Google announced on Tuesday that it will invest A$1 billion ($736 million) in Australia over the next five years, reestablishing relations months after threatening to yank its services to escape harsher government control.
Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) primary operating company announced plans to develop cloud infrastructure, establish a research hub staffed by Australian researchers and engineers, and collaborate with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
Mel Silva, the managing director of Google Australia, who threatened to block Google’s search engine earlier this year, claimed the spending plan will bring major technology resources and investment to the country.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the initiative as a “A$1 billion vote of confidence” in Australia, saying it will “bring more STEM employment to our shores.” STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
Australia has also said it plans to make large internet companies take legal responsibility for defamation and misinformation hosted on their platforms, a change which the technology sector has largely opposed.
The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology, a think tank, said the spending commitment made a “great headline” but “simply paying tax on Australian earnings would deliver far more money to Australia”.
Google paid less than 1% tax on Australian annual earnings of about A$5 billion, and “when big tech offers to put money into a nation there are always strings attached”, said center director Peter Lewis.
