Stop the Rollout of Hyperscale Datacentres in the Northern Territory
The issue
The NT government is secretively negotiating with Hyperscale datacentre companies, putting environments and communities at risk.
WHY THIS IS A PROBLEM
1. Hyperscale data centres involve enormous environmental risks
They involve huge amounts of energy, water and environmental damage. The recently announced plans show the extent of these risks. For example:
· Greenhouse gas emissions - the Beetaloo Digital hyperscale datacentre proposal near Darwin would be powered by 2GW of on-site power generation using fracked gas (enough to power 1.5-2 million homes) [1]
· Water use - Project Ares in the Beetaloo plans to take up to 4,000,000,000 litres of groundwater [2] (enough for a town of around 10,000 people)
· Land clearing and species risk Project Ares wants clear up to 191 square kilometres in a Greater bilby stronghold [2] (The entire Alice Springs municipality is 330 square kilometres!).
Globally non-disclosure agreements are being used to silence public scrutiny and privately negotiate generous incentives [3]. The Government has entered into at least 12 non-disclosure agreements [4].
Data centres are built using different approaches with very different environmental impacts. Without rules, design decisions will be based on minimising cost.
2. Regulatory vacuum
Northern Territory
The NT has no environmental standards/guidelines for datacentres, only a brochure promoting the opportunity to investors [5].
The Territory Coordinator Act 2025 lets Minister step-in to many NT statutory processes or statutory decisions which could mitigate environmental impacts.
Climate Change denial: the NT Government is actively spruiking gas from the Beetaloo Basin as a power source. All other states and territories (except Queensland) who have stated they will not power their centres with fossil fuels [6].
Supply of solar power at the scale required will also have terrible environmental consequences [6a].
Water risks: NT water allocation plans:
· Are not binding [7]
· Lack legal protection for water allocations for the environment [7].
· Give water away.
Decisions on data centres are being made ad hoc. Despite secret negotiations with companies there has been no public consultation on a plan or design standards.
Australian Government
Australian Government requirements are a voluntary “statement of expectations”[8].
The Government has promised legislative improvements, but these are not in place.
It is unclear if they will be sufficient and written free from industry interference[9].
WHAT WE NEED - ACTION REQUEST
1. Transparency – the Minister works for us - no backroom deals with industry and no non-disclosure agreements.
2. No fossil fuels used to power datacentres
3. A moratorium on hyperscale data centres until the rules and plans are in place. The idea that industry holds the cards and we will ‘miss out’ if we don’t dance to their tune is ridiculous. We have what they want and we can make decisions in our own time.
4. A public inquiry into AI and datacentres, similar to the Pepper Inquiry on fracking.
RECOMMENDED READING
REFERENCES
1. https://www.ecnt.org.au/dirty_dozen_data_centres_planned_for_the_nt
2. https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/consultation/project-ares
3. https://www.governing.com/infrastructure/data-centers-and-the-abuse-of-secrecy
4. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-13/data-centre-hyperscalers-target-northern-territory/106898282
6a. https://www.lettersfortheenvironment.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Suncable-Nov-2025.pdf
8. https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/expectations-data-centres-and-ai-infrastructure-developers
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The issue
The NT government is secretively negotiating with Hyperscale datacentre companies, putting environments and communities at risk.
WHY THIS IS A PROBLEM
1. Hyperscale data centres involve enormous environmental risks
They involve huge amounts of energy, water and environmental damage. The recently announced plans show the extent of these risks. For example:
· Greenhouse gas emissions - the Beetaloo Digital hyperscale datacentre proposal near Darwin would be powered by 2GW of on-site power generation using fracked gas (enough to power 1.5-2 million homes) [1]
· Water use - Project Ares in the Beetaloo plans to take up to 4,000,000,000 litres of groundwater [2] (enough for a town of around 10,000 people)
· Land clearing and species risk Project Ares wants clear up to 191 square kilometres in a Greater bilby stronghold [2] (The entire Alice Springs municipality is 330 square kilometres!).
Globally non-disclosure agreements are being used to silence public scrutiny and privately negotiate generous incentives [3]. The Government has entered into at least 12 non-disclosure agreements [4].
Data centres are built using different approaches with very different environmental impacts. Without rules, design decisions will be based on minimising cost.
2. Regulatory vacuum
Northern Territory
The NT has no environmental standards/guidelines for datacentres, only a brochure promoting the opportunity to investors [5].
The Territory Coordinator Act 2025 lets Minister step-in to many NT statutory processes or statutory decisions which could mitigate environmental impacts.
Climate Change denial: the NT Government is actively spruiking gas from the Beetaloo Basin as a power source. All other states and territories (except Queensland) who have stated they will not power their centres with fossil fuels [6].
Supply of solar power at the scale required will also have terrible environmental consequences [6a].
Water risks: NT water allocation plans:
· Are not binding [7]
· Lack legal protection for water allocations for the environment [7].
· Give water away.
Decisions on data centres are being made ad hoc. Despite secret negotiations with companies there has been no public consultation on a plan or design standards.
Australian Government
Australian Government requirements are a voluntary “statement of expectations”[8].
The Government has promised legislative improvements, but these are not in place.
It is unclear if they will be sufficient and written free from industry interference[9].
WHAT WE NEED - ACTION REQUEST
1. Transparency – the Minister works for us - no backroom deals with industry and no non-disclosure agreements.
2. No fossil fuels used to power datacentres
3. A moratorium on hyperscale data centres until the rules and plans are in place. The idea that industry holds the cards and we will ‘miss out’ if we don’t dance to their tune is ridiculous. We have what they want and we can make decisions in our own time.
4. A public inquiry into AI and datacentres, similar to the Pepper Inquiry on fracking.
RECOMMENDED READING
REFERENCES
1. https://www.ecnt.org.au/dirty_dozen_data_centres_planned_for_the_nt
2. https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/consultation/project-ares
3. https://www.governing.com/infrastructure/data-centers-and-the-abuse-of-secrecy
4. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-13/data-centre-hyperscalers-target-northern-territory/106898282
6a. https://www.lettersfortheenvironment.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Suncable-Nov-2025.pdf
8. https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/expectations-data-centres-and-ai-infrastructure-developers
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Petition created on 31 July 2026