New data centre rules; sellers dump house auctions; 17m Aussies watch World Cup
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Fear and Greed, business news you can use. Today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese outlines new rules for large-scale data centres in Australia, including power generation and limited water usage. Sellers drop auctions in favour of private treaties to offload their homes. And 17 million Australians have watched the World Cup so far. Plus, Bitcoin has its strongest rally in three months. And the bromance between Warren Buffett and Bill Gates is over. It is Thursday, the 16th of July, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning, Sean Aylmer.
What new rules did Prime Minister Albanese announce for large-scale data centres?
Good morning, Michael. Sean, the main story this morning, large-scale data centres in Australia will be forced to generate enough of their own power to run their facilities and must minimise water usage as well to keep a lid on household bills. The federal government is also exploring a new copyright solution designed for artificial intelligence training We found out a lot yesterday. We did.
In a landmark speech entitled AI in Australia's Interests, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reversed the government's hands-off approach to regulating the new technology and announced a set of AI standards
How will proposed AI copyright rules give creators control over model training?
and an office of AI within his own department. The speech was aimed at addressing the disruption AI will bring to the country, including the economy and national security, and the growing concern about the increasingly powerful global tech giants. Albanese said his government was not against AI investment and wanted it to boost economic growth and job opportunities. Change is inevitable, but governments also have the ability to design that change. Albanese added he doesn't want government to repeat the mistakes made with social media.
So next month, the PM will meet with state premiers and chief ministers and seek consensus on standards.
What timeline did the government set for AI standards and legislation?
Legislation will then be introduced into parliament in the first half of 2027, which given the speed at which AI moves, a lot can happen in six months. Right. Who knows where we'll be this time in six months. State and federal Labor governments, though, are also considering forcing data centre operators to provide financial benefits to communities.
On copyright, Michael, one of the thornier issues in the AI transition and an issue very close to your heart is Albanese said government is working on a world-first solution that would allow rights holders to have a choice about whether their works are used in AI model training and then how they are paid. He said not everything's up for grabs and Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work. Give me your take on this, Michael.
I'm actually quite relieved because it would have been quite easy just to say, look, Australia needs to keep up with the rest of the world and you can basically have at it. Whereas this just feels like, I've written a couple of books now and Sean, you've written a lot of content over your career as well. And now it just essentially means that as the people who have created this content, we still have control over it. And there is a sense of inevitability that at some point it is going to be used to train AI models.
What drove recent movements in the ASX, Bitcoin and commodity markets?
But at least if we have a say over when and how, and we are remunerated for that, then we are doing it with our, with our own consent and involvement and knowledge. It just feels like it does put a little bit of power back in the hands of the creators. Yep. Yep. I would agree with that. Well said. There we go. That's my, that's more than 2 cents. Probably it's about 6 or 7 cents worth there. Oh, 6 bucks. Jeez. Okay. Sean, I don't think anyone's ever valued my work that highly. Thank you. The local share market closed higher yesterday, up 0.4% to 8,841 points. It's a strong day for the miners. The gold companies and the telcos fared less well.
Yes, it was a poor day for the big four banks. Oil ended lower. Telstra, QBE and Transurban all were sold off. A couple of stocks to note yesterday, one locally and one on Wall Street. Macquarie Group hit a new record high of more than $257 a share.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:40
2
What new rules did Prime Minister Albanese announce for large-scale data centres?
0:40–1:21
3
How will proposed AI copyright rules give creators control over model training?
1:21–1:58
4
What timeline did the government set for AI standards and legislation?
1:58–3:24
5
What drove recent movements in the ASX, Bitcoin and commodity markets?
3:24–4:21
6
Why are sellers increasingly ditching auctions for private treaties in June?
4:21–6:29
7
How many Australians watched the World Cup and which matches drew the biggest audiences?
6:29–8:55
8
Why did Warren Buffett stop donating to the Gates Foundation and change his giving plan?
8:55–17:08