Labor to Push Ahead with Data Centre Rules Despite State Opposition

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has said the federal Labor government will press ahead with national data centre rules despite opposition from Queensland and the Northern Territory.The comments were made during a question-and-answer session following Bowen’s address to the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on Aug. 5.Late last month, the Queensland and Northern Territory (NT) governments rejected elements of the federal government’s proposed national framework for data centres.Under the proposed standards, new large-scale data centres would be required to underwrite additional power supply, pay their full share of grid costs and put at least as much energy into the grid as they consume.The government has said the additional electricity supply would include renewable generation backed by firming capacity.When asked by a reporter whether the federal government would force non-compliant states to adopt the rules, Bowen rejected that characterisation but said the government would proceed with its plans.“Constitution is pretty big about any conflict between Commonwealth legislation and state legislation, which legislation prevails,” Bowen said.“Also, we’re sending rule requests to the Energy Market Commission. Any minister, any person can send a rule request to the Energy Commission. That’s what we’re doing. That doesn’t require unanimity around the states.“The only thing that would require unanimity from the states and territories is a national energy law change. That’d be great if we had it. We don’t, so we will do it otherwise.”Bowen said he would work with state governments that supported the federal government’s approach.“I’d be happy to work with a government that is helping with the transition,” he said.“If a government thinks that they’re going to undermine other states in some sort of race to the bottom, those states have views and we have views, and we won’t let that happen and that’s not in the best interest of Queensland consumers.“We’ll write Commonwealth legislation for the Commonwealth of Australia, which covers every state and territory.”Queensland Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki last month said his government opposed what it regarded as federal overreach.“Queensland will always support proposals that deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable power, however, we will not support underdeveloped ideas that hand increased power to Canberra at the expense of Queenslanders,” he said.Queensland Premier David Crisafulli also told the Liberal National Party’s recent conference that his state would compete for data centre investment without the federal government’s overarching rules on power sources.Meanwhile, NT Energy Minister Gerard Maley said the policy was targeted for big cities, not a region like the territory which was abundant in its own unique power sources.“The Northern Territory is in a fundamentally different position to the eastern states,” he said.“We have abundant gas resources, significant development opportunities, and the capacity to deliver reliable and affordable energy while supporting major new investment.”Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the proposed standards on July 16, saying large data centres needed to contribute to the energy system rather than simply adding substantial new demand.“What we’re talking about here is potentially very large data centres [that] need to be in appropriate locations, [and we] need to make sure that they add energy to the grid,” he told ABC Radio.“One would hope that that was something that was considered prior to approval by state and territory governments already. What we’re saying is we‘ll codify that. We’ll provide that clarity, that certainty.”Albanese said certainty was “the number one thing that investors look for,” and that certainty would “move issues forward.”