{"id":40951,"date":"2026-09-24T07:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=40951"},"modified":"2026-09-24T07:39:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:39:49","slug":"greens-call-for-data-centre-moratorium-until-strong-framework-finalised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/09\/24\/greens-call-for-data-centre-moratorium-until-strong-framework-finalised\/","title":{"rendered":"Greens Call for Data Centre Moratorium Until Strong Framework Finalised"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ACT Greens will tomorrow move a motion calling for a moratorium on new data centres until the ACT Government finalises a comprehensive framework that protects Canberra’s environment, resources, and communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAround the world, we\u2019re seeing data centres demand more power, more water, and more land, while local communities are left carrying the impacts,” said Laura Nuttall MLA, ACT Greens Spokesperson for Air and Water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Canberrans expect better, and as data centres become more prevalent, we have an opportunity to put the rules in place now to ensure they serve Canberra’s interests, so the community isn\u2019t forced to pick up the tab later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the Labor Government is dead set on approving more data centres, there are real-world, global examples of communities already making better use of waste heat for public benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Scandinavia, the UK, Ireland, Canada and France, data centre waste heat is being explored or already used to heat homes, buildings, pools and district heating networks. Waste heat reuse is a proven technology \u2013 it shouldn’t be dismissed as fanciful or unrealistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrankly, it\u2019s really disheartening to see the word of the Chief Minister, one of the most politically powerful men in the territory, taken over that of the young woman MLA who\u2019s actually done her research, listened to experts, and is the one who actually brought this motion to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCanberrans deserve a genuine debate about what we\u2019re proposing, rather than the Labor Chief Minister\u2019s bad faith AI-generated jabs presented as Greens gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Chief Minister is shadow-boxing with a proposal nobody made. The only thing we\u2019ve said is: if Big Tech companies profit from ACT land, water, and energy, Canberrans should share in the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGovernment has already committed to creating a Data Centre Framework, but they also need to ensure clear and genuine community consultation, and most importantly, with Traditional Custodians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy motion calls on the Government to enact a temporary pause on all new data centres until this framework is in place and there are clear requirements established to protect households and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will ensure the government can include provisions in the framework to ensure that new data centres do not drive up water or energy costs for Canberrans, are fully powered by additional renewable electricity, and demonstrate clear benefits to the community,\u201d said Miss Nuttall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ACT Greens will tomorrow move a motion calling for a moratorium on new data centres until the ACT Government finalises a comprehensive framework that protects Canberra’s environment, resources, and communities. \u201cAround the world, we\u2019re seeing data centres demand more power, more water, and more land, while local communities are left carrying the impacts,” said … Continue reading “Greens Call for Data Centre Moratorium Until Strong Framework Finalised”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40952,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40951\/revisions\/40952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}