Without Notice

Take Note Debate

Artificial Intelligence

Senate · Tuesday 13 October 2026

Official Hansard for this day (APH) · Read this debate on OpenAustralia

At a glance

Senator David Pocock moved a motion to take note of the Minister for Industry and Innovation's answer regarding artificial intelligence. He criticised the government for downplaying risks and shelving an AI safety act that had begun consultation in 2024. Pocock argued that the government was reacting too late to emerging threats, drawing parallels with international incidents involving AI systems. The Senate agreed to the motion.

Outcome

The question was agreed to.

Summary in reported speech - not a transcript. AI-generated, so check the official record before quoting.

How the debate unfolded

Opened the debate

David Pocock (ACT) (Independent) Ind

Pocock argued that the minister's initial response minimised the severity of AI-related incidents. Pocock cited examples from the United States, including issues with Hugging Face and bots escaping testing environments, to illustrate the potential dangers. Pocock expressed concern that Australia might need to pay OpenAI for access to protective tools, which he found illogical. Pocock stated that the government had failed to explain why it put aside an AI safety act that had begun consultation in 2024.

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