AI data centre boom: destroying jobs and the climate
Extinction Rebellion Australia, 10 Aug 2026
It seems our governments will sacrifice everything to meet the demands of big business. But how about urgent action to develop appropriate infrastructure and enforced standards for energy, water use, social and environmental impacts? Without that, hyperscale AI projects will see us cooked.
In Melbourne’s West Footscray, locals say the proposed expansion of the current NextDC M3 campus, and a second new data centre have exposed shortcomings in Australia’s planning system, see 7NEWS Spotlight: Inside Australia’s secretive AI factories.
Last weekend’s rally added to calls from community, environmental and First Nations organisations seeking a temporary moratorium on new AI data centre developments. A pause is essential while a public debate considers risks and establishes appropriate safeguards.
The groups say existing planning systems were not designed to assess hyperscale AI infrastructure or its combined effects on electricity and water systems, greenhouse emissions, diesel pollution, cultural heritage and the impact on surrounding communities.
Peter Gartside of local community hub Borderlands Cooperative said
“At the heart of community concern is the total lack of democratic process in approving new data centres. Local councils have been cut out of any meaningful consultation, as have the communities they represent.“
Borderlands Cooperative has set up an events calendar and a data centre tracker to gather information about individual data centre sites. The pages can be updated by community members as more information is collected.
The Climate Council recently revealed that Australia became the second largest data centre investment location in the world in 2024. But without additional renewable generation, storage and system flexibility that matches energy demand, the industry will push Australia into extended reliance on coal and gas, and increased power prices. See Clouded Future: Managing the risks of the data centre boom
Data centres need large volumes of water. Industry estimates suggest that demand could at least triple by 2030 at a time when climate change is intensifying drought and water stress across Australia. In the March quarter, the biggest contributor Australia’s GDP was private investment in machinery and equipment – a lot of it to go into data centres.
Data centre construction employs people – while they’re being built. But as Greg Jericho said in the Guardian, anyone waiting for a jobs boom from actually running the data centres will be waiting a very long time. The whole point of data centres is to NOT employ people (and to reduce human work in other industries). See Australia’s GDP figures are meaningless when the boom in datacentres means destroying jobs and the climate
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