International Law

Australian tech budget cut

The Rudd Government has announced that the technology sector will not be immune from upcoming budget cuts:

The Rudd government's so-called Razor Gang has taken the blade to some of the Howard government's pre-election promises for the 2007-08 fiscal year, including AU$30 million sliced from the federal tech budget.

Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday, Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Lindsay Tanner said: "The problem we have inherited from the former Liberal Government isn?t to do with tax cuts. It?s government spending that is growing at an unsustainable rate."

The total spending cuts amount to AU$642.9 million, affecting environmental, cultural, communications and technology initiatives. Cuts to technology related spending, including marketing dollars for the controversial NetAlert program, amount to AU$30 million.

Read more here (from ZDNet News).

Full post as published by Freedom to Differ on February 14, 2008 (boomark / email).