Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the enormous changes that artificial intelligence (AI) will create for Australia and Australians;

(2) welcomes the Government's commitment to ensuring that AI:

(a) contributes positively to a Future Made in Australia;

(b) delivers benefits to all Australians, not just a small number of individuals and businesses; and

(c) is developed, deployed and used in a way that keeps Australians safe; and

(3) recognises the work being led by the Government to ensure that Australians are ready to take advantage of AI, including, more than:

(a) $47 million for the Next Generation Graduate program;

(b) one million free 'introduction to AI' scholarships delivered from TAFE NSW to give Australians the fundamental skills to adopt and use AI; and

(c) $17 million to create four AI Adopt Centres, which are supporting businesses across the country to use responsible AI enabled services to enhance their businesses.

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we communicate, work and live. Just as with every major shift in our economy—from the industrial age to the digital one—how we manage this change will determine who it works for. Handled well, AI can lift productivity, open new markets and make work safer and more rewarding. Handled poorly, it can leave small businesses struggling to keep up and working people without a fair say in their future. That's why the Albanese Labor government is determined that Australia's AI future will have people, particularly workers, front and centre. If technology is going to transform our society, it must do so in a way that strengthens it not undermines it. AI could add over $100 billion a year to our economy and create tens of thousands of jobs by 2030, but those gains must be shared fairly between workers, small business and the communities that power our nation. Labor is backing the opportunities through the $15 million National Reconstruction Fund, including $1 billion for critical technologies like AI, and a new network of AI adopt centres to help small businesses innovate responsibly, ensuring that benefits reach everyone, not just big tech.

We're also working with the unions through the AI employment and workplace relations working group, to make sure technology involves workers and evolves with them not against them. Unions like the Finance Sector Union and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance are leading the way, partnering with employers that address AI safety with consultation, transparency and upskilling. This collaboration is already delivering real results. Just today, the Attorney-General announced that our government will protect Australia's creative industries by ruling out any carve-outs for the tech sector when it comes to applying copyright laws to training AI. That's how progress should happen—through partnership, not imposition.

Last sitting week, I met with Safe Steps, Victoria's family and domestic violence support service. They spoke about how new technologies could help frontline workers respond faster and more effectively to women and families in crisis while keeping empathy at the heart of every response. They spoke of Kids Help Phone in Toronto, Canada's national youth mental health helpline, where AI is already being used to save lives. Their system triages messages, identifying high-risk cases, such as when a young person expresses suicidal thoughts, and moving them up the queue. It automatically transcribes and summarises notes, cutting hours of admin and allowing counsellors to focus on care. Importantly it learns from the caller's own words, allowing responders to use language that feels familiar and respectful. It's not replacing people; it's empowering them to do their work better. That's the model we should strive for: technology that strengthens human connection, not replaces it.

The potential for AI to transform our society and economy cannot be understated. Already 68 per cent of Australian businesses use AI, yet we still lag behind the United States and China in training employees and employing skilled AI workers. If we don't understand the technology shaping our economy, we can't chart our own course as a sovereign nation. That's why Labor is building capability at home and strengthening cooperation abroad, developing skills locally while ensuring AI serves people, not power. Australia must shape its own future, not be swept up in an AI arms race.

Through one million free TAFE and university places and $47 million for the next-generation AI graduates, we're giving Australians the skills to guide this technology responsibility. Through the Industry Growth Program, we're helping small businesses innovate safely with strong data and privacy protections, because technology without trust won't succeed. Australians deserve confidence that their information is secure, their rights are protected and AI is used fairly and transparently.

When Labor talks about technology, we don't talk about disruption for its own sake. We talk about progress, the kind that lifts people up and doesn't leave people behind. AI isn't the future; it's here now. The question isn't whether it will reshape our economy but whether working people and small businesses will have the power and protection within it. With experts leading, workers trained, small businesses supported and a government that puts fairness first, Australia can make AI a tool for good—one that builds opportunity, strengthens work and delivers a fairer, smarter future for us all.

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