Live: Albanese to urge world leaders to band together on AI

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech to the UN General Assembly to say the world can only confront the breakdown of international rules and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence if leaders band togetherFollow all the updates in our live blog.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:38amFri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:38amGovt will look to take legal action against OpenAI over hack: WattMurray Watt has flagged the federal government will be looking to press criminal charges against OpenAI over its Medicare data portal hack.An OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to the Medicare statistics reporting service portal administered by Services Australia on June 18.But the company didn't inform Services Australia of the hack until three months later, on September 10, through an email.Speaking to Channel Seven, the environment minister says the government would also be open to changing laws if required."We have commissioned a taskforce to do an investigation of this event, and if it is possible to press criminal charges, that will happen," Watt says."But if we need to update our laws to improve the requirements for notification of these kind of events, then that's what we'll do. And of course, if there's further safeguards that need to be put in place, that's what we'll do as well."One of the things that they'll be looking at is whether these matters can be referred to the Australian Federal Police under current Australian law."Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:27amFri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:27amTaskforce set up to investigate AI agent hack convenes, cyber security coordinator saysAustralia's National Cyber Security Coordinator says a taskforce set up to investigate how an OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian Medicare data portal has convened.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the AI agent gained unauthorised access to the Medicare statistics reporting service portal administered by Services Australia on June 18.Upon informing the public of the incident, the prime minister announced a taskforce would investigate further.Michelle McGuinness says the "very rapid taskforce" has already met after being announced yesterday.The coordinator says it will work to understand gaps, opportunities and challenges, and bring them forward to government."I think the very quick adoption of a taskforce to understand this exact incident is exactly right and we have had already experts across government convene yesterday after the prime minister announced the taskforce," McGuiness says."They'll be looking very closely. We will be looking very closely at what we need to do to adjust and adapt. We have working very hard to adopt to the speed of the technology which is very fast."Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:15amFri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:15amOpenAI breach strengthens Australia's case for tougher AI safety rulesAn unprecedented breach of a government website by a rogue OpenAI agent will sharpen Australia's push to impose stricter safety, transparency and reporting requirements on artificial intelligence companies.Findings from a "rapid" forensic investigation into the incident will bolster the federal government's existing work to develop national AI standards governing how the technology operates in Australia.Despite resistance from the Trump administration, Australia will impose "guardrails" on AI, with Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton declaring tech companies should not unleash unsafe models."I think what we're observing at the moment is that a number of the AI models … that they have inside their companies are not safe and they have a lot more work to do to make them safe before they release them to the public," he told the ABC.Read the full story from chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong in the link below.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:02amFri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:02amAlbanese to tell UN leaders need to band together on AIBy Jane Norman in New YorkThe prime minister will tell the United Nations General Assembly the world can only confront the breakdown of international rules and the emergence of AI if leaders band together.Anthony Albanese will cap off his week-long trip to the United States, delivering Australia's national statement to the UN about 9:20am AEST.Having launched Australia's campaign this week for a two-year term on the UN Security Council, the prime minister is expected to use his speech to make his case.It's understood he'll urge nations to come together and cooperate to confront the major challenges the world's facing, including climate change, emerging technology like AI and the breakdown of international rules.Albanese has previously said the UN needs to modernise and reform if it's to meet these new challenges, just as it has confronted the big problems of the past.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:56amFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:56amGood morning 👋Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! It's great to have you join us bright and early this Friday morning.I'm Josh Boscaini, joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.The prime minister is due to deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly today, where we expect he'll touch on artificial intelligence. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it gets underway!Also, expect more reaction to the news an OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to an Australian Medicare data portal earlier this year.Let's get right into the day!