Pocock Questions PM Office Vetting of AI Letter 35 Minutes Before It Was Sent

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 13

Notes seen by Guardian Australia show a senior Albanese adviser edited and appeared to approve parts of a bipartisan AI committee letter up to 8:55pm, just 35 minutes before it was sent to the prime minister.
David Pocock said he was asked for edits but only replied at 9:55pm, after the letter had already gone, and argued the process denied time for changes and suggested pre-vetting by the PM's office.
The letter flagged copyright, AI safeguards, sovereign capability and AI literacy, but Pocock said it missed concerns over creatives' rights, a datacentre levy, worker retraining and mandatory screening of genetic synthesis imports.
Jo Briskey said the committee consulted both Albanese's and Peter Dutton's offices to build cross-party support before its 30 November report, while Jonno Duniam denied any guidance or interference.
Pocock said the episode deepened fears the committee was serving a political purpose rather than genuine scrutiny; Albanese's office declined to comment.