Queensland Labor has released another significant policy, unveiling its data centre principles for community consultation.
These principles put energy first and AI second to ensure Queenslanders get the benefits of the boom but aren’t left to pay the price.
Data centres are coming to Queensland at a scale we have not seen before, and while Labor welcomes the investment, the Crisafulli LNP Government has no plan to safeguard household power or drinking water.
Premier David Crisafulli has guaranteed that data centres will drive down energy bills, but his spin is getting in the way of the facts.
It’s estimated power bills will rise by $370 a year from 2029-30, while one large data centre would use the same amount of water as about 80,000 households a day.
Labor believes data centres in Queensland should be built on Queenslanders’ terms, including:
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Queenslanders’ power bills come first
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Bring new energy, don’t take ours
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Drinking and irrigation water is for people and agriculture
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Plan ahead and put them in the right place
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Communities and councils get a real say
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Local benefits that last
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Good jobs, Queensland skills, secure data
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AND, Open and accountable
The principles will be consulted on with community and the final policy will guide a framework for the future of data centres in the state, under a future Miles Labor Government.
Quotes attributable to Queensland Labor Leader Steven Miles:
“We want the best data-centre operators in the world investing here, and the new industries that can grow around them, but we need to get the policy settings right.
“We need to ensure these multibillion companies will not exploit Queensland by guzzling our drinking water and driving up our power bills.
“The Crisafulli LNP Government has already signalled they will railroad councils on decision making but has failed to outline any plan to safeguard Queenslanders from the risks.
“We believe Queenslanders should decide when they are built, where they are built and the circumstances in which they are built.
“It’s why we have released eight key principles that underpin Labor’s approach that we will work on with Queenslanders, for Queenslanders.”
Quotes attributable to Shadow Energy Minister Lance Macallum:
"David Crisafulli is rolling out the red carpet for multi-national data centre companies and it is Queenslanders who will pay the price with their power bills.
"Queensland power bills could increase by more than $370 a year as a result of these new data centres.
"Despite courting these multi-national companies, David Crisafulli has not said once when, where or how they will build enough energy to power them.
"Data centres should be built on the terms of Queenslanders, not a backroom deal done by the Premier."
Quotes attributable to Shadow Environment Minister Leanne Linnard:
"David Crisafulli talks a lot about data centres but he has said nothing about where they will get the water they need to operate.
"A single data centre could use the same amount of water as 80,000 Queensland households every single day.
"We know we will need more water for Queenslanders in the future, so it is vital that date centres explain how and where they get the water the need.
"David Crisafulli is so focussed on spin that he is leaving Queenslanders in the dust behind him."
Quotes attributable to Shadow Local Government and Water Minister Nikki Boyd:
“Premier David Crisafulli promised to give communities a voice, but his actions say otherwise.
“David Crisafulli has said that he will take over the over data centre assessments and approvals but in doing so has completely removed communities from of the decision-making process.
“We believe council’s and communities should get a say, and there should be real local benefits that last.”
