almost $1b to PsiQuantum, an American quantum computing company. The EoI has zero mention of PsiQuantum, or the fact the government had already spent a year discussing and negotiating with PsiQuantum, but pretends that all those who respond to the EoI had a fair shot at getting the massive pile of cash on offer. Instead, respondents to the EoI were helping the Department negotiate with PsiQuantum, one of their competitors. If we had a functioning federal anti-corruption watchdog the PsiQuantum investment would be near the top of their list.
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