A draft document, seen by ABC, reveals AI, gambling and the Middle East are expected to feature heavily in Labor's upcoming national conference debate.
Anthony Albanese is expected to outline his broad position on various concerns fuelling community anxiety about AI. Artificial intelligence will feature prominently in Labor's national conference agenda, with the party expanding its policy platform to encourage further oversight of the technology.
The latest draft of the platform also includes changes about the need to address gambling "inducements" and codifies more detail around Labor's position on Israel and Palestine ahead of debate at the conference. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver a speech next week setting out his vision for AI amid increased community anxiety about its potential risks.
Labor is stepping up efforts to reassure Australians artificial intelligence can be embraced while addressing safety risks, respecting copyright and managing the demand for electricity and water to power data centres. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver a speech next week setting out the federal government's approach to AI, acknowledging the risks and potential harms, as well as upsides and economic benefits.
Mr Albanese is expected to outline a broad position on various concerns fuelling community anxiety about AI, including workforce disruption, copyright and the use of water and electricity resources to power data centres. Reports tech giant Anthropic has offered to make Australia its second home for training AI models if an agreement on copyright can be reached have renewed fears in the creative sector that the government is poised to weaken laws.
ABC News: Matt RobertsRepeated reassurances from senior Labor ministers, including a promise this week from the prime minister that artists would have control over and be compensated for the use of their works in any AI training, have not abated rights holders' concerns. Meanwhile, the latest draft of Labor's 2026 national platform, which is due to be debated and signed off at the party's conference in Adelaide at the end of July, has significantly expanded its position on AI.
The draft document, seen by the ABC, moves AI from one policy paragraph as existed in the 2023 platform, to a cross-government agenda with potentially more oversight of the technology. On copyright, Labor has pledged to support "legal frameworks and safeguards to protect Australian artists and content creators from AI exploitation".
It also adds an entirely new sovereign AI policy section, with commitments to ensure the tech giants are held accountable to Australian "values and laws" and that there's "transparency, accountability, fairness and culpability" for the "harms these systems and models produce". The draft platform calls for government procurement to be used to support Australian AI and "uphold" the nation's "data sovereignty".
On data centres, Labor has said they must "deliver for Australia," including by investing in new renewable energy and electricity grid, as well as "use water sustainably and responsibly". Mr Albanese is expected to outline his vision of Australia's AI future, acknowledging issues like community concerns about the electricity and water resources required to power data centres to fears about models training on local copyrighted material.is open to watering down copyright laws to benefit AI companies, the prime minister said on Wednesday it was "important" to support the creative sector.
"But my government, I think, has a strong record of supporting people; one, having control over things that they have created, and secondly, if things are being used, being paid for it, being properly compensated for it. " declared Israel's settlements in the Palestinian territories violated international law and ordered their dismantling.
Israel rejects the illegality of the settlements, with senior far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are both sanctioned by Australia, advocating for their expansion. Labor's draft platform urges the government to implement "further action and sanctions as necessary" to address the issue. Acknowledging Australia has "always stood against the death penalty as an inhumane and degrading form of punishment", the draft also condemns "recent Knesset legislation and all other discriminatory laws which target Palestinians".
This year the Israeli government passed laws that implement death by hanging for Palestinians convicted of terror-related killings in the West Bank. Labor's draft also reaffirms Labor's belief that "Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live their lives free from terror and violence," backs the two-state solution and "unreservedly condemns" the terrorism and violent extremism, including as perpetrated by Hamas.
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