News live: Taylor pledges ‘one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australian history’; tributes for Victorian Greens MP Tim Read | Australian politics

Albanese asked about Trump AI ‘hoax’ comments

Anthony Albanese has been asked about comments from Donald Trump in which the US president described safety fears about AI as a “hoax”.

The comments came in the face of multiple industry figures sounding the alarm about AI’s dangers. Trump has since announced the creation of an artificial intelligence tsar and “AI force”.

Asked if he is concerned Trump’s approach, Albanese says:

Well, President Trump, of course, will act in the interests of the US, but also there’s a need for all of us to act in the interests of humanity … I think President Trump knows that at the moment the US is essentially ahead of China when it comes to the race that is on for the development of this new technology. But it is in the world’s interests that there be engagement. I think it’s a positive sign that President Trump is meeting President Xi [Jinping] this week, and I am hopeful that there will be positive engagement out of it.

Asked if is he saying that Trump is putting US interests over humanity’s interests, the prime minister says:

Well, no, I don’t think that’s a contradiction … there’s not a contradiction because it is in the US’s interests for social licence to occur here. They have the big companies that are based here. It’s a driver of economic growth. When we look at future growth, it is estimated that AI is already potentially adding about 1% to GDP in the world’s largest economy, so it is certainly in the US’ interests for there to be that recognition of human interests. And President Trump, I’m sure, understands that.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is appearing on the ABC’s Insiders this morning, amid a visit to the US where he has met Apple’s executive chair and former CEO, Tim Cook.

It comes amid warnings about the rapid growth of AI, and the federal government’s announcement of its own regulatory framework for the technology and the datacentre industry.

Asked if he shares fears of an existential threat for humanity posed by AI, Albanese says:

Well, it’s a very big deal. I certainly see that. And Tim Cook gave us a lot of time this morning. He regards the work that we’ve done on social media to be world-leading, and it was terrific to be able to be here at Apple …

Artificial intelligence is moving so fast, and I think there are three issues really. One is the companies themselves. What safeguards are they putting in place? How are they being transparent? What are the protocols to make sure that it doesn’t get … beyond their control? The second is nation states need to engage and need to act, and that’s why I’ve said we’ll introduce AI standards, Australian standards in our national interest by the end of the year. And the third issue, which will be discussed this week, no doubt, is: what are the international protocols which are there now?

Coalition pledges ‘fuel price shield’ for when crude oil exceeds US$100

The federal opposition says a “fuel price shield” policy under which the excise would be halved when the two-week average price of oil exceeds US$100 a barrel would save drivers 27 cents a litre.

Under the policy announced today, a two-week average closing price on a barrel of Brent crude of more than $100 would trigger the federal fuel excise being automatically halved from the following Monday. It would also see the removal of a 32c/L heavy vehicle road user charge.

The price shield would lapse within three months or when the eight-week average crude price fell below US$100, unless the government decided to extend it.

In a statement today, Angus Taylor said:

When global events send oil prices through the roof, Australians should know there is a clear automatic safeguard in place to provide temporary and targeted relief.

The fuel price shield would provide certainty. When a serious oil shock hits, the tax comes down automatically. When oil prices return to more normal levels, the ordinary rate is restored.

The opposition has estimated this would save $15 on a typical tank of fuel, with the price shield costing the federal government around $950m each month. It says its analysis shows it would have been triggered twice in the past five years, during oil price shocks in early 2022 and March this year.

Premier and opposition leader pay tribute to ‘thoroughly decent’ Tim Read

The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, said in a statement Tim Read was a man of principle and compassion who had dedicated his life to being “a voice for Brunswick”.

I always valued his intelligent and humane contributions to the public debate. I always respected his convictions and his determination to make life better for others.

He knew his values. He lived them.

Carroll said he had spoken to Read last week.

“We spoke about something on which we have always agreed: integrity in public life and the need for reform,” Carroll said.

“Despite his health challenges, he was positive and optimistic for a better world.”

The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, also offered her condolences:

Tim was a man of conviction and a thoroughly decent person. He brought sincerity, compassion and a strong sense of public duty to his work, earning respect across the Parliament. His commitment to integrity in public life was unwavering.

The Greens MP for Brunswick, Tim Read, has been remembered for his kindness and integrity after his death on Saturday at the age of 64.

Read was diagnosed with melanoma in November and earlier this year announced he would retire from politics at the state election.

On Saturday, Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell announced he had died surrounded by those he loved.

“Tim was a brilliant local MP, doctor and scientist – but to those who knew him, he was also the kindest, funniest and most fundamentally decent of people,” Sandell said.

He could always see the moral question at the heart of every political issue. It’s why he was so outspoken when it came to supporting the cause of the Palestinian people and why he continued to remind us all about how much coal was being burned in Victoria each day. He never lost perspective about what was truly important …

Vale our brilliant friend. We will miss you.

Sandell recalled Read’s advocacy on pill testing, tobacco licensing and a statutory ban on solitary confinement in prisons, and praised his contribution to Victoria’s anti-corruption and integrity laws.

“Victoria is a bettter and fairer place, and politics in the future will be much more accountable and transparent because of Tim,” she said.

The federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has vowed to deliver one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australia history and called Labor “socialist in all but name” in a bid to rally the party faithful, six months out from the New South Wales election.

In a wide-ranging address to the NSW Liberal party state council in Sydney on Saturday, Taylor admitted the previous coalition government had its shortcomings, but said Labor was “utterly failing the nation”.

He said:

For the past four years, we’ve had a government in Canberra which is socialist in all but name.

Taylor said it was “divisive” for Labor politicians to “stand in front of three different flags instead of our one national flag”, referring to press conferences where leaders would deliver speeches with the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national flag behind them.

After Labor unveiled its new immigration plan, which includes transforming a former quarantine facility into a new detention centre, and preventing international students from bringing their family members to Australia, Taylor offered to go further.

I will deliver one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history.

The opposition leader also promised to protect Australia’s national flag and Australia Day, and change laws regarding gender.

We will not allow the ideologues and activists to deny the truth … Under a Coalition government I lead, we will end this lunacy.

The Coalition will be hoping to win back voters from One Nation at the NSW state election in March.

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our Sunday live blog. I’m Penry Buckley to take you through the day.

The federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has pledged to deliver one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australia history and called Labor “socialist in all but name” in a bid to rally the party faithful, six months out from the NSW election.

And politicians from all sides of Victorian parliament have paid tribute to the Greens MP for Brunswick, Tim Read, who died on Saturday at the age of 64.

More on both of those stories and plenty more to come.