News
27 October, 2026
Updated: ‘This is what we want’: Residents have their say on data centre development
If a data centre is to be built in the Southern Highlands, it needs to be powered by renewable energy. There also needs to be a tangible benefit to the local community through a community investment fund.
If a data centre is to be built in the Southern Highlands, it needs to be powered by renewable energy.
There also needs to be a tangible benefit to the local community through a community investment fund.
Those are just two of the expectations or ‘principles’ developed as part of a community-led counter-offer presented at a meeting in Mittagong on Sunday.
The ‘Better Model for Data Centres’ offer was developed by four partners - Highlands Homegrown Economy, RadicalXChange, Regen Labs and BWD Strategic - convened by WinZero.
The initiative came in response to concerns over plans for a proposed hyperscale data centre campus and 703-megawatt gas-fired power station in Moss Vale.
It is believed to be the first deliberative community-led counter-offer on data centres in Australia and among the first anywhere in the world.
Sunday’s meeting at the Mittagong Senior Citizens and Community Halll was attended by more than 160 people including Federal Member for Whitlam Carol Berry, State Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman, State Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan and Wingecarribee Shire mayor Erin Foley.
The counter-offer has been developed over the past three months using online and in-person deliberations involving environmental advocates, business owners, First Nations community members, young families, youth, community organisation representatives and people with lived experience of disadvantage.
The process has resulted in seven principles for data centre developers: clean power, smart water, a circular and local economy, transparency and accountability, shared value, community leadership and a respect for diversity.
Reece Proudfoot from Regen Labs and Highlands Homegrown Economy said the community had made it clear what they wanted: long-term careers, a community investment fund they govern, a deal that still looks fair in 20 years, and above all - an ongoing say in decisions that affect them.
Mittagong resident and deputy chair of WinZero, Gaye White, said the community had learned what it can do when it organises.
“We’re not here only to say ‘no’. We’re here to say what any ‘yes’ would have to look like and to ask our representatives to stand with us."
Local political representatives at all three levels of government have provided in-principle support for the counter-offer.
Speaking at Sunday’s meeting, Southern Highlands resident Ursula O’Dwyer said the community had given up thousands of hours of their own time fighting unwanted proposals and had been left exhausted.
“The burn-out is real,” she said.
Mrs O’Dwyer described the counter-offer as “refreshing antidote”.
Heather Champion from Stop the Gas Plant – Southern Highlands agreed.
She said the community was exhausted but – in terms of the gas plant – was still facing a long fight.
With more proposals for data centres in the region possible she said it was important for the community to “get on the front foot about what we want and how we can make it happen”.
Peter Burnheim from Business Southern Highlands said data centres were needed for national security, cyber security and productivity.
He said data centres were happening and the community needed to be “ready to go and ready to negotiate”.
Mr Burnheim said the Better Model process had been “immensely positive” and had given him a sense of agency.
Member for Whitlam Carol Berry described the discussion as “timely and important” given the on-going fight against the proposed gas-fired power plant in Douglas Road, Moss Vale.
Mrs Berry said the community needed to remain “crystal clear” in its opposition to the proposal.
“The Southern Highlands is absolutely worth defending,” she said.
Mrs Berry said she was personally opposed to the development and would stand with the community “all the way”.
“It is completely unacceptable.”
She said she was not opposed to data centres but they needed to be tied to renewable energy.
Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan said she generally supported the seven principles but asked if the community would have been willing to accept anything at all for the Hume Coal Mine to go ahead.
Mrs Hannan said she wanted better health, education, public transport and environmental outcomes for the region but she was not prepared to bargain for them.
“I will not negotiate.”
Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman said communities were being taken out of the decision-making process.0
She said consultation needed to be mandated and community input taken into account before decisions were made “otherwise we are saying that local communities and local government doesn’t matter”.
She said she was committed to working with the Better Model team.
Wingecarribee mayor Erin Foley also pledged her support.
“What we have in the Southern Highlands is special and worth protecting,” Cr Foley said.
The seven principles:
· Clean Power: Run the data centre on renewable energy.
· Smart Water: Use water recycling and cooling tech so you don’t compete for town water or compromise water quality.
· Circular and Local Economy: Prioritise local suppliers, including Aboriginal-identified jobs, and share usable excess resources (e.g. heat, power, water, computing).
· Transparent and accountable: Share the full picture with the community from the start. Enable independent ongoing monitoring of environmental and social performance with real enforcement.
· Shared Value: Provide an ongoing share of the value created, including a permanent endowment for future generations and considering local access to compute to attract researchers and entrepreneurs, supporting local economic plans.
· Community Leadership: Support the community’s decision-making about priorities and use of funds.
· Respect Diversity: Respect that some parts of the community may remain opposed or sceptical.
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