Renewables, AI rules top productivity reform wishlist
Regulating the reckless use of artificial intelligence, speeding up approvals for renewable energy projects, and changing privacy and corporate tax laws will be targeted in a push to boost the Australian economy.
The Productivity Commission named 15 areas for urgent reform on Monday as part of a nationwide consultation probing ways to overcome a decade-long productivity slump.
Artificial intelligence experts welcomed the commission's call for change, saying local businesses were holding back their investments while waiting for the government to issue rules for AI use.
The announcement also comes after the federal minister in charge of issuing AI regulations, Ed Husic, was replaced in a government reshuffle.
The Productivity Commission will seek public input across five categories, ranging from economic changes such as corporate tax reform and business regulation to investments in education, technology, and the cost and speed of rolling out renewable energy projects.
Reforms in the 15 areas identified by the commission could help boost living standards, chair Danielle Wood said, after a decade of economic stagnation.
'Productivity growth isn't about working harder or about having more stuff - it's about making the most of what we have, the skills and experience of our workforce, new technologies and our resources,' she said.
'It's about making it easier for businesses to harness new technologies like generative AI.'
The Tech Council of Australia predicted AI could create up to 200,000 jobs by 2030, but University of NSW AI Institute chief scientist Toby Walsh said a lack of clear rules had left many organisations wary of investment.
'I hear from a lot of business people about uncertainty because the government's been dragging its feet on supporting and regulating AI,' he told AAP.
'Many of them are reluctant to invest and start projects in case they find they're on the wrong side of whatever regulation is coming up.'
A Senate inquiry into adopting AI issued recommendations in November, and a public consultation into mandatory guardrails for its high-risk use closed in October.
But the minister previously in charge of AI rules, Mr Husic, has been replaced following the election, and no firm commitments have followed.
Global legal approaches to AI have also changed this year following the removal of many restrictions in the US, Professor Walsh said, and more countries were opting for rules that allowed businesses to experiment.
'If it were just a change of minister, all the preparatory work had been done and it would have been fruitful for where we were going to end up, but it's not clear that's the case,' he said.
'The government could be looking for a lighter touch.'
The Productivity Consultation will close on June 6, with interim findings expected to be released in July and August.
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