MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Senator BELL (New South Wales—One Nation Whip) (17:42): I think we can all acknowledge that the world is going through an artificial intelligence revolution and that data centres will be a big part of this. What that means is that Australia is going to be faced with two choices: we can look at building and controlling our own critical infrastructure, or we can find ourselves dependent on data centres based overseas, controlled by foreign interests in countries like Communist China—that is just the reality, and that would be a risk to our sovereignty and our national security.
It does appear that the Albanese Labor government has been caught flat-footed here. I was listening carefully to Senator Ghosh's contribution, and I heard a lot of 'we have a plan' and 'we will do'. But there is a distinct lack of action here—and there needs to be action, because people are concerned.
On the issue of energy: you're not going to be able to power these with your solar factories or your wind farms. That's another critical issue here. You have hamstrung yourself, once again, with your net zero obsession.
To hear that you are linking this to further renewable rollouts is concerning, and it will concern Australian landholders. That is why it's no surprise that we have local councils and communities and concerned members of the public coming to my office, and to our offices, because they're learning second-hand about what appear to be major land purchases being discussed or made, and proposed data centres in their area.
Yet they do not know what's going on, because they are being bypassed because there is a lack of consultation. Councils do appear to have been ignored. Residents are being kept in the dark.
Communities are only finding out about things later. We've heard this story before, because it's the same blueprint that you, Labor and the Greens, used to force your industrial wind and solar on rural and regional communities. It's the same blueprint we have seen you use at the behest of your net zero billionaire mates.
Labor and the Greens have already allowed multinational renewable companies to steamroll farmers and to divide communities—to rip them apart. So it is a bit rich to hear you talk about the concern you have for these communities because you've already done it to them. We don't want to see it happen again.
There is an issue with consultation. Your record shows the exact opposite on this issue. You have not shown the due concern.