Residents of a Melbourne street are celebrating a small victory after they successfully blockaded workmen with bins and cars to block construction of industrial power poles for a new data centre.
asserted
they → celebrate → centre
Locals on Sanderson Street in Yarraville, in Melbourne's inner west, banded together when a tradie tipped them off that 15-metre-tall concrete power poles were being erected a few blocks over.
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poles → band → them
The poles were capable of carrying over 66,000 volts of electricity - over 100 times the voltage that would normally run through a street - and were more than twice the size of regular wooden power poles.
Feeling blindsided, and knowing that their street was next, they decided to fight back.
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they → carry → poles
On the day crews arrived in August to install the new poles on their street, cars were strategically parked and bins left out to block the worksite.
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bins → arrive → worksite
Some locals even taped notes to their windows explaining what they were doing.
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they → tap → what
'We were all just really caught off guard and just felt like it was really unfair that we weren't told about what was happening,' resident Katrina Dardha told ABC News.
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Dardha → catch → News
'Everyone decided this is not happening on our watch,' another, Milco Bogoevski, said.
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another → decide → watch
'If you stay quiet, it's at your own peril.
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it → stay → peril
I guess sometimes it takes something to make you really angry, to make you stand up.'
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you → guess → something
Residents of a Melbourne street used bins and cars to block the construction of industrial power poles for a new data centre.
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Residents → use → centre
Pictured, Yarraville locals protest the data centre
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locals → picture → centre
Residents on Sanderson Street in Yarraville, in Melbourne's inner west, learned 15-metre concrete power poles were being erected a few blocks over from their street.
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poles → learn → street
Above is an image of the specialised power poles
In a statement, electricity distributor Jemena told the ABC that the new poles were part of its local network upgrade 'to help support Melbourne's growing energy needs'
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poles → tell → needs
Unable to work, the crews eventually downed tools and left.
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crews → work → tools
So far, they have not returned.
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they → return → ?
The poles were to support the already operating NextDC data centre in neighbouring West Footscray.
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poles → support → Footscray
Plans are afoot for another data centre in the suburb, with a third planned for nearby Spotswood.
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third → plan → Spotswood
In a statement, electricity distributor Jemena told the ABC the new poles were part of its local network upgrade 'to help support Melbourne's growing energy needs'.
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poles → tell → needs
However, residents have consistently complained about being left in the dark about the building of both data centres and the supporting infrastructure.
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residents → complain → centres
'We found out about the data centre when the tradie who was disconnecting our house told my partner, "This is for the new data centre"', said Spotswood resident Paul Tyndale, who was shocked to find out the new centre was only half-a-kilometre away.
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centre → find → centre
Another local, Cameron Botterill, found out about the industrial sized poles on his street when he got home from work one day - to find they had been installed out the front of his house.
'They're ginormous - they tower above anything else in the suburb and they look very industrial,' he said.
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he → find → suburb
We're in a residential area here and we definitely did not ask for them to be installed.'
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them → ask → area
Another local, Cameron Botterill, found out about the industrial-sized poles on his street when he got home from work one day
In August, Jess Marsh filmed a video of poles being erected in the area, claiming there was 'no notice' about their installation
On the day crews arrived in August to install the new poles, cars were strategically parked and bins left out to block the worksite.
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bins → find → worksite
Some locals even taped notes to their windows explaining what they were doing
Labor
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they → tap → what
MP for Footscray Katie Hall said she understood the concerns.
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she → say → concerns
'I think there's a lack of understanding around why (the poles) need to go down a residential street.
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poles → think → street
Why can't it go down a bigger street?' she said.
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she → go → street
'I would like to see ... these powerlines to be rerouted.
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powerlines → like → ?
I've asked about whether they could be underground infrastructure.
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they → ask → ?
However, Jemena said that it 'determined that augmenting the existing overhead network was the most efficient and practical way to deliver the required electricity outcomes'.
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augmenting → say → outcomes
Local resident, human rights lawyer and community independent Jess Marsh has become one of the leading community spokespeople against the construction of the centre-supporting infrastructure in residential streets.
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resident → become → streets
In August she filmed a video of the poles being erected in the area, claiming there was 'no notice' about their installation.
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she → film → installation
'People are pissed off,' Marsh said.
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Marsh → piss → ?
'I think most people are just waking up.
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people → think → ?
You’re seeing a lot of news out of the US on impacts of this, how it’s being rushed through and huge corporate backing, billions of dollars behind this.
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it → see → this
Residents have consistently complained about being left in the dark about the building of both data centres and the supporting infrastructure
Another local, Cameron Botterill, found out about the industrial sized poles on his street when he got home from work one day - to find they had been installed out the front of his house
'People are pissed off', local resident Jess Marsh said, venting her frustration about the data centres
Independent Senator David Pocock criticised the government for encouraging large-scale investment in data centres without what he considered adequate regulation (pictured, a hole made for a new pole to be installed)
'
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pole → complain → centres
[I'm] hearing from communities who are having data centres built 20 metres from their front door.
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centres → hear → door
That's ridiculous,' Pocock said (pictured, a hole filled in after locals stopped contractors from installing the new pole for the data centre)
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locals → say → centre
The NextDC data centre in West Footscray is less than half a kilometre from residential housing - with more centres planned
'
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centres → plan → housing
It’s another example of the inner west being treated as a dumping ground.
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west → ’ → ground
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
