Major artificial intelligence and data centre companies, including Firmus, will be expected to pay into a fund for the communities that host them, but the state government has not said how much.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the Local Community Benefit Fund would apply to data centres going through approval, including Firmus’s facility at St Leonards, which is already approved and under construction.
“If a community hosts a major development, that community should share directly in the benefit,” he said.
The money would go towards local infrastructure, skills and training, community organisations and liveability projects.
Rockliff said communities would decide how it was spent, but did not say how much companies would pay or how contributions would be calculated.
He said only that the government would “take the best advice”, including from examples in the United States.
Asked whether it amounted to a new tax, Rockliff said: “You can call it whatever you like.”
“My clear expectation is that when you come to Tasmania and you’re an AI data centre and you have the benefits of our renewable energy … then our expectation is that you support the local community,” he said.
He said the fund would be set up “as soon as possible” and that the government had already engaged with Firmus.
When asked why the fund was being announced before the details were finalised, Rockliff said: “We set the policy and then we work with proponents and other key stakeholders to put that policy into action.”
Labor MP and shadow innovation, artificial intelligence and digital economy minister Janie Finlay said the premier had “backed himself and Tasmania into a corner”.
“Premier Rockliff must tell the community how much Firmus will pay into his new fund,” she said.
Finlay said the premier also needed to explain how the fund would be enforced and whether he would bring legislation to parliament.
She said data centres must “demonstrate genuine, ongoing benefit to Tasmania” and bring new energy projects built in the state.
“Otherwise, they are just using us and our renewable reputation and will drive up the cost of power bills for Tasmanians,” she said.
Firmus has faced community concerns over the energy and water demands of its planned northern Tasmanian sites.
Asked whether the fund was a response to that backlash, Rockliff said the policy had been in development “for a little while now”.
The government also expects data centres to report their water and energy use.
“That’s our very clear expectation and that will happen,” Rockliff said.
Firmus withdrew its planned sharemarket float last week, saying it would seek private funding instead.
Rockliff said “nothing points to any concerns” about Firmus honouring its sponsorship deals with local sporting clubs, including the Tasmania Devils and JackJumpers.
He said those deals were separate from the fund.
