ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Australia is leading on digital safety because we want to keep Australians safe. We're living in an age of artificial intelligence. We want to shape this technology in Australia’s national interest, rather than have it shape us. We now know that it wasn't just the issue of the Australian sites that have been subject to AI agents accessing information without authorisation. There are dozens of cases, including US government sites.
KIERAN GILBERT, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, thanks for your time. This Medicare hack, what's the latest advice that you've got for the Australian people as we go to air this Friday? And specifically in terms of the personal, the question over personal data, I know the investigations are ongoing. Have you got any updated advice as to what you know?
My dear colleagues.
This evening I want to talk about the need for nations to work together on the new challenges we face – climate change, emerging technology and the breakdown of international rules.
Eight decades ago, the citizens and leaders of our nations made a solemn promise to future generations.
Having known the ‘untold sorrow’ of two devastating global conflicts in their lifetimes, they vowed to work together to prevent another.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thanks so much for the warm welcome back here to Blackstone. We were able to meet during last year’s UN General Assembly, and I want to thank you, your team, for all the other investors who are joining us here today. I have a very simple message, which is Australia is open for business. We are a great place to invest. We have economic growth that is higher than that of every advanced economy in the world, except for the United States at the moment.
Thank you so much, my friend, Prime Minister James Marape.
To John, to guests, to the extraordinary fellow award winners who I share the stage with tonight, to Alex, to Stefano and to Cynthia.
I want to thank my brother - a very special man - the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
For those who may not know, there are hundreds of languages in Papua New Guinea - more than any other place on earth.
It is such a diverse country, and James has brought that nation together and has shown incredible leadership.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks for joining me. I want to update Australians on an incident in which an artificial intelligence agent has infiltrated an Australian Government website. This incident occurred in June of this year and involved an OpenAI agent gaining unauthorised access into the public-facing Medicare statistics reporting service portal, which is administered by Services Australia. The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I’m very thankful to Anthony personally, and we have very good relations. Thank you to your people, the people of Australia, and your team. Thank you for such great support from the very beginning of this war. Australian people have always been on the side of Ukraine. Thank you very much for real support, specific one, military support, energy support, which was absolutely crucial, humanitarian. Thank you very much for the benefit and for your support, and that you [are] politically and geopolitically, always with us.
Thanks, Shemara, for the introduction.
And thanks to Macquarie Group for the invitation to say a few words today. –
It’s been a great week of recognition for Australia here at the UN.
On Monday I was invited to open Climate Group’s Climate Week NYC 2026 program – in acknowledgement of Australia’s leadership in renewable energy and our work with our Pacific partners, drawing attention to their vulnerability to climate change.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Today it's been a very good day in New York. This afternoon, I, together with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Kenya, the Prime Minister of Spain, we launched the Coalition for Children's Rights and Protection in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. And this is just one of the aspects that the world now is debating. There's recognition that a year ago, when we came to New York following our legislation in 2024, we were leading the world, and indeed now more than 20 nations have joined in.
Coalition for Children's rights and protections in the age of AI
United Nations
New York
Colleagues,
Australia is an acknowledged first mover and world leader in digital safety.
Our journey to creating a safer digital world started in 2024 with the world’s first social media ban for children – now adopted by some 20 countries.