The Green Party is calling for a one-year moratorium on new AI data centres while proper rules are put in place to ensure they genuinely benefit New Zealanders and are not straining our resources.
"Right now, AI data centres can be consented behind closed doors, with no community input. Experience overseas has seen these projects turn local water supply to sludge and suck huge amounts of energy, driving up prices for regular people," says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.
“If we are going to let these things be built, we should at least understand who is benefitting and ensure we protect our natural resources and communities. That’s why the Greens are calling for a one-year pause, to allow intentional regulation to be developed.”
"Some may argue these AI data centres could build their own renewable energy, or that they’re increasingly using closed-loop water cooling systems. That may well be the case, but our current rules don’t require any of those things. New Zealanders haven’t even had the opportunity to discuss and decide whether they want them."
"The already consented Datagrid hyperscale AI data centre in Southland is expected to use about six per cent of our country's total electricity supply, equivalent to the power used by more than 300,000 households."
"Currently, Councils get to decide through their planning rules whether to consent these developments. These can be on a non-notified basis with no public input required. As other cities and countries are quickly discovering, you can’t put that genie back in the bottle. Let’s take a moment to figure out the right way to do this."
"A one-year pause gives us time to get this right. This is not a ban on data infrastructure. It's a pause on the most resource-intensive developments while New Zealanders get a say on what conditions they should meet."
"Other jurisdictions are already doing this. New York paused new hyperscale data centres for a year to write rules protecting the grid, the environment and communities. Australia is moving to require operators to underwrite new renewable generation, pay for their own grid connections and water infrastructure, and minimise water use."
"If an AI data centre project does not meet basic standards for power, water use and environmental impact, why should we allow it to be built here? Anyone who argues the opposite needs to explain why New Zealanders should shoulder the cost of something they didn’t get any say on."
"We need to write the rules before the concrete is poured," says Swarbrick.
