Australia makes US midterms a vote on AI regulation by holding a key hearing in the hours leading up to Nov. 3

Wow —this timing in the hours leading up to the US midterms vote on Nov. 3 is super interesting.

This is a developing story.

The location in Darwin, northern Australia, is super interesting, too.

Google context:

There is no new testimony or major corporate update from the tech leaders at the Canberra hearing today, October 1, 2026. Because both OpenAI and Anthropic declined to appear due to the short notice, today’s session proceeded without them. [1, 2]

The primary official AI developments out of Australia today include:

1. The Focus Shifting to October 6

Rather than presenting today, the major tech entities are preparing for a separate parliamentary inquiry next week: [3]

OpenAI’s Appearance: Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon is flying in from the US to address the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence in Sydney on Tuesday, October 6. [4]
Anthropic’s Strategy: Anthropic is also confirmed to skip today’s session due to prior commitments, aiming instead to coordinate future dates with the committees. [5, 6]

2. South Australia’s New AI Royal Commission

In separate but major regional AI news today, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the official appointments to lead the state’s landmark Royal Commission into Artificial Intelligence. [7]

It will be spearheaded by former Federal Court judge Iain Ross, alongside Stanford University AI expert Christopher Manning and tech industry executive Kate Pounder.
This commission will independently run until mid-2027 to examine AI risks and integration across public services and the workforce. [7]