The Australian Greens have renewed calls for a moratorium on new datacentre construction until the federal government enacts legislated standards for artificial intelligence, arguing there cannot be a “free for all” until the new laws are in place.
Greens Senator criticises delay on AI protections
Senator David Shoebridge expressed frustration over the government’s slow response to AI risks. “A coordination office in Canberra doesn’t stop a single kid getting harmed tonight, and no amount of branding changes the fact that this government still hasn’t legislated a single enforceable protection,” he said in a statement.
Shoebridge also raised concerns about “consent, privacy and surveillance risk,” and called for an independent AI regulator with real powers, mandatory guardrails, and legislated protections for children, workers, and creators.
Hanson-Young demands pause on hyperscale datacentres
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged a halt on new datacentre builds until Labor’s proposed laws – which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said will not be introduced to parliament until “early next year” – come into force.
“We need a moratorium on the building of datacentres until there are laws in place to properly regulate their impact in Australia including energy, water use, environment and communities,” Hanson-Young said. “It is essential that we get the rules right. To do that we need a pause on the approval and construction of new hyperscale datacentres while we do this important policy work. Just because big tech companies want to move at hyperspeed, doesn’t mean that we need to fast-track and roll out the red carpet for them. We need to take the time to get this right, if we don’t there will be serious consequences for our energy grid, water, environment and climate.”
