Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is giving a major speech about artificial intelligence this week. He's been talking about it for months, but hasn't actually explained what his government will do The Guardian.

Here's the problem: Labor keeps sending two different messages. Sometimes Albanese talks about Australia becoming a hub for AI companies and jobs. Other times he talks about protecting people from AI risks. Both things matter, but they need different rules — and nobody knows which one the government actually prioritises PM's office PM's office.

Industry minister Andrew Charlton has given a hint. He says the government's AI plan has three parts: attract the opportunity, share the benefits, and then guardrails — protect people from problems. Notice which comes first Department of Industry. That ordering tells you where their mind is before they even write any laws.

But there's a major fight underneath all this that hasn't been settled: copyright. Can AI companies train their systems on Australian books, articles and creative work for free, or do they have to pay the people who created it? The Guardian reported that AI companies are pushing to change Australia's copyright laws to let them do this without permission The Guardian. This isn't a boring technical question. If the government weakens copyright rules, Australian writers, journalists and creators lose money. If the government doesn't weaken them, AI companies might choose to build their datacentres somewhere else instead.

Albanese has said AI is one of the big problems his government needs to solve. He's mentioned it at press conferences, summits and economic reports over the past five months PM's office PM's office.

Here's the odd thing: he's given the same speech five times. In different places, using different words, but basically the same message — without actually deciding what to do about any of it. When a government is sure about a decision, they announce it once and move on. This government keeps rehearsing the argument, which suggests they're still working it out.

Wednesday's speech will show whether Labor has finally made up its mind. The real question for journalists covering this: does the Prime Minister actually announce a plan and a timetable, or does he give us another version of what he's already said? After five speeches, answers matter more than messaging.