Opposition leader Josh Willie has accused Premier Jeremy Rockliff of sacrificing northern Tasmanian smelter jobs to free up electricity for AI data centres.
In a heated debate in parliament this morning, Willie said the premier had stood beside technology company Firmus during last year’s election to announce a new AI factory zone for northern Tasmania.
Weeks later, Firmus co-CEO Oliver Curtis gave a presentation describing Liberty Bell Bay and Bell Bay Aluminium as “end-of-life” smelters and identified their electricity as power that could become available for the AI zone, Willie said.
“Isn’t this confirmation that your energy policy is to watch manufacturing businesses that have underpinned our economy for generations fall over so that you can sell their power at a premium to AI factories and data centres?” he said.
Rockliff dismissed the line of questioning as “absolute scaremongering rubbish” designed to frighten workers already anxious about their futures.
“Our energy policy provides for all industry, including the new opportunities through AI factories and traditional industries such as aluminium smelters,” he said.
The premier said the government had “thrown everything” at trying to save Liberty Bell Bay and called on the federal government to partner with Rio Tinto and the state to secure the Bell Bay Aluminium workforce.
“This is a multibillion-dollar opportunity for Tasmania,” he said.
“We can have both when it comes to our traditional smelter industry.”
Asked whether he had discussed smelter power with Firmus, Rockliff said “to the best of my knowledge, absolutely none.”
Separately, Greens MP Tabatha Badger pressed Primary Industries and Water Minister Gavin Pearce on water supply for Firmus sites at Wesley Vale and Bell Bay.
Documents obtained under right to information laws showed Firmus had spoken to Tas Irrigation about water supply and in July the company accidentally disclosed on its website it was seeking water from Tas Irrigation for its Wesley Vale site.
Emails also showed the company asking whether it would be necessary to “politically pressure TasWater for supply” at Bell Bay.
Pearce said Tas Irrigation supplying water to AI facilities was “a no” and that the website reference was “an internal error” on the company’s part.
The Greens said the government failed to rule out a power price agreement for Firmus, which has three proposed AI factories in Tasmania planned to consume more than 440MW, nearly 25% of the state’s power.
Badger called for a moratorium on all unapproved AI and data facilities until regulatory safeguards are in place.
