{
  "id": 14571150,
  "title": "By the numbers: What 12 years of Labor has done to Victoria, good and bad",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/by-the-numbers-what-12-years-of-labor-has-done-to-victoria-good-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T00:37:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Crikey",
    "slug": "crikey",
    "url": "https://www.crikey.com.au/2026/10/15/victorian-labor-dan-andrews-jacinta-allan-covid-debt-spending/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope has described the use of AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude for voting information as an \"emerging concern.\" Speaking at a joint standing committee hearing on Wednesday night, Pope stated it is \"dangerous\" to rely on social media or AI tools as a sole research source for forming opinions on voting. To address this, the AEC is investing in modernising its website to ensure AI tools pull factual information from the commission's pages rather than potentially incorrect resources. Pope suggested a legislative response from parliament regarding platform content may be required.\n\nIn trade negotiations, Nationals leader Matt Canavan has disputed claims by Don Farrell that he and Ted O’Brien walked out of a meeting regarding the European Union trade deal. Farrell told the ABC that the pair walked out while he was explaining the deal, but Canavan suggested Farrell ended the discussion and stated he remains open to meeting. While representatives from Australia and the EU have agreed to the deal, it still requires parliamentary support; the Coalition has ruled out support, and the Greens are reviewing the details.\n\nSeparately, ABC News AU reports that Premier Ben Carroll has a plan to provide free abortion care in Victoria if re-elected, targeting improved care for women in rural and regional communities. Additionally, Anika Wells is set to introduce the government’s digital duty of care bill into parliament, with the communications minister confirming the government will drop previous plans to give her office broad powers to define \"harmful\" content.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}