Key events
Sarah Basford Canales
The intergenerational report also said Australia was well-positioned to benefit from AI but its impact on many industries – such as the labour market – were too early to forecast.
The economic and social implications of AI are expected to be profound but the specific impacts will depend on the evolution of the technology, how deeply and broadly AI is adopted, and how it will be used.
Australia is a leading destination globally for data centre investment and has seen a near doubling of capital expenditure in this area since the 2023 IGR.
Albanese on Sunday said he backed a global framework on the rollout of AI, comparing it to historical world-changing technologies, like nuclear weapons.
We want to see cooperation. We’ve seen that in the past with new technologies, even on nuclear weapons, for example, we saw agreements and protocols put in place through the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
So I think we want to see progress between those two countries, but … I think middle powers such as Australia have a role to play here as well.
The prime minister will spend the week in New York City for a United Nations climate summit, where he will also hold talks on global conflicts and AI.
Sarah Basford Canales
Australia ‘better placed than our peers’ despite a more ‘fragmented and divided world’, Chalmers says
Australia faces a more “fragmented and uncertain world” in the coming decades but key policy decisions will set future generations up well for the “AI revolution”, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says.
Chalmers will present the seventh intergenerational report (IGR) on Monday, detailing forecasts for the impact of new technologies on society and the economy, along with more warnings about the country’s aging population and declining fertility rates.
It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, meets with world leaders in the United States this week to discuss a “global framework” for the rollout of AI, urging the “big two giants” – the US and China – to work in the interest of humanity.
In a speech to unveil the latest report, the treasurer will warn of the threats on the horizon in a more dangerous, unpredictable and divided world.
The world is becoming more dangerous. More unpredictable. More unequal. And more divided.
These are not just individual threads but part of a bigger fraying of that intergenerational promise of better times.
Chalmers said an IGR has never been released at a time with “politics this fraught, or a future less certain”.
Yet this IGR shows we are better placed than our peers in almost every regard.
The global and generational risks are serious, but Australia’s opportunities are endless.
The report’s forecasts show Australia’s population is projected to slow, with an estimated population of 39.3m by 2065-66, 1.8m fewer people than the previous report’s forecast.
Much of the slowdown in population growth was tied to lower fertility rates as women continued to have fewer children.
Albanese launches bid for Australia to have two-year seat on UN security council
Anthony Albanese launched a formal bid for Australia to serve a two-year term on powerful UN body in 2029 and 2030.
A vote for the spot won’t be held until mid 2028, but lobbying efforts will intensify during the prime minister’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.
The prime minister said Australia’s role on the council would be able to benefit ordinary citizens.
“Engagement with the world matters. It matters because it makes a difference to the cost of living, to inflation, to Australians’ way of life,” he told reporters in New York on Monday, Australian time.
That is why we can’t afford to not be engaged with the world, because it has a direct impact on the quality of life of Australians on a day-to-day basis.
We have an opportunity through this potential seat on the UN Security Council to play a key role in shaping the global issues that really matter to Australians.
Australia has served on the security council five times since the UN was established following the second world war – the most recent stint was in 2013 and 2014, where Australia was able to lead a response to the Russian downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
Albanese said the role Australia played during that period was evidence of what a spot on the council could achieve.
We do need to stand up to the Middle East conflict. I think there is a role for middle powers to engage, and Australia has done that as we’ve engaged with the war in Ukraine in the coalition of the willing.
Former NSW police officer’s double murder trial to get under way
Kat Wong
The trial of a former NSW police officer accused of murdering two men is set to begin in Sydney.
Beau Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter over the deaths of TV presenter Jesse Baird, 26, and his partner Luke Davies, 29, in February 2024.
His case has faced ongoing delays since charges were laid, but today, the 31-year-old’s trial will finally get under way.
On Monday, a jury will be selected at NSW supreme court on King Street.
Depending on how long the empanelment process takes the court may hear the crown’s opening statement in the afternoon.
Justice Natalie Adams will preside over the trial, which is slated to go for two to three months and include a brief of evidence with more than 200 witnesses.
The case has received significant media attention and Lamarre-Condon’s trial is also expected to attract substantial public interest.
Former top aide to Lachlan Murdoch gets senior diplomatic post in NY
Anthony Albanese has named former News Corp executive Siobhan McKenna as Australia’s next consul-general in New York.
The prime minister announced her appointment while launching Australia’s bid for a seat on the United Nation’s security council in New York on Sunday. She will replace Heather Ridout, formerly chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, following the expiry of her four-year term in December.
McKenna, the chair of Australia Post, has also chaired the National Broadband Network in addition to her time as CEO of broadcasting at News Corp. The prime minister said McKenna would “bring a great deal of financial and economic capacity to the role”.
When reporters asked about McKenna’s time at Murdoch press – describing her as “Lachlan Murdoch’s probably closest aide for a long, long time” – and whether the prime minister had sought assurances she wouldn’t “continue to lobby or deal with Mr Murdoch in advancing business interests”, he said:
Siobhan McKenna is a professional, and she will do an outstanding job representing Australia and the Australian government here in New York. And the fact that she has experience in both the private sector and the public sector is a very good thing. I’m someone who supports people being appointed on merit. Siobhan McKenna has been appointed on merit.
Good morning and welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news coverage for Monday.
Jim Chalmers will release the latest intergenerational report, while overseas Anthony Albanese has appointed a former Murdoch executive to a top diplomatic post.
Stay tuned.
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