Community Rally for a Data Centre Moratorium — Sunday 9 August, 2pm
Dear friends and supporters
Melbourne communities are gathering in West Footscray on August 9 as part of a national call for a moratorium on AI data centre developments across Australia.
You are invited to join us at this community rally to call for a pause until proper safeguards on data centre infrastructure planning and approvals are in place.
Community Rally for a Data Centre Moratorium
Sunday 9 August, 2pm
Hansen Reserve, 35A Roberts St, West Footscray VIC 3012, Australia
Find out more and RSVP here
About the event
Borderlands Cooperative and community groups including Citizens of Tottenham are calling for a temporary pause on new approvals and construction on existing projects until governments legislate stronger safeguards for people, communities, cultural heritage and the environment.
At the rally, you’ll hear from:
- Experts discussing data centre policy in Australia and why stronger regulation is needed
- West Footscray residents sharing what it is like to live next to a major data centre
- Community groups opposing proposed data centres in other parts of Australia
- Local political candidates running for the seat of Footscray, who will be invited to outline their position on data centre development.
Following the speeches, we will take a short community walk past the approved site of the Perri Melbourne Data Centre and the operational NEXTDC M3 facility and proposed extension to see the scale of the sites and hear more about its operations and proposed expansion.
Data centres are expanding rapidly across Australia, but communities often have little meaningful input into where they are built or how their impacts are assessed. Concerns include energy and water use, greenhouse emissions, diesel backup generators, construction and operational noise, impacts on local environments and the cumulative burden on surrounding neighbourhoods.
This is a peaceful, family-friendly community rally. Everyone is welcome.