Prime minister is right to pump the brakes on data centres

July 18, 2026 — 5:50am

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Artificial intelligence has been playing an increasing role in our lives at the micro level for years, from our televisions and smartphones to our playlists and emails. But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech entitled AI in Australia’s interests at the University of Sydney this week marked a turning point in acknowledging that the technology is reshaping our nation at the macro level.

The speech focused on data centres, which are now being built all over the country as states and territories feverishly compete to attract the billions of dollars in investment involved. In Victoria, Premier Jacinta Allan has vowed to be “ruthless” about bringing data centre construction to the state, with a series approved in just weeks under a fast-tracked ministerial system that bypasses local zoning regimes.

Among the approvals is one for tech giant NextDC in Geelong, on 169 hectares of land long earmarked for sorely needed housing. A $911 million centre proposed for a Port Melbourne site by the same company in October was approved in January by Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny without a meeting with NextDC.

Danny Pearson, Victorian Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, told The Australian Financial Review at the time that “you put AI on a leash and you let it run. If it starts to get away........

© The Age