Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

There's no doubt that the extraordinary transformation of our economy being driven by digital technology and multiple manifestations and waves over the last 30 to 40 years has been absolutely profound. There's also no doubt that the speed and extent of change is only going to increase over coming decades. It is absolutely critical that Australia as a nation and that the Australian government are focused on the economic opportunities which the digital transformation of our economy can deliver.

Unfortunately, we have a government which is nostalgic for the 1950s, which is looking back to a time when most employees worked full time, when most employees were men, when the workforce was very heavily unionised and when longstanding workplace rigidities suited very much the interests of union bosses. It's true that consumers came a long way behind, and we discovered they paid higher prices and got poorer service than in many other countries in the world. Notwithstanding that, we've seen go through the House today a piece of legislation which speaks volumes to the essential hostility of this government and of key ministers—including the minister for workplace relations—to technology, to the digital economy, to innovation and to productivity. They are doing everything they can to turn this country in a backward direction, back towards the 1950s era, before computers were widespread and before there were such annoying things as smartphones, flexible employment and the internet and the cornucopia of choices and options it offers for consumers, and all the new business models it's created. Every one of these business models is hated by this Labor government and by the union bosses, and that is why the approach of the Albanese Labor government towards the digital economy and, indeed, towards artificial intelligence is backward thinking, disappointing and not fit for purpose. The previous government—the Morrison government—had a minister for the digital economy and had a very clear strategy in relation to the digital economy and Australia being a leading digital economy. That goal has been dumped by the present government—a complete lack of ambition—and the best justification we've just had from the member for Bennelong is that apparently he is now an enthusiast for small government. That would make him a pretty lonely enthusiast on the other side of the House. He certainly won't find his career advancing as he continues to advocate that enthusiasm. He is not credible at all. The real reason that he is opposing what we are calling for in this excellent motion moved by the member for Casey and seconded by the member for Hughes, two outstanding new coalition members doing such a great job, is that he, like all on that side of the House, is under the yoke, the suffocating orthodoxy, of the union-friendly government that is so committed to doing everything it can to hold back growth, hold back progress and hold back technology.

Let's talk a bit about artificial intelligence. Professor Anton van den Hengel, of Adelaide University, a leading thinker in his field, points out that there are only about 200 PhDs in Australia focused on artificial intelligence. We heard lofty words about how we're working cooperatively with Europe, with the US and with China on dealing with the risks. I'll tell you what the real risk is for Australia. The real risk when it comes to artificial intelligence is that we get caught napping when every other country in the world is using these tools to improve the productivity of the resources sector, of the agriculture sector, of the manufacturing sector, of the retail sector. We need to see a much more determined focus on productivity. I feel like I'm howling into the wind after the productivity-destroying legislation that's been passed today, but that does not change the imperative that our nation faces. We need to be more productive. We need to take advantage of the technology. At the moment, this government is sleepwalking into disaster. They've got no interest in the digital economy, and they are demonstrating that on a daily basis.

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