Victoria's $5b data centre queue hits minister's caretaker deadline

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has until 6pm on 3 November to decide nine data centre proposals worth more than $5 billion, The Age reported on Sunday. After that, caretaker conventions freeze government decisions ahead of the 28 November state election. On 30 October, all 79 Victorian councils demanded a moratorium on new data centre approvals. For developers with a fast-tracked permit in the queue, a missed deadline likely means waiting until after the election.

Why it matters

The deadline puts nine large projects, including a near $1 billion Stockland proposal for Brooklyn, into one ministerial decision window. Most of Melbourne’s data centre proposals are being assessed through the state government’s Development Facilitation Program, a fast-track pathway that bypasses local councils and removes residents’ rights to apply for a review, according to The Age. If Kilkenny does not decide by the deadline, the Brooklyn proposal and the other eight projects will not be addressed until after the election, and the newspaper reported that is likely to push a decision well into next year. The Municipal Association of Victoria, representing all 79 councils, says local government is not being given the time, information or resources to weigh the cumulative effect of approvals it has no say over under the fast-track pathway. The Victorian queue adds to a national pipeline that includes a $1.26 billion Microsoft data centre approved at Huntingwood in western Sydney.

The numbers

Stockland’s Brooklyn plan would convert a distribution centre it owns into a data centre up to eight storeys tall, The Age reported. Stage one would cost $935 million. The full project would cover 22 hectares between Francis Street and the West Gate Freeway and cost almost $1 billion. The company applied through the Development Facilitation Program in May and had expected a decision last month. Acoustic consultants working for Stockland found the facility’s 96 rooftop chillers will need an 11-decibel noise reduction package to meet state limits set for the site on Millers Road, a street in the Hobsons Bay council area with houses as close as 170 metres to the proposed plant. Hobsons Bay City Council, whose area includes the Brooklyn site, objected to the plan. It told the state government that local oversight had been reduced to a meaningless procedural step, the newspaper reported.

What’s next

A state government spokesman declined to say how many of the nine proposals are likely to be decided by Tuesday’s deadline, The Age reported. Brooklyn resident and campaigner Carmen Largaiolli, who has lobbied for years against the cluster of data centres near her home, said: “I’m calling for a moratorium along with the growing voice of community groups from all over Melbourne.” Local Labor MP Melissa Horne backed giving more weight to community feedback on the proposals still before the minister. The Australian Developer will track whether Kilkenny rules on the Brooklyn and other proposals before caretaker mode begins, and whether the council moratorium push gains traction after the 28 November election.