Rapid demand for AI datacentres in Australia could stoke inflation, experts warn – and crowd out land for housing

T ransport for NSW and the Reserve Bank have warned datacentres could take scarce land from logistics firms and housing developments, pushing up prices and overheating the economy, as calls grow for a national pause on the booming sector. The rapid growth of datacentres has raised concerns for the transport and logistics sector, with Transport for NSW telling the state parliament inquiry on datacentres there was already significant pressure on the availability of industrial land and infrastructure. The transport department agency said in a submission that freight and logistics companies depended on industrial land near markets and transport. “The shortage of land is causing major freight and logistics operators to leave Sydney . They are relocating their main centres to Brisbane or Melbourne where suitable land is available and less expensive,” it said. Transport for NSW acknowledged the industrial land vacancy rate had improved nationally and in Sydney in the past few years, but it was still “well behind international rates and below the ideal market level”. “The increasing demand on freight, from both increasing population and changing consumer patterns, will continue to drive the need for more industrial land for high volume logistics handling, and localised distribution centres across Sydney,” a spokesperson said. …