The Albanese Government ministry met in Perth on Tuesday ahead of the PM hosting National Cabinet in Sydney on Wednesday. WA Premier Roger Cook is seated to the right of the PM. Photo: Anthony Albanese Facebook.
Anthony Albanese is using his speech to the Business Council of Australia’s Annual Dinner on Tuesday evening (25 August) in Sydney to set the scene for Wednesday’s head-to-head with state governments over artificial intelligence.
The Prime Minister will stress that Australia has one chance to get AI policy right for the nation, and he is determined to take advantage of the opportunities the new technology offers while also ensuring the best laws are put in place to manage it.
Mr Albanese will host National Cabinet in Sydney on Wednesday, where some state and territory leaders will reemphasise their displeasure with the rollout of AI data centres and the expected surge in power use and environmental impact.
The National Cabinet meeting follows a meeting of the Federal Cabinet and full Albanese government ministry held in Perth on Tuesday.
Between the Federal Cabinet and the National Cabinet, the PM is unveiling more of his views on AI in his address to the BCA. It is his fifth consecutive attendance at the BCA annual dinner, which he has addressed each year since Labor won office.
This time, however, the Prime Minister appears to be talking to his state and territory counterparts as much as to the business sector when it comes to AI.
“AI adoption will continue to grow as business builds and tests newer capabilities, and frontier AI capabilities accelerate,” he will say.
“Australia can do more to unlock frontier AI development in Australia, and we must shape this change to harness the positive opportunities while minimising the downsides.
“Australia is in a strong position to attract investment in data centres, but maintaining social licence will be essential.
“That means ensuring energy bills do not rise, water security is maintained and locations are appropriate.
“Getting this right can ensure Australia is the infrastructure partner for our region … it will advance our national sovereignty, and it is essential for our national security, business productivity, science, innovation and resilience.”
At National Cabinet, the Prime Minister will seek agreement that AI represents a generational opportunity for Australia.
He will push for a national approach to support investment, share benefits and protect Australia’s interests.
Mr Albanese will outline that the Commonwealth will legislate nationally consistent minimum obligations for data centres. Those obligations for large data centres will focus on water and energy use, as well as location.
Laws yet to be formulated will seek to ensure that data centres don’t exert upward pressure on energy prices and that the firms behind them must make a positive contribution to Australia’s energy transition.
The large tech companies will have to use innovative approaches to water use to be efficient and sustainable, and to meet infrastructure costs.
And their impact on local communities must be minimal.
The legislation will also set conditions for AI training regarding copyright, security, safety and skills development.
The Prime Minister will stress that Commonwealth legislation will be designed to complement, not duplicate, state and territory planning and approval processes.
He will centre discussion at National Cabinet on National Standards for AI.
“The objective of all governments must be to turn our attractive investment settings into a comparative advantage that supports our national interests,” Mr Albanese will tell the BCA.
“Hosting large-scale AI training data centres, and unlocking frontier AI model training, will help Australia capture a larger share of the economic value, technical capability and strategic influence of AI – as well as boost the competitiveness of our start-ups and innovative businesses.
“We must establish conditions to attract investment in frontier AI training, ensuring AI is developed safely, securely, and in ways that respect copyright and provide control and payment to the creative sector.
“Every country is dealing with these enormous issues, just as I am sure every business in this room is considering the implications of this revolution.”
The latest forecast from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) suggests power use in Australia will likely increase sevenfold over the next decade, due in large part to data centres.
“Electricity demand is growing through electrification, new industries and large loads such as data centres, while consumers are playing a more active role in the power system through CER (consumer energy resources), energy efficiency and demand flexibility,” the AEMO report states.
“At the same time, ageing coal-fired generation is retiring and being replaced by renewable generation, firming capacity and consumer resources.
“Maintaining reliability increasingly depends on the timely delivery of these new resources, and ongoing investment will be needed in new sources of electricity supply to ensure sufficient electricity production and peak capacity is available to meet consumer needs throughout the next 10 years.”
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
