Emails between staff in the NSW technology minister's office reveal they removed the phrase 'absolutely thrilled' from a press release welcoming OpenAI's Sydney office after joking about a dystopian Skynet scenario. The emails were tabled in NSW parliament this week.
Staff joked about Terminator's Skynet
The minister's deputy chief of staff initially wrote: 'The Minns Labor government is absolutely thrilled to welcome the news that OpenAI will open its first Australian office, right here in Sydney, later this year.' However, after a staffer joked about a 'Skynet situation' within five years, the phrase was changed to 'welcomes the news'. Skynet is the fictional AI from the Terminator films that wipes out humanity.
'Fine – I will roll out 'golden era' next time,' the deputy chief of staff replied. Another staffer said: 'I'm still convinced we're headed for a Skynet situation in the next 5 years so don't want to be on record endorsing any 'golden era'.'
Government courting OpenAI
Despite the jokes, documents show the NSW government actively courted OpenAI before its decision to open a Sydney office in December 2024. In a June 2024 meeting, Minister Anoulack Chanthivong was briefed to tell OpenAI that Sydney is the top startup location in the southern hemisphere, attracting 65% of all venture capital in Australia, and home to tech giants Atlassian, Canva, and Afterpay. The talking points also noted that 45% of all AI businesses in Australia are in NSW.
A spokesperson for the NSW government said they are committed to embracing AI opportunities responsibly. The state is developing a datacentre strategy to support AI growth but has not announced a release date.
Environmental and community concerns
State and federal governments are balancing AI investment with concerns over datacentres' environmental impact. Documents from a May 2026 meeting showed that if all eight large datacentres in the Sydney basin ran diesel generators simultaneously for one hour, the air pollution would be five to six times that of all electricity generation in NSW and all motor vehicles in NSW.
Belinda Dennett, CEO of Data Centres Australia, called this a worst-case scenario and extremely rare. However, NSW Greens MLC Abigail Boyd, chairing the datacentres inquiry, said air impact assessments underestimate hours and warned of grid strain. 'It's a disaster waiting to happen,' she said, noting proximity to residential areas and schools.
Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said she was not concerned about NSW falling behind other states, calling Sydney a 'highly desirable location' for datacentres.
