‘Reluctant’ approval for Tasmanian datacentre sets marker for national battle
News Source
•Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:00:15 GMT
📰 What Happened
Tasmania’s George Town council voted 6–1 to approve developer Firmus’s plans to build a 288MW “AI factory” datacentre at Long Reach, north of Launceston, on the former Gunns Pulp Mill site near the Tamar River—but said it did so reluctantly. The decision faced strong local opposition, including a petition with nearly 6,000 signatures and more than 300 written submissions. Many submissions raised energy use, concerns about AI, and pointed to pending commonwealth regulation. The vote came a day before Australian jurisdictions agreed to develop national datacentre standards.
🔍 The Backstory
Datacentre construction has become a heated political issue across Australia amid grassroots opposition to large AI infrastructure. The George Town debate unfolded as national leaders moved to build consistent rules governing the sector, and there are warnings of a rush of new construction as AI firms seek to beat upcoming regulation. The Long Reach site, the remnants of a shuttered pulp mill, turned the town into a forum for the wider planning and sustainability fight playing out nationally.
🎯 Why It Matters
The council’s reluctant approval sets a marker for how local communities and planners are weighing the AI boom against energy use, environmental concerns and community opposition as national standards take shape.
Tasmania’s George Town council voted 6–1 to approve developer Firmus’s plans to build a 288MW “AI factory” datacentre at Long Reach, north of Launceston, on the former Gunns Pulp Mill site near the Tamar River—but said it did so reluctantly. The decision faced strong local opposition, including a petition with nearly 6,000 signatures and more than 300 written submissions. Many submissions raised energy use, concerns about AI, and pointed to pending commonwealth regulation. The vote came a day before Australian jurisdictions agreed to develop national datacentre standards.
Datacentre construction has become a heated political issue across Australia amid grassroots opposition to large AI infrastructure. The George Town debate unfolded as national leaders moved to build consistent rules governing the sector, and there are warnings of a rush of new construction as AI firms seek to beat upcoming regulation. The Long Reach site, the remnants of a shuttered pulp mill, turned the town into a forum for the wider planning and sustainability fight playing out nationally.
The council’s reluctant approval sets a marker for how local communities and planners are weighing the AI boom against energy use, environmental concerns and community opposition as national standards take shape.