The George Town Council has approved Firmus’ second Tasmanian AI factory against growing community concerns.
This decision comes despite community concern over the Liberal Government’s silence over energy arrangements and water supply. The lack of transparency for the State Government who have backed in Firmus without asking Tasmanians is shameless.
The Greens wrote to the Premier and Energy Minister requesting that the details of public resource arrangements for the Bell Bay site be made public prior to the council decision, after conflicting information was being produced by the proponent. They didn’t even reply. Questions remain: what is the arrangement for energy supply and where will the water come from? Tasmanians deserve better than this.
The council is limited in their capacity to approve or decline such distinct developments, which really solicit their own process, or assessment avenues. That’s why the present Parliamentary inquiry, lobbied for by the Greens, is so important in recommending what processes may be required, how communities can have a fair say, and the legislative and regulatory guardrails required to protect Tasmania.
The push the ram through these resource intensive facilities before any binding guardrails are in place is not only inappropriate but incredibly risky. The fact today’s decision was made just 24 hours before a Federal Cabinet meeting discussing nationwide obligations around energy and water consumption of AI and data centres, is an added insult to the community.
The Liberal Government has put the cart before the horse when it comes to AI data centres, and somehow the horse has still bolted – it’s a mess. Until guardrails are in place, there should be a moratorium on new data centres in Tasmania. There seems to be widespread community support for a pause on AI data centres, with a Greens’ petition reaching more than 9,000 signatures.
The Greens stand with the northern Tasmania community. We share the disappointment in today’s decision and will continue to fight for transparency and guardrails for these facilities.
Tasmania deserves a future that’s clean, green and connected, but the present approach to AI data centre construction in our state is one that future Tasmanians may bear the burden of if we are not careful and clever with resource allocation today.
