Australia’s new environmental protection agency approves coal project, angering climate groups

3 September 2026 at 03:23

Queensland open-cut Saraji mine will be able to keep digging until 2055 as Anthony Albanese denies tensions with Pacific leaders over fossil fuels

Australia’s new national agency for environmental protection has approved its first coal project, allowing a Queensland open-cut mine to keep digging until 2055 while clearing threatened woodland and koala habitat.

The confirmation of the extension of the Saraji mine, which digs and exports coal for steel making, comes after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, denied this week there was tension over Australia’s fossil fuel exports during talks with Pacific leaders.

No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions

The Guardian - Energy

By: Tom McIlroy Political editor

28 August 2026 at 05:17

Energy minister says states can apply to use coal and gas supply to power datacentres but must prove it is cheaper than renewables

Chris Bowen insists federal Labor’s new national laws on datacentre power supply will not include carve-outs for Queensland and the Northern Territory, with states that are eager to use coal and gas required to make their case to the national regulator.

The energy minister told Guardian Australia on Friday the only concession agreed at Wednesday’s meeting of national cabinet was that existing coal and gas supply could be used on the condition it could be shown to be cheaper than renewables.

Queensland and NT reject Labor’s push to ensure that power-hungry AI datacentres use renewable energy

The Guardian - Energy

By: Josh Butler

29 July 2026 at 04:19

Federal-state stoush comes as rating agency warns that electricity bills could skyrocket

Queensland and the Northern Territory have rejected the federal government’s plans to mandate that AI datacentres use renewable power, rubbishing Anthony Albanese’s proposals to regulate the booming technology as “underdeveloped ideas that hand increased power to Canberra”.

The latest federal-state stoush on energy comes as S&P Global, the economic rating agency, warns that power use from datacentres could rise five-fold by 2035 to 10% of Australia’s total consumption, and that a mismatch between delivery timelines for datacentres and renewable projects could lead to energy bills skyrocketing.

Climate and rock art advocates take on Woodside’s ‘carbon bomb’ WA gas project in federal court

The Guardian - Energy

By: Graham Readfearn and Donna Lu

21 July 2026 at 05:18

Albanese government’s approval of North West Shelf gas extension being challenged by the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock Art

The Albanese government’s decision to approve one of the world’s largest gas projects in Western Australia is being challenged in the federal court, setting up a significant test of how Australia’s environment law deals with the climate crisis.

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Friends of Australian Rock Art (Fara) are this week running concurrent court challenges against the approval of the extension of Woodside’s major North West Shelf gas export project.

Anthony Albanese says he wants to do AI 'the Australian way' – video

The Guardian - Technology

By: Presented and produced by Matilda Boseley

15 July 2026 at 11:24

For months, artists and activists have been calling on the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to act on the AI boom as datacentres pop up around the country. Today he made a major speech at the University of Sydney addressing copyright, the regulation of datacentres and the future of AI in Australia

'Not up for grabs': Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright 'theft'

‘Not up for grabs’: Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright ‘theft’

The Guardian - Technology

By: Josh Butler · Luca Ittimani and Tom McIlroy

15 July 2026 at 07:18

PM lays out plan for datacentre development and rejects prospect tech companies will be given free use of Australian data

Anthony Albanese has promised “the strongest possible protection” for Australian creatives against misuse of their work by artificial intelligence models, warning it would be “theft” if writers, artists and musicians didn’t have control of their work or receive payment for its use.

Amid growing community concern about large energy-intensive datacentres, the federal government will also set strict new rules for the facilities, including where they can be built, that they shouldn’t compete for land with housing, their power and water use, and that they don’t increase electricity prices for consumers.

AI companies want to water down Australia’s copyright laws. Artists are outraged, Labor is split

The Guardian - Technology

By: Dan Jervis-Bardy and Josh Butler

11 July 2026 at 21:00

Anthony Albanese will deliver a landmark speech on AI this week as MPs are torn between attracting datacentre investment and protecting the rights of creatives

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

When Anna Funder stood before a pack of journalists at Parliament House this month, she presented herself not just as a writer but also a “victim of crime”.

The Stasiland author was using the analogy to illustrate how technology companies have flagrantly “hoovered up” her literary works for their own profit.

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