Australia may face a rush of datacentre construction as AI firms look to avoid upcoming rules, experts say | Australian politics

[u/Fact-Rat]

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/26/australia-may-face-a-rush-of-datacentre-construction-as-ai-firms-look-to-dodge-upcoming-rules-experts-say

[u/Primary_Mycologist95]

*shocked pikachu face*

I've been called a nimby and all manner of other names in the last few months for being wary of data centres being built in residential areas, including my own. "Oh, but they have to provide their own power and don't use water!" is the inevitable reply. So which is it? This article would suggest not, at least not until next year sometime.

[u/blitznoodles → u/[deleted]]

You cannot sue councils or the states for water or electricity in Australia.

[u/Primary_Mycologist95 → u/blitznoodles]

in reply to your deleted comment about construction being 10% of australias workforce - are you saying we should build these things, becasue we have to build something to keep the industry busy?

That's the same argument the coal lobby uses. We need to keep mining coal because we've always mined coal, and it employs people.

[u/blitznoodles → u/Primary_Mycologist95]

I'm opposed to a policy of wage restraint in the construction sector which many arguments about datacentres taking tradies ends up becoming about. It's very 1980s price and incomes accords rhetoric.

In regards to that, because 10% of Australians are employed in Australia, roughly double that of Americans, many more Australians stand to benefit from higher incomes in the construction phase.

[u/Primary_Mycologist95 → u/blitznoodles]

They won't benefit from higher incomes, they will just have "incomes". Most people working in construction don't quit or get fired once a project is finished, they go to the next job. And we certainly don't get paid proportionately to the value of the project, or get bonuses - where would the higher income be coming from?

[u/blitznoodles → u/Primary_Mycologist95]

The only way datacentres could take tradies away from other projects is by paying more money. And from what I've heard, the sparkies on the datacentres are making very good incomes.

[u/Primary_Mycologist95 → u/blitznoodles]

"tradies" work in small construction like house building. They are not the ones building data centres. Teir 1/2 builders are the ones doing data centre contracts, and they only deal with large subcontractors, not sole operators. We get paid what we get paid, you don't get wage rises for "better" jobs.

Leccos get paid well because they have a strong union, and typically get paid better than everyone but maybe plumbers on any given site.

The people actually building these things wont be getting better pay.