The fight over AI data centres is becoming Australia’s next Indigenous policy challenge

By Jenna Imad Harb, Research Fellow, School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University
Shanine Ryan, Ngarluma Traditional Owner, Director of the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Limited, Indigenous Knowledge

In July 2026, more than 200 community members gathered at Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) in Perth’s eastern suburbs. They planted more than 3,000 native flora as part of a wetland restoration project. The hopeful scene was a stark contrast to what the river might have become.

Until recently, Mandoon Bilya was the proposed site of a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data centre. It was scheduled to be one of Australia’s…

Read complete article

~	Climate disasters are ravaging government budgets – aid works best when paid upfront

~	Why holding elections now may not be the best safeguard for Ukrainian democracy

~	Star Trek at 60: the secret of this pioneering series was its exploration of humanity, not aliens

~	Fifa in Africa: has Gianni Infantino really helped football development?

~	Ecuador: New Adoption Law Entrenches Bias

~	Taiwan: Proposed judicial caning referendum indicates further erosion of human rights protection

~	Grattan on Friday: Albanese to hit campaign trail – for a Security Council seat

~	Worries that social media is making children lose touch with reality echo ancient Greeks’ fears about theatre

~	Federal Presence at US Polls Could Intimidate Voters

~	How Buryat fashion designer Oksana Alkhunsaeva stitched her life back together in Russia