AI data centres probed by Senate inquiry as locals near NextDC facility demand compensation
Posted by l3ntil
AI data centres probed by Senate inquiry as locals near NextDC facility demand compensation
Posted by l3ntil
6 Comments
“Tech giant NextDC’s West Footscray data centre is located just 15 metres from homes.
An application to more than double the facility’s size, lodged earlier this year, would not need to meet the new regulations if approved.
Another data centre, the Perri Melbourne Data Centre (PMDC), was approved by the planning minister last year and will also be situated in West Footscray, just a block away from NextDC.
Advocacy group Citizens for Tottenham, which represents people living in the suburbs of West Footscray, Tottenham and Kingsville, called for remediation, arguing Victoria’s new rules were “too little too late”.
Among their chief complaints are fumes and noise pollution emitted by dozens of back-up diesel generators at the NextDC data centre, [which are run regularly for maintenance](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-09/firefighter-concern-over-data-centres-in-melbourne-west/106762858).”
How did NextDC managed to locate a Data Centre 15 metres from homes?
NextDC’s CEO Craig Scroggie is fast turning into our local Jeff Bezos with the same amount of humanity, ie: none.
How did the build that close in the first place? Pretty sure the “new” laws or MoU from VicGov aren’t actually new and rely on existing zoning laws
How noisy is this data center? If they’re constructed well, they should be pretty quiet, but not sure about this particular one.
I mean live in a highly industrialized area and suffer the consequences.
There’s -far- worse facilities operating in Tottenham that put out far worse emissions…
Should never have allowed the housing estate to be built next to industrial zones land, that’s the real corruption that needs to be investigated.
Jesus. Buy next to industrial and then complain about it.
That’s the Australian way