Industry Minister Kim Carr has announced $2.4 million in grants to 38 companies through the Howard government-initiated Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) program, including funding to 13 firms in the ICT sector.

The third incarnation of Kate Lundy’s grand Public Sphere policy 2.0 event will plumb the community for ideas and initiatives that will drive growth in the Australian ICT and creative industries sector.

Australian education and immigration authorities should dramatically increase local ICT graduate numbers to plug holes in the nation’s tech skills supply rather than relying on greater numbers of 457 short-stay visa holders, Monash University immigration expert Bob Birrell says.

With the release of the Public Sphere 2: Government 2.0 briefing paper from Kate Lundy’s office, it is worth noting the success so far of the Public Sphere venture. But it also highlights some slightly skewed expectations about where Gov 2.0 initiatives can take us and how fast we’ll get there.

The Australian competition watchdog has confirmed it will investigate the proposed Microsoft/Yahoo search partnership and its potential impact on local advertising and media markets.

The Australian operations of Yahoo and Microsoft online – the unusually constructed joint-ventures Yahoo7 and Ninemsn – are not yet sure how the 10-year search and advertising deal involving the Bing search engine will play out in the local market.

Even as unemployment in the wider economy grows, Australia will face critical ICT skills shortages as soon as next year, with the public sector expected to be worst hit, according to research group Intermedium.

Government may need to include an opt-out mechanism with its plans to assign an individual healthcare number to all Australians as the best way to address legitimate privacy security concerns, Australian Information Industries Association chief executive Ian Birks said.

The Federal Government’s $250 million regional backhaul program would improve broadband competition in the bush, but the investment needed to be four to eight times larger to be effective, Southern Cross Equities telco anayst Daniel Blair said.

Australian ICT research centre of excellence NICTA has secured Microsoft’s top Asian R&D excecutive Yan-Qin Zhang as keynote speaker at its TechFest open house in Sydney next month.