Residents Oppose Proposed Queensland AI Data Centre as Approval Rules Shift

A petition opposing a proposed AI data centre near Dalby, Queensland, has drawn more than 21,500 signatures in weeks, organizer Mordechai Winters told the Guardian. The 725-hectare development would support Anthropic’s Claude. Residents are challenging its promised benefits just as Queensland moves to shift data-centre assessment from councils to the state.

Cooling claims do not shrink the power requirement

Singapore-based developer Zerra DC proposes building Western Downs Digital Park outside Kogan on land currently occupied by a feedlot. Anthropic has agreed to lease the first of four planned buildings, according to ABC News. The agreement makes it a planned tenant, not the operator of an already functioning facility.

The proposal has a peak power requirement of 2.16 gigawatts, roughly a quarter of Queensland’s total demand, the Guardian reports. That describes proposed capacity, not electricity already being consumed. Zerra DC says its cooling system would use about as much water as an average shopping centre—a developer claim, not a measured operating result.

The company also forecasts thousands of construction jobs and about 1,400 long-term positions. Those promised benefits are central to the local disagreement.

The gas boom shapes the response

Winters, a Dalby travel agent, believes the benefits are exaggerated and fears another boom-bust cycle. Cecil Plains farmer Liza Balmain, who campaigned against coal seam gas, sees similarities with that industry’s arrival.

The region’s gas development drew workers away from farms and local businesses with higher wages. When labour-intensive construction gave way to less labour-intensive operation, some business owners were left with debts from investments they no longer needed, the Guardian reports.

Western Downs mayor Andrew Smith offers a different reading: gas diversified the economy and created jobs. He has neither endorsed nor opposed the data centre, while warning that planning cannot be rushed.

Any deals must be done with the backing of councils and communities.

Queensland government statement, quoted by ABC News

State rules, an unsettled local decision

On October 2, Queensland announced a framework making the state responsible for assessing and coordinating data-centre applications. ABC News reported two proposed requirements before developers lodge an application:

• A social impact assessment.
• A community benefit agreement with the local council.

Who will make the final decision on this application remains unclear. Smith told ABC on October 2 that the state had assured him his council would remain the assessment manager. Zerra DC lodged its plans in August and has separately requested a state process that could transfer decision-making to Queensland’s coordinator-general.

The council has no firm assessment timetable. Anthropic wants to start using the centre as early as 2027, the Guardian reports, but that ambition is not an approval or a confirmed opening date.