Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:54amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:54amA parliamentary inquiry into artificial intelligence has recommended that copyright laws be strengthened to protect Australian creatives.The inquiry was stood up following the Open-AI data breach, and has made several recommendations for AI safety standards.Committee co-chair Jonno Duniam says Australian content is being used to train AI models overseas but says a "whole raft of creatives" are currently receiving no compensation."Australian copyright holders need to have control over how their material is used, and of course be compensated for that," he said."Doing nothing is not an option, that has been made abundantly clear across all witnesses at the inquiry hearings last week".Some AI companies have suggested an "opt-out" system, in which creatives would need to actively block permissions for their content to be accessed by AI.But Senator Duniam says the matter is more complex."Two words [opt-out] don't actually make a policy or a law," he said.Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:46amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:46amEnergy Minister Chris Bowen has used an address to business leaders to talk up the need for a government-owned national fuel reserve.The reserve would hold 1 billion litres of emergency diesel and aviation fuel, and was announced in response to the fuel crisis caused by the war in the Middle East."A government-owned fuel reserve would have been very handy," Bowen told the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Leaders' Summit.He was also asked when he expected there might be an easing of fuel costs."We remain very alert about the international fuel supply situation," he said."There are no guarantees until and unless this war ends."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:30amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:30amIt's the first time the Greens party room has met in Canberra since David Shoebridge became leader, and it's not all smooth sailing.A Greens spokesperson said there had been a disagreement between the new leader and rival Sarah Hanson-Young after a story in the Nine newspapers indicated that the party did not support military aid to Ukraine.According to the spokesperson, Shoebridge had accepted he should have been careful to stress that was not a new position, and that the party remained "rock solid" in its support for Ukraine in "humanitarian and civilian" ways, and supportive of sanctions on Russia, but again made no mention of military aid.Otherwise, there was plenty else on the minor party's agenda ahead of a busy Senate week.Negotiations continue on the digital duty of care, and the party has some concerns about possible loopholes in Labor's trust tax proposal.Both could be sent to short Senate inquiries, as could Labor's gas reservation.Meanwhile, the Greens will move a motion on Gaza later this morning and are bracing for a vote on voluntary assisted dying in aged care, with a conscience vote to be held on a motion put by One Nation's Malcolm Roberts.Hanson-Young is pushing her own bill on voluntary assisted dying via telehealth, and the Greens see this vote as a test of the Senate's inclination.Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:22amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 11:22am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has been asked about the Greens' plan to introduce a bill for a 12-month import ban on AI smart glasses in the Senate this week.New Greens leader David Shoebridge says the matter is "urgent" to prevent the devices flooding into Australia before our privacy laws can be updated.Plibersek pointed out local governments have issued bans in swimming pools and it was a concern when the devices prevented people from knowing if they were being filmed."It's certainly worth looking at some restrictions or expectations around the use of smart glasses," Plibersek said.But she noted that the government had heard extensively from the blind community about their usefulness. Many disability advocates have said they provide more independence for daily tasks."Certainly, there's a balance to be found," Plibersek said.Previously, Health Minister Mark Butler has said he thought the devices served "no useful purpose" and were a "terrible" development "just for the profit of big tech".Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:42amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:42am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)The opposition leader has sought to give his troops a rev-up in the joint Coalition party room, telling the room that 'project Albanese has failed'.His broad speech covered everything from interest rate hikes and fuel prices, to coal-mine approvals, immigration policy and defence spending.It echoed the speech Angus Taylor gave to CPAC over the weekend, where he sought to convince the conservative heartland the Coalition was "the most credible alternative government"."We are fighting for the soul of our country. We are fighting for what we want our country to be," he told the party room."We have seen Australia going backwards in the wrong direction, like at no time in my lifetime."We have a responsibility to deliver that plan that I just talked about, to fix our economy, to protect our way of life."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:36amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:36am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)Health Minister Mark Butler has been asked about Freedom of Information documents showing modelling that 78,000 people would ditch private health insurance under the government's proposed rebate changes.As the ABC's national health reporter Stephanie Dalzell noted in this story yesterday, that's much larger than the 44,000 figure the government has repeatedly cited as it defends the policy.The Coalition accused Butler of either not reading his briefs or being "deliberately misleading", but Butler dismissed that, saying he was given department advice that the 44,000 figure was "the most reliable" one, as it reflects the short-term impact (in 2028-29).The 78,000 figure refers to the number who are projected to drop their private health cover by 2030.Under the legislation, which is facing an uphill battle in the Senate, the rebate Australians aged 65 and over receive on their private health insurance would be wound back.Butler said the rebate would be based on income, not age.He added that the government's view was that private health membership would grow by 360,000 people over that same period, with 85 per cent over age 65.Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:20amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:20amCoal and gas mines are using what the Climate Council warns is a "loophole" to expand operations and add new emissions while avoiding stricter laws imposed on new coal and gas projects.The Climate Council says unless emissions from mine expansions are treated the same as emissions from new mines, it will cause an additional 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2035.Coal and gas mines are among the roughly 200 facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism — climate laws that require Australia's biggest polluters to cut or offset emissions by about 5 per cent a year or else face heavy penalties.Under the laws, which are currently being reviewed, new coal and gas facilities are required to follow more strict, "best-practice" limits that take into account the most efficient technologies available for mines.But existing facilities are not required to meet that higher standard when expanding or extending the life of an existing mine.Read the full story from Jake Evans below. Loophole allowing new coal and gas to avoid stricter climate lawsTue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:00amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 10:00amShadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O'Brien has urged to government to act to ensure Australians cannot view the proposed live streaming of a US execution.As we've been reporting, the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the execution of mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be available for the public to watch in December."That concerns me deeply. We cannot have young Australians watching an execution," O'Brien says."That would be appalling, repugnant, and that is why we need to be looking at every possible lever to ensure that is not live streamed, if indeed it goes ahead."Back home, the government's independent online safety regulator has warned it doesn't have the powers to block the live stream.ESafety says it can't prevent Australians from seeing execution live streamTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:51amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:51amLiberal frontbencher Ted O'Brien has given a full-throated backing of the opposition leader, as former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg calls for the Coalition to change tack to win back voters.As speculation swirls about Frydenberg's potential return to politics, so too have questions to current Liberal MPs about their thoughts on whether they'd like to see him back.O'Brien says his party is "absolutely focused on the future"."So I've got no problem with Josh or anyone else having a say," the shadow foreign affairs minister tells me in the corridor of parliament.I throw him a question about whether he'd like to see Frydenberg as the next leader of the opposition, to which he enthusiastically responds:"Angus Taylor is doing a fantastic job as our leader and I see Angus Taylor as Australia's next prime minister."It is the only way that we get this country out of the mess that it's in."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:45amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:45amA trio of Labor frontbenchers, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth, Health Minister Mark Butler and Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek are out spruiking a $630 million funding announcement they say will help address the gender pay gap.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)As the ABC's economics reporter Tom Crowley wrote in the blog earlier, the funds go to non-profits and charities that deliver services for the federal government."The reason that this work has historically been undervalued is because it's been historicallly done by women," Plibersek said."But these women have families to feed too."Butler says mostly women have effectively "subsidised" this work by accepting lower wages. He added that higher wages would help recruit and retain staff.In a press conference, they were joined by a home care worker called Sarah:"Our pay isn't great. We need things to change. Because we can't help people if we can't help ourselves," she said.Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:41amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:41amOpposition frontbencher Dan Tehan has said he'd prefer to see Josh Frydenberg in parliament than current Kooyong MP Monique Ryan.Teal independent Ryan ousted Frydenberg, the then-treasurer, at the 2022 election."My view is this place would be a better place if we have Josh Frydenberg in, and Monique Ryan out," Tehan said.But he rejected Frydenberg's suggestions about raising the GST, saying Opposition leader Angus Taylor had ruled that out."This is not the time in a cost of living crisis to raise taxes," he said.Current shadow treasurer Tim Wilson was also asked about a possible Frydenberg return, and reiterated that the party needs good people under an Angus Taylor-led Coalition."If Josh wants to put his hand forward, so be it, because we want the best candidates on the ground" Wilson said.As Labor's Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth stepped into the frame for the next press conference, she could be heard quipping that Wilson "didn't answer that question".Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:41amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:41am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)"Josh's popping up like an illegal smoke shop. Very bad for Angus Taylor's health" — that's how Barnaby Joyce described Josh Frydenberg's latest media blitz.The former treasurer has been out and about this morning promoting the release of his memoir. Excerpts published on the weekend outlining a way forward for the Liberals sparked speculation that Frydenberg wants to make a comeback.Joyce told reporters it was pretty clear what Frydenberg was trying to do."Josh, we've all played the game mate. We know what you're up to. You want to be the leader of the Coalition ... and you're setting the groundwork up," he says."Let's cut the BS, mate. We can all see through this."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:26amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:26am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)Fresh off being named best on ground in a 7-2 victory in a rugby league friendly, Liberal MP Simon Kennedy was pretty blunt in his assessment of Josh Frydenberg's speculated return to politics."I want Josh. I want as many good candidates as we can. Josh would be great. But ... we can't wait for Josh to save us," he says.Kennedy holds the seat of Cook in Sydney's shire. He says the Liberal Party needs "answers now" rather than in 18 months' time at the 2028 election."The Liberal Party needs to find its form, and I think it will find its stride leading up to this election."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:09amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 9:09am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume was the first of many to stop by the Senate doors this morning (that's where reporters lay in wait to ask politicians entering the parliament questions).It's probably no surprise she was asked about the speculation Josh Frydenberg could soon be launching a political comeback.Hume says she wants to see the "A team line up" on the Coalition frontbench."I think he'd make a terrific addition to Angus Taylor's team," she says."I think we want as many strong contenders at the next election as possible. We've got to win back all of those seats, Kooyong included, I'm looking forward to having the A team lining up behind Angus Taylor."Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:56amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:56amA proposal to ban smart glasses will be put before parliament this week by the Greens.Leader David Shoebridge will introduce a bill to establish a 12-month ban on the wearable technology amid concerns about privacy.Sarah Hanson-Young says Australia's privacy laws and settings haven't kept up with the pace of technology."We know that people are concerned that these types of glasses have been sold in Australia, that surveillance of individuals, that people's privacy is being breached," she told ABC's Radio National Breakfast. "Even what is collected, the content that is being collected by these glasses, where does that go? Who in the big tech world is holding that information and that data? We need to make sure Australians' privacy is protected and the settings aren't right. So a moratorium on the import until privacy is protected."Friend of the blog Erin Handley has written an in-depth piece looking at the issue of smart glasses that I'd recommend at the link below.AI smart glasses a 'game changer' for blind and deaf peopleTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:44amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:44amIf a handful of artificial intelligence (AI) companies become "toll collectors" for the rest of the economy, overall income inequality could rise even as wage gaps shrink, an MP is warning.The assistant minister for productivity, competition, charities and treasury, Andrew Leigh, will make a case for whether AI increases inequality during a speech to the JPMorgan AI Conference tomorrow.In an advance excerpt of his speech, Leigh will argue that the biggest gains from AI may flow to those who own the technology, rather than those who use it."If a handful of AI companies become toll collectors for the rest of the economy, overall income inequality could rise even as wage gaps shrink," he will say.Leigh will make the link that while AI makes a junior worker more productive, it could reduce the number of junior workers a firm needs.Read the full story at the link below. AI boom could widen income inequality, Labor MP warnsTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:35amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:35amSarah Hanson-Young doesn't think she'll run for the leadership of the Greens again.The SA senator put her hand up after Larissa Waters stepped down last month and faced a three-cornered contest with Mehreen Faruqi and David Shoebridge. Shoebridge was ultimately elected.Asked if she would do it again, Hanson-Young replies:"I don't think so ... I put my hat in the ring, of course, a couple of weeks ago when the position was vacant." She says Shoebridge has hit the road very quickly and has "brought an enormous amount of energy".Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:25amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:25am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called on the prime minister to pick up the phone and lobby US President Donald Trump against a planned streamed execution by firing squad.The planned live-streamed execution of mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan was widely condemned in Canberra, but the eSafety Commission says it does not have the powers to stop the broadcast online.Hanson-Young says Anthony Albanese should call Trump and the big tech companies and say Australia won't accept this being streamed here."The Australian government needs to pick up the phone to the United States president and the US administration. I mean this is barbaric," she tells ABC Radio National Breakfast. Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:04amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 8:04am(ABC News: Matt Roberts)The Liberals are on the "brink of extinction" thanks to private feuds and ideological vendettas — that's what former treasurer Josh Frydenberg writes in his new memoir.He dialled into ABC's Radio National Breakfast this morning, where he was asked whether the book signals he wants back into political life.The former treasurer insists he hasn't made a decision but concedes that while he's happy with his post-politics life, he does miss the "cut and thrust" of it.Frydenberg says it's like his former inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong that the Liberals need to try and win back. He wants the Liberals to focus on the way the electorate has changed."It's more urbanised, it's younger, it's more highly educated. And we, as a party, hold very few of the metropolitan seats which dominate the political landscape in Australia and that's what we need to win back as part of a broader strategy to get back to government," he says.But he declined to say the Coalition's record-low support in published opinion polls was due to a leadership failure. Rather, it's a result of a "structural realignment"."The problem for the Liberal Party is that when we get a primary vote in the low 30s, we end up with 43 seats ... and when Labor gets a primary vote in the low 30s, they end up with 94 seats. And so we need to understand that changing dynamic," he says.So will he recontest the Kooyong or throw his hat in the ring elsewhere? Frydenberg says he's not decided yet.But then goes on to talk about the close relationship he continues to have with the community.Tue 13 Oct 2026 at 7:38amTue 13 Oct 2026 at 7:38amAustralia should require AI companies to submit to independent safety checks, reserve computing power for local use and give security agencies early access to new models, a parliamentary committee has recommended.The bipartisan inquiry examining artificial intelligence has provided "early advice" to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the OpenAI breach, in which autonomous agents gained unauthorised access to Medicare statistics.The committee has endorsed investment in data centres, backed by national standards covering resource use, additional electricity generation and community consultation.It also urged a review of Australia's copyright settings, which would conflict with creative groups seeking stronger enforcement of existing protections rather than changes to accommodate the AI industry.Read the full story at the link below.AI inquiry urges independent safety watchdogs inside companies