There are already dozens of data centres around Australia, and numbers are expected to swell. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
As is so often the case in Australia, the politics came down to a fight over energy. Should the data centre boom be powered by renewables or fossil fuels?
It's a fault line that's defined Australian politics since well before the artificial intelligence revolution came along.
Yesterday the prime minister gave some ground.
He still wants all new data centres to be powered by additional investment in renewables rather than coal or gas, and the view within the federal government is that's exactly what the market will decide to do anyway.
But the "renewables only" demand being emphatically made before the national cabinet meeting didn't make it into the final communique.
"Not all states are exactly the same," the prime minister acknowledged after the talks, agreeing on the need for a "flexible" approach.
Queensland Premier Crisafulli says the carve out a "good win" for his state.
The Queensland premier and Northern Territory chief minister, who both went into the meeting insisting they should be free to make their own energy choices, emerged claiming a "win".
The new rules haven't been finalised. A further leaders' meeting will be held later this year before new federal laws are introduced in 2027.
But Anthony Albanese's shift to a more flexible approach for Queensland and the NT — a rare concession in the energy wars — is revealing.
He doesn't want a drawn-out battle, potentially involving a Commonwealth override, when in his mind, data centres will end up being powered largely by renewables anyway.
He is instead prioritising a speedy settlement of nationally consistent rules to ensure investment can proceed.
The classic Australian political brawl over energy masks an important point. Both major parties, at both federal, state and territory levels, want this data centre boom to happen.
In other parts of the world, it's hard to imagine such bipartisan consensus.
