Discontent is growing among artists and creative businesses in Anthony Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler, in Sydney’s inner west, over proposed changes to Australian copyright law. The federal government is considering whether AI companies should be allowed to use material created by Australians to train their models by default, with creators required to opt out.
Grayndler has more than 3,000 cultural and creative businesses, while 10% of its workers are employed in cultural and creative fields, compared with 4.2% nationally. Albanese has represented the seat for three decades and has previously highlighted its concentration of live music venues, theatres and artist spaces.
Labor is considering the copyright changes as part of a wider package covering artificial intelligence, datacentres, energy and the economy. Albanese has promised “the strongest possible protection” for creators and said it would be “theft” if they were not paid. However, creative groups are concerned that AI companies are seeking weaker copyright rules to train their systems using Australian material.
Some AI companies have argued that negotiating individual licensing agreements under the current law would be too difficult. Anthropic has proposed an opt-out system under which content could be used unless a rights holder objected. Coalition senators and the recording industry have warned that such an approach could amount to the government acquiring property.
The government’s draft legislation is expected by the end of the year, with parliamentary consideration due in 2027.
Pete Strong, a screenprinter and Greens councillor for Bayside whose business is based in Grayndler, said artificial intelligence could benefit humanity but had become an extraction industry focused on profit. He described the current situation as an AI “gold rush” and said creators were already struggling without having their work taken and used without permission.
Designer and artist Lu Campbell-Smith, who has used AI in her own practice, said requiring creators to opt out was unacceptable. She questioned why people would continue posting work online if it could become free training material for AI systems.
The issue comes as Albanese faces a challenge from independent candidate Hannah Ferguson, the 28-year-old co-founder of Cheek Media, at the next federal election. Grayndler has long been an overwhelmingly safe Labor seat, and Albanese has won it on first preferences in recent elections. The article says polling from Guardian Australia’s latest Essential poll puts his disapproval rating at 56%, its equal highest level since he became prime minister.
At artist-led spaces in St Peters and Marrickville, creative workers said the proposed model threatened the wider cultural ecosystem. H Morgan-Harris, an author, curator and director of Tortuga Studios and the aerie, said the sector could be severely damaged and argued that artistic work supports human interaction and social connection.
Jason Zoidberg, co-founder of Monster Mouse Studios, said AI companies had already used artists’ collective labour without consequences. He called the prospect of the government formally permitting that use unreasonable. At the same time, he said his studio was seeing more interest in traditional, hands-on art workshops, although he acknowledged that the trend remained concentrated in the inner west.
Sources: The Guardian Technology.