Politicians and creatives have come out swinging today, putting pressure on the Albanese Government to back artists over a proposed data centre deal with tech firms that would weaken copyright laws.
According to reporting by The Guardian, the proposed deal would see AI companies commit $50 billion to data centres and a further $350 million each year into a fund for Australian artists to mine Australian creative content.
The conversation between AI and artistry has been reaching a boiling point, with singer Sza publicly condemning the use of her songs to train AI.
And while the Government maintains they won’t be watering down copyright laws, with Attorney-General Michelle Rowland telling The Guardian, “there are no plans to weaken copyright protections”, the deal’s presence has sent music legends and senators to battle stations.
How are artists responding?
Aussie musicians have pushed Albo to uphold copyright standards, with Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning saying the deal “feels like a violation”. Speaking to The Guardian, he implored the PM to “do the right thing by our past, current and future artists”.
He was joined by Lindy Morrison from the Go-Betweens, Spiderbait’s Janet English, ARIA award-winning singer Hannah Joy, and Australian rockstar Andrew Cox.
Musician Paul Dempsey also spoke out on the issue. Representing a delegation of artists against the alteration of copyright laws, Dempsey said, “The idea that copyright law should be watered down or chiselled away at to provide a freebie or a handout to gigantic multinational, multi-billion dollar companies to train their AI models makes absolutely no sense to me.”
“I simply don’t get it.”
What’s happening in parliament?
The Shadow Minister for the Arts, Angie Bell spoke out against the deal in today’s sitting of Parliament, calling for “consent, fairness and respect for Australian creativity”.
Having worked as a professional musician, Bell reaffirmed the importance of strong copyright laws to protect artists, saying “if AI companies want to use Australian creative work, they should do what everyone else does: ask permission and pay for it. That’s how copyright works, and that’s how it should stay.”
“Australian creativity is one of our greatest national assets, not a free resource for multinational tech companies. The Coalition will always back the right of artists to control their work and be fairly compensated when others profit from it,” she continued.
Regardless, Bell has joined Senators Sarah Hanson-Young and David Pocock in their opposition to what Pocock described as the “ultimate dirty deal”: undercutting Aussie artists in favour of AI interests.
Speaking to Parliament earlier this week, he called on the Government to put the conversation to bed, asking it to “categorically rule out any carve-out, any exemption, any watering down of copyright exemptions now and into the future”.
“To sell out Australian creatives would be a reckless act,” he said.
Why are copyright laws important for artists?
Copyright laws are everything for artists and creatives: it’s the mechanism for them to own and monetise their creations.
Think of Taylor Swift re-recording her albums. It’s all her own work but she didn’t own the copyright and, as such, wasn’t able to maintain control of her own creations and their profits. She was in a privileged enough position to do the unthinkable and remake it all but for Aussie artists being handed over to AI companies, this is less likely to happen.
Copyright laws and AI have been in the Australian arena for some time now, after a 2025 Productivity Commission suggested a text and data mining exception for the Australian Copyright Act, adding AI training to the list of “fair dealing” exceptions in the Copyright Act.
Artists and politicians came out in droves to call out this proposal, with the likes of rapper Briggs speaking out against the change at a hearing for the national cultural policy inquiry.
The Albo Government said at the time they wouldn’t pursue these suggested changes, a stance they maintain. The PM has also promised to inform us all of his AI approach at some point in July, so I suppose all there is to do now is wait.
Lead image source: Getty
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