A NSW parliamentary committee has called for data centres to be regulated more like other heavy industries, with greater transparency and a user-pays approach to the power, water and other infrastructure they rely on.
The report comes from the Legislative Council’s public accountability and works committee, according to a Mandarin article republished by Startup Daily on 7 November.
What the committee wants
- A comprehensive statewide development plan for data centres.
- More transparency from the industry.
- A user-pays regime for wider utility infrastructure costs.
The committee did not back a moratorium on new AI data centre approvals. Chair Abigail Boyd, a Greens MLC, was the only member to vote for one; the other six voted it down.
Industry stayed away
In her foreword, Boyd criticised data centre, AI and big tech companies for declining to appear as witnesses, saying they pointed the committee to industry body Data Centres Australia instead. She also said the data centre lobby would not disclose its meetings with ministers and officials, and wrote that the sector shows “clear, bubble-like characteristics”.
Boyd also pointed to a Transport for NSW submission, later withdrawn on request, that warned data centres could push freight activity further from markets.
Why it matters for Sydney
NSW holds most of Australia’s existing data centre assets, the report’s coverage notes, and Boyd accused the state government of creating multiple fast-track approval mechanisms for the industry. The report makes recommendations; it does not change the law by itself.
