Category Archives: Australian politics

MP tells Australia’s parliament AI could be used for ‘mass destruction’ in speech part-written by ChatGPT

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Julian Hill has called for an inquiry or white paper to look into the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence

The federal Labor MP Julian Hill has used what is believed to be the first Australian parliamentary speech part-written by ChatGPT to warn that artificial intelligence could be harnessed for “mass destruction”.

On Monday the member for Bruce called for a white paper or inquiry to consider the “risks and benefits” of AI, warning it could result in student cheating, job losses, discrimination, disinformation and uncontrollable military applications.

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‘Pretty damn good’: Tim Costello backs Perrottet government plan for cashless poker machine card

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Gamblers will be able to set their own loss limits, which will only be able to be changed once a week

New South Wales pubs and clubs will be given five years to introduce cashless gaming systems across all poker machines, with gamblers able to set their own loss limits, under a $344m plan developed by the state government.

The state’s premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced the package on Monday after months of public debate and major pushback from some of his Coalition colleagues.

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Australia’s diplomatic influence in Asia on the rise as ALP advances interests abroad

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Lowy Institute ranks Australia sixth overall in the Asia Power Index, behind US, China, Japan, India and Russia

Australia has enjoyed a big increase in its diplomatic influence in Asia over the past year, according to the latest ratings of power across the region.

The Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index, published on Monday, also shows Australia’s standing has emerged unscathed from pandemic-era disruptions, unlike the region’s big players the US and China and many other countries.

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Labor plan for nature repair market rehashes old proposal and risks failure, experts say

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The private sector is not seen to be ready to act as the main buyer and the draft is cited as nearly identical to a Morrison-era proposal

An Albanese government environment plan to encourage companies to invest in nature merely expands a Coalition proposal under Scott Morrison and is at risk of failing due to a lack of business interest, experts say.

The federal government is consulting on legislation to establish a scheme to incentivise investment in nature restoration by creating tradable certificates for projects that protect and restore biodiversity.

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Labor urged to halve $8bn a year in fuel tax credits for trucks and heavy vehicles

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Reforming the scheme would shrink the budget deficit and help Australia hit net zero emissions by 2050, the Grattan Institute says

The Albanese government has been urged to halve the $8bn a year in fuel tax credits it gives mining trucks, semi-trailers and other heavy vehicles, with a new report finding changes are crucial for budget repair and meeting emissions targets.

Fuel tax credits have been “gnawing away an ever-growing share of fuel tax revenue”, with only half of the current amount spent justified in economic or social terms, according to a Grattan Institute report released on Monday.

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Labor says public sector board review will end ‘jobs for mates culture’

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Being on a government board should be about what you know, not who you know, minister Katy Gallagher says

The finance and public service minister, Katy Gallagher, says a review of public sector board appointments will end the “jobs for mates culture”.

The federal government is launching a review of appointments to ensure they are based on merit rather than politics.

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Hillsong Church names married couple as leaders after Brian Houston resignation – as it happened

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Australian football player Kate Gill has spoken to the ABC this morning about the recently announced sponsorship of Fifa’s women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by the Saudi’s.

Players have been expressing shock and frustration over the potential sponsorship deal, saying they have largely been left out over the decision to take the money.

When you look at the surface, you can see that it is a blatant disregard of their human rights treatment when you look at the country itself. LGBTI+ people are still regarded as criminals, and women over there still really face strict restrictions of their rights. And that’s notwithstanding the progressions that have been made as well. It just sat really uncomfortably when it was announced.

Those decisions then become the athletes. The athletes become the face of those decisions, and it’s really challenging when you don’t have full transparency over why these decisions are made and what has actually gone into the thought process behind this.

It’s putting a lot of pressure on the players. So I think it would be welcomed if they would sit down and have the discussions with the players so they can fully understand and ask questions as to why this needs to happen.

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Jim Chalmers says it’s absurd to expect him to copy Paul Keating as critics lash values-based capitalism essay

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Treasurer says 2023 priorities include cost-of-living relief, a tax expenditure statement and the intergenerational report and wellbeing framework

Jim Chalmers has declared it is “absurd” to think the Albanese government in 2023 will be a photocopy of the Hawke and Keating governments in the wake of a sustained backlash against his new essay championing values-based capitalism.

The treasurer says the overwhelmingly negative reaction to his summer think piece, published by the Monthly last month, is out of step with sentiment in the investor community and also reveals a disconnect between some opinion leaders in Australia and cutting-edge economic policy analysis overseas.

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Albanese declares Indigenous voice won’t impact First Nations sovereignty

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Speaking ahead of the opening of the parliamentary year, the PM dismisses the notion of having a constitutional convention before the referendum

Anthony Albanese has declared the voice to parliament will have no impact on First Nations sovereignty, and has rubbished the idea of having a constitutional convention before the referendum later this year.

With parliament set to resume for the year this week, the prime minister’s position was echoed on Sunday morning by Megan Davis, law professor, member of the expert working group and one of the leaders of the Uluru dialogues. She told the ABC deliberations around constitutional recognition had now entered a second decade.

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NSW Liberals promise households $250 in electricity bill support if re-elected

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Dominic Perrottet says homes will be able to receive the rebate if they compare energy providers

New South Wales residents will receive a $250 rebate for comparing energy providers and plans, in the latest Coalition election promise ahead of next month’s state election.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, said households would be able to access the one-off cost-of-living payment by comparing energy plans using a tool on the Service NSW website.

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Mark Butler says increase to Medicare rebate ‘not off the table’

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Health minister hits back at criticism from AMA that government report had no immediate recommendations to help Australians access more affordable care

The health minister, Mark Butler, says an increase to the Medicare rebate is not off the table, as the federal government tries to address problems in Australia’s healthcare system.

Butler has also hit back at criticisms a Medicare review initiated by the government did not have tangible recommendations to provide immediate relief.

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US hails progress in getting Australia nuclear-powered submarines ‘at the earliest possible date’

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Defence minister Richard Marles says Aukus partners will all benefit from ‘three-way ecosystem’ as he meets with US counterpart Lloyd Austin

Australia and the US have made “significant progress” towards getting Australia a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines “at the earliest possible date”, the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Saturday.

The federal government is set to announce its Aukus submarine plans by the end of March, amid mounting concerns that the US could struggle to provide them, and a push for President Joe Biden to fast-track research into submarines that use non-weapons grade uranium.

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Port Macquarie cleans up after ‘mini-cyclone’ – as it happened

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A “mini-cyclone” has left significant damage across the coastal NSW city of Port Macquarie, with trees and powerlines downed and roofs ripped from buildings, AAP’s Phoebe Loomes reports.

Multiple emergency crews responded after the sudden sudden storm hit the coastal city just after 3pm on Friday. Some 60 calls for help were made to the State Emergency Service in the 30 minutes to 4pm, with reports of roofs blown from buildings, fallen trees and requests for flood rescues.

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Coles and Woolworths ordered to dump more than 5,200 tonnes of soft plastic into landfill – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Follow our next Australia news live blog here when it launches

The government has been accused of deliberately withholding detail on its push to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution for political reasons.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser were briefed by the referendum working group after calling for more information on the proposed voice’s make-up and function.

Like all Australians, we want to see a better outcome for the Indigenous people of our country.

We are willing to look at any measure to do that. There are lots of questions around the voice and lots of detail that hasn’t yet been provided.

It’s not the airlines that do the turn backs that you should be worried about. It’s the airlines that keep on going to the destination and don’t make that turn back.

This is what happens with aviation across the world. And it’s an important part of the safety management system. I would rather there be not, but again I encourage our pilots to do this. I applaud them when they do it.

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Superannuation tax breaks will cost budget $52bn, almost matching Australia’s age pension

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New analysis calls for major changes including restrictions on concessions as the country risks having ‘two classes of state-funded retirees’

Tax breaks for superannuation will cost the federal budget $52.5bn this financial year, almost as much as the aged pension, according to a new analysis.

A research paper by the Australia Institute argues that since super tax concessions cost almost as much as the $55.3bn spent on the pension, Australia has “two classes of state-funded retirees in Australia”.

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Australia news live: voice working group says Dutton committed to ‘further talks’; Alice Springs report may not be made public until next week

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Australian batter Usman Khawaja has been cleared to join his teammates in India after his visa issues were sorted, AAP reports.

Pakistan-born Khawaja will fly out of Melbourne today, more than a day later than planned, after an anxious wait for his visa to be approved.

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Report into Alice Springs unrest recommends urgent alcohol ban in central Australian communities

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NT chief minister met with prime minister on Thursday afternoon to discuss report, which will be released after it is considered by cabinet next week

The Northern Territory government must urgently amend its laws to impose alcohol bans in central Australian communities, including the town camps in Alice Springs, according to a snap review.

The bans would remain in place until communities have time to develop their own alcohol management plans. Once those plans are in place, communities may then opt out of the legislative restrictions.

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Voice bill to come before parliament next month with campaigning to kick into gear quickly

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Anthony Albanese urges Peter Dutton to bring ‘an open heart’ when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group

A bill to amend the constitution to allow for the voice to parliament will be introduced next month, with referendum processes and campaigning expected to accelerate quickly from next week.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, implored Peter Dutton to bring “an open heart” on the voice when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group on Thursday, with the opposition leader challenged to make a “constructive contribution” as he faces a growing swell of community and corporate support for constitutional change.

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Anthony Albanese says he would have likely signed up to Aukus if he had been PM at the time

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Exclusive: The prime minister’s assessment pits him against Paul Keating, who has urged Labor to walk away from the controversial pact

Anthony Albanese says it is likely he would have pursued the Aukus agreement had Labor been in power during the Morrison era because the bonds between the three nations are enduring, and defence officials would have supplied the same advice.

The upbeat assessment during an interview with the Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast pits Albanese against Paul Keating, who has urged Labor to walk away from the controversial agreement with the US and Britain. Keating argues the plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will see Australia’s strategic sovereignty “outsourced to another state” – a critique echoed by the former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

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Business sector has driven shift to ‘values-based capitalism’, Jim Chalmers says

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Treasurer hits back at criticism of his essay that championed co-investment and economic inclusion

Jim Chalmers says Australia’s business and investment community has driven a shift to values-based capitalism, hitting back at a volley of criticism in some news outlets after the publication of the treasurer’s 6,000-word essay championing co-investment and economic inclusion.

Chalmers made the observation on Wednesday while leading a round of consultation with the investment community about a new framework for disclosing climate-related risk. The treasurer participated in a round table convened by the Australian arm of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment initiative.

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