That’s all, folks.
And that’s all for today on the politics blog. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow for another round.
You can look back at today’s developments below, or download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest updates.
See you then.
Canavan calls for review of all regulations, including childcare
Afternoon Briefing host Patricia Karvelas notes that some of the extra red tape added in the last few years has been in child safety and aged care.
Canavan argues that even that red tape, although important, has been applied as a “blunt instrument” and sent some providers out of business in regional communities where they are relied upon.
“The Labor party and the unions want to impose essentially qualification requirements, which simply impose [and] increase the barriers to entry.,” he says.
“So often regulation is pushed with those by vested interests in the sector.”
25 per cent a ‘reasonable’ target, says Canavan
Nationals Leader Matt Canavan is being asked about Coalition leader Angus Taylor’s announcement that he’d put together a “razor gang” to slash red tape by 25 per cent if he was to win government.
He’s asked how the opposition came up with that number.
“It’s a reasonable reduction given the increase in red tape costs over the last decade or so, they have roughly tripled to be, on some estimates, costing the Australia economy about $160 billion a year,” Canavan says.
“Given that increase, it’s a reasonable target… and seems achievable.”
‘Mad rush’ in to AI could yield ‘worst possible result’
Liberal MP Garth Hamilton tells Afternoon Briefing he’s worried about the artificial intelligence bubble as communities across Australia consider plans for the development of data centres.
“There’s been a mad rush without answering the genuine community concerns about what impact this has,” he says.
“If we rush into this, there is a way that we get the worst possible results.”
Labor MP Patrick Gorman says there are risks in any large-scale infrastructure development, but they must be managed.
“We can’t ignore that the world is changing, we’ve got this incredible addition of computing power, which can help us solve some of humanities’ biggest challenges, but we’ve got to make sure it doesn’t make more problem than it solves,” he says.
‘Same team’: Gorman insists Labor leaks are minimal
It’s Afternoon Briefing O’clock and we’re kicking off the show with a panel chat with Liberal MP Garth Hamilton and Labor MP Patrick Gorman.
Off the bat, Gorman is asked about rumours of leaks within Labor ranks after cabinet minister Murray Watt called on colleagues to stop undermining Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Gorman insists the Labor team work very well together, and that there is a lot of “good, mutual support”.
“You see some of the reports, they don’t always come from other parliamentary colleagues,” he says.
“But I don’t think it’s ever good when people giving character assessments of one another in the same team .”
Allegra Spender says Victoria Barracks should stay with Defence
Community Strong MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender has welcomed the PM’s intervention to prevent the sale of Victoria Barracks Sydney and other defence sites.
Yesterday the government announced that a handful of properties slated for sale would be kept in public hands and transferred to the Department of Finance, after fierce community backlash.
An independent audit had recommended selling more than 60 Defence sites to net the government $1.8 billion.
But Spender told News24 the government needs to go further and keep Victoria Barracks Sydney under the purview of Defence.
“We need to hold it for strategic reasons for our defence,” she said.
She pointed out that in the event of a terror attack in the Sydney CBD, Victoria Barracks Sydney has a high stone fence and is one of the most secure sites we have close to the city.
“That’s where every second counts,” she said.
Small Business minister falls victim to Whatsapp hack
Small Business Minister Anne Aly has revealed her Whatsapp account has been accessed, with scam messages sent to her contacts.
The scam message, seen by the ABC, asks the recipient to follow a link and vote for a friend’s daughter.
“Could you support my friend’s daughter Nora with your vote? The top prize is funds for her schooling, and each vote really matters. Thanks a bunch!”
A spokesperson for Aly said her account has since been secured.
“The Minister inadvertently opened a scam link sent to her personal phone by a trusted friend, which resulted in an unauthorised message being sent to her WhatsApp contacts,” she said.
“The Minister acted promptly to secure her account and report the incident to the relevant authorities”.
The scam seems to be doing the rounds, as the ‘vote for Nora’ message has been received elsewhere too.
TikTok self harm content has 480k likes
The committee is about to wrap up with the social media companies, but Pocock asks to clarify his line of questioning to TikTok about self-harm material.
He points to a specific post (he’s holding a print out) which he says has 480,000 likes and 12,000 reposts.
“Are you seriously telling us that there is not content on TikTok that promotes self harm?” Pocock asks.
TikTok’s rep, Jessika Lofstedt says she can’t comment on the specific post in isolation and would be happy to take a look.
Pocock pushes back, asking her why the content is trending and has hundreds of thousands of likes if it goes against community guidelines.
“If you have a concrete example, please provide it, and I will take a look at it promptly,” Lofstedt says.
Big sigh from Pocock.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young jumps in and says it’s “ridiculous” for an inquiry to be pursuing specific examples.
Back and forth over social media community guidelines
Independent Senator David Pocock is now asking TikTok about its content guidelines.
“Why do you allow self harm content on your platform?” he asks.
TikTok’s Jessika Lofstedt says she disagrees with the premise of the question, and insists the platform takes harmful content seriously.
Pocock holds up a thick stack of papers that he says contained examples of children being exposed to self-harm content.
That prompts a brief back-and-forth with Lofstedt, who insists she is willing to examine specific cases but rejects that the platform has a widespread problem with harmful material.
“How can you seriously try to tell the committee you don’t have that content on your platform, when you clearly do?” Pocock says.
“We have very stringent community guidelines, and self-harm is very much against community guidelines,” Lofstedt says.
“We don’t get it right every time”.
Ambiguity of legislation could dampen debate online
Jessika Lofstedt from TikTok is answering questions about the ambiguity of the legislation, which Liberal senator Sarah Henderson is labelling “unclear” and “vague”.
“We do hold the concerns that the piece of legislation or the bill that’s currently in front of us indeed replaces certainty with ambiguity and with subjectivity,” Lofstedt says.
Henderson goes on to say the proposed legislation is so unclear it would almost be impossible to comply with.
She wonders out loud if the bill would cause social media companies to lean too far the other way and over comply, shutting down controversial or contentious debate to avoid fines.
“We have raised that as a concern, in relation to the potential of overzealous moderation if there is that level of ambiguity in there as it currently stands,” Lofstedt says.
Should Australians be able to sue social media companies for compensation?
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has asked social media platform representatives whether Australians who are harmed on their platforms should be able to “seek recourse”.
The question goes to a key sticking point in the debate over the government’s proposed Digital Duty of Care laws – the Greens want the legislation to include a right for individual Australians to seek compensation from social media companies when they suffer harm.
Here’s a summary of their responses:
Snapchat: Says it’s important users have a choice of remedies when they experience harm, but argued those processes are best administered through the eSafety Commissioner’s existing framework.
TikTok: Says the Online Safety Act already provides a strong and robust framework, including appropriate avenues for recourse.
Meta: Says it would be challenging to amend the proposed Digital Duty of Care laws in their current form to allow individuals to sue for damages.
Survivors call for nationally consistent standards for students impacted by gendered violence
Survivors of sexual violence and women’s advocacy groups are among those calling on Education Minister Jason Clare to implement nationally consistent standards to help school students affected by gendered violence.
Launching their campaign today with an open letter, the group, which also includes academics, frontline services and commentators, say treatment of school students who allege they’ve been subjected to sexual violence is a postcode lottery.
Signatories include prominent advocates Brittany Higgins and Saxon Mullins, With You We Can, the Australian Multicultural Women’s Alliance, Fair Agenda and gender-justice advocate Dani Villafaña who is leading the campaign.
Among the supports they want to be available across the country are help to catch up on schoolwork, extensions on assignments and access to counselling.
A recent Monash University study of 2,600 teachers, led by Dr Stephanie Wescott who has also signed the open letter, found one in two had observed an increase in sexual violence among students.
Today’s open letter comes as the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin says the community and governments are not prepared for a new generation of young men who have been heavily influenced by the ‘manosphere.’
A similar National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence exists at a tertiary level, with universities and residential colleges required to meet it or face funding cuts.
Social media companies giving evidence at digital duty of care inquiry
Today at Parliament House we’ve been hearing from parents and experts as part of a a Senate inquiry examining the government’s proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation.
We’re hearing now from the big social media companies – Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young opens questioning, directed toward regional director for Meta, Mia Garlick.
She’s asking about a landmark ruling against the company in the US, where it was found liable in a lawsuit about social media addiction.
Hanson-Young asks what lessons Meta has learned and how they will be applied in Australia.
Garlick says although the settlement is restricted to the US, the company sees it as a potential model for further protections under the Digital Duty of Care model.
Hanson-Young pushes her to explain why the protections available to teens in the US as a result of the court judgement haven’t already been applied in Australia.
“So in Australia, our compliance has been focused on the codes and standards, which include age assurance, requirements and then also teen accounts, which are global and also include Australia,” Garlick says.
“There have been additional measures that have been agreed as part of the settlement. Those are still being worked on, so that’s why we’ve suggested it as a model in our submission for the Parliament and the government to consider”.
Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard recall brewing tension ahead of misogyny speech
Tony Abbott has described Julia Gillard’s seething misogyny speech as “pretty over the top”, conceding he did not expect it to become the “iconic moment” it has.
Speaking to ABC iview’s I Was Actually There, Abbott said he had known Gillard for a long time before the speech and regarded her as a “formidable politician”, with the pair sharing mutual respect for one another.
But he acknowledged that respect was “fraying” ahead of the now-historic moment 14 years ago.
“I thought it was a pretty over the top and unjustified attack,” he said.
“Given that, I say, I am not conscious of ever treating women differently simply by virtue of them being women, I certainly am not conscious of ever having treated women in a lesser way.”
Read the full story from Georgia Hitch in the link below.
Minister quizzed on savings and inflation
The Expenditure Review Committee is currently meeting to consider savings for the Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Outlook (MYEFO).
Environment Minister Murray Watt has been asked if Labor is doing all it can to tackle inflation, which jumped to 4.3 per cent in the 12 months to September.
The environment minister says ministers in every portfolio are expected to find and deliver savings.
“Let’s not forget that for all of their demands that we find more savings, the Coalition currently are blocking the government from saving $10 billion in measures that are before the parliament,” Watt says.
And that’s where we’ll leave that press conference.
Watt defends approval of fossil fuel projects ahead of COP31
Environment Minister Murray Watt has been asked whether Australia should take more responsibility for emissions as a result of its exports.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be on his way to the COP31 summit in Türkiye this week.
Speaking to reporters, Watt has initially sidestepped the question, saying the government has approved 150 renewable energy projects.
“When it comes to fossil fuel projects, every single project that is put forward that may impact on matters of national environmental significance is properly assessed,” Watt says.
“Some get approved, some get rejected, some get approved with conditions and that’s the pattern that we’ll continue following.”
Watt says Australians are expressing frustrations through opinion polls
The environment minister has been asked why Australians are losing trust in the federal government.
The Resolve Political Monitor polling, published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, showed just 20 per cent of people trusted the Albanese government.
The poll shows just over 40 per cent of Australians blame Labor for rising living costs.
Murray Watt says he doesn’t think it’s a surprise that people are expressing their frustration when they’re under financial pressure.
“We need to remember that we’re only about halfway through the term. It’s literally about 18 months into a three year term,” Watt says.
“Over the remainder of this term, what we’ll be able to demonstrate to the Australian people is that it’s Labor who has their interests at heart, that is delivering that cost-of-living relief, that is delivering the responsible savings that the budget needs.”
Murray Watt calls on One Nation to explain reports in Nine newspapers
Environment Minister Murray Watt has accused One Nation of being “wracked by chaos and division” following recent reports in the Nine newspapers.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age report One Nation’s former national campaign director Sean Black was captured on covert recordings saying billionaire Gina Rinehart is dictating party strategy.
Charles Swindon, who was a former senior One Nation staffer, told the newspapers he was unlawfully sacked from the party for raising concerns about One Nation’s ties to an ex-senior staffer with a rape conviction.
The environment minister has called on leader Pauline Hanson, James Ashby and MP Barnaby Joyce to explain the reports.
“The claims from this whistleblower that he was unlawfully sacked when he raised concerns about One Nation keeping a convicted sex offender on their payroll books, and also his allegations that he raised very concerning matters involving a connection between a senior official of One Nation at a strip club with links to the underworld,” Watt says.
“They are the questions that Pauline Hanson and her colleagues need to answer. If you want to govern the country, you need to be prepared to answer the hard questions. She’s got to do so today.”
Taylor says ‘razor gang’ will aim to slash red tape by 25 per cent
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume have stepped up for a doorstop at Business Sydney.
The opposition leader has elaborated on the Coalition’s plan to introduce a “razor gang” to slash red tape and government spending.
Expanding on today’s announcement, Taylor says it will be led by the deputy Liberal leader and aim to cut red tape by 25 per cent.
“This is all part of our plan to get our economy moving by slashing taxes, red tape and waste, by scrapping net zero and using our great natural resources in this country, by bringing an end to mass migration and getting back to the skilled migration which has been so central to the success of our country and putting Australians first,” Taylor says.
Australia’s export emissions under scrutiny ahead of climate talks
Seven days after a glacier collapse caused devastating floods in Nepal, the United Nations gave a troubling update on global warming.
Surface temperatures were on track to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius increase that scientists had long warned against crossing by 2030.
Countries with the greatest responsibility for climate change “should act the fastest”, the report’s authors wrote, to ensure “those who have contributed least” are not “left to bear its greatest burdens”.
It was awkward timing for the Australian government.
An open-cut coal mine expansion in Queensland’s Bowen Basin had just been approved, allowing 55 million more tonnes of coal for export until 2055.
The same week, Resources Minister Madeleine King smiled as she turned on the tap that would feed gas fracked from the Beetaloo Basin into the power grid.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Palau doing his best to spruik Australia’s environmental credentials in the Pacific, a region vulnerable to climate change.
“What do you say to Pacific leaders who see the resources minister opening a new gas project at Beetaloo?” AAP journalist Ben McKay asked the prime minister during a press conference on the island.
“Today a decision’s been made on the BHP Saraji coal mine expansion. They look at you, and they say you are the problem,” the journalist said.
“No, they don’t do that,” Albanese said. “Australia is highly regarded when it comes to climate change.”
This week, that claim will be tested at the highest level, when the most important global climate conference takes place in Türkiye.
Read the full story from climate reporters Charlotte King and Romy Stephens in the link below.
Taylor pleased with ‘good poll’
Following his speech, Taylor is sitting down for questions from an audience of business representatives at an event hosted by Business Sydney and moderated by former Liberal candidate Jaimee Rogers.
It seems a friendly crowd, with the first questioner asking whether Taylor is buoyed by a significant recovery in the Coalition primary vote in an opinion poll published in the Financial Review.
“You always welcome a good poll,” he says, but deflects and says his focus is on business policy, boasting his team has an “instinctive” understanding of the sector.
Taylor announces ‘red tape razor gang’ in bid to bolster economic pitch
Angus Taylor’s shadow ministers will get specific about the regulations they want to slash in their own portfolio, a new initiative he calls a “red tape razor gang”.
The opposition leader has started his week with a speech in Sydney outlining the Coalition’s plans. There’s plenty on government spending, which he plans to cap, and on the Coalition’s tax cut plans, which Taylor says are worth $220 billion over eight years.
He acknowledges more work to do to balance those tax cuts. So far, the Coalition has outlined just $31 billion in spending cuts over four years.
But as well as taking a “razor” to spending, Taylor says the focus on cutting red tape will help businesses with their own budgets to the tune of $40 billion in compliance costs each year.
He accuses the government of “gobbling up more of the economy’s scarce resources” and “starving the private sector”, despite high levels of private investment growth at present.
Analysis: It could be a matter of when, not if, Andrew Hastie becomes opposition leader
Federal Labor is now actively preparing for an election contest against Andrew Hastie as opposition leader, as it considers how to frame the next diabolical year.
Senior Labor sources have told this column that they believe it’s not a matter of if, but when Hastie takes over from Angus Taylor as opposition leader, and they think he will be harder to defeat.
Some Liberals are considering the New South Wales election in March as the clearest trigger for change if Taylor can’t improve the party’s dire standing.
If that were to occur, Labor would have to readjust its political strategy. It would also set up an almighty contest between the Liberals under Hastie and conservative juggernaut Pauline Hanson.
Read the full analysis from Patricia Karvelas in the link below.
Peter Dutton set to be appointed to Council of Australian War Memorial
Former Liberal leader Peter Dutton is set to be appointed as a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial.
Dutton, who lost the northern Brisbane seat of Dickson at the last election, will serve on the council for three years from November 14.
The council is responsible for the conduct and control of the affairs of the memorial, including exhibits and Commemorative Area.
In a statement, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh says Dutton will replace Glenn Keys, who stepped down from the council after six years.
“In his post parliamentary life he remains passionate about strengthening Australia’s values, institutions and national interests,” Keogh says.
“Mr Dutton is proposed to be appointed to the Australian War Memorial Council for a three-year period commencing on 14 November 2026.”
Specialist fees ‘out of control’ and should be reined in, says institute
Specialist fees in Australia are “out of control” and need to be reined in, according to the Grattan Institute, which has again called for specialists charging too much to be stripped of federal funding.
The think tank’s policy brief shows that, in the past year, the average specialist fee has gone up by four per cent on top of inflation.
It argues fees among the highest-cost specialists are rising even faster, with the most expensive five per cent of psychiatrists charging a median out-of-pocket fee of $669 for an initial consultation. For high-cost paediatricians it’s $362, and high-cost cardiologists it’s $265.
“This policy failure is hurting patients and exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. Governments must train more specialists, expand public clinics, and step in to regulate extreme fees,” Grattan Institute Health Program Director Peter Breadon said.
He again argued the federal government should withdraw Medicare rebates from specialists who charge extreme fees, defined as more than triple the Medicare schedule fee.
The Australian Medical Association has consistently argued there are a range of factors contributing to high out-of-pocket costs for patients, including a lack of investment in public specialist outpatient clinics and Medicare rebates failing to keep place with inflation.
Read more about extreme specialist fees and a parliamentary inquiry examining the issue in the link below.
Will netball debut at the Brisbane Olympics?
Anika Wells, who is also the sports minister, has been asked if netball will be played at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Last week, the netball community was blindsided by a leak to the media indicating the sport was likely to be included in the Olympics line-up for the first time.
Wells says it’s a decision for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and we won’t know for sure until April.
“I voiced my support for netball. It is the biggest female sport in Australia. I think it deserves its Matildas moment,” Wells told ABC News Breakfast.
“The opportunity of hosting a home Games is that we get to decide on a handful of sports and events working with the IOC.”
Big tech is a ‘wild west’ industry needing regulation, Wells says
Communications Minister Anika Wells says she’s open to further negotiations to pass the government’s Digital Duty of Care laws in the Senate.
Wells told ABC New Breakfast she’d like to see bipartisan support for the online safety legislation, but she’s not disclosing what ground she’s willing to give.
“I welcome any amendments being put by any parliamentarian that strengthen or improve these laws,” she said.
A Senate inquiry into the legislation will be held today and tomorrow, hearing from parents and experts about the proposed changes, which passed the lower house last month.
Wells says the industry has been unregulated and operating like the “wild west” for 20 years.
“We think big tech needs to be held to account, and if you build it, you should be responsible for its harms,” she said.
PM urges opposition, Greens to support savings measures through parliament
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the opposition to support savings measures currently before parliament.
The government is trying to pass savings measures, including winding back the over-65s private health insurance rebate, to pocket $3 billion.
But the Coalition and Greens have opposed them and Labor doesn’t have a majority in the Senate, so they are held up.
“We function as a government, a united government with a sense of purpose governing in what are difficult global times,” Albanese says.
“It stands in stark contrast to the alternative, which is a rabble, essentially, of dysfunction of One Nation, the Liberals, the Nationals and others on the right and the Greens being a protest party on the left.”
Albanese defends infrastructure promises at election
The prime minister has been asked about Resolve Political Monitor polling showing just 20 per cent of people trust the Albanese Government.
The poll published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers shows just over 40 per cent of Australians blame Labor for rising living costs.
The ABC reported that PM held an honorary membership for a golf club in his electorate that received a $6 million grant.
Asked if Labor’s election commitments have affected that trust, Albanese says the opposition made over 2,000 commitments.
“One of the things that happens in elections is that people put commitments in order to advance their position. That has happened in every election that I’ve been involved,” Albanese says.
Albanese talks up Australia’s renewables record ahead of COP 31 summitt
Anthony Albanese has been asked about emissions from coal and gas exports from Australia which have nearly doubled since 2005.
He’s been asked if it puts Australia in a awkward position going into COP 31 negotiations in Antalya in Türkiye this week.
The prime minister says emissions are measured at the point of emission, otherwise there would be “double counting”.
“Australia is playing an important role in reducing our emissions. In the December quarter of last year was the first time that renewables reached above 50 per cent of emissions,” Albanese says.
PM brushes off crossbench concerns about MP, senator staffing allocations
The prime minister is taking questions now and is asked about staffing allocations for crossbench MPs and senators, who have consistently raised the issue with the government.
Anthony Albanese has brushed off the question and says it was a system that was put in place by the former government.
“One of the things that we did was to increase, through the minister, an additional staffer for every member of the House of Representatives and every senator,” Albanese says.
But pressed on the matter, Albanese repeats it was a system that he inherited and it’s a matter for the minister.
Albanese announces package to strengthen bushfire risk management
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stepped up for a press conference at the National Emergency Management Agency in Canberra.
Albanese says Australia is well into the high-risk weather season and is urging Australians to prepare for the worst from a super El Niño.
He’s announcing a support package to strengthen bushfire risk management and to support the mental health and wellbeing of emergency responders.
The prime minister says additional funding will be directed to the Australian Fire Danger Rating System and national bushfire intelligence capability.
“We’ve already had fires in the Northern Territory and floods in Queensland already. We’re already seeing warm and dry conditions expected for much of the summer, supercharged by the El Niño impact,” Albanese says.
“Whilst we can’t predict exactly when extreme events will occur, what we can do is to make sure that we’re prepared and that the government stands ready to respond.”
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain says the additional $12 million will be split, with $5.8 million directed to the fire danger rating system, $2.6 million to intelligence and $3 million to first responder wellbeing.
McCormack supports backtrack on sale of four Defence sites
Shadow Veterans Affairs Minister Michael McCormack says the decision to scrap the sale of four historic defence sites was necessary.
McCormack says the decision to move defence personnel out of the Victoria Barracks site before Christmas and without a permanent home will hit morale in the Australian Defence Force.
Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, McCormack says the government shouldn’t be selling off Defence heritage.
“They’ve made the right decision on these four sites, yes, and they’ll work with the Australian War Memorial. But what about the other 63 sites? Now, they’re just selling these off to prop up their ailing budget bottom line. That’s the real crux of the issue,” McCormack says.
“We should be teaching our young people the value of our heritage, of our military heritage [and] the fact that there are 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour at the Australia War Memorial in Canberra, of people who fought and died so that we could live in relative peace and security and safety.”
Listen to the full interview via the link below.
Decision not to sell four defence sites won’t affect budget: Marles
Defence Minister Richard Marles says the decision not to sell off four historic defence sites won’t have a big impact on the budget because their commercial value is limited.
Labor planned to sell 67 defence sites after an independent estate audit in February, to generate $1.8 billion for the government.
But yesterday, Labor backtracked on its decision to offload four high-profile sites earmarked for sale.
They include the Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Victoria Barracks Melbourne, Fort Queenscliff and Point Cook (RAAF Williams).
Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Marles says the Department of Finance will seek to manage them in a way that maximises community and commercial use.
“There will be some financial return, but it was never imagined that there would be a lot from these sites. The accounting of the disposal of the whole of the 67 sites, in that sense, remains unchanged,” Marles says.
Husic says Australia is being ‘lured’ into AI data centre ‘frenzy’
Labor MP Ed Husic says he thinks Australia is being “lured” into a “frenzy” building artificial intelligence data centres by big tech companies.
The former industry minister has been outspoken on the need to have stronger guardrails for the development of artificial intelligence in Australia.
Earlier this year, the prime minister unveiled a set of standards for artificial intelligence to provide clear rules for data centres, forcing them to minimise water use and underwrite or supply their own power.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Husic says building data centres is “as popular as getting a heat rash”.
“People don’t want them, and understandably so, because they are putting such big pressure on our economy. Even the RBA [Reserve Bank of Australia] is concerned by how much pressure this build is doing,” he says.
“They [Australians] are concerned about the risks that come with AI. They are concerned that AI will not just do them, Australians, out of a job but their kids out of a job as well.
“Just saying we need to build more data centres so we can get access to frontier models … won’t really cut it in the minds of Australians. I am worried that we are attracted to the lure of a late night TV commercial: ‘Act now or you will miss out.'”
Anika Wells says she accepts Australians are feeling under pressure
Anika Wells says she accepts Australians are feeling under pressure, with new polling showing just 20 per cent of Australians trust the prime minister.
A Resolve Political Monitor poll published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age shows just over 40 per cent of Australians blame Labor for rising living costs.
Speaking to Channel Nine, the communications minister says people have a right to feel under pressure and want to send a message to the government.
“People are under a lot of pressure and these are difficult and tricky times, and Australians want their lawmakers, their governments to know that that’s understandable and that’s and that’s their right and we hear that feedback,” Wells says.
“That’s why we’re here in Canberra to work on MYEFO [mid-year economic and fiscal outlook], to deliberate on what savings we can make ahead of MYEFO, just as we have in all previous budget packages.”
Plibersek and Wilson clash on private health rebate for over-65s
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson have clashed on the private health insurance rebate for over-65s.
Labor has been under pressure to find savings as inflation and government spending rise as a share of GDP.
In May’s budget, the government proposed winding back the private health insurance rebate for over-65s, in what will save the budget $3 billion.
But Labor has so far been unsuccessful passing the changes through parliament, because the Coalition and Greens won’t support the measure.
“This is about people on the same income getting the same rebate, not based on age,” Plibersek tells Channel Seven.
“How is it fair that two households on the same income get different rebates? That’s what we’re proposing and that’s what Tim’s opposing.”
But Wilson says the measure is an “assault on pensioners” and will cause more elderly Australians to end up in the public hospital system.
“You get those people off the private health system, they go on the public health system and the cost for the taxpayer soars,” Wilson says.
Digital Duty of Care Senate inquiry to begin today
A Senate inquiry is set to get underway today into the government’s proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation.
Communications Minister Anika Wells says algorithms and AI tools need to be regulated to protect people from online harms, and tech companies will be slapped with fines of $109 million if they fail to mitigate the risks.
The legislation also aims to ban nudify apps and to give social media users the choice to opt in or out of the algorithm on their feeds.
The legislation was introduced to the House of Representatives and passed in October, without Coalition support.
Experts and parents will give evidence during the two-day inquiry, and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said she will “kick the tyres and hold Big Tech’s feet to the fire to ensure these laws have teeth”.
Good morning 👋
Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! It’s great to have you here early on a Monday morning.
I’m Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today’s federal politics news.
We’re likely to hear a bit about Labor’s proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation, which will face scrutiny at a Senate inquiry kicking off today.
Let’s get right into the day and see what happens!
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