The pushback on data centres is democracy at work

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Data centres will help NSW maintain its economic and technological lead, but Sydney’s suburbs do not want the boom to come at their expense.

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The AI and data centre boom is not turning out to be the godsend some claim. Environmental problems and the future of work are among the big questions our society is facing, but community groups worried about data centres in their backyard are not waiting for the answer.

In September, the industrial property giant Goodman Group backed away from building an $800 million, 24/7 data centre at Lane Cove amid resident protests and concerns by utility providers Sydney Water and Ausgrid that it would strain existing infrastructure and increase electrocution and fire risks. A proposal to build a data centre in North Katoomba was knocked back last June after local opposition, and last week a new data centre beside the Cooks River was scrapped following Kogarah residents’ protests.

In western Sydney, the Herald’s Ellie Busby reports a group of mostly young 20-somethings is rallying the community to protest against technology company AirTrunk’s plan for a $9 billion facility, the nation’s largest data centre development, which would be built in Kemps Creek and near three schools. There have been similar outcomes in Victoria.

The pushback against artificial intelligence infrastructure construction emerged as hot button issue that contributed to the Democrat landslide in this month’s US midterm elections.

Australia is a significant data centre market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Earlier this year, Westpac Economics said the boom had helped make Australia the second-largest investment destination for data centres, after the US. Investment is estimated to top $155 billion in the coming decade, most slated for Sydney and Melbourne. Currently, about 165 data centres operate around Australia and 225 are planned.

There are arguments in their favour. The NSW government credits data centres and renewable energy for boosting business investment and helping to prevent the state economy from falling…

Howe…

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