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Anger over Tungkillo data centre should have Labor on red alert
Anger over a proposed Tungkillo data centre puts pressure on South Australia's Labor government.
Key points
- Greens and One Nation spoke side by side at a Mannum rally against the proposed Tungkillo data centre.
- Quantum DC has not yet lodged its planning application for the Tungkillo project.
- The South Australian government has drafted laws proposing tougher energy and water requirements on data centres.
Why it matters. Broad local and cross-party opposition could put pressure on the Labor government as it drafts tougher rules for data centres.
Greens and One Nation spoke at a Mannum rally last weekend against a Melbourne developer's data centre bid near Tungkillo, about 40km east of Adelaide. Quantum DC has yet to lodge its planning application, and Premier Peter Malinauskas said of the project, 'they haven't even applied.' The state government has drafted laws imposing tougher energy and water requirements on data centres, with the premier saying 'if they're not in our interests, they're not happening.
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Anger over Tungkillo data centre should have Labor on red alert
Data centres have become so politically toxic that they've managed to bind together the Greens and One Nation. The two ideological opposites stood side by side at a community rally in Mannum last weekend , speaking out against a Melbourne developer's bid for a hyper-scale data centre in Tungkillo, roughly 40km east of Adelaide, over concerns about the environment, energy and water use . The Liberal Party was there too, demanding that locals who are fiercely opposed get a genuine say. Mid Murray Council Mayor Simone Bailey, who ran for Labor at the March state election, told the ABC it was "really hard to understand the benefits" of the proposal. Mid Murray Council Mayor and former Labor candidate Simone Bailey speaking at the Tungkillo data centre protest. ( ABC News: James Wakelin ) Popular independent federal MP Rebekha Sharkie is also against it, posting on Facebook that "Data Centres do NOT belong on prime agricultural land". The broad coalition that's forming in Tungkillo comes with the backdrop of the US midterms, where Americans used their ballots as a sledgehammer against pro-data centre proposals and politicians . Labor in SA should be on red alert. No data centres for the sake of data centres, premier says The bulk of the anger in Mannum over the weekend was directed at Quantum DC, a company that has had — to put it mildly — a few hiccups with its community consultati.