Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That:

(1) a Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence be appointed to inquire into and report on:

(a) the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) to lift Australia's resilience, productivity growth, economic competitiveness, and living standards;

(b) the opportunities for the benefits of AI to be spread across Australia's suburbs and regions;

(c) the opportunities of AI and robotics to drive research and innovation, new industries and business, and export opportunities, including in sectors of Australian comparative advantage such as agriculture, resources, health and medical research, advanced manufacturing, financial services and defence industry;

(d) the rate and extent of AI adoption across the Australian economy, and the barriers to adoption, faced by small and medium businesses and family businesses;

(e) the opportunities for Australian sovereign AI capability, including the measures required to build, retain and commercialise domestic capability, grow research and development, and attract and retain investment and talent;

(f) the importance of data sovereignty, and the opportunities presented by narrow, domain-specific AI models trained on Australian data in areas of Australian sectoral expertise;

(g) the workforce and skills implications of AI, including the adequacy of Australia education system, job creation and displacement, and the effects on the quality and security of jobs;

(h) the adoption of AI by Commonwealth departments and agencies to improve services for Australians, and the transparency and accountability measures that apply to AI use;

(i) the adequacy of Australia's existing laws and regulatory frameworks as they apply to AI and whether there are any gaps that warrant reform;

(j) the interaction of AI with existing intellectual property and copyright laws, including the use of Australian creative, cultural and media content in the training of AI models;

(k) the risks and harms arising from AI, including fraud and scams, deepfakes and risks to the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable Australians;

(l) the national security and cyber security opportunities to protect Australians, as well as the foreign interference risks, associated with AI, including the security and resilience of supply chains and of systems supporting critical infrastructure;

(m) the implications of emerging AI capability for Australia's national security and strategic resilience, including the ability of regulators, the Australian AI Safety Institute and the intelligence and security community to identify and respond to emerging risks; and

(n) any other related matters;

(2) the committee present its final report by no later than 30 November 2026;

(3) the committee consist of twelve members, three Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, two Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, one Member to be nominated by any minority group or independent Member, three Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, two Senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and one Senator to be nominated by any minority group or independent Senator;

(4) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(5) the members of the committee hold office as a Joint select committee until the committee's final report is presented or the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier;

(6) the committee elect:

(a) a Government member as its chair; and

(b) an Opposition member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee or the position of chair is temporarily vacant;

(7) at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting;

(8) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, shall have a casting vote;

(9) three members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House;

(10) the committee:

(a) have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of three or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine or conduct public hearings; and

(b) appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only;

(11) at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee, the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting;

(12) two members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House;

(13) members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

(14) the committee or any subcommittee have power to:

(a) call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(b) conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;

(c) sit in public or in private;

(d) report from time to time; and

(e) adjourn from time to time and sit during any adjournment of the Senate or the House of Representatives;

(15) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders; and

(16) a message be sent to the Senate acquainting it of this resolution and requesting that it concur and take action accordingly.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability) | Link to this | Hansard source

Artificial intelligence poses multiple challenges to Australia and to our people. We see moral, strategic and economic challenges. AI is reshaping the world, and the geopolitical implications for Australia are clear. Right now we are witnessing a race for AI dominance between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

We have to find a way to adapt to this new era of geopolitical competition in a way that upholds our sovereignty, security and economic competitiveness. We can't get left behind in this race, as AI will drive changes in the geopolitical order and the world economy. We can't pretend that the AI revolution won't impact us. It will, it already has and we need to respond to the risks and the opportunities.

That's why it's vital that this parliament explores the opportunities and risks posed by AI and prepares our nation for the challenges that lie ahead. That's why the coalition will support the establishment of a Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. This was the initiative of opposition along with the member for Curtin, and we are pleased that the government has agreed to work with us on this important matter.

A committee of this nature will give the parliament the platform to lead the Australian people in understanding the risks, the opportunities and the necessary actions required for Australians to thrive in this new era of technology. We will explore how AI impacts our resilience, our productivity, our economic competitiveness and our living standards. We will understand the impact of AI on our national security, our political system and our way of life. We'll engage in moral, economic and strategic questions. The committee will examine the adequacy of existing laws, the importance of data sovereignty and the impact of AI on local communities.

Addressing these matters is an essential task for our parliament. Without doing so, Australia risks falling behind other nations already ahead in the AI race. We need to ask the hard questions now and develop a national response in the committee. That is our role in the Commonwealth parliament. This committee will allow us to deliberate on these important questions along with the Australian public.

Policymakers have a moral obligation to hammer out a new political and economic settlement that ensures that AI serves all Australians, not just a few. Our workers, our businesses, our industry and our kids all need to be considered in the course of this committee's work. We can't let big tech reshape our nation without democratic oversight and accountability. That's our job, and we look forward to hearing from people across Australia during public hearings and through their submissions.

At the same time, we must build a sovereign AI capability or accept that Australia's future will be shaped by other nations. Our national security and economic future must be front and centre, and I want to make three quick points. First, Australia should play to our strengths in this AI race. Australia has an abundance of land, energy and critical minerals. We have a stable government and plenty of homegrown talent. We have a real opportunity to become the AI compute hub of the Southern Hemisphere. This is why the energy debate is central to our AI future. AI is energy intensive. A ChatGPT search is 10 times more energy intensive than a Google search. AI hyperscalers are looking for reliable sources of energy, and Australia has a natural abundance of coal, gas and uranium. We need to create the right conditions for companies to invest here and partner with Australians to build a sovereign AI capability. That's why getting cheaper, reliable baseload power online is so important. Renewables are insufficient, and we must face this hard truth. That's why energy security must take precedence over climate ideology in this debate. Getting the incentives and tax settings right will also be important, as will the governance framework. But this is what we must do to build sovereign AI here at home. This committee will go far in identifying these opportunities.

Second, we must understand the security risks of falling behind in the AI race. AI has many military applications, as we are seeing in the wars in Ukraine and Iran. It also can be used to attack a nation's critical infrastructure, government and businesses, and, without sovereign AI capability, we will be entirely dependent on other nations for our security. As we saw recently with the US government's decision to hit the kill switch on Anthropic's Mythos model, if we don't have sovereign AI capability, we are vulnerable to all sorts of strategic and economic shocks, even coercion by a foreign power. Right now Australia is tethered to the United States's AI capability via submarine cables. That's a risk that we can't keep running. That's why we must build our own sovereign AI capability here on our red dirt with Australian tech and talent.

Finally, our education system needs to get ready for the AI revolution. If we want our kids to be ready for AI, we must fix our education system and get back to basics. Our NAPLAN and PISA scores need to lift, and they've been dropping over the last two decades, consistently, across maths, science, literature, history, writing by hand and time in thought. Innovation is driven by people, not machines. We want our kids to be able to build AI models, not be slaves to them. So we need to invest in the next generation of young Australians who can think clearly, act justly and lead wisely, and there is a lot of work to be done in the education space.

This committee has a big task ahead of it. It won't be a comprehensive report with all the answers when it concludes its work later this year, but it's time that we started the national conversation, and this is a good first step. I am confident that Australia can thrive in this new world of AI. This committee is a step towards doing so.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend and echo all of the statement from the member for Canning; I won't repeat that. I want to acknowledge the government. This is a bipartisan committee, and it's important, when it comes to artificial intelligence, that we can agree as much as possible. I want to acknowledge also the member for Curtin, who I know has been engaged in these conversations and has been an advocate for a committee like this as well. It's important we acknowledge that, when it comes to this committee, all parts of the parliament are wanting to work together because the reality is AI touches every aspect of our life today. It's been involved in our lives for decades. While the conversation kicked off about four years ago with the release of ChatGPT, AI has been impacting our lives for decades. But the profound impact of the speed of change means that these conversations have become more urgent and more important. We want to see AI that delivers for our country to increase our standard of living, but this can't be done without a plan to also protect our way of life. Motherhood statements might make headlines, but it's the detail that matters when it comes to AI, and we have to ensure that the decisions we make always put the Australian people at the heart of those decisions, ensuring AI works for our country, for our communities, for our businesses and for individuals.

The committee will explore the detail when it comes to AI. The joint select committee on AI will explore the vast opportunities for Australia to grow our economy and improve the standard of living for all Australians. It will explore the opportunities for our suburbs, for our regions and for those in the cities. It will look at how it can be used to drive R&D and innovation in our nation to drive economic growth, to drive productivity and to improve the lives of all Australians. It will look at how we can use AI to put Australians first and protect our national interest.

While AI has enormous potential to improve our lives and livelihoods, we cannot be and we are not complacent about the risks. This is why this committee will also examine the workforce and skills implications of AI—job displacement but also job creation, the adequacy of Australia's education system and the risks and harms arising from AI, particularly to the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable Australians.

There is a very important conversation that needs to take place in this House and across the nation about AI when it comes to democracy and also the parliament. I know the Speaker has been a long-time advocate for civics in schools and has been visiting many schools, including in my community. I know he personally is thinking about the impacts of AI for our committee system, our parliamentary system, our offices and our democracy. That's important work that we need to do. We have seen the opportunities to create AI memes et cetera really change the conversation in our world. It's an important part that we need to look at.

During these uncertain times, the committee will also examine the cybersecurity and foreign interference risks of AI for our democracy but also in everyday life. We need to acknowledge that, just like our adversaries can utilise AI against us, we can also harness AI to strengthen our national security and protect our way of life. Australia as a country is at a pivotal moment. The world is at a pivotal moment. It is incumbent on us as members of parliament to acknowledge the point in history that we are facing, the opportunities that we face and the challenges that we face. We cannot shy away from those opportunities and challenges.

We need to acknowledge that, when it comes to AI, the speed of change is exponential. It is getting quicker every day. That is why this is deliberately a short, sharp committee to look at the challenges we face today while acknowledging that, once we report in November, come December and January new challenges will emerge. So we need to be agile and move as quickly as possible to ensure that we are putting the rules in place to protect Australians and make sure AI works for all of us and can solve many of the significant challenges that we as a nation face.

Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I firstly would like to thank the members for Canning and Casey and people in the government and, indeed, across the parliament for their constructive engagement on the establishment of this committee. I think what we see here is that the issue of AI is bigger than our ideological differences. It has huge impacts for our economy and our society and so it makes sense that we have some parliamentary oversight to shepherd how this progresses.

There is so much uncertainty with how AI will actually change our economy and our society. It is very fast-moving, so one of the things that we are going to need to do is make sure that we have institutions and structures that can react to the speed of change in AI. I think this select committee is a good first step in identifying the productivity opportunities, the important role that Australia could play in this and making sure that we protect our sovereignty. As well as getting the structures right and making the most of the opportunities, we need to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared broadly. I think that will be an important part of this discussion. We need to make sure we have the guardrails up for both existing harms and emerging harms so that we can make the most of those opportunities. So I look forward to seeing this committee playing a really important role in navigating the uncertainty and also excitement ahead as we see how AI continues to change the world that we live in. I commend the government for proposing this joint select committee.

Question agreed to.