David vs Goliath in Hazelmere: Why tech giants keep targeting Perth's east. October 16, 2026 - 3:05am Article gifting is here Give anyone free access to subscriber-only stories when you subscribe. Fresh off driving a $600 million data centre out of Perth's east, Hazelmere residents are girding for a second battle as another tech giant sets its sights on their neighborhood. Five months after GreenSquareDC was forced to withdraw its application for a $600 million data centre near the banks of the Helena River due to public outcry, a Canberra-based developer hopes to have more luck. Canberra Data Centres (CDC) is looking to build a $337 million four-storey centre at 178 and 196 Bushmead Road around two kilometres from the proposed GreenSquareDC site. Public consultation for the proposal opened this week, with plans posted to the City of Swan's website showing the development would take up 85,945sqm and comprise 87 parking bays. A maximum of 75 people will be on site at any one time, the proposal explains, and the facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A petition was submitted to change.org by local Melita McDonald on September 30 and requested the City to ensure the proposal was subject to "comprehensive, independent assessment and meaningful community consultation before any approval is granted." "We ask that the long-term interests of nearby residents, the surrounding community, the Helena River, wetlands, waterways, native wildlife, threatened and endangered species and the broader environment are properly protected and considered," the petition reads. "We call for comprehensive independent assessment, transparency, meaningful community consultation and appropriate enforceable conditions to address the potential impacts of this development and all associated infrastructure." So far 53 people have signed the petition, but if history proves anything, people power makes a big difference for data centres in Hazelmere. From our partners. When GreenSquareDC submitted their data centre plans, the City received a total of 1890 submissions regarding the proposal, with 1829 people opposing the development. The proposal by Sydney-based company would have seen a three-storey facility built next to the Helena River Waldorf School, on two Aboriginal heritage sites and approximately 40 metres from the Helena River channel. Public outcry against the proposal planned for lots 14 and 15 on Stirling Crescent was aired at several City of Swan council meetings, with concerns around environmental impacts, noise pollution and cultural insensitivity. Trillion Trees were one of the organisations against the first data centre proposal and have been equally as vocal about their concerns for CDC's plans. "Development of this land will mean the loss of one of the last remaining pockets of significant remnant vegetation on private land in Hazelmere," reads a Trillion Trees press release. "Connected corridors of vegetation through urban areas are critical for the survival of native wildlife species already under threat, including Carnaby's black cockatoos and snake necked turtles." The press release says the community has many wide-ranging concerns about the development including canopy loss, wetland loss, scale, and proximity to homes. They are urging people - locals or not - to voice their concerns over the proposal. City of Swan has advised people submitting comments on the proposal that they are not the decision maker for the application. "The application will be determined by the Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel (MODAP) due to the value of the proposed works," a City spokesperson said. Submissions for public comment will close on November 5.

Wagga Council moves to sell tip land to Canberra firm behind $15b data centre. Wagga Council has resolved to authorise general manager Peter Thompson to enter into a contract to sell 232 Ashfords Road to CDC Data Centres. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council. Wagga Wagga City Council is moving to sell land bought for the city's future waste management needs to the developer behind a controversial $15 billion data centre, promising more than $225 million in potential community benefits. Canberra-based CDC Data Centres wants to build a massive campus of computer servers at Gregadoo to power the digital services underpinning cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other online services. The council resolved at its Monday meeting (12 October) to authorise general manager Peter Thompson to enter into a contract to sell 232 Ashfords Road to CDC Data Centres. The decision was debated behind closed doors, with the public unable to view the discussion. The local government body has stressed that any sale is conditional on CDC agreeing to provide community benefits worth at least $150 million over the life of the project, with the company separately proposing another $75 million for local initiatives. The council bought the land in November 2024 using funding from Transgrid's Community Project Initiative for future waste management purposes. It said the CDC proposal had prompted it to explore whether the site could deliver greater long-term value for the community while still meeting the city's waste management needs. It is still master planning the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre to determine its future land and infrastructure requirements. The proposed data centre would occupy about 63 hectares, with four buildings containing 189,000 square metres of floor space and a potential electricity demand of 1.4 gigawatts. The plans also include 384 backup diesel generators and about 6400 tonnes of diesel storage. Two petitions were launched within 24 hours of the proposal becoming public, with residents questioning why a development of such scale was proposed in a rural area. Nearby resident Eden Summers raised concerns about fire risks, particularly given the site's proximity to the waste facility, while Rachael Cornius-Randall's petition warned of impacts on farmland, local ecosystems and the rural character of Gregadoo. Independent Wagga MP Joe McGirr has also called for genuine community consultation, appropriate benefits and assurances over safety and environmental impacts. CDC chief executive Greg Boorer has defended the location, pointing to its proximity to major electricity transmission infrastructure and distance from densely populated areas. He said the site was suitable for a data centre but was not somewhere people wanted to live because it was next to the rubbish tip. Mr Boorer has also sought to reassure residents about noise, claiming the facility would be as quiet as a library, and said its closed-loop cooling system would avoid an ongoing draw on Wagga's water supply. He said the development could create about 1500 construction jobs, at least 200 ongoing jobs directly with CDC and up to 2000 additional flow-on roles. CDC has promised to consult residents as the design develops, with Mr Boorer saying community feedback would help shape the project's size, design, timing and staging. The NSW Government, rather than Wagga Council, will determine the State Significant Development application after CDC prepares an environmental impact statement and the proposal undergoes formal assessment. "The CDC proposal is at an early stage of the NSW State Significant Development process, with the assessment requirements currently being established. Formal assessment will commence once the environmental impact statement is developed by CDC - no approval has been granted," a council statement said. "The assessment process is expected to take place over the next 12 months. Early community engagement will give residents and businesses the opportunity to learn more about the proposal, ask questions and provide initial feedback." The council says any sale contract will require CDC to enter into a binding agreement to provide community benefits equivalent to at least 1 per cent of the estimated $15 billion development cost over the life of the project. That could amount to at least $150 million, subject to planning approval and the project proceeding substantially as proposed. CDC has separately proposed another $75 million for initiatives including housing, sport, education, arts and community infrastructure. The council said the combined commitments had the potential to deliver more than $225 million in benefits to Wagga and the wider region. Residents can find information about the proposal and have their say online. Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.

CDC Data Centres told not to take Wagga Wagga for granted over mega plan. Posted about 5h ago In short: Residents in Wagga Wagga have started a petition to halt development of a $15 billion data centre campus outside the town. CDC Data Centres plans to acquire 100 hectares to build the proposed 1.4-gigawatt facility. What's next? The proponent has submitted a scoping report and has two years to develop an environmental impact statement once the state government sets the guidelines. When residents of the NSW city of Wagga Wagga learnt one of the country's largest data centres was proposed for down the road, they had questions. For resident Liz Warrell, the biggest was: how does it benefit her community? "It's a big box; it sits there," she said. "I don't know if it generates employment, I know it's using resources and I know it's creating emissions. "So what effect is that having on us as a community as our climate dries?" CDC Data Centres is proposing to build a $15 billion campus on a 100-hectare council-owned site next to the city's landfill. If approved, the 1.4-gigawatt facility is expected to consume more electricity each year than a million typical NSW homes. Just 4 kilometres from the proposed site, Eden Summers is also worried her peaceful rural lifestyle is at risk. "Government likes to take action on big business projects without actually thinking of the locals," Ms Summers said. The land CDC is eyeing for the project is currently zoned for primary production use, but the company proposes to change the zoning. "We have restrictions on what we can do on our land, but then when it comes to big business, everything changes; there's just no consistency," Ms Summers said. "People feel backstabbed." A petition to halt the development, started by Ms Summers, has attracted more than 1,000 signatures and states locals "should not have to sacrifice our rural community for a data centre". "If it was on land designated for this sort of project, opposition wouldn't be as strong," she said. "But the land we are on, and the environment, is not appropriate." Other residents cautiously open to plan. However, some Wagga residents, like Katrina Walker, think the site, 15 kilometres from the city's centre, made sense. "If it's out at Gregadoo, that's a fair way out, so I think it'd be OK," she said. So far, only a scoping report that provides an overview of the proposed state significant development has been made publicly available. Advocacy group Committee 4 Wagga has cautiously welcomed the proposal, having campaigned previously for more industry in the city. But co-chair Richard Pottie said support for the centre would depend on the details. "We can't take on the 'not in our backyard' philosophy," he said. "If there are lots of cons, we need to address it; if there are lots of pros, we need to endorse the project and make the most of it." Calls for information on water and power usage. The first community consultation sessions will be held in Wagga on Wednesday and Thursday next week. Once the state government releases its State Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for the project, CDC will have two years to submit an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The full outline of the data centre's electricity infrastructure needs, as well as a noise and vibration assessment and a water management plan, will be included in that EIS. A CDC spokesperson said that in the proposed centre's first stage of operation, it was estimated that 1.28 million litres of water, or the equivalent water use of seven households, would be needed for an "initial fill". "CDC typically undertakes this from rainwater collected onsite, with a backup from water trucks or, depending on local conditions, town water," the spokesperson said. The company said on an ongoing basis, the first stage of the project was expected to consume as much water as a typical office building. "Gerard Roofs estimate its annual water consumption to be approximately 1,512,000 litres per year. "The town water usage is estimated to be equivalent of a little less than nine Australian households." Meanwhile, CDC said once completed, the 1.4-gigawatt campus was expected to run at between 40 and 60 per cent of its maximum capacity, depending on customer needs. The company estimated that would be the equivalent of 5-7 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually. According to household usage data from the Australian Energy Regulator, this is the equivalent annual consumption of between 1 and 1.5 million NSW homes. CDC's website stated the project "could bring hundreds of new jobs during construction and ongoing skilled employment opportunities once operational". Community consultation vital. Independent Member for Wagga Wagga Joe McGirr said lessons learnt during the state's renewable energy rollout need to be applied during the community consultation process. "You can't take the community for granted," he said. "You don't just come and pretend there's no one here. "You've got to genuinely engage with the community, you've got to address community concerns, and you've got to make sure communities get benefits." Dr McGirr said he had spoken with CDC about the project and toured one of the company's data centres in Sydney. "It was quite impressive from a safety and water point of view," he said. "The technology doesn't use a lot of water; they recirculate all the water. It's an Australian technology, built, as I understand, for our conditions." The importance of community consultation has been echoed by the Wagga Business Chamber. "We want to make sure that they're not just ticking a box," business manager Sally Manning said. While Eden Summer acknowledged that it could be years before the data centre was approved, she was in opposition for the long haul. "We're surrounded by people that want to fight."