Generative AI has created a gold rush today, but that rush has not yet grown into either a productivity boom or a financial bubble. There are good reasons to think this rush could become either one.Which one is just around the corner? Could it be both? In case you forgot, we did live through a productivity bonanza that morphed into a financial bubble during the commercialization of the Internet. That alone makes it plausible to forecast that history will repeat itself a quarter of a century later. You may also have more self-centered reasons to pay attention.
A knife attack at the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre in Sydney has resulted in the deaths of seven people, including the killer.
The dead include four women and one male who died at the shopping centre. The mother of a nine-month old baby subsequently died in hospital. The baby was also stabbed in the attack.
The killer, a lone 40-year-old male, known to police, was shot dead by a NSW Police Inspector who was the first police officer to arrive on the scene.
This page shows the heads of government and opposition leaders in Australia from April 10, 2024.
There are nine parliaments in Australia. There is one Federal Parliament in Canberra, six State Parliaments (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia & Tasmania) and two Territory Parliaments (Northern Territory & Australian Capital Territory).
Samantha Mostyn, a lawyer,business-woman and gender equality campaigner, has been appointed the 28th Governor-General of Australia.
The appointment was announced this morning by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. The vice-regal appointment is made by King Charles III on the advice of the prime minister.
Mostyn will take up the 5-year appointment on July 1, 2024.
Watch the Albanese-Mostyn press conference (26m):
The Reserve Bank has left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, in a decision announced today.
The cash rate has now been held at 4.35% for the past four months.
In a statement released today, the RBA board says that inflation has moderated but is still high. It says the “outlook is highly uncertain”.
Watch RBA Governor Michele Bullock’s press conference (39m):
The commercial future of AI will soon be bigger than the actions of any firm, individual, research team, or open-source community. In the near term, a massive tailwind of potential use cases and nearly completed projects will determine the rate of progress in creating value for users and suppliers. Still, the source of the next frontier commercial breakthrough and the distribution of profits look undetermined and, for reasons to be explained, underdetermined.
Large language models (LLMs) have overrun commercial markets, more like a tsunami than a normal technical wave of interest. The topic is everywhere –news stories, blogs, podcasts, startup investments, analyst reports, hackathons, and government announcements. A virtual frenzy surrounds it.
Scott Morrison, the former Prime Minister (2018-22), has delivered his valedictory speech to the House of Representatives.
Morrison will resign as the Liberal member for Cook later this week.
First elected to parliament in 2007, Morrison was re-elected five more times. He served nearly six years in opposition before becoming a Cabinet minister upon election of the Abbott coalition government in 2013. Becoming prime minister on August 24, 2018, Morrison won the 2019 election, but was defeated at the election of May 21, 2022.
Jeremy Rockliff, the Liberal Premier of Tasmania, has announced that negotiations with two former Liberal MPs have broken down and he will call an early election tomorrow.
Rockliff said John Tucker and Lara Alexander had “failed to commit to a new, enduring agreement”, following their resignations from the Liberal Party in May, 2023. The former Liberals had concerns relating to the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium project. Their resignations sent the government into minority status in the House of Assembly.
The Reserve Bank of Australia today made no change to the cash rate, leaving it at 4.35%.
The 4.35% rate has been in force since November 2023.
The bank’s decision is its first in a restructured process. As part of the new processes, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Michele Bullock, held a press conference an hour after the bank’s decision was announced.
Watch Michele Bullock’s press conference (45m)
The coalition will support the Albanese government’s tax cuts, the Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, confirmed today.
Flanked by the Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor, and the Shadow Finance Minister, Senator Jane Hume, Dutton said “the coalition is not going to stand in the way of people who are doing it tough”.
With repeated references to “the liar in The Lodge” and the government’s “egregious lie”, Dutton said the coalition would take “a significant tax policy” to the next election.
Watch the Dutton-Taylor-Hume press conference (35m)
The libertarian economist and newly-elected President of Argentina, Javier Milei, has delivered a strident defence of capitalism at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
This is the official timetable of key dates for the Dunkley by-election on March 2, 2024.
The dates show the election is being conducted within the minimum timeframe whereby polling day must be no less than 33 days from the issue of the writ.
2024 Dunkley By-Election Timetable
Event
Date
Explanation
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a “country report” on the Australian economy, warning that growth is weakening and inflation remains persistently high.
As 2024 starts, a reminder that across the nine federal, state and territory jurisdictions, there are eight Labor governments.
Current Australian Heads of Government & Opposition Leaders – from December 21, 2024
No.
Jurisdiction
PM/Premier/
Chief Minister
Age
Party
Since
Opposition Leader
Age
Party
Since
1.
AUSTRALIA
Anthony Albanese
62
ALP
23.05.2022