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Key posts
- ‘Immense potential’: Australia signs on to major AI agreement
- Racism, transgender athletes and her PM ambitions: Price speaks out
- US to formally ask for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in war against Hamas
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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‘Immense potential’: Australia signs on to major AI agreement
Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic has announced Australia will sign on to a major artificial intelligence agreement alongside 27 other countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Miles and Husic represented Australia at the AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom this week, signing the Bletchley Declaration which affirms AI should be designed, developed, deployed and used in a manner that is safe and human-centric.
“We are all clear on the immense potential for AI to do a lot of good in the world. It can drive huge growth in our productivity, help us to better predict bushfires and support better diagnosis and early detection of disease,” Minister Husic said.
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in Oxfordshire.
“But there are real and understandable concerns with how this technology could impact our world. We need to act now to make sure safety and ethic are in-built. Not a bolt-on feature down the track.”
The 27 countries signing this declaration include the US, UK and China as the summit heard from representatives of leading AI companies, civil society groups and academics to consider the risks the technology poses.
Summit representatives also discussed the need to collaborate on testing the next generation of AI models against a range of critical national security, safety and societal risks.
Shareholders advised to vote against Qantas remuneration package
Institutional Shareholder Services Australia and New Zealand head of research Vas Kolesnikoff has spoken about the upcoming Qantas shareholder meeting today.
As my colleague Amelia McGuire reported, the board is bracing for a frosty reception at the meeting in light of the swathe of scandals that plagued the airline.
Kolesnikoff’s company is among several proxy advisors to Qantas shareholders, and recommended that they vote against adopting remuneration.
“We’ve recommended shareholders vote against the remuneration report, and the grant of share rights to the new CEO,” he told ABC radio this morning.
He said there were concerns about the bonuses executives considering the backlash following the consumer watchdog’s legal action against the airline over “ghost flights”, and losing its High Court challenge over sacked workers.
“The issue of pay becomes an issue of accountability,” Kolesnikoff said.
Qantas braces for protest vote at frosty annual meeting
The board of Qantas is braced for a frosty reception when they front shareholders at the annual meeting today, with a significant protest vote against their remuneration report likely in light of the swathe of scandals that have plagued the airline over the past three months.
Qantas’ remuneration report for the 2023 financial year has been rejected by all proxy advisers – which influence the votes of institutional shareholders – and a number of key investors, including superannuation giant HESTA and Norges Bank.
Qantas’ board looks set for turbulence at its annual general meeting in Melbourne.Credit: Louie Douvis
If more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against the remuneration report – which determines the final pay of former airline boss Alan Joyce, newly minted chief Vanessa Hudson and the rest of her executive team – there are few consequences for the business unless another strike against the remuneration report is recorded in 2024.
Two consecutive strikes on the same resolution will trigger a board spill. This has never happened in Australian corporate history.
More on this issue here.
Racism, transgender athletes and her PM ambitions: Price speaks out
Australia’s rejection of an Indigenous Voice to parliament does not make it racist in the eyes of the world, leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says, as she flagged plans to take on the issue of transgender women in sport.
In an exclusive interview, the federal opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman and rising star also said that while she was not seeking to become prime minister one day, “if that eventuated because of the trajectory I’ve been on, then so be it”.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has has a meteoric rise since entering parliament last year.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Appearing as a last-minute speaker at a global gathering of conservatives in England this week, Price said the 60 per cent national vote against the Voice in last month’s referendum marked a turning point in the fight against identity politics.
“If anybody from any other country would like any tips on how to push back on this ridiculous ideology, we’re all here to help,” she told 1500 delegates at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’s inaugural conference in London.
Read more on this here.
US to formally ask for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in war against Hamas
The US will formally ask Israel to periodically pause its war against Hamas to allow for aid to be distributed in Gaza and enable hostages to be released safely.
Amid growing condemnation over the casualties caused by Israel’s bombardment, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will use his trip to the Middle East this week to urge the Netanyahu government for a series of brief, targeted breaks in its military operations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to reporters prior boarding his aircraft to depart Washington on travel to the Middle East.Credit: AP
“As we’ve said from the start, Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself, and also to take steps to try to make sure that this never happens again,” Blinken told reporters as he boarded a plane for his trip on Thursday (Friday AEST).
“But we’ve also said very clearly and repeatedly that how Israel does this matters. We will focus as well on the steps that need to be taken to protect civilians who are in a crossfire of Hamas’ making, and we want to look at concrete steps that can be taken to better protect them.”
Here’s more on the US push for a pause here, but for the latest information about the conflict tune into our dedicated live blog.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for your company.
It’s Friday, November 3. I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing for his trip to China from tomorrow, but he will also attend the funeral for Labor Party giant Bill Hayden today.
- Australia’s rejection of an Indigenous Voice to parliament does not make it racist in the eyes of the world, leading No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says.
- As Gen-X women push for menopause to be a more visible part of working life, a Senate inquiry will probe its impact on women’s health and finances.
- The board of Qantas is braced for a frosty reception when they front shareholders at the annual meeting today, with a protest vote against their remuneration report likely.
- In state news, the NSW Labor government will reverse the privatisation of the state jails, with Junee Correctional Centre returning to public ownership.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars could be added to Victoria’s coffers if the state were to adopt the enforcement measures of Vancouver’s empty homes tax.
- Overseas, the US will formally ask Israel to periodically pause its war against Hamas to allow for aid to be distributed in Gaza and enable hostages to be released safely.
- In other overseas news, two Australian men have been sentenced to more than three years in a Finnish prison for the aggravated rape of a woman.
Let’s get into it.
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