As artificial intelligence reshapes the boundaries of national sovereignty, Australia is quietly staking its claim — not by closing its doors to the technology, but by insisting it enter on Australian terms. The Albanese government's proposed framework would, for the first time, require companies conducting large-scale AI training on Australian soil to report security breaches and unexpected model behaviour to federal authorities, while also binding data centres to environmental and infrastructure obligations. The initiative reflects a broader civilisational question now confronting government