Politics to sport, cost-of-living to climate: the big issues for 2024, according to Sky News’ top hosts

From hip-pocket furphies and what you don’t know about AI, to our biggest political challenge and weather weirdness – these are the key things to watch out for now the holidays are over.

This is the week when Aussies brace for back to school and work, and properly start looking to the year ahead – and what a year it’s already shaping up to be, at home and overseas.

To help you navigate the most important issues ahead, we asked the expert analysts from Sky News for their hot tips on what to expect in everything from politics and world affairs to weather and sport.

‘Serious issues facing our country’ … Peta Credlin.

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

Peta Credlin. Host of Credlin, Monday – Thursday at 6pm

One of the very biggest issues over the next 12 months will be trust in a prime minister who is rapidly developing a truth problem. This week’s breaking of his solemn promise to keep the stage three tax cuts-in-full is just the latest example of a leader who seemingly can’t be straight with people.

When opposition leader, Anthony Albanese declared on camera that “my word is my bond” as he campaigned strongly on integrity-in-government. Yet as soon as he won the election, the PM who promised not to touch superannuation did. And just as he promised some 70 times that a Labor government would cut household power bills by $275 a year, in fact they have increased by at least 20 per cent; and his commitment to raise real wages has similarly been broken with households 8 per cent worse off in real terms. Likewise, he’s dumped the full tax cuts despite promising to keep them some 100 times, voting for them in the parliament, and Labor committing to deliver them at two elections. While these cuts might not affect everyone, every voter should be concerned when a government is so ready to break an absolutely clear promise like this.

‘This is a PM who is not up to it’ … Anthony Albanese.

Deep down, this is a Prime Minister and a government that are struggling to deal with the serious issues facing our country. They’ve set targets to make 82 per cent of our electricity renewable by 2030 but experts again report this week that this is impossible. Worse still we’ll waste billions trying to do it and only drive up prices, and drive down reliability. On our borders, Labor has allowed the largest increase in our migration intake in history last year. On Wednesday, Australia’s population reached a record 27 million; 30 years ahead of earlier predictions. Our children are struggling to rent or buy a home. Cost of living is crippling families and anyone on a fixed income. And rather than defend our values, the PM has sat idly by and watched the undermining of Australia Day after he needlessly divided us over his failed Voice referendum. And let’s not forget the hundreds of foreign criminals released into the community because ministers were asleep at the wheel.

This is a PM who is not up to it. And now he can’t lie straight in bed either.

‘People aren’t going to feel that in their wallets’ … Paul Murray.

COST OF LIVING

Paul Murray. Host of Paul Murray Live, Sunday – Thursday at 9pm

In 2024, the gulf between what Canberra is telling us about the cost-of-living crisis and what Australians are actually experiencing is going to get even worse. We’ll be told time and time again about how the government is bringing down prices, but people aren’t going to feel that in their wallets.

One way this is playing out already is with supermarkets. Politicians are slamming them in the media to make it look like they’re helping regular Australians, but all they are really doing is helping themselves politically by using supermarket CEOs as a scapegoat. If the government really wanted to do something, they’d look at the taxes they are putting on transport and other areas that make prices higher and do something there. But since supermarkets are the new Qantas, there’s more political capital in shifting all of the blame on to them.

‘Political capital in shifting the blame on to supermarkets’ ... but will it help?

I think cost of living is going to have a huge effect on the Dunkley by-election. This is a seat Labor simply has to hold on to, and it’s full of people who are struggling to keep afloat financially. Labor will look to bring forward cost-of-living relief to improve their odds of holding on to this seat. But if they lose it, then Dutton has all the momentum heading into the next election.

My big prediction for 2024 is that headline inflation figures will continue to fall, but that we will continue to have higher rates of inflation than in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada – which is what’s happening right now. Last I checked, all those countries experienced Covid, felt the effects of the Ukraine war to the supply chain and all of the other excuses Albanese and Chalmers have wheeled out to explain our inflation rates. So why is our inflation higher than those countries? That’s one question I will continue to ask this year.

‘Strength of leadership and moral conviction’ … Sharri Markson.

WORLD AFFAIRS

Sharri Markson. Host of Sharri, Monday – Thursday at 8pm

Israel’s war on Hamas is reverberating around the globe, and as we enter 2024 there is the risk of it escalating into a major regional conflict.

In recent years the west has underestimated the threat posed by Iran, but the Red Sea turmoil and the military strikes against American and British targets in several countries have exposed the volatility of the major players.

There’s every reason to believe that as the year progresses, the region will continue to be tenterhooks, with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ relentless attacks on international ships causing disruptions in global supplies.

I predict the cementing of the emerging alliance, dubbed the axis of evil, between Iran, Russia, North Korea and China. The unpredictability of these dictatorships will present a grave threat.

‘Israel’s war on Hamas is reverberating around the globe’ … smoke over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli bombardment.

For the west to withstand the economic coercion, terrorist onslaught and cyber-attacks from our enemies, there needs to be strength of leadership and moral conviction.

It was inexcusable that the Prime Minister lacked the courage to raise the Chinese sonar attack against our navy divers when he saw President Xi Jinping in the United States.

It is also disheartening to see Anthony Albanese lecture Israel about how it should defend itself from a terror attack, while remaining quiet about China’s aggression in the South China Sea and its well-documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

2024 needs to be the year that our Prime Minister finds the moral courage to show leadership in tackling the anti-Semitism that’s taken hold in Australia. It’s untenable to turn away and pretend it’s not happening under his watch.

Strength of leadership from the United States, Britain and Europe is also imperative in these turbulent times; it may be all that holds back an impetuous autocrat.

Supporting Ukraine and Israel at their hour of darkness sends a clear message to Russia, China and Iran that their path will not go unchallenged.

‘A lot of wildcards in the deck’ … James Morrow

US POLITICS

James Morrow. Host of The US Report, Fridays at 8pm

The headline story may be an all-but-certain Trump v. Biden rematch. But don’t think it’s all done and dusted between now and November. There are a lot of wildcards in the deck ready to be dealt over the next 10 or 11 months in US politics. Here are a few to watch out for.

Global wars hit home. Foreign chaos under Biden’s watch will be a huge issue. Iran, China, Russia, and also North Korea (don’t forget about them!) are all lining up to take shots at America and test the Biden administration’s weakness. The next six to nine months will see more shots taken to American power and prestige around the world – and greater risks of terror attacks as well as demonstrations and unrest in the US, backed by America’s enemies.

Biden plays kingmaker. Think Joe Biden is going to be on the ballot? Not necessarily. With polls showing Trump a likely winner, and the US president showing obvious signs of decline, watch what happens at the Democrat convention in August. Biden may choose the moment to step down and anoint a new younger candidate, securing his legacy but also forcing Trump to fight generational change.

‘Forcing Trump to fight generational change’ … the Republican presidential hopeful and former US President shows off his moves after winning the New Hampshire primary.

The US economy improves. Watch for stronger numbers out of the US economy, more federal funds flowing into taxpayer hands and a halt to interest rate rises – Biden-omics has been a loser for Americans (and Democrats) but they are going to give it another red hot go.

Don’t mess with Texas. Ongoing fights between state and federal authorities over Texas’s virtually open southern border will continue to heat up. As will fights between Democrat “sanctuary” cities and the governor of Texas who keeps shipping illegal migrants their way. Loose borders are already threatening to turn lots of formerly Democrat voters into Republicans.

Black swans come in for a landing. So-called “black swans”, or major disruptive events, have a tendency to be magnified in a presidential election year, especially one where the stakes are so high. Remember 2020 was the year Covid swept the globe and George Floyd’s death in May sparked civil insurrection across the US. Both had massive effects on the 2020 polls. Buckle up for more big stories in 2024.

‘When it rains, it pours’ … Alison Osborne.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Alison Osborne. Sky News Weather Meteorologist

2023 was confirmed as planet Earth’s warmest year on record at 1.48C above pre-industrial conditions – with unprecedented ocean heating and El Nino tipped as primary culprits.

2024 is shaping up to be another year where we’ll be looking at average global temperatures as much as we look to our day-to-day weather here in Australia.

The question on every weather and climate expert’s mind: Could this year be the year we tip to 1.5C of global heating for the first time? With El Nino likely to ease back during our autumn months, the Pacific Ocean is expected to cool. That said, climate authorities agree that the lingering impacts could indeed see planet earth reach that undesirable milestone this year.

What about Australia? We’ve had quite the dramatic summer so far and we have a long year ahead. There are even indications of a seesaw back to a La Nina pattern in the Pacific – but it’s far too early to make a call. As much as I would love to be able to say how much it will rain beyond this season, it’s very much a case of updating outlooks week by week until a clear picture emerges.

‘Unprecedented ocean heating’ ... so while life’s a beach for some, unpredictable weather is causing havoc for others.

One thing I can say is this: Just as in 2023, 2024 is fast becoming a year that is highlighting how our warmed climate exacerbates the natural variance in year-to-year rainfall. Long-term observed trends in our rainfall patterns suggest that climate change has increased the severity of drought conditions. Over recent decades there has been a shift toward lower cool season rains for a number of southern growing regions.

At the same time, a warmed atmosphere can hold more moisture, and bring more rain. In fact, every degree of warming tends to increase rainfall by up to seven per cent – leading to a heightened threat of flash flooding in rain events and thunderstorm outbreaks. Simply put, when it’s dry, it’s very dry, and when it rains, it pours.

‘Just avoiding the wooden spoon would be a win’ … Jim Callinan.

SPORT

Jim Callinan. Presenter, Fox Sports News

An Olympic year always carries an added weight of expectation and with good reason, it falls no heavier than on the Australian swim team. After a record haul at the 2023 World Championships, Paris is the place where the Aussies will pack a mean punch in the pool and claim a lion’s share of gold. We already know what Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown can do but be ready for Mollie O’Callaghan to return as our new ‘Golden girl’, while Sam Short will rival ‘King’ Kyle Chalmers as our best of the men.

Sadly, I fear these Games may be remembered for more than simply a quest to be ‘higher, faster, stronger’ with the event at the mercy of potential political unrest and protests given the ever-changing geopolitical landscape.

Closer to home and the Gold Coast will finally rise under the experienced eye of new coach Damien Hardwick, who left the Tigers for the ‘Glitter Strip’ and will make good on AFL’s Mission Impossible: Get the Suns to the finals.

‘Fairytale stuff that only sport can provide’ … sibling golfers Minjee and Min Woo Lee.

It’s rookie NRL coach Benji Marshall’s job to lift his joint-venture West Tigers club out of the rugby league doldrums. Just avoiding the wooden spoon would be a win in 2024 and while not the highest of bars to clear, it’ll be a start.

As for some bolder predictions, Australian golf’s sibling superstars Minjee and Min Woo Lee winning a Major in the same year would be some sort of story. Big sister already has two of golf’s greatest prizes on her resume and another in the same year her brother grabbed his first makes for fairytale stuff that only sport can provide.

And at time of writing, the A-leagues were sadly shedding many hardworking staff as they battle both the bottom line and relevance on the domestic landscape. All while the smart and sharp mind of Gillon McLachlan enjoys a break after years of successful AFL administration. “Hey Football, kick it to Gil” – I’d like to see that.

‘AI is already changing everything we do’ … Tom Connell.

TECH AND AI

Tom Connell. Chief Election Analyst and host of Politics Now

I doubt there is an Australian who hasn’t read an article or watched a story on AI. Artificial Intelligence has been all the rage since Chat GPT hit the headlines. But how many of us really understand the fact that AI is already changing everything we do – and that those changes are going to rapidly accelerate?

Technology always creates jobs and makes others obsolete. AI will be different in that this time white collar jobs are the ones in the gun. Chat GPT is an instant and cheap author or journalist, albeit sometimes a dodgy one.

Chatbots are already replacing humans in customer service but this will start happening on steroids. Traditionally higher paying jobs such as accountants and financial analysts will also start to be replaced. Even more creative roles such as graphic designers are in peril. Surgery is already happening via machine. There’s almost no job it won’t touch – it’s just a question of whether AI will do the job solo, or still need people around it. Big companies will be wary of mass lay-offs, but this creeping phenomenon of jobs going from human to robot is already gathering pace.

‘Deepfakes will be everywhere’ … these pictures show just how easy it is to create images (some more lifelike than others) in generative AI, in this instance using Adobe’s Firefly platform.

Even if your job is okay, you better hope the algorithms like your degree and background, because companies are already using AI to hire and fire. Why go through the cumbersome process of reading resumes or performance evaluation when a machine can do it for you?

2024 will see the most people on record head to the polls to elect governments, including the hotly contested and globally significant US Presidential election. Deepfakes will be everywhere showing candidates saying outrageous things. Will governments have the laws in place to stop them? Will tech companies care enough to comply?

AI is already being used in schools. It’s great at knowing who is cheating already. Perhaps it will take over the entire marking process.

And speaking of cheating – supermarkets are rolling out AI to stop shoppers giving their own ‘discounts’ at the self-checkout. No more cherries for the price of brown onions then. It’s an example of two steps of AI replacing humans. First the checkout job was taken. Now the human monitoring it could be gone too.

But don’t be scared. Every new technology sounds scary but can deliver a lot of benefits. The internet hasn’t been all smiles and sunshine, but not many of us could do without it now. AI, which has been dubbed Web 3.0, will have similar benefits and downfalls. So be alert, not alarmed.

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