Veterans
I joined with the Federal Opposition, cross-bench colleagues and many veterans to pressure the Federal Government to finally back down from their plan to cap allied health treatment for veterans at $5,000.
The fact is that the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide did not recommend a cap, and every time the Prime Minister and Veterans Minister claimed it did they were being misleading. What it did recommend was an increase in fees for medical services. The Government is promising to deliver this, which is good as far as it goes. But frankly the Government’s claims to be increasing access through other means was revealed as false by the Budget papers which identified the cap as a saving of $750 million to the budget over just three years.
Now the Government should refocus on tackling the issues that veterans talk to me about all the time, and in particular ensuring that all of the recommendations of the Royal Commission are implemented quickly and in full.
Artificial Intelligence
AI’s potential is undeniable – for good and bad. But the rapid pace of change has left many people feeling that the technology and infrastructure that supports it is moving too fast, and that decisions are being made without community consent.
I’m hearing concerns about privacy, data security, the environmental footprint of data centres, and what these facilities mean for the communities that host them. I’m concerned by reports of AI systems producing unexpected outcomes, hacking government data, and of course about the use of artists’ work, writers’ content and personal images to train AI models without consent.
Ensuring AI enhances society rather than undermines it is one of the great political challenges of our time. We must take a precautionary approach by demanding and investing in safety by design, not simply regulation at deployment. And we must look to global collaboration to safeguard the pace of development.
Why people are fed up
Politicians and political parties are not in favour right now, that much is clear. Some people are fed up, and understandably so. Life has seemed relentless recently, and its left people feeling unbalanced and angry. And the political class just hasn’t kept their eye on the ball of progress, or in some cases, they’ve actually allowed things to get worse. You just have to look at the housing crisis, the crushing cost of living and the deteriorating quality and access to public services for examples of this. People understandably feel like politicians don’t have their back, and won’t step in to help them.
And that’s left people looking around for alternatives. It’s reflected in the polling we’re seeing and in the changing political landscape. But I think the way through this is for everyone, myself included, all the political parties, all the cross-benchers, to remember that our job is to work in the public interest. Every minute of every day elected members should work in the public interest and put aside political self-interest or party-political interests. I for one plan to remind myself of this every single day.
Yours sincerely
