Greens to investigate $33m grant to PwC-backed startup as minister orders briefing
Henry Belot
The Greens have vowed to use parliamentary process to find out more about the Coalition government’s decision to award $33m of taxpayer funds to a PwC-backed startup without a competitive process.
As Guardian Australia reported earlier on Thursday, the federal Department of Health and Aged Care entered a funding agreement with Innowell Pty Ltd in June 2017 for a series of collaborative research trials known as Project Synergy. Innowell Pty Ltd was established in February 2017, Asic documents show, with one of the largest shareholders being PwC.
The funding was to be used to develop a digital mental health platform. The government then decided not to use the platform, due to health workers finding it an administrative burden. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, is now seeking a briefing…