Anthony Albanese’s cryptic reveal of AI reform agenda amid spy warningAs spy chiefs urge political leaders to act, the Prime Minister has hinted major AI reform is on his agenda.Samantha Maiden@samanthamaiden3 min readJune 25, 2026 - 11:41AMAnthony Albanese has signalled that reforms to ensure “fairness” is embedded in the rollout of artificial intelligence in Australia are next on his reform agenda.After securing Senate support for tax reform to overhaul capital gains tax and negative gearing, the Prime Minister has turned his attention to AI.His speech follows the concerns of international spy agencies about cybersecurity, that rapid developments in AI models could see the world face faster cyber attacks that are more complex and difficult to contain.In a speech to the Centre for Economic Development in Australia, Mr Albanese said it was important that “national values” informed the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, but was light on detail about what it all means.“We can bring our national values of fairness and opportunity to AI, so that it grows our economy and strengthens our sovereignty, without fragmenting our society or damaging our environment,” he said.Anthony Albanese has signalled AI reform is next on his agenda, but critics say the detail is thin. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman“And we can own our place in the architecture of the fastest region of the world in human history.”Others you may likenewsnewsGreens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has warned against a “tech bro free-for-all” that could drain Australia’s power and water resources.“We are sleepwalking into an AI crisis,’’ she said.“Until Australia’s laws are up to the task of regulating the big tech bros and their power-hungry datacentres, they should not be given the green light to drain our power and water.“Until the necessary safeguards are in place and Australia’s resources are protected, approval and development must be paused.”Meanwhile, independent MP David Pocock claims that Anthony Albanese is preparing to announce a new artificial intelligence reform agenda next month, potentially offering expedited approvals for new data centres.US President Donald Trump’s interventionIn June, the US Commerce Department used export-control powers to demand that Anthropic restrict the access of foreign nationals to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, citing national security concerns.Anthropic then pulled both of its newest frontier AI models offline worldwide.Citing national security fears, the US issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees.The Trump administration’s intervention sent shockwaves around the world. Picture: Mandel Ngan / AFP“The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance. Access to all other Anthropic models will not be affected,’’ Anthropic said in a statement.“Our understanding is that the government believes it has become aware of a method for bypassing, or “jailbreaking,” Fable 5.“Fable’s safeguards are substantially more effective than those of any previously deployed model. No testers have yet been able to find a universal jailbreak – a jailbreak method that can very broadly bypass the model’s safeguards, unblocking a wide range of cyber capabilities.A jailbreak refers to the process of manipulating the AI into bypassing its built-in safety guardrails so it can generate restricted or high-risk outputs. What are the risks of Fable 5The Fable 5 controversy reflects the US government’s fears that the model’s high-level capabilities in cybersecurity and coding flaws could be weaponised by bad actors.“We are complying with the government’s legal directive and are removing access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all users,” the statement read.The AI model at the centre of a global security emergency. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)“However, we disagree that the finding of a narrow potential jailbreak should be cause for recalling a commercial model deployed to hundreds of millions of people. If this standard was applied across the industry, we believe it would essentially halt all new model deployments for all frontier model providers.“As we have stated publicly, we believe the government should have the ability to block unsafe deployments, as part of a statutory process that is transparent, fair, clear, and grounded in technical facts. This action does not adhere to those principles.“We apologise for this disruption to our customers. We believe this is a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible.”Five Eyes warningMr Albanese’s speech comes just days after intelligence agencies for the Five Eyes warned in a rare joint statement that political leaders needed to “act now”.The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.The world’s most powerful intelligence alliance has broken its silence, and the message is chilling. Picture: Joel Saget / AFP“Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. The timeline is not years, it is months,” the statement said.“In this environment, cyber resilience is integral to advancing business continuity, market confidence, and long-term value.”More CoveragePauline: Ban the burqa, wear bikinisSamantha Maiden ‘Proud’ Albo’s huge $200k tax escapeSamantha Maiden The cybersecurity agencies had raised concerns that rapid developments in AI models suggested the world could face faster, more complex, and more difficult-to-contain attacks.“A whole-of-organisation and whole-of-society response is required,” the statement said.“Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.”Read related topics:Anthony AlbaneseMore related storiesNSW & ACT CrimeTeacher charged over alleged abuse materialA primary school teacher has been charged with possessing child abuse material after police seized electronic devices during a raid at a NSW school.Read moreSocial Media‘Game’: Distrust rises in Australian tech usersAustralians have grown to become distrustful of AI and customer service in general, with four in five people reporting challenges with online services.Read moreMusicAI firms stealing music from Aussie iconsA copyright watchdog has made bombshell claims on AI companies taking hundreds of songs from iconic Aussie artists like Kylie Minogue without permission or payment.Read more