View from The Hill: Labor’s Andrew Charlton surfs the AI wave Search analysis, research, academics… Home Arts +
Culture Economy Education Environment + Energy Ethics + Religion Health Politics + Society Science + Tech World Podcasts
Local En Español Edition Africa Australia Brasil Canada Canada (français) Català España Europe France Global
Indonesia New Zealand United Kingdom United States Donate Skip to content Edition: United States Africa Australia Brasil
Canada Canada (français) Català España Europe France Global Indonesia New Zealand United Kingdom s Donate Newsletters
Academic rigor, journalistic flair Arts + Culture Economy Education Environment + Energy Ethics + Religion Health
Politics + Society Science + Tech World Podcasts Local Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal member for Parramatta
Andrew Charlton, arrive to speak to media at Parramatta Square, in Sydney, Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Dan
Himbrechts/AAP View from The Hill: Labor’s Andrew Charlton surfs the AI wave Published: July 22, 2026 3:13am EDT
https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-labors-andrew-charlton-surfs-the-ai-wave-287183
https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-labors-andrew-charlton-surfs-the-ai-wave-287183 Link copied Share article
Share article Copy link Email Bluesky Facebook WhatsApp Messenger LinkedIn X (Twitter) Print article If his impressive
academic record is any measure, Andrew Charlton might lay claim to one of the highest IQs in the parliamentary Labor
party. Now, with his central role in the government’s AI policy, he’s grappling with issues thrown up by a very
different sort of intelligence. Charlton is only an assistant minister (for Science, Technology and the Digital
Economy), junior to Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who’s in cabinet. But he’s an expert on AI, and has been carrying
much of the media load after Anthony Albanese’s speech last week on the government’s directions for handling this
rapidly evolving technology that will transform modern life. Charlton, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and the Prime
Minister’s Office were the key players in bringing together the framework Albanese outlined, setting terms to capture
the benefits of AI while imposing some conditions on the rollout. Charlton undertook the talks with business. Labor’s
national conference in Adelaide, which opens on Thursday, will be a tightly controlled performance. But the debate on
AI, due on Thursday, which pits issues of technological progress and productivity opportunities against the concerns of
sections of the union movement, could be one of the livelier of the three-day jamboree. As well as whatever he says on
the conference floor, Charlton will address a “fringe” event on AI on the sidelines. Last month, Charlton won the
prize for Emerging Political Leader of the Year for 2025, awarded by the McKinnon Foundation, a non-partisan
organisation that aims to promote “better governments”. Its citation recognised his contribution in “shaping
Australia’s response to artificial intelligence at a moment when the stakes for the country could not be higher”.
“Charlton’s work on artificial intelligence stood out for its seriousness, depth and long-term thinking,” the
citation said. “At a time when governments around the world are struggling to respond to the economic and strategic
implications of AI […] Dr Charlton has brought genuine intellectual weight to the debate. His work has consistently
focused on the difficult questions shaping Australia’s future: productivity, economic sovereignty, jobs, capability
and national security.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulates Labor member for Parramatta Andrew
Charlton after signing the Labor Caucus book during a Labor Party Caucus at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, May
31, 2022. Lukas Coch/AAP Albanese is a fan of Charlton. He made a “captain’s pick” to install him as candidate for
the western Sydney seat of Parramatta for the 2022 election, even though Charlton didn’t live in the electorate and
that denied the locals a preselection vote. (With few seats “safe” anymore, finding electorates in which to place
outside “high flyers” is much harder than it once was. These days contests are more often around “local
champions”.) In his first term, Charlton put a lot of work into his electorate, also finding time to write a book
about Australia’s relations with India. Charlton brings stellar formal economic credentials. He won Sydney
University’s economics medal; studied at Oxford for a doctorate as a Rhodes scholar; and joined the London School of
Economics as an academic. During his early academic career, he was mentored by some of the world’s leading centre-left
economists. He co-authored a book, Fair Trade for All: How Trade can Promote Development, with Joseph Stiglitz, a
nobel-prize winner. As it happened, Charlton arrived in parliament quite familiar with the heat of government. As prime
minister Kevin Rudd’s economic adviser, he worked through the turbulence of the Global Financial Crisis. Prime
minister Kevin Rudd takes time out for some fresh air with adviser Andrew Charlton at Parliament House in Canberra,
Wednesday, April 21, 2010. Alan Porritt/AAP Apart from elevating Charlton to an assistant minister after the 2025
election, Albanese also appointed him cabinet secretary, a position that means he attends all cabinet meetings and has a
bird’s eye view across government. Charlton has his sceptics. One Labor insider sees him as influenced by the last
person he spoke to. But when his name is mentioned to Labor people, “very bright” and “intelligent” are often
their first words. Unusually in Labor, Charlton has direct business experience, having founded, and later sold, at a
very big return, a startup business in consulting and technology. Murray Hurps, Director of Entrepreneurship at UTS and
Managing Director of Startup Muster, the largest survey of startups in Australia, finds it “nice having someone in
government who’s had entrepreneurial experience like he’s had. He’s extremely tech savvy. Things don’t have to
be explained to him” – a contrast with many ministers Hurps has dealt with over the years. Charlton “understands
the opportunities and issues tech companies in Australia are facing”. Charlton’s startup wasn’t his first stint in
business. After Rudd’s sacking Richard Goyder, then CEO of Wesfarmers, hired him. Goyder says: “He’s thoughtful,
driven to get good outcomes”, as well as “able to engage with the teams required in business”. To the frenetic
public debate about the May budget’s capital gains tax changes Charlton brought the expertise of his business
experience, as well as more frankness than many colleagues would venture. He said: Startups and some small businesses
are a real concern because [post budget] we’ve got this new type of capital gains discount which is based on
inflation. The point that many startup founders, the point that many small businesses have been making, is valid. It’s
a valid point because that new regime doesn’t interact well if you have a really low capital base because you’ve got
nothing to inflate off. So, there are real concerns out there. The government recognised those concerns, the Treasurer
recognised them. […] There was a statement in the budget recognising them and we are consulting on them. So, we
definitely hear those concerns. How high can Charlton, 47, rise? He’s not in the front tranche of candidates for the
succession, whenever Albanese departs. That line up currently includes Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Home Affairs Minister
Tony Burke, Health Minister Mark Butler, and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. Charlton’s time for leadership, if
it were to come at all, would likely be after whoever becomes leader post Albanese. Charlton would have a strong claim
to be treasurer to Albanese’s successor (assuming Labor was in government). If that successor were Chalmers, would he
make Charlton his treasurer? As things stand, Chalmers looks over his shoulder at Charlton, although he doesn’t have
to. Chalton’s long term challenges in pursuing leadership would include that he lacks a union base, and he would need
to get the support of his NSW right faction, where multiple aspirants always jostle. Colleagues would also need to be
confident that a man who’s more a thinker than a brawler would be able to handle the down-and-dirty side of politics.
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Author Michelle Grattan Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Disclosure
statement Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization
that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners University of Canberra provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. View all partners DOI
https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.7w6vjrcdd Want to write? Write an article and join a growing community of more than 230,000
academics and researchers from 5,568 institutions. Register now Editorial Policies Community standards Republishing
guidelines Friends of The Conversation Analytics Our feeds Donate Get newsletter Who we are Our charter Our team
Partners and funders Resource for media Work for us En Español Contact us
Privacy policy Terms and conditions Corrections Copyright © 2010–2026, The Conversation US,
Inc.