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

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.

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

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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.

Labor to set terms for datacentre and AI growth as it vows not to repeat mistakes of resources boom

The Guardian - Energy

By: Josh Taylor and Petra Stock

11 June 2026 at 05:27

Assistant minister agrees concerns over resource usage are legitimate but argues Australia cannot ignore ‘consequential’ economic wave

Australia should learn from the mistakes of the resources boom and set the terms for the AI and datacentres boom, the assistant minister for the digital economy, Andrew Charlton says.

Growth in datacentres has exploded in the past two years, Charlton told the Sydney Institute on Wednesday night, with 44 projects in the pipeline in New South Wales alone seeking 11GW of capacity on the electricity grid.

BHP ‘laughing’ at Australia’s key climate policy while pocketing hundreds of millions in tax breaks, Pocock says

The Guardian - Energy

By: Christopher Knaus · Adam Morton · Dan Jervis-Bardy and Graham Readfearn

26 May 2026 at 05:46

Outrage as leaked documents reveal mining giant’s backsliding on commitments to slash emissions

The independent senator David Pocock says leaked BHP documents show that the mining giant is “laughing” at Australia’s key climate policy while pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars through a generous diesel tax break.

An exclusive investigation based on documents leaked to by the Guardian and the ABC show BHP has scrapped a project to significantly reduce global emissions, delayed vast renewables projects in the Pilbara and war-gamed options to push the electrification of its polluting diesel truck and train fleets into the next two decades.

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