‘Reluctant’ approval for Tasmanian datacentre sets marker for national battle
Summary
The George Town council in Tasmania approved plans for a large datacentre despite strong community opposition and before new national regulations come into effect. The federal government plans to introduce consistent rules for datacentres across Australia next year, but the council had to decide based on current laws.Key Facts
- The George Town council voted 6-1 to approve a 288 megawatt datacentre project by Australian developer Firmus.
- The datacentre will be built at Long Reach on a former pulp mill site near the Tamar River.
- Around 6,000 people signed a petition against the datacentre, and over 300 submissions were made to the council.
- Many objections focused on energy use, concerns about artificial intelligence, and federal regulations, which the council said were outside its decision-making power.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced upcoming national standards for large AI datacentres covering energy, water, and land use.
- The federal rules will start from early next year and aim to work alongside state and territory planning laws.
- Councillors said they had to follow current state laws and could not wait for future federal standards.
- People who oppose the decision have 14 days to appeal it.
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