Australia politics live: renewables and batteries soar but ‘critical’ moment coming; WiseTech staff face AI redundancy
Australia’s clean energy use jumped in 2025, but new wind and solar investment fell. WiseTech also told about 190 Australian staff their roles could go as AI reshapes the company.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The live blog pairs a strong year for Australian renewables and batteries with warnings that the clean-energy pipeline is weakening. It also reports that WiseTech is consulting on AI-linked redundancies affecting roughly 190 staff.
Australia had a good year making clean electricity. Wind, sun, and batteries helped power a lot of homes and businesses, almost like the country was getting energy from a growing set of giant charging stations.
But there is a problem: fewer new wind and solar projects are being built. That is like having lots of empty spots on a toy shelf, with fewer new toys arriving to replace the old ones.
A separate story is about WiseTech, a software company. It says AI may change some jobs there, so workers are being told their roles could disappear while the company talks with them about what happens next.
Analysis
Energy transition
Australia’s clean-energy sector had a strong 2025 on the surface. The Clean Energy Council says renewables provided 43% of the country’s power across the year, up from 39% in 2024, and more than half of national-grid electricity in the final quarter. The country also moved into third place globally for utility-scale batteries, behind China and the United States, with 2GW connected to the grid, a 233% rise year on year.
But the snapshot comes with a warning. The CEC says the transition is at a “critical juncture” because investment in new large-scale wind and solar projects has dropped sharply. New onshore wind and solar investment fell 48%, with wind especially weak at 0.9GW reaching financial close in 2025 versus 2.2GW the year before. The report points to inflation, regulatory delays, slow transmission build-out and delayed coal closures as reasons investor confidence has softened.
WiseTech and AI
The live blog also reports that WiseTech has begun a redundancy process tied to AI changes in the company. Professionals Australia says around 190 staff in product development and customer service have been told their roles could go as part of a wider cut affecting about 2,000 jobs. The company says no final decisions have been made and that affected staff will enter a two-week consultation process.
Together, the updates show two major pressures shaping Australia’s economy: the race to build a reliable low-carbon power system, and the growing use of AI to reduce labour needs in corporate workflows.
Key points
- Renewables supplied 43% of Australia’s power in 2025, up from 39% in 2024.
- Australia became the world’s third-biggest nation for utility-scale batteries.
- The Clean Energy Council warns that new wind and solar investment has fallen sharply.
- WiseTech says no final redundancy decisions have been made yet, but about 190 staff could be affected.
- Professionals Australia says the changes are linked to AI-related restructuring.
