(Aug 24): Australia will legislate to enforce a national standard on data centres' use of electricity and water as the government aims to harness the technological development to bolster the economy without provoking a backlash.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will outline the proposed obligations at a meeting of leaders of all the states and territories on Wednesday. The centre-left government also plans minimum standards for copyright, security and safety for the training of artificial intelligence models.

“Australia can do more to unlock frontier AI development in Australia,” Albanese will say in a speech, according to excerpts released by his office. “And we must shape this change to harness the positive opportunities while minimising the downsides.”

The prime minister’s programme echoes comments from Energy Minister Chris Bowen earlier this month, when he said the government wouldn’t allow “a race to the bottom” in which states and territories are “falling over themselves to attract data centres at the cost of household bills, reliability or emissions.” 

On Sunday, Bowen brushed aside the opposition of the state of Queensland, saying “with the right rules in place, you can actually get the investment but actually get to a good outcome where those data centres need to bring their own renewable energy and can back it up with gas peaking.”

Albanese will tell the business community in his speech on Tuesday that “Australia is in a strong position to attract investment in data centres, but maintaining social licence will be essential” to achieve this.

“That means ensuring energy bills do not rise, water security is maintained and locations are appropriate,” he said.

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