Albanese’s AI blueprint sparks calls for datacentre moratorium until new regulations in place

A datacentre in Sydney. New AI rules leave communities already facing datacentre development proposals with a level of uncertainty. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters View image in fullscreen A datacentre in Sydney. New AI rules leave communities already facing datacentre development proposals with a level of uncertainty. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters Albanese’s AI blueprint sparks calls for datacentre moratorium until new regulations in place Prime minister’s plan will create energy regulations for datacentres in Australia Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Environmental and community groups have called for a pause on datacentre development until new regulations are in place after Anthony Albanese promised “greater clarity and speed” over their approval. In his landmark speech on artificial intelligence at the University of Sydney on Wednesday, the prime minister said Australia would create a legal obligation for large-scale datacentres to underwrite new power supply, pay their full share of grid connection, and add as much energy to the grid as they take out of it. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The prime minister noted all three obligations “take in every level of government and their overlapping powers” but said the national standards would ensure governments were on the same page. ‘Not up for grabs’: Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright ‘theft’ Read more Deanna D’Alessandro, professor and director of the Net Zero Institute at the University of Sydney, said up until now the approach to datacentre regulation has been fragmented. “The commonwealth is focused on sovereign digital capability, productivity, critical infrastructure resilience and decarbonisation,” she said. “States are balancing economic growth with energy, water and regional development challenges. Local councils are dealing with the immediate impacts on land use, housing, traffic, amenity and community expectations.” The challenge, she said, is coordinating priorities to ensure economic benefits are captured while social licence is maintained. All state and territory ministers at energy and climate change ministerial council meetings are required to agree to the new standards before their adoption. Although the majority of datacentres in Australia are in New South Wales and Victoria, at the May meeting Queensland was the single holdout on the proposal. The Climate Council has warned Queensland’s reluctance could lead to a “state-by-state race to the bottom” on datacentre expansion. “The AI-driven surge in datacentres will have a profound effect on our energy system, and unchecked, this growth could mean soaring prices and rampant climate pollution,” the Climate Council chief, Amanda McKenzie, said. “The government must adequately regulate datacentre growth to ensure it occurs in the best interests of Australians.” The peak organisation for the sector, Data Centres Australia, has previously