Is it Time for Australia to Halt New Data Centre Construction? Insights from 5 Experts

At first glance a data centre looks like a bland, boring warehouse. But these buildings, stacked with thousands of servers, are the beating heart of the internet and the booming artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

As data centres have grown in size and number in Australia, they have also become the subject of fierce public debate. State and federal governments, as well as the tech industry, are pushing for new data centres to be rapidly built in addition to the roughly 160 that already exist around the country.

But many local communities, from Perth to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, are pushing back. Their opposition stems from the vast amounts of water and energy data centres consume, the noise pollution they generate throughout day and night, the large tracts of land they occupy, the upward pressure they could place on inflation and power prices, and the lack of transparency and community involvement in the development process.

Against this backdrop, the Greens have called for a moratorium on the building and approval of new data centres in Australia. Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens Senator for South Australia and chair of the ongoing federal parliamentary inquiry into AI and data centres, said a moratorium was needed “until we get the regulations right”.

So should Australia pause building new data centres? We asked five experts. Three out of five said yes.

Disclosure statements

Bronwyn Cumbo receives funding from the Australia Public Policy Challenge Grant for her research investigating possibilities and challenges to establishing New South Wales as a sustainable data centre hub.

Ehsan Noroozinejad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Michael Vardon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Olivia Shen works for the United States Studies Centre, which has previously received funding from the Australian Government to convene dialogues on AI policy.

Tamika Worrell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.