Tungkillo data centre fight unites Greens and One Nation against Labor
ABC analysis says Tungkillo data centre anger is uniting Greens, One Nation and Liberals, with Labor needing upper house votes to pass new data centre laws.
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Opposition to a proposed hyper-scale data centre at Tungkillo, in the Adelaide Hills, is lining up parties that rarely agree, and the ABC’s state political reporter Thomas Kelsall argued on 7 November that it should worry South Australia’s Labor government.
Why it matters
The ABC reported that the Greens and One Nation shared a platform at a community rally in Mannum last weekend, opposing a Melbourne developer’s bid for the data centre roughly 40km east of Adelaide. Concerns raised were the environment, energy and water use. The Liberal Party was also there, calling for locals to get a genuine say. Our earlier report on the Mannum rally covers the protest itself; this is the political fallout.
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Simone Bailey, the Mid Murray Council mayor, stood for Labor at the March state election and told the ABC she struggles to see what the proposal would deliver. Independent federal MP Rebekha Sharkie also opposes it, the ABC said, and wrote on Facebook that prime farmland is no place for data centres.
Much of the anger was aimed at Quantum DC, which the ABC said has had a few hiccups with its community consultation. Labor was criticised too: Greens MLC Robert Simms and One Nation’s Carlos Quaremba both accused it of rolling out the red carpet for data centres.
The numbers
The ABC reported that Quantum DC has not yet lodged a planning application for Tungkillo, and that the government says it does not want to pre-judge the project.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said of the proposal that he did not know who the proponents were because they had not applied, and that it was causing community anxiety over a process nobody had formally started. Planning Minister Nick Champion told reporters on Saturday the process is rigorous, with tests on power, water and planning, and said the government controls the planning pathway.
What’s next
The ABC said the government has drafted new laws proposing tougher energy and water requirements for data centres, with the premier saying data centres that are not in the state’s interests will not go ahead. By Thursday, the ABC noted, Mr Malinauskas was also talking about an urgent need for law reform because current development application settings lack the controls the government wants, including requirements that data centres bring their own energy.
Labor does not hold a majority in the upper house, so it will need to negotiate the legislation with opponents who are leaning into data centre concern, the ABC reported. Kelsall wrote that a Greens and One Nation alliance could well reappear on that vote.
The ABC also noted the premier appeared alongside Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis in June to promote new AI development, and that Firmus’s IPO collapsed four months later.
Quick answers
What is the latest on Quantum DC?
ABC analysis says Tungkillo data centre anger is uniting Greens, One Nation and Liberals, with Labor needing upper house votes to pass new data centre laws.
What are the key numbers in this story?
east of Adelaide: 40km; planning application: Not lodged.
Where does this information come from?
This story cites ABC News. Every source is linked on the page.
Sources
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Filed by the AusDev Adelaide Desk. How we report.