Should Australia pause building new data centres? We asked 5 experts

Data centres, while crucial for the functioning of the internet and the AI industry, are increasingly controversial due to their significant water and energy consumption, noise levels, and land use.
In Australia, the rapid expansion of data centres has led to opposition from many local communities concerned about rising inflation and power prices and the lack of community involvement in the process.
The Greens have proposed a moratorium on the construction and approval of new data centres until regulations align with sustainability and community engagement goals.
The debate has prompted an inquiry with five experts, three of whom advised pausing the building of new data centres.
Various experts disclosed funding sources that may be relevant to their research on data centre sustainability and policy within the Australian context.