During October 2023, Dr Sophie Scamps MP (Independent) and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (Australian Greens) introduced identical bills to expand the existing ‘water trigger’ in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) ‘to ensure all proposed unconventional gas projects are assessed for their impacts on critical water resources’. Read more...
The first week of November saw Australia’s High Court deliver 5 important decisions - and a new Chief Justice take the reins. Read more...
Australia’s AI Month commences on 15 November amidst ongoing debate about a national AI strategy, regulatory framework, and a AI Commission, mirroring similar US and EU initiatives. Australia is committing to implementing Responsible AI in industry, the military and the public sector and signed the 2023 Bletchley Declaration on AI Safety. In September 2023 the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) established the Artificial Intelligence in Government Taskforce (AIGT). It aims to develop an integrated regulatory framework for safe, ethical, and responsible AI use across the Australian Public Service (APS). This Flagpost discusse... Read more...
On 15 October 2023, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the IOC’s intention to establish the Olympic Esports Games. Bach has directed the newly established IOC Esports Commission to ‘study the creation of Olympic Esports Games’. This new format would add to the current IOC program of the Summer (since 1896), Winter (since 1924) and Youth (since 2007) Olympic Games. The Paralympics are organised by the International Paralympic Committee. But what is esports? Read more...
This month focuses on the following topics: Granny flats, gambling and mental health and well-being. Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail. Statistical reports Release date ABS Building Approvals, September 2023 1 Nov ABS Selected Living Cost Indexes, September 2023 1 Nov ABS Education and Work, May 2023 ... Read more...
This week – 24–31 October 2023 – is UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week. The theme this year is ‘Media and Information Literacy in Digital Spaces: A Collective Global Agenda’. The prevalence of misinformation and disinformation in the media is a cause for concern around the world. The sharing of false information presented as truth raises many potential harms, including health and safety concerns, the undermining of democratic processes, and the spread of hate speech. Research also suggests that the distortion of the truth online impacts peoples’ reasoning skills even after information has been corrected. Read more...
On 9 June 2023, the Attorney-General announced that the Police Ministers Council ‘had taken an important step towards a National Firearms Register by reaching unanimous agreement on options to be put to National Cabinet’. The register will replace the Australian Firearms Information Network currently operated by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. Options for implementing a national firearms register were requested by National Cabinet in the aftermath of the Wieambilla terrorist shooting in December 2022. The attack resulted in the deaths of 2 police officers and a local member of the community, and brought the shortcomings of the current system into focus. This Fla... Read more...
In December 2022, the Chinese state-owned newspaper China Daily carried an op-ed entitled ‘Hail the pioneering spirit of relations between China and NZ’ which lauded New Zealand’s relationship with China. Six months later, during a visit to China by NZ Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Xi Jinping was reported to have told him that ‘China-New Zealand relations have long been a “pacesetter” in China’s relations with developed countries’. This repeated a maxim Xi had used with former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during her visit to Beijing in April 2019. Read more...
This month focuses on the following topics: cybercrime in Australia, the Australian economy during the June quarter and the 2023 Intergenerational Report. Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail. Statistical reports Release date ABS Building Approvals, July 2023 3 Oct ABS Lending Indicators, July 2023 3 Oct ANZ ANZ Job Advertisement, September 20... Read more...
On 19 September 2023 the government released an exposure draft of a Digital ID Bill alongside draft Digital ID Rules and Digital ID Accreditation Rules, and a range of fact sheets, explanatory documents and consultation questions. This material was released onto the digitalidentity.gov.au website via a consultation webpage, which is accepting input in 3 separate ways. Read more...
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