The Tasmanian government has released draft expectations for data centre and artificial intelligence infrastructure projects, but the Greens have branded them “an absolute joke” and the electrical industry says they ignore the workforce needed to build them.
Innovation, Science and Digital Economy Minister Felix Ellis said the government welcomed investment that created jobs and built new industries, but that no project received automatic approval or special treatment.
“Our government expects companies to maximise benefits for Tasmania, engage genuinely with communities, support our energy system, use water responsibly and comply with our approval processes,” Ellis said.
Energy and Renewables Minister Nick Duigan said the projects must also deliver community benefits.
“This includes expecting new projects to support additional renewable energy generation, meet their share of network and connection costs and operate in a way that protects energy security and grid stability,” he said.
The draft expectations are open for feedback until 12 October.
Greens science and information technology spokesperson Tabatha Badger said the document was little more than a series of questions the party had been asking the government for months.
“The Greens are really proud to have done Felix Ellis’s homework for him over the last year,” Badger said.
“It is utterly shameful that this government did not have a policy before they were prepared to … look at signing over 30% of the state’s power to one company.”
“This is an absolute joke that this is the best they could even do as far as a statement of non-statutory expectations goes.”
Badger previously said Firmus Technologies’ three proposed Tasmanian facilities would use around 20% to 25% of the state’s power.
Badger said Tasmania needed “clear legislative and regulatory guardrails when it comes to data centres and AI infrastructure”, pointing to the parliamentary inquiry the Greens pushed to establish and to their failed push last week for a pause on new facilities.
“That is why it is so disappointing that that was not supported by either of the 2 major parties,” she said.
Ellis told parliament in August the government would not consider a moratorium on new data centres.
He said at the time it was important data centre developments “pay their way on water and energy,” including a commercial price for the power provided and for the transmission costs of the development.
The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) Tasmania welcomed the draft but wants workforce development made a central requirement for major projects.
Executive director Ben Shaw said the association strongly supported the industry, but “data centres need to create additional skills in power, water and energy not just take them.”
“Tasmania cannot deliver data centres, housing, renewable energy, transmission projects and other critical infrastructure by continually shifting the same limited pool of electricians and apprentices from one project to another,” Shaw said.
Shaw said NECA had received concerning reports that organisations involved in prospective data centre developments were seeking to recruit third-year apprentices from existing local contractors.
“If we weaken those employers, we weaken Tasmania’s entire apprenticeship pipeline,” he said.
Citing Powering Skills Organisation data, Shaw said Tasmania’s critical energy workforce grew by just 2% between 2015 and 2025, against 25% nationally.
NECA wants the final expectations to require major proponents to assess and address their impact on the state’s electrical workforce.
“The principle should be simple: major data centre developments should leave Tasmania with more electricians, more apprentices and greater training capacity than we had before they arrived,” Shaw said.
