New data shows AI construction boom
A new report shows the AI data centre boom is pushing construction levels to record highs.
According to Deloitte, the value of projects under constructions is nearing $870 billion in 2027, which is more than double the peak of the mining boom.
The country’s investment pipeline overall, which includes transport and energy infrastructure, has hit a record $1.39 trillion, spurred on by 37 data centre projects worth $141 billion.
That’s up a whopping 36 per cent in just a year, according to the report.
With such a big infrastructure surge, Deloitte’s Sheraan Underwood said labour would be a key “pinch point,” with competition for workers likely adding to the cost and timeline of projects.
“This boom is happening close to our major cities, so data centres are competing directly with housing and infrastructure for workers and materials,” Underwood said.
“Data centres need large numbers of electricians and other skilled trades, and those workers are already in short supply across housing, energy and infrastructure”.
On Tuesday, Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock said data centre investment was adding to inflation, as she raised interest rates to an 18-year high.
David Gonski to lead new Social Cohesion Education Advisory Council
Jason Clare has announced esteemed Jewish businessman David Gonski will lead a new Social Cohesion Education Advisory Council.
Gonski already heads the Antisemitism Education Taskforce, which was established to prevent, tackle and respond to antisemitism in education.
But the education minister says Gonski will also head the new council, which will be tasked with looking at what steps the government can take in the curriculum to prevent and tackle racism and hate.
“It will also provide us with advice on how to better embed the teaching of Australian values into the curriculum,” Clare says.
You can read more on all those details in this story from national education and parenting reporter Conor Duffy in the link below.
Clare announces curriculum changes, new Australian Teaching and Learning Commission
Education Minister Jason Clare has been delivering a speech to the McKell Institute at the University of New South Wales in Parramatta.
As flagged earlier, Clare says the government will begin rolling out changes to the maths curriculum for Kindergarten to year 2 from 2027.
He says the government will make the curriculum simpler and make it easier to understand what students need to learn and in what order.
“We’ve also agreed to start work on the next chunk of the curriculum that needs fixing. That’s maths from years 3 to 6,” Clare says.
The education minister says financial literacy will become a mandatory part of the maths curriculum under the changes.
Clare has also announced a single body responsible for the national curriculum, national testing, national teacher standards and teacher training.
It will be called the Teaching and Learning Commission, and legislation will be introduced to implement it next year.
“It will also help us to drive the sort of reform that’s required to make sure more kids get the skills they need and more kids finish school,” he says.
UK government agrees to ‘engage’ with parties affected by transatlantic trade
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has released a communique following its meeting on the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
Caribbean and African countries have been calling for financial compensation from Britain for the transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 1500s to the 1800s.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney flagged today that leaders had reached a consensus position on the issue of slavery.
With the communique now released, it appears the UK government has agreed to “engage” with affected parties to address the harms of transatlantic slave trading.
However, it doesn’t provide a timeline for when those engagements will take place.
“We welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom to engage in a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties addressing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms,” the communique says.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John’s ex-partner charged with stalking
A 40-year-old woman is due to appear in court today, charged with aggravated stalking of Western Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John.
Police will allege the Perth woman was a former partner of Senator Steele-John.
Detectives from the WA Police Family Violence Investigation Squad said they charged the Perth woman with one count each of “aggravated stalking with intent to intimidate” and “demanding property by written threats”.
The woman will appear before the Perth Magistrates Court today.
Steele-John took leave from the parliament in October after a group of current and former party staffers wrote to Greens leader David Shoebridge, raising “multiple allegations of serious misconduct” by Steele-John relating to “his behaviour in the presence of women”.
Read the full story from political reporter Erin Handley in the link below.
Calls for AI and algorithm safeguards in government decision making
The Centre for Public Integrity is proposing new measures for the federal government’s use of automated decision-making (ADM) tools.
Increasingly, AI tools and computer systems such as algorithms are being used in businesses and governments to boost productivity.
While the Centre for Public Integrity acknowledges the potential benefits, its new report, called “Computer Says No,” also warns of the “significant risks to the integrity of public administration”.
Among its demands, the research institute is calling on the government to audit its use of automated decision-making tools, ensure an independent body oversees their use, and set up a public register detailing how they are used.
It cites Robodebt as an example of how automated systems can cause widespread harm, but it also warns of the risks posed by the algorithms currently being used to assess aged care recipients.
“Australia lacks a comprehensive statutory framework to ensure that the use of ADM across the Commonwealth government is subject to appropriate safeguards and oversight,” the report states.
Shadow defence minister dismissive of AUKUS inquiry
Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson has been scathing in his dismissal of a report from a public AUKUS inquiry led by former Labor MP and Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett and former chief of defence Chris Barrie.
The report, released yesterday, said the $368 billion nuclear submarine deal was “the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government”.
Paterson told News24 that the group had a “pre-determined” view of the pact and that the “sham inquiry” was conducted to “manufacture a faux report”.
“I think calling them findings is being very generous,” he said.
He said at the National Press Club yesterday the pair “shredded their own credibility by saying that the People’s Republic of China doesn’t have ambitions to dominate our region and doesn’t pose a national security challenge to Australia”.
New ADF personnel memorial expected to be completed in 2029-30
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh is up announcing a new memorial for Australian Defence Force personnel killed in training accidents.
The memorial will be situated alongside other memorials on Anzac Parade, a road that leads up to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
It was proposed by the Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans’ Association and is expected to be completed between 2029 and 2030.
“We do see unfortunately, deaths do occur in training. Over the last 30 years we’ve had some 50 people die in training in the Australian Defence Force and of course we’ve had two already this year,” Keogh says.
“It’s really important that we recognise that sacrifice of those in our Australian Defence Force that have died in training.”
We’re not scared enough of manosphere, says DV commissioner
Are we concerned enough about the impact of the manosphere on boys and young men?
Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence commissioner Micaela Cronin says the answer is no.
“I don’t think we are scared enough about what is coming down the pipeline,” she told the ABC.
She’s calling on governments to urgently increase efforts to stop vulnerable young men being drawn into radical, violent and misogynistic views and says an upcoming action plan is the ideal opportunity for them to step up.
Earlier this year, a Melbourne University study found younger men are more likely than older men to hold misogynistic views around women’s place in society and violence against women.
Almost a quarter of gen Z men believed the movement for women’s equality should be violently resisted, with researchers finding content that is misogynistic and endorsing violence against women is the most likely influence on extremist attitudes in Australia.
New memorial for soldiers killed in training accidents
A new memorial will be constructed in Canberra to honour Australian Defence Force personnel killed in training accidents.
The federal government says it wants to “address a longstanding gap” in recognising those killed while training at home, rather than while deployed overseas.
It will fund both consultation with families of those who have died in training and the design of the new memorial on Anzac Parade in Canberra, alongside other national memorials.
There have been several training deaths in the ADF in recent years, including the death of Corporal Brendan Hannam in an accident in the Northern Territory last month.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says the memorial is overdue.
“The Australian Military Training Memorial will address a distinct and longstanding gap in national commemorations,” he says.
“It will take pride of place on Anzac Parade as a reminder to all Australians of the risk and sacrifice Australian Defence Force personnel have made in the past, and for years to come.”
Antisemitism curriculum changes to come into effect next year, Clare says
The education minister says newly agreed moves to strengthen understanding of antisemitism will focus on presenting a more thorough teaching of the Holocaust to students.
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) was tasked with reviewing the national curriculum after the Bondi Beach terror attack.
The government has also set up an Antisemitism Education Taskforce, led by esteemed Jewish businessman David Gonski.
Jason Clare has told ABC Radio National Breakfast that the changes will include a better understanding of Jewish history and the contributions Jewish Australians have made
“I think most people would agree that hate is born of fear and fear is born of ignorance, and that our education system can play a positive role here in helping to address that,” Clare says.
“That’s why these changes have been made and they’ll roll out from next year. But it’s also why we’ve made the decision that we want to make the same sort of changes to the curriculum to tackle racism and hate in all its noxious forms.”
Education minister says there’s a good argument to restrict screen time in schools
Education Minister Jason Clare says he wants to ensure the use of screens in schools is purposeful rather than a default.
The nation’s education ministers have this week agreed that NAPLAN writing tests for primary school kids should return to pen and paper.
They’ve also agreed to restrict screen time and consider restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
It follows a major international test which, earlier this year, revealed Australian students’ reading and maths performance had been declining over the past 20 years.
Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, the education minister says he thinks there’s a very good argument to restrict screen time in schools.
“I’m not making the argument here to burn the iPads, to throw them all in the bin, but I am saying that there’s a pretty good argument here for more pen and paper and less tech,” Clare says.
“Just wind it back a bit. If you’re going to use technology, use it for a purpose rather than as a default.”
Clare says government is looking at ‘fixing’ maths curriculum
The education minister says the government is looking at “fixing” Australia’s maths curriculum from kindergarten to year 2, and reviewing the curriculum from years 3 to 6.
A major international test this year found that Australian high school students’ scores in maths and reading have hit their lowest levels on record.
Jason Clare has told ABC News Breakfast that the Commonwealth, states and territories want to ensure there is more financial literacy embedded in the curriculum.
“This was a big meeting. We made decisions about fixing the curriculum for maths for little kids from kindergarten to year 2 and we agreed that we’re going to do a review of the maths curriculum from year 3 to 6 including making sure there is more financial literacy in the maths curriculum,” Clare says.
“We also made a decision we want to make civics education mandatory in high school.”
Clare flags further action on childcare safety
Education Minister Jason Clare has flagged further action on childcare safety in childcare centres following a series of alleged child abuse cases.
The federal government introduced national childcare changes in the wake of a horrific case of alleged abuse at a Melbourne childcare centre.
They include mandatory child safety training to detect abuse and protect children, a register to track staff and the ability for the government to cut funding to centres that don’t meet minimum standards.
Pressed on why the government didn’t accept all 23 recommendations of a Senate inquiry into the quality and safety of the early childhood education and care system, Clare says he’ll have more to say about further action soon.
“We’ll have more to say about the next steps in keeping our kids safe in childcare centres in the next few days,” Clare says.
“But the truth is, not enough has been done by any government, state or federal, Labor or Liberal, over the last ten years, and that’s now changing because of the action that I’m taking and leading right across the country.”
Australia imposes sanctions on Sudanese commanders
Australia has sanctioned four Sudanese individuals and one entity in response to the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
The sanctions target the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Mousa.
The SAF and RSF have been accused of committing human rights violations and abuses against civilians, including torture, sexual and gender-based violence and killings.
In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the action involves travel bans and targeted financial sanctions.
“Australia unequivocally condemns violence against civilians and humanitarian personnel,” Wong says.
“We call on all parties to the conflict to agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire, to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel, and to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access, in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Aged care rebate savings ‘very minor piecemeal change,’ Bragg says
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg has returned serve at Labor for accusing the Coalition of blocking savings measures in parliament.
The Reserve Bank hiked interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.85 per cent on Tuesday, its highest level since 2008.
Labor has been under pressure to find savings to ease inflation, but the government has accused the Coalition of standing in the way of some savings.
The Coalition has opposed winding back the private health insurance rebate for over-65s to bring it in line with other age groups, a move that would bank $3 billion over four years.
Speaking to Channel Nine, Bragg says these types of savings won’t help reduce inflation.
“That is a very minor piecemeal change in the scheme of spending at 40 year highs in terms of a budget that is out of control and the waste of spending is massive,” Bragg says.
Leaders to reach ‘unanimous’ position on slavery, as Commonwealth talks wrap up
As the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) wraps up in Antigua and Barbuda, leaders are headed to the private Jumby Bay Island for “informal talks” before a final leaders’ statement is released later today.
Preempting one detail of that document, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, have separately told the media that a consensus position on the issue of slavery has been reached.
“The unanimous agreement in the communique … is for respectful dialogue to continue on those issues,” Albanese says.
“We understand slavery was a practice that is bad. What is happening now in 2026 is an appropriate response, which is to have that respectful dialogue.
“At the last CHOGM meeting that was held two years ago, there was not a consensus [on slavery]. It’s good that a consensus has been reached.”
The extent to which Caribbean and African countries, some of whom have been calling for financial compensation from Britain, will be satisfied with that outcome is unclear.
Carney said Canada was a voice for “justice” both “in the room and in private” when asked if he supported calls for reparations, something UK PM Andy Burnham has ruled out.
“You will see a reflection of the consensus in the communique, and the process we’ve put in place to move forward,” he says.
Leaders are also expected to commit to joint action on climate change and to boosting trade and investment in the Commonwealth’s developing nations.
Good morning 👋
Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! It’s great to have you join us here this Thursday morning.
I’m Josh Boscaini, joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, ready to bring you all of today’s federal politics news.
There might be a lot happening in US politics, but things are still ticking along here too!
Education ministers have agreed to consider imposing screen-time limits and restrictions on the use of generative AI by students in schools across the country.
Let’s get right into the day and see where it leads us!
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Source: www.abc.net.au
