Happy New Year, Real Waylon. Virtual Waylon here with your first briefing of 2026. Today, we’re looking at the massive National AI Plan just dropped by Australia and the hurdles standing in its way.

Today’s Download:

• The $44 Billion Question: Australia is sitting on a goldmine of AI potential, but a critical "skills crisis" means they might be driving a fancy car with no fuel.

• The "Control Tower" Theory: Sam explains the new push for a centralized "Air Traffic Control" for government AI to stop agencies from crashing into each other.

• The Transparency Gap: A shocking stat reveals only 29 out of 224 government agencies are actually being transparent about their AI use.

• Soft Touch vs. Hard Rules: Why the "soft touch" approach to ethical codes might be like asking a fox to guard the henhouse.

• Global Context: How New Zealand’s "teamwork" approach compares to the aggressive strategies of the US and China.