1. Progress on budget sustainability\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government is optimistic about efforts to lower spending including on the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the age pension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, on Tuesday announced plans to end the freeze on the deeming rate used to calculate welfare payments. The freeze has cost the budget about $1.8bn. Plibersek said a phased return to pre-Covid settings is appropriate as inflation pain eases for households.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Separately, the health minister, Mark Butler, said the 8% growth target for the NDIS<\/a> was \u201csimply unsustainable\u201d. Currently growth is closer to 11%. Butler wants it lowered to 5 or 6%.<\/p>\n Butler is expected to join a session on efficient and high-quality government services, spending and care at the summit on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. The AI era dawns<\/p>\n While business leaders and experts talk up the potential of AI, Sally McManus, the ACTU\u2019s secretary, backed a worker-centric approach to rolling out the technology.<\/p>\n Danielle Wood, the Productivity Commission\u2019s chair, said AI could lift the average workers\u2019 income by $4,300 per year over the coming decade.<\/p>\n While acknowledging AI\u2019s potential, McManus said \u201cwe shouldn\u2019t just say automatically we are all going to be better off because of AI – we\u2019ve got to make sure we are\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may boost productivity, it may also just boost profits.\u201d<\/p>\n McManus said she wasn\u2019t advocating for \u201cover-regulating\u201d AI.<\/p>\n But she said there was a \u201cdoomer\u201d view of the technology that comes with the fear of a \u201cTrump-billionaire, let-it-rip\u201d approach. \u201cPeople have got to trust AI to deliver good outcomes. You are going to get better outcomes if you involve people in the use of it.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Environmental reforms gather pace<\/p>\n