Albanese eyes big-spending agenda for third term, places tech regulation at core of government

Anthony Albanese has flagged an expansion of his big-spending social agenda to win a third term, as he prepares to beef up Australia’s heavy regulation of big tech to counter what he described as algorithm-driven anxiety and the rise of populism exemplified by One Nation.

The prime minister said Labor’s upcoming digital duty of care, which would force social media giants to alter their algorithms, would be “a big deal”, and that artificial intelligence, another “biggie”, would become a larger part of his agenda next year.

Risking backlash from the Trump administration and voters concerned about government overreach, a cabinet source suggested Albanese was shifting his key legacy item from expensive universal childcare to blocking teens from social media, investing in AI, and the digital duty of care, which the government hopes to legislate in October.

“The world is moving so fast and a lot of it is technology-driven. We need to continue to be on top of it,” Albanese said, before a UN trip in September where he will show off Australia’s tech moves.

“The pace of change is so fast. It’s important that it doesn’t become overwhelming for governments, because it can be overwhelming for people. That’s part of dealing with populism as well. If people feel like they’re not in control of what’s going on, it will cause anxiousness.”

In an interview, Albanese said his government must keep “battling away” on its policy program targeting cost of living and pushing its budget as it nears the midpoint of its second term. Labor’s primary vote has dipped down into the high 20s as high inflation has plagued the nation for years.

Earlier this week, Albanese sought to quell anger in the business community over Labor’s tax changes from the May budget, and he also drew heavy criticism from premiers for recommitting to a Morrison-era GST deal.

He is scrambling to manage a migration overhaul in what he described as an “orderly” way, declaring that a difference between Labor and conservatives was that he “won’t ever seek to divide people”. On Thursday, he was forced to get involved in a public debate on the refugee intake to kill off a prospective cut.

Albanese suggested he wanted to govern into 2028, allaying fears of Coalition MPs who worry the prime minister will call an election in the back half of 2027 to capitalise on the opposition’s deficit to One Nation. “I’m a full-term guy,” Albanese said.

As Labor braces for a state byelection loss to One Nation in Perth that will display its vulnerability to Pauline Hanson, the prime minister was keen to begin framing the next election.

The fractured right wing of Australian politics presented a “recipe for chaos”, he said. It was clear, he said, that “the only mainstream political party that can say we will govern, and here’s what we will do, is the Labor Party”.

“Who the main opposition will be is unclear. Whether it’s [Angus] Taylor, or [Andrew] Hastie or [Dan] Tehan, or Hanson,” he said.

Referencing the last election’s debt-funded spending on student debt relief, TAFE, and healthcare, Albanese said he already “had an eye” on advancing those elements.

“What does a third term agenda look like?” he said. “Everything from early education to making sure the NDIS is sustainable. How do you further strengthen Medicare?”

Albanese did not reference fresh ideas, apart from the $38 billion NDIS patch-up, to bring the budget into balance. Last week, gross debt reached $1 trillion while the e61 Institute, a policy think-tank, has said Australia’s welfare system was starting to resemble Europe’s universalist programs.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has been narrowing the gap with Hanson but he remains behind six months after toppling Sussan Ley.

Taylor on Friday said there was “no plan to form a coalition” with Hanson. “There’s a real risk now that the Reserve Bank raises rates or at the very least holds rates higher for longer. This is a great country, the greatest country on Earth – but it’s heading in the wrong direction right now,” he said on Nine’s Today show.

Albanese spoke to this masthead during an untidy week for Labor. A proposed cut to the refugee intake caused unrest within Labor and was killed off by Albanese, undermining Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

“Who the main opposition will be is unclear. Whether it’s [Angus] Taylor, or [Andrew] Hastie or [Dan] Tehan, or Hanson.”

Anthony Albanese on who will vie for government with Labor at an election in 2028.

Another senior minister, Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, conducted a round of interviews on Friday to make clear that Queensland would not have free rein on using coal to power data centres. Days earlier, the Coalition said Albanese had rolled Bowen over the green energy dispute.

Albanese talked up AI as a panacea to Australia’s productivity woes.

“A biggie is artificial intelligence and what happens after summer. We’re doing the work now, but a lot of that will be next year. It could be transformative,” he said, hinting the government would seek to emulate allies by putting money into the development of Australian AI tools and models.

“It could position Australia as well as world-leading, particularly in frontier investment.”

Albanese said the government was getting closer to a solution on how AI firms would pay for Australian musical and written content. The copyright question is a sticking point in securing investment from Google and Anthropic.

“It works by people having power over their property,” he said.

Looking to the next phase of Labor’s term after passing a budget that included broken promises on tax, Albanese declared the government’s EU-style digital duty of care would be a significant new move following last year’s social media ban.

Labor’s plan to expand its regulation of big tech over the next year is likely to generate resistance from right- and left-wing groups who oppose internet regulation and curbs on speech, particularly at a time of low trust in governments.

Tech giants already regard Australia as a laboratory for tech regulation that is setting an unwanted precedent, evidenced by the global momentum for teenage restrictions. The White House has taken issue with Labor’s suite of laws and its levies on US tech firms, at times threatening retaliatory tariffs.

Yet Albanese flagged bolder action to tap into widespread concern among parents about child mental health.

The proposed duty of care will force platforms and messaging services to identify risks of harm and take reasonable steps to prevent them. The government has begun consultation.

The duty of care could force social media giants to be transparent about their algorithms and cut features that foster addiction, put into law existing codes of conduct, change the burden of proof for proving online harm to give Australian regulators more power, and force messaging services, dating apps and others to conduct risk assessments of their platforms.

Expanding on the growing hostility towards his government from Hanson and her supporters, he said tech platforms and the mainstream media were creating a more caustic discourse.

“Everyone has devices in their pockets which are driven by algorithms that promote division and anger,” he said.

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