{"id":807027,"date":"2026-07-17T23:03:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/807027\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T23:03:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:03:24","slug":"labor-facing-internal-revolt-over-data-centre-spree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/807027\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor facing internal revolt over data centre spree"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Victorian Labor MPs at the state and federal level are breaking from the Allan government\u2019s aggressive drive to attract data centres, increasingly siding with residents amid growing anxiety about the AI infrastructure gold rush in their electorates.<\/p>\n

Community concern over the long-term impacts of the rapid industry expansion, and who stands to benefit, is setting up a critical political flashpoint, including in outer-suburban and regional Labor seats increasingly under threat from a surging One Nation before the November state election.<\/p>\n

\"DataData centres, such as NextDC\u2019s site in Melbourne, are popping up around Australia, but operators are unclear what rules they will have to comply with in the future.Joe Armao<\/p>\n

The internal political pushback follows recent revelations by this masthead about two contentious projects. In one case, data centre giant NextDC bought a 169-hectare chunk of land<\/a> near Geelong long earmarked for future residential development, throwing the promise of more than 2000 new homes into doubt.<\/p>\n

The other involves a proposal by developer Syncline for Australia\u2019s largest-ever data centre<\/a>, a 350-hectare, 2.4-gigawatt development in Plumpton, in Melbourne\u2019s outer north-west. The sheer scale of the Plumpton project would require more electricity than the total output of Victoria\u2019s largest remaining coal-fired power station.<\/p>\n

At a budget estimates hearing in May, Premier Jacinta Allan maintained her firm stance on welcoming data centres, vowing that the state wanted to attract \u201cas many as we possibly can\u201d, provided they go through proper channels.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

However, data centres are increasingly being approved through the state government\u2019s Development Facilitation Program. The fast-track mechanism effectively sidelines local councils and strips residents of the right to appeal decisions through VCAT.<\/p>\n

Labor sources in Melbourne\u2019s west say there is acute voter anxiety that the region is being treated as a dumping ground for the rest of the city, bearing the brunt of heavy infrastructure while delivering little back to communities.<\/p>\n

Federal Labor MPs Sam Rae and Alice Jordan-Baird released a joint statement confirming they had been inundated by residents who were \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the Plumpton proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in our community are rightly asking questions about what a development of this scale could mean for our growing suburbs,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe west cannot simply become the destination for infrastructure that places additional strain on resources while delivering little in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"NextDC's<\/a><\/p>\n

The proposal is located in the state seat of Sydenham, where Labor MP Natalie Hutchins is retiring. The seat is viewed by Labor as among those under threat from a surging One Nation.<\/p>\n

Uros Rasic, the Labor candidate for the seat, has vowed on social media that he \u201cwon\u2019t stand\u201d for the Plumpton proposal and wants more detail on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want answers, and we want them now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The developer, Syncline Energy, which built the nearby Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, has vowed to consult the community.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Phil Galloway said it would have its own gas turbine energy generation to protect the grid from disruption and make use of recycled water and an onsite dam, and the proposal would include community green spaces.<\/p>\n

The federal government has promised to force new data centres to generate enough power to cover their needs, but experts have said it would be nearly impossible<\/a> for all of that power to come from renewable sources.<\/p>\n

A community petition opposing the project sponsored by Legalise Cannabis MP David Ettershank has gained more than 3000 signatures.<\/p>\n

NextDC\u2019s expansion to the outskirts of Geelong has intensified fears of negative community impacts, marking the first time a major operator has bought directly into a designated residential zone. NextDC has refused to answer questions about its land purchase or plans for the site.<\/p>\n

Ella George, the member for Lara, said she shared her constituents\u2019 concerns about building heavy digital infrastructure in residential areas slated for 2000 homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany local residents have raised their concerns about a data centre company purchasing land in an area that is earmarked for future residential development,\u201d said George, whose seat is also considered at risk to One Nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a local MP, my role is to listen to the community I represent and advocate on their behalf. I\u2019ve raised these concerns with the relevant ministers, and I\u2019ll continue to do so. If a proposal for a data centre in Lovely Banks is put to the state government, it\u2019s my expectation that concerns from local residents are considered as part of the decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Footscray Labor MP Katie Hall has written to the planning minister supporting residents opposing the expansion of an existing NextDC data centre in West Footscray.<\/p>\n

\u201cResidents have been rightfully frustrated by the construction impacts of the existing data centre,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Data centres are yet to take centre stage in Australian elections, but public sentiment and polling results in the US \u2013 seen as a few years ahead of Australia in its uptake of the infrastructure \u2013 provide a warning for the Victorian Labor government.<\/p>\n

In the US, a bipartisan voter backlash against data centres \u2013 triggered by soaring household utility bills and power grid constraints \u2013 has seen dozens of projects blocked and elections fought on the issue.<\/p>\n

This week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul mandated a one-year statewide pause on large data centre facilities in response to community backlash.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced new requirements<\/a> that would force data centres to generate their own energy and pledged to ensure they \u201cdo not increase power prices for Australians\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He added that the computing factories used to power AI models should not compete with housing developers for land.<\/p>\n

Victorian Labor has rolled out the red carpet for data centre companies and openly vowed to aggressively court them to the state. The boom is driving economic growth and accounting for all growth in commercial construction in the state.<\/p>\n

The Coalition has not campaigned on the issue and has so far been cautious in its comments on the industry.<\/p>\n

However, the Victorian Greens have strongly campaigned against the industry, and One Nation \u2013 yet to announce any candidates ahead of November\u2019s state election \u2013 has started to campaign against it federally.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Central to criticisms of data centres is that they provide limited ongoing jobs \u2013 beyond intensive skilled labour requirements during construction \u2013 while placing a heavy burden on electricity and water resources.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Victorian government said Labor was putting local jobs, communities and household energy bills first.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with the Commonwealth to prevent data centres increasing bills for households and businesses,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Most data centre investment in Australia is centred in Melbourne and Sydney. While Sydney has a greater current investment, cheaper land and easier transmission access in Victoria is providing the state with an edge over NSW.<\/p>\n

The availability of old industrial land and disused farmland on the city\u2019s fringe has made Melbourne\u2019s north-western suburbs the centre of data centre proposals.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"DaniellaDaniella White<\/a> is a state political reporter for The Age. Contact her at da.white@nine.com.auConnect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-807027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}