It would be an end to big tech copying and pasting your content to provide “AI” responses to search results.
And they would no longer be able to power the process with willy-nilly data centre growth that drove up utility bills.
“Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work. An artist’s creative endeavour is their work and their property.
“Our Australian standards will also set clear rules for large data centres: where they are built – and the power and water they use.
“We will create a legal obligation for the next generation of large-scale data centres to underwrite new power supply.”
He would “seize and shape and share the generational opportunity that AI represents”.
Albo room
But when I read the full text of the Aussie PM’s speech, my heart puttered back to its usual, cynical pace.
It was entirely devoid of detail, timelines or budget. No wonder Microsoft and others quickly put out statements of support.
“We have a continent to ourselves, one of our big advantages,” Albanese said.
“We have more than enough room for new data centres, without them competing with new housing. We will work with every level of government to see common sense prevail.”
There would be training on IP issues. The closer you look, the vaguer it seems.
An AI and data centre backlash
Nevertheless, the political winds are shifting.
There are growing protests against data centres in the US, where New York this week became the first state to impose a one-year construction ban on new data centres (numerous “red” and “blue” cities already have bans in place).
People are angry about rising water and power bills. The price of laptops, phones, game consoles and other gadgets has risen by hundreds of dollars as consumers effectively pay a “data centre tax” as demand from “AI factories” drives up the price of memory and other components.
Corporations are mad about the rising cost of AI tokens as they’re exposed to more and more of the true cost of the technology. All-comers have seen Microsoft, Google and others hike the price of their software to help cover their AI expenses. And many perceive – rightly or wrongly – that artificial intelligence represents a threat to their job.
More attempts at political control
Meanwhile, the Trump White House has shifted from the ultimate laissez-faire approach to AI to demanding to see new large language models before their public release.
“It is natural that we will see increased political attempts to control the AI agenda across the world, as the public’s concern about the impact of AI continues to grow,” Victoria University senior AI lecturer Dr Andrew Lensen told Tech Insider.
“While the US, under Trump, has sought to promote the interests of AI companies, this move by the Australian PM seems more focused on protecting its citizens,” he said.
“We have seen Australia confront Big Tech before. For example, taking action to protect news publishers from scraping, with some success, so it will be interesting to see how far they’re willing to stand up against the powerful AI companies – and how successful they are, as a reasonably small nation.
“There is a real resentment by the general public against the impact of AI, so I think we’ll see more and more left-wing governments take these sorts of policy positions.”
NZ: ‘Little political leadership’
“In contrast, we see little political leadership in New Zealand,” Lensen added.
“None of our major political parties have a standalone AI policy released for the 2026 election, despite AI having a major impact on key policy issues like the cost of living, jobs, the environment and Māori sovereignty.
“We are continuing to fall behind on the opportunity to manage the risks of AI in New Zealand, with potential harms increasing by the day.
For example, why are we allowing an AI data centre to be built in Southland that will drive up power prices, use drinking water and export profits overseas for only a few local jobs?
“Australia is, at least, considering stricter requirements on AI data centres and requiring benefits to the communities that they will be built in.”
Tech Insider notes the up-to-1-gigawatt, $5 billion Southland data centre is still not yet “allowed”. It has gained some construction and environmental consents.
After more than a year of talks, it’s yet to gain the key approval it needs from national grid operator Transpower.
And the company behind it, the Singapore-backed Datagrid, is still in the process of rustling up funding, among other remaining challenges.
READ MORE
Lensen does have a point about our main political parties having little substantial to say about AI.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis gave the public sector a rark-up about its low utilisation of AI, but Budget 2026 had scant tech policy or spending. An earlier pilot scheme to boost small business AI uptake was bankrolled to the tune of $765,000.
The upcoming $70 million New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology will have a focus on AI, but is being created with a subset of the previous funding for the now-dismantled Callaghan Innovation.
There are other initiatives, including the Heidi AI scribe being rolled out through emergency departments, but nothing on the scale of Singapore’s business and education efforts or Canada’s push to create 250,000 AI-related jobs.
‘Australian decisions become NZ’s baseline’
“This announcement [from Albanese] is coming at a time when public opinion on AI and data centres in Australia and New Zealand is still very cautious,” said Dr Amanda Williamson, the director of Deloitte NZ’s AI Institute.
People are concerned about what AI may mean for the economy, the job market and the environment.
Williamson added: “New Zealand should be watching closely what our closest trading partner does around AI governance.
“Technology policy in New Zealand is increasingly being crafted through shared standards and transtasman regulatory co-operation.
“Decisions made in Australia can quickly become the practical baseline for firms operating in both markets.”
New Zealand seems poised to follow the under-16 social media ban, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying: “We’re following very much the Australian model.”
And AI expert Frith Tweedie earlier warned that while our fines for data breaches top out at $10,000, all Kiwi firms that do transtasman business, or court customers from across the ditch, effectively need to comply with Australia’s tough new AI-era privacy law, which comes with A$50m penalties.
Politicians’ knowledge gap
“Globally, there appears to be a widening AI knowledge gap that makes it harder for leaders to make well-informed decisions,” Williamson said.
“The challenge may be less about co-ordination alone and more about whether decision-makers have enough depth and practical understanding to govern AI properly, no matter where they are placed.”
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
