Coalition tensions flare as Nationals resist weak EU deal and defend copyright from AI overreach
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The Liberal and National parties are clashing over a bad EU trade proposal and over attempts to water down copyright law for the benefit of AI giants and energy-hungry data centres.
The Liberal and National parties are showing their first signs of strain since reuniting earlier this year, with the junior Coalition partner standing firm on free trade and artificial intelligence in a way that many conservatives see as long overdue resistance to bad policy. In a Liberal-only meeting, former minister Alex Hawke, a factional opponent of Deputy Prime Minister Angus Taylor, criticised Nationals leader Matt Canavan for announcing opposition to a proposed trade deal with the European Union without the leadership group's approval. Hawke warned that allowing the Nationals to dominate the Liberal position on key economic issues could hurt the coalition electorally, and he praised Taylor for defusing the situation and keeping the dispute from becoming a public disaster.
Moderate Liberals also expressed concerns about the substance of the deal drafted by Trade Minister Don Farrell, which Taylor has described as a “dud.” Critics in both parties argue the agreement would lock future governments into the Paris climate accord, disadvantage dairy and red-meat producers, and embed pro-union labour rules, making it exactly the kind of overreaching Brussels-style arrangement that ordinary voters instinctively distrust.
On artificial intelligence, the Nationals and conservative Liberal Garth Hamilton are pushing back against a proposed Liberal-Labor consensus on data-centre expansion and copyright reforms aimed at attracting frontier AI labs. Nationals leader David Littleproud, whose Queensland seat hosts a planned large data centre, told this masthead that he opposes any weakening of copyright laws, citing concerns about the social licence of a project that would require extensive renewable energy. His position reflects a commonsense insistence that Australian rules should not be bent just to appease global tech firms.
Senator Ross Cadell, a member of the bipartisan AI committee, called for tighter copyright protections, describing current rules as “property theft.” The hardening positions on AI complicate Taylor’s negotiations with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who seeks bipartisan support for copyright reform while balancing creators’ compensation and the risk of a rigid licensing regime. The broader dispute shows the danger of surrendering national policy to the demands of big tech and its allies.
Polling cited by Resolve Political Monitor shows Labor at 29 % of the primary vote, One Nation at 25 %, and the Coalition at 23 %, with Nationals sources noting improved regional polling as they confront the threat of One Nation in key seats.