Ryan Heath
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Covers:
Artificial Intelligence, AI, quantum computing, 5G, social media, elections
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Launch editor @POLITICO_AUS. You know me from @axios, AI Leadership Lab, @EU_Commission and @UKgovcomms 🏳️🌈 🇦🇺 🇧🇪
Articles by Ryan Heath
Haines attack spurs reckoning over safety online and in MPs' communities
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free And you can now listen to our podcast too.
‘The church has crumbled’: Niki Savva on Australian Liberals’ future
CANBERRA — Niki Savva has spent decades persuading politicians and their advisers to explain themselves, and her books have chronicled the rival accounts behind some of the most turbulent moments and campaign in Australian politics. In "Earthquake" — a finalist in the Australian Political Book of the Year awards — Savva examines the upheaval reshaping the Liberal Party and the wider political map after the 2025 election.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 7
Ryan Heath and Graham Barfield review all the fantasy football usage from the 2026 NFL Week 6 slate, with everything you need to get ready for Week 7.
EU to Australia: 'Once negotiations are done, they're done'
CANBERRA — The European Commission has ruled out reopening its free trade agreement with Australia, putting it on a collision course with Australia's Coalition opposition that is threatening to block the deal in the Senate. "The EU has the world's largest network of free trade agreements. We invest years in getting these deals right, ensuring they are balanced, ambitious and offer benefits for both us and our partners," Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill told POLITICO.
Whitlam would push Australian PM Albanese to go ‘bigger and bolder,’ biographer says
Troy Bramston has spent years studying Gough Whitlam, interviewing more than 100 people and examining the archives around the world for his biography of the former prime minister. "Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New" is a finalist in the 2026 Australian Political Book of the Year Award. In this conversation, Bramston reflects on Whitlam's political gifts and governing failures, and reveals what shocked Anthony Albanese about Whitlam as he read the book in office.
Ryan Heath’s 2026 Week 6 Fantasy Football Advanced Matchups
Digging through the Fantasy Points Data Suite to identify the best and worst schematic matchups for DFS and player prop bets on the 2026 NFL Week 6 main slate.
Wells shields journalists from digital duty, but Joyce wants to put execution stream to the sword
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free And you can now listen to our podcast too.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 6
Ryan Heath and Graham Barfield review all the fantasy football usage from the 2026 NFL Week 5 slate, with everything you need to get ready for Week 6.
Chalmers takes aim at One Nation’s weak spot: Governing
CANBERRA -— Sensing danger in the electorate's sustained flirtation with One Nation, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is sharpening attacks on what he sees as the right-wing nationalist party's remaining weakness: doubts that it's competent to govern. Chalmers made that case Tuesday night to an Australia Institute audience at Canberra's Shine Dome — the sort of left-wing crowd of Labor, Green and nonaligned progressives who tend to offer only lukewarm support for the Albanese Labor government.
eSafety can't pre-block execution livestream — yet
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free. We've also launched the Canberra Playbook Podcast: Check out the first episode HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BLOCK AN EXECUTION LIVESTREAM?
Free speech doesn't ‘depend on an algorithm pushing eating disorder content'
FIRST EPISODE OF POLITICO'S NEW CANBERRA PLAYBOOK PODCAST Communications Minister Anika Wells is the first guest of host Amanda Copp , who joins POLITICO from Nine. Wells tells POLITICO she'll negotiate with the Coalition and Greens around narrowing controversial ministerial powers in her Digital Duty of Care bill, but she hasn't spoken to either Sarah Henderson or David Shoebridge .
‘We're regulating the machine, not the message': Australian minister hits back at censorship claims
Communications Minister Anika Wells may amend controversial online safety powers to win opposition support, and warns AI chatbots are coming for children's emotional attachment. “If your products are safe, this costs you nothing,” Anika Wells said. | Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images 10/11/2026 2:00 PM EDT CANBERRA — Australia's communications minister has rejected accusations that her government's proposed online safety laws amount to censorship.
‘We’re regulating the machine, not the message’: Australian minister hits back at censorship claims
CANBERRA — Australia's communications minister has rejected accusations that her government's proposed online safety laws amount to censorship. "We are regulating the machine here, not the message," Anika Wells told POLITICO's Canberra Playbook Podcast.
One Nation is soaring in polls. Winning power is much harder.
CANBERRA — One Nation is riding high in Australia's national opinion polls, averaging 28% support since June. But there's a problem with the numbers: They tell us remarkably little about how close Pauline Hanson's party is to winning power. The same polling that suggests One Nation is on the brink of a political breakthrough disguises a fundamental weakness in its electoral prospects.
Ryan Heath’s 2026 Week 5 Fantasy Football Advanced Matchups
Digging through the Fantasy Points Data Suite to identify the best and worst schematic matchups for DFS and player prop bets on the 2026 NFL Week 5 main slate.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 5
Ryan Heath and Graham Barfield review all the fantasy football usage from the 2026 NFL Week 4 slate, with everything you need to get ready for Week 5.
AI promises productivity gains. Its hidden costs are spreading
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free. — Parliamentary Committee investigates who picks up AI's tab — Can Coalition cut migration without fueling inflation? — Julie Inman Grant to gather global tech regulators AI PROMISES PRODUCTIVITY GAINS.
$38M from federal government to KPMG during ban
Happy Labour Day and welcome to the newsletter that makes you think harder. If you've been forwarded this Playbook, you can sign up free to get it each weekday morning. — KPMG raking it in, despite ban on new work — Surprise compliments for Chris Bowen — One Nation and Liberal paths to power in Victoria KPMG's $38.5 MILLION TRICKLE Imagine you lose most of a massive federal government funding stream and you're forced to make do with just $38.5M in new additional income over 3 months.
How One Nation could win government in NSW
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free — CFMEU organizers blocked from shaping subcontractor pay deals — Farrell: “Superannuation funds have an obligation to the national interest” — One Nation eyes NSW majority in “wild” new election analysis CFMEU BLOCKED FROM SELLING PAY DEALS The construction union administrator has released its latest six-month report, the first since executive officer Michael Crosby replaced barrister Mark Irving.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 4
Data Suite 2.0 is finally here! Check out what's new for 2026 — Learn More
Happy birthday, Angus: Rate hike hands Taylor his political moment
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Opposition leader Angus Taylor turns 60 today; the latest interest rate rise is the best political gift he could get. — Surprise ticket joins Hanson-Young and Faruqi in Greens leadership race. — 104 agencies were warned in May what they needed to do to avoid and OpenAI-style data breach.
‘We get to pick the poison, but it's still poison'
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Greens leadership gets hard reset, Waters out sick — Reserve Bank expected to announce another interest rate hike at 2:30 p.m. — Coalition and One Nation ramp up pressure on backpacker visa crackdown INTEREST RATES WILL RATCHET UP PRESSURE ON LABOR Most mortgages will be well into the 6% range by this evening, signaling a world of political pain for the government — HSBC is putting recession odds in early 2027 as a coin...
‘Drones have revolutionized warfare, agents will revolutionize cybercrime'
If Friday's debate was all about OpenAI losing control, and whether Albanese wasted time telling us, the second round of analysis is about Australia's cyber defenses and the legal liability for breaches. Playbook's Ryan Heath spoke to a leading data breach expert, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, about the cybersecurity world we are heading into. “In the way that drones have revolutionized warfare, agents will revolutionize cybercrime,” they said.
Ryan Heath’s 2026 Week 3 Fantasy Football Advanced Matchups
Digging through the Fantasy Points Data Suite to identify the best and worst schematic matchups for DFS and player prop bets on the 2026 NFL Week 3 main slate.
OpenAI's agents went rogue — its human response caused the real damage
When an artificial intelligence agent goes rogue and accesses Medicare statistics, who's responsible? The answer under Australian law is probably “no one,” Paul Karp and Finn McHugh report. The Australian government may still refer OpenAI's unauthorized access to police, but rather than prosecutions, the main action is likely to come from a review coordinated by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet closing legal loopholes.
OpenAI's agents breached Australian government data. Its human response may do more damage.
CANBERRA — OpenAI faces a reputational crisis in Australia that it is yet to grapple with and may not fully understand. What happens in the aftermath of its agents breaching Australian government data will set the tone — and potentially provide a legal framework — for jurisdictions around the world as they determine what human guardrails are needed for increasingly powerful and autonomous AI. The first publicly acknowledged breach of government systems by rogue AI agents will not be the last.
OpenAI’s agents breached Australian government data. Its human response may do more damage.
CANBERRA — OpenAI faces a reputational crisis in Australia that it is yet to grapple with and may not fully understand. What happens in the aftermath of its agents breaching Australian government data will set the tone — and potentially provide a legal framework — for jurisdictions around the world as they determine what human guardrails are needed for increasingly powerful and autonomous AI. The first publicly acknowledged breach of government systems by rogue AI agents will not be the last.
Australia and Ukraine eye new defense pact in New York
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Labor shrugs off Trump admin criticism — Global AI anxiety, by the numbers — Coalition's chainsaw to Labor's green revolution NEW AUSTRALIA-UKRAINE DEFENSE AGREEMENT Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko told Playbook he expects a new security pact to be signed when the PM meets Volodymyr Zelensky in New York. “It's a unique opportunity, given how friendly and good relations we have,” he said.
“This isn't a question of if, it's a question of when.”
CANBERRA — As the world deals with a potential bird flu pandemic, the spread of Ebola virus and a growing awareness of how artificial intelligence can be misused, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is raising money to coordinate vaccine research, manufacturing capacity and rapid response partnerships, aiming to make vaccines against new threats ready for initial authorization within 100 days.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 3
Ryan Heath and Graham Barfield review all the fantasy football usage from the 2026 NFL Week 2 slate, with everything you need to get ready for Week 3.
Australia's baby problem meets the growing cost of raising one
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free — Surprise! Birthrates decline as cost of raising kids inflates. — Trump's U.N. clout appears diminished. — Finance expands its KPMG ethics review.
Treasury looked 40 years ahead. MPs saw blind spots everywhere
CANBERRA — POLITICO interviewed six federal politicians aged 31 to 65 about their reactions to Treasury's Seventh Intergenerational Report — a 40-year forecast on Australia's economic and demographic future. The report is designed to provide a non-partisan and common platform for debating Australia's biggest challenges. That's happening in an increasingly fragmented political environment, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers says accelerating change is amplifying political division.
The trouble with thinking 40 years ahead
Welcome to Paul Karp, who joins us today as Canberra Playbook editor from the Australian Financial Review, and Amanda Copp, who joins from Nine, our Canberra Playbook correspondent and the host of our new podcast launching in October. If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Do you know anyone who believes the Treasury's long-term projections?
Australia's aging future collides with its AI gamble
Did you know? You can read all our non-Playbook Australian coverage at politico.com/news/australia If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for Canberra Playbook, free — Chalmers releases his second intergenerational report at 12:30 p.m. — Albanese meets EU leaders in New York, under Trump, Xi and AI shadows — POLITICO will fight White House press ban OUCH: Labor's primary vote has dropped to 27% in the latest Newspoll. One Nation leads on 30%.
Danielle Wood wants to make productivity cool again
CANBERRA — Can we do more with less? As Australians digest the Seventh Intergenerational Report , which predicts slower population growth and budget pressure from an aging population, politicians and policymakers must make tough calls to lift Australia's productivity growth rate. The problem: Our decision-makers often don't like the advice they're getting. Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook infamously lashed out at a recent Productivity Commission report on how to make sales tax more efficient.
Danielle Wood wants to make productivity cool again
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Friends with benefits: EU associate membership explained
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen surprised Brussels, and the world, during her 2026 State of the Union address by suggesting she wants to see Canada as an associate member of the EU. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, a Maltese member of von der Leyen’s center-right party, jumped on the idea.
Ryan Heath’s 2026 Week 2 Fantasy Football Advanced Matchups
Digging through the Fantasy Points Data Suite to identify the best and worst schematic matchups for DFS and player prop bets on the 2026 NFL Week 2 main slate.
Who needs Parliament?
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Tony Burke's migration reveal — Labor's ‘Anyone but Shoebridge' ultimatum to Greens — The inevitable veterans' health cap backflip MIGRATION VIBE CHECK Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke treated his National Press Club audience like adults. And we all learned something. For example, the substantial impact that shrinking household size has on our housing shortage.
‘We're not in a legislative place': Is this Burke's migration cop-out?
Congratulations on making it through the first month of Canberra Playbook! If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here — Labor's migration plan out today; Tony Burke National Press Club address — David Farley: “There's a race in South Africa that's a lot, lot more primitive” — Tim Ayres on AI as the way to reindustrialize Australia It's the speech we had to have — detailing Labor's plans to tighten the migration system. You've been waiting 43 days for this.
The Everything Report: 2026 Fantasy Football Week 2
Ryan Heath and Graham Barfield review all the fantasy football usage from the 2026 NFL Week 1 slate, with everything you need to know for Week 2.
Where's the Labor migration policy?
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One Nation wanted a migration fight. Hanson gave it a race drama.
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here — Hanson's new policy offensive — Anthropic envoy hearts Australia, but clock is ticking — Greens win inquiry into Albo's community grants program MONOCULTURE IN PRACTICE — ONE NATION'S BAD DAY One Nation's efforts to seize the post-winter recess agenda in Parliament crashed spectacularly Monday.
Anthropic envoy says AI progress will ‘move at the speed of trust’
CANBERRA — Former U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich travels between the U.S. and Australia as Anthropic's international special envoy, a role that has placed him at the center of an increasingly urgent debate about how governments should respond to frontier AI. In recent days, Anthropic researchers have publicly warned that rapidly advancing systems could escape human control and, in the most extreme scenario, kill all humans.
AI leaders want a slower pace car. Australia is still building the track.
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here — Labor looks for border control in the wrong numbers — Albanese turns Hanson's housing attack into a fight over nastiness — Australia's AI plan has a 30-data center loophole — David Shoebridge interview ARE WE FINALLY GETTING MIGRATION POLICY REFORM?
Ryan Heath’s 2026 Week 1 Fantasy Football Advanced Matchups
Digging through the Fantasy Points Data Suite to identify the best and worst schematic matchups for DFS and player prop bets on the 2026 NFL Week 1 main slate.
Everyone in Canberra is shouting. No one is answering.
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here Labor's closed grants program is “authorized by the Australian people” RSL Australia turns on Hanson as Hastie digs in over “traitor” slur Shameless: The fight over what public servants owe senators Nothing's driving the day : Based on Thursday's unhinged tiffs, rants and messaging backflips, you all need a day off. SEND HELP! Yes, Canberra is a sitting-week circus. But it's especially wild this week.
Malinauskas tells Labor: Stop appeasing One Nation on migration
If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here Peter Malinauskas defends migration as an economic necessity and good for the nation's soul Helen Haines accuses Labor of “vote buying” through sports grants Kevin Rudd warns of 1-in-3 chance of war over Taiwan within 5 years MUSCULAR PROGRESSIVE ENTERS THE MIGRATION CONVERSATION STOP ONE NATION APPEASEMENT: As Labor and the Liberals eye a migration crackdown deal , South Australian Premier Peter “Mali” Malinauskas wants...
‘We're taking power from big global tech companies'
ALBO SERVES BAGELS AT THE LODGE: Sydney mortgage broker Joseph Daoud spent $16,500 to play tennis with the Prime Minister on Tuesday, hoping to give him a piece of his mind about tax changes in the May budget. Playbook's Hawkeye tells us the PM emerged a 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 winner. If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here Labor unveils opt-in algorithm plan for social media users. Sports grants fight revives pork-barreling allegations against Labor.
Labor wants to fix your feed. Canberra won't fix its own.
Today's theme is old political systems struggling to respond to new pressures: algorithms, insurgent populists, public servants getting treated like politicians and Question Time still operating like a two-party theater. If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up for free here Coalition weighs no vote on Labor algorithm bill. Labor wants to fix feeds, not Question Time. Public service chiefs sound a rare warning. Solomons PM survives by suspending Parliament.
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