‘If Australian datacentres are going to power the AI revolution, we deserve a fair return’ – David Pocock
Independent senator David Pocock has published an opinion piece about the growth of AI datacentres in Australia and how the gold rush should benefit Australians. He writes:
Huge investment in this space is pouring into Australia. In the past year, Microsoft has announced $25bn will go into Australian datacentres and Amazon Web Services has committed another $20bn.
The prime minister has posed for photos with the CEOs of both companies, welcoming the investment with open arms despite a growing backlash by communities against AI and datacentre construction. At a time when economic growth is sluggish, the government sees billions of dollars in investment as making for a good headline.
I think if you look at the programme itself, it’s a great podcast that she’s done a great job on a topic that I’m sure will be of real interest and real importance to many Australians who suffer from those conditions, and particularly young Australians and young Australian women.
So there’s a balance in all these things … for the ABC to be ensuring that we bring great content to air and also acknowledging that, you know, with some of the people that we work with, sometimes there will be controversy.
Obviously we’ve looked at Charlie’s comments. I think he did express that they were his own view. They weren’t represented at the ABC. It was a little bit on the hop and a little bit not. So I think we felt comfortable that we were able to accept that his comments weren’t a breach of the ABC code of conduct.
Paris and Berlin conclude firms involved unable to agree on way forward in blow to Europe’s common defence push
France and Germany have concluded that the companies involved in building a joint fighter jet will not be able to reach an agreement and have abandoned the project, officials in Berlin have said in a blow to Europe’s common defence efforts.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, had “reached the shared assessment that the companies will not be able to come together”, an official told Agence France-Presse. “They acknowledge this reality.”
As last week got underway, Donald Trump used his social media platform to take swipe at, of all people, communists. “Communists always do well with the Voters or, as they would say, THE PEOPLE, in the Early Years!” the president wrote for reasons that were unclear. “But, in the end, the Country, State, or City, GOES TO HELL!”
With this rhetorical question still rattling around the algorithm, it was rather ironic to see the Republican end the week calling for a government stake in yet another private industry. The New York Times reported:
President Trump told reporters on Friday that he would soon meet with artificial intelligence companies to discuss partnerships that would give the United States government a stake in the burgeoning industry.
“There’s so much money and it’s so big,” Trump said, according to a pool report from his flight to Wisconsin on Air Force One. Trump added that in the deals he envisions “the American public essentially becomes a partner” in the growth of A.I.
Asked which private AI companies he was eyeing, the president replied, “All of them. All the big ones.”
The comment came just days after independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described socialist, wrote an opinion piece for the Times touting a congressional proposal he had introduced that would “give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest A.I. companies in our country.” The proposal was predictably panned soon after by the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal as “the road to AI state socialism.”
It was around this same time that Trump not only endorsed the same idea, he also told reporters that there was some overlap between his economic vision and the Vermont socialist’s.
Trump: Bernie Sanders lost, you know that I got many of his people — they voted for me. Because, as far as economics is concerned, we have certain things that are not that far apart pic.twitter.com/ZMaks3WS2Z
The debate can and should continue about the merits of such a policy, but it’s hard not to notice the familiarity of the circumstances. On the one hand, Trump seems to like condemning those who disagree with him as communists. On the other hand, he also seems oddly interested in having the government taking ownership of parts of a variety of private industries.
In fact, late last year, after the government became the largest shareholder in a company developing extreme ultraviolet lithography tools that are seen as key to the development of semiconductors, my MS NOW colleague Ja’han Jones noted that this extended the Republican administration’s “socialist — if not blatantly authoritarian — trend of making the government a stakeholder in supposed ‘free market’ enterprises.”
Indeed, Jones added, “This trend stands in clear contrast with an administration that publicly decries socialism and a conservative movement that has labeled things like free buses and government-owned grocery stores as anathema to private industry and the American way of life.”
There’s no reason to assume the list won’t keep growing. The president, by his own admission, isn’t eyeing stakes only in AI companies, he and his team have also raised the prospect of seeking ownership stakes in oil companies, pharmaceutical companies and, in one recent instance, the rare-earth metals industry.
This is the same Republican president who’s also spoken publicly about limiting private companies’ profits, dictating private industries’ prices and cutting salaries for some private sector executives.
The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip published a provocative analysis on this last summer, noting that Trump’s vision doesn’t quite constitute “socialism,” because it more closely resembles “state capitalism, a hybrid between socialism and capitalism in which the state guides the decisions of nominally private enterprises.”
During the 2024 race, when many business leaders lined up behind the GOP ticket, they likely thought Republican rule would mean corporate tax breaks and fewer regulations. And while those assumptions have proved correct — the White House has delivered corporate tax breaks and freed polluters from regulatory burdens — those same business leaders have also ended up with more than they probably bargained for.
There was a genuine sense of pure celebration in the air as Authentic Restaurant, in Quinta do Lago, marked its second anniversary last Saturday (June 6) with a special evening
Debbie Crosbie receives £3.2m in bonuses after mutual building society’s takeover of Virgin Money
Nationwide building society has nearly doubled the pay packet of its chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, a year after the board pushed through a controversial bonus scheme for its top boss.
The mutual, which is owned by its members, released its annual report on Monday, showing Crosbie was handed £3.2m in bonuses – a combination of payouts for annual and longer-term performance – up from £1.1m a year earlier.
It pushed her overall pay packet to £4.7m for the year to March 2026, marking an 88% jump on the near-£2.5m she earned for the previous year.
Move comes months after the FCA announced plans to ban the former investment star from holding senior City roles after collapse of popular equity fund
The UK financial regulator is taking legal action against the former investment star Neil Woodford for allegedly offering unauthorised investment advice online, months after announcing plans to ban him from the City.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was seeking an injunction against Woodford and W4.0, a United Arab Emirates-registered company, to stop them carrying out “potentially unlawful activities”.
If you love art, color, design, beautiful stationery, tools for visual creation, and artist materials of all kinds, in all shapes and sizes, you are in luck. In the central
Australia’s revolution in rooftop solar has left behind commercial and industrial buildings, where installations have lagged far behind homes, according to new analysis.
Australia leads the world in residential solar on per capita terms, with 22GW installed as of last December. But businesses have only installed about a quarter of that – 5.6GW – despite consuming more electricity than households, a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found.
The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK has announced the launch of its 2026 Summer Webinar Series, designed for British nationals who are considering moving to, living in, investing
Greece’s startup ecosystem fell to 51st globally in StartupBlink’s 2026 Index, despite an estimated ecosystem value of over $12 billion. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / acediscovery / CC BY 4
Greece has fallen out of the world’s top 50 startup ecosystems, dropping to 51st place in StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026. The country also slipped in Europe, ranking 29th, down from 27th in 2025.
According to the report, this is Greece’s lowest global position since 2022. The decline came despite positive annual ecosystem growth of 4.8 percent. However, that rate was well below the global average, meaning Greece lost ground as other startup ecosystems expanded more rapidly.
StartupBlink’s 2026 index ranks 1,556 cities and 100 countries, using indicators linked to startup quantity, quality, and the wider business environment. For Greece, the findings show a mixed picture: the country has recognizable startup successes, a sizeable ecosystem value, and improving policy tools, but its global momentum has slowed.
Greece’s business conditions are stronger than its startup outcomes
One of the clearest findings is the gap between Greece’s business environment and its overall startup ranking. Greece ranks 33rd among 125 countries in the Innovators Business Environment Index, significantly higher than its 51st position in the main startup ecosystem ranking.
This suggests that Greece has relatively strong underlying conditions for innovators, but these conditions have not yet fully translated into stronger startup ecosystem performance. The report estimates Greece’s startup ecosystem value at $12.1 billion. The country has two unicorns and three cities in the global top 1,000 startup cities.
Athens remains Greece’s dominant startup hub but weighs on national performance
Athens continues to dominate Greece’s startup scene, but its weaker performance was a major reason behind the country’s fall in the global ranking. The Greek capital dropped 17 places to 134th globally, after recording negative growth of 4.8 percent. In the Balkans, Athens also fell one position to third overall.
Despite this decline, Athens remains one of the region’s most mature startup ecosystems. The city leads the Balkans in the Ecosystem Maturity functional category, reflecting its track record in producing startup outcomes. StartupBlink also describes Greece’s level of ecosystem centralization as healthy. Athens scores 7.4 times higher than Thessaloniki, a ratio that points to a strong national hub while still leaving room for secondary cities to grow.
Thessaloniki grows although Heraklion records Greece’s strongest growth
Thessaloniki posted strong annual growth of 29.1 percent but still fell four places to 443rd globally because other cities advanced faster.
Heraklion, however, delivered Greece’s strongest city-level result. The port city of Crete climbed 89 places to 771st worldwide, with annual growth of 64.5 percent. That was the highest growth rate among Greek startup cities in the 2026 index. Heraklion’s performance shows that startup activity outside Athens is becoming increasingly visible even though the capital remains the country’s main innovation center.
Greece’s startup ecosystem ranks fifth in Southern Europe
Greece ranks fifth overall in Southern Europe. It performs slightly better in the Ecosystem Value functional category, where it ranks fourth in the subregion. In the Balkans, Greece ranks third overall, one place lower than last year. However, it performs better in specific sectors, ranking second in the region for both Fintech and Social & Leisure.
These sectoral rankings highlight areas where Greece has a stronger regional position, especially in financial technology and consumer-facing digital services.
Viva Wallet and PeopleCert remain Greece’s startup champions
The report identifies Viva Wallet and PeopleCert as Greece’s main startup ecosystem champions. Both are based in Athens and are privately valued at over $1 billion. Viva Wallet has a StartupBlink score of 570, while PeopleCert has a score of 277.
Viva Wallet became one of Greece’s most important startup success stories after JPMorgan acquired a 48.5 percent stake in the fintech company in 2022 in a deal valued at $2 billion. The transaction confirmed Viva Wallet’s status as Greece’s second unicorn and was described in the report as the country’s largest-ever startup deal.
PeopleCert crossed the $1 billion valuation mark in 2021 after acquiring AXELOS for approximately $525 million.
EquiFund, Elevate Greece, and NBG Business Seeds helped shape ecosystem
StartupBlink also points to several initiatives that have shaped Greece’s startup ecosystem over the past decade and a half. The National Bank of Greece launched NBG Business Seeds in 2010, with the report describing it as the country’s longest-running startup innovation competition.
Six years later, Greece and the European Investment Fund signed EquiFund, a fund-of-funds of approximately $290 million designed to help establish the country’s first professional venture capital market. Another important step came in 2020, when the Greek government launched Elevate Greece, the official national startup registry.
The platform gives startups access to state benefits, investor visibility, angel investor tax incentives, and Golden Visa eligibility. The report also names the National Bank of Greece / NBG Business Seeds, Elevate Greece, and Enterprise Greece as notable startup ecosystem builders.
Enterprise Greece is described as the country’s official investment and trade promotion agency, actively promoting the Greek startup ecosystem to international investors and supporting foreign founders through licensing and strategic investment frameworks.
New tax incentives and startup Golden Visa aim to attract capital
Recent policy developments also form part of the broader picture. In 2025, Greece introduced new tax incentives for angel investors, expanding the deduction cap to approximately $980 million, and launched a startup Golden Visa program. These measures are intended to attract startup investment and entrepreneurial talent.
In 2024, Greece, in partnership with the European Investment Fund, launched the EquiFund II equity mandate, with a focus on life sciences, health, and sustainability. Together, these initiatives indicate that Greece continues to strengthen the financial and policy framework supporting startups, even as its global ranking has declined.
Greece’s main challenge is faster startup ecosystem growth
The StartupBlink 2026 ranking does not depict Greece as a weak startup ecosystem. The country has two major startups valued above $1 billion, a total ecosystem value of $12.1 billion, strong business environment conditions, and clear institutional support.
The core issue is pace. Greece has grown but not quickly enough compared with global competitors. The contraction in Athens had a direct impact on the national ranking, while Thessaloniki and Heraklion demonstrate that regional ecosystems are still in a phase of development.
Trade unions have called for the government to intervene to speed up Tata Steel’s connection to the electricity grid in south Wales, after the company said its new furnace would be delayed by up to a year.
Tata Steel last month told investors that National Grid had said it would face a six- to eight-month delay. That could stretch to 12 months amid unexpected engineering difficulties.
Pennsylvania’s Bob Brooks one of a slew of working-class Democrats on the ballot – can he beat a Koch-backed rival?
Bob Brooks has worked a lot of jobs, sometimes several at once to make ends meet.
He was a paper boy at age 10, and then a dishwasher, prep cook, pizza deliverer, bartender and truck driver. Even after he became a firefighter in 2005, Brooks managed to start a snow-removal and lawn-care business and coach baseball.
Tate & Lyle has agreed to a £2.7bn takeover by its US rival Ingredion, in a deal that could put hundreds of jobs at risk and represents yet another loss for London’s struggling stock market.
The FTSE 250 business, which makes artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, has agreed to a deal that values it at 615p a share, about 60% above its price before news of a possible takeover emerged.
A year after government pledge to regulate sector, ECB criticises ‘lack of visible progress’ and ‘no clear plan’
The UK government has been accused of dragging its feet over plans for the mandatory regulation of bailiffs amid concerns about harmful practices in an industry that collects more than £1bn a year from indebted Britons.
A year on from an announcement by the Ministry of Justice that it would legislate to make independent regulation of bailiffs mandatory, the body that now oversees the industry, the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), criticised the lack of “visible progress”.
More than £3bn is due to be spent on the proposed road tunnel between Kent and Essex, which is estimated to have higher costs per mile than HS2
Ministers have earmarked more than £170m extra to help build the Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, fuelling concerns over the “spiralling” costs of one of the UK’s largest planned infrastructure projects.
The proposed £11bn route under the Thames between Kent and Essex is already estimated to cost more each mile than the HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham. It was given the funding boost as part of a plan to spend £3.1bn of public money on the project, before a hoped-for injection of £7.5bn by a private sector firm.
Tom Kerridge says ‘whole of hospitality’ should get behind Burnham who has called for VAT cut from 20% to 10%
Chefs and restaurateurs have said they hope Andy Burnham becomes prime minister after he backed calls to cut VAT tax for hospitality businesses.
Burnham, who is standing as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection and is expected to launch a challenge to Keir Starmer’s leadership if he wins, has called for the rate to be cut from 20% to 10% to be in line with European rates.
Businesses in Albufeira say they have been left facing “panic and anguish” after the municipality introduced new restrictions on nightlife in some of the Algarve’s busiest tourism areas, according to Expresso newspaper.
Union says collective agreement is just the start of a broader fight to unionize major employers across the country
Canadian warehouse workers have signed the first-ever collective agreement with Walmart, a breakthrough labour organizers are calling a “historic and powerful step”.
But the union says the deal with a corporation long hostile to organized labour is only an opening salvo in a broader fight to unionize major employers across the country.
Login
