Andrew Hastie compares AI to Cold War nuclear arms race and warns Australia may fall behind

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie says Australia should dramatically scale up investment in artificial intelligence to preserve strategic independence and warns the country risks being “a supplicant state” tethered to the US in an era of possible hot conflict with China.

In a major address to Liberal members in Sydney on Monday night, the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability likened the development of AI to the nuclear arms race of the cold-war era and proposed Australia position itself as a technology hub in the southern hemisphere.

Delivering the annual Tom Hughes Oration, Hastie called for a new AI ambassador to be appointed and said the education system should be overhauled “so we can unleash Australian hearts and minds on AI”.

He said prime ministers, including Robert Menzies and John Gorton, had wrestled with the question of Australia pursuing nuclear capability, but ultimately aligned our security settings with Washington.

“Last century, Australia missed the opportunity to become a nuclear power,” he said.

“As a result, we live under the nuclear umbrella of the United States. Our sovereignty and strategic independence have been constrained as a consequence.

“This century, Australia risks missing the opportunity to become an AI power. And the risk is that our sovereignty and strategic independence will be further constrained by the AI superpowers reshaping the global order.”

Failing to properly invest will leave Australia with less agency over our own future, he argues.

Outlining the stakes of a growing arms race between the US and major AI companies including Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI, Hastie said “techbros” in Silicon Valley had strong influence within Donald Trump’s administration and were fighting new regulation.

He said Australia is caught between our closest security partner, the US, and our biggest trading partner, China, as the two superpowers pursue global AI dominance, including production of semiconductor chips in Taiwan.

Whatever happens, Australia will be involved in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait “whether we like it or not”, he said.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that a hot war between the US and China over AI dominance and advanced chips in Taiwan would be infinitely worse than a hot war in the Middle East.

“We won’t be able to escape it, which is why we must work hard to prevent it.”

The speech comes as the federal government considers how best to deal with AI.

Former industry minister Ed Husic had argued for new guardrails and consideration of a major new AI act, but he was dumped from cabinet in 2025. His successor, Tim Ayres, is in favour of a lighter touch approach.

Hastie warned AI posed massive economic implications for the Australian economy and said many blue and white collar jobs would be replaced by automation, with divisions already opening in the labour market, as middle income jobs are replaced.

“If AI potentially starves people of work, we can expect great social upheaval.

“If we strip from people the meaning that comes from creative and productive work, we can expect a revolt.”

Hastie is considered a future Liberal leader, whose policy contributions are closely watched across the party. He opted not to challenge Sussan Ley in January, before Ley was ultimately ousted by Angus Taylor.

But the opposition’s dire polling has continued under Taylor.

On Monday, a Resolve poll published in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald put the Coalition’s primary vote on a record low 20%, behind Labor on 28% and One Nation on 29%.

The figures point to an electoral wipeout for the Liberals and Nationals.

Hastie used the speech hosted by colleague Julian Leeser to warn a backslide in educational standards over the past 25 years was leaving school students, including those from disadvantaged families, poorly prepared.

“And if we fail in education, AI will entrench economic and social disadvantage here in Australia, and we will fall behind as a country on the world stage.”