The federal government gave Anthropic a draft of its data centre guidelines while negotiating a deal in which the Claude chatbot maker agreed to follow them, according to documents released under freedom of information laws.
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maker → give → laws
The guidelines, known as the data centre expectations and released on March 23, tell developers of large new data centres to put the national interest first.
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guidelines → know → interest
The government says they are meant to stop data centres pushing up power bills.
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centres → say → bills
They are not yet legally binding, but the government plans to make them mandatory under national AI standards to be legislated early next year.
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them → plan → standards
As proposed, that would put Anthropic’s own Australian data centre plans under the rules it saw in draft.
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it → propose → draft
Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres has said projects need to meet the guidelines “to secure Commonwealth government support”.
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projects → say → support
An Anthropic spokesperson said the company “received the draft expectations for consideration in the MOU” signed with the government on April 1, a non-binding agreement to work together on AI.
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company → say → AI
“It would be inaccurate to suggest we had any influence on the final data centre expectations,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → suggest → expectations
The Industry Department’s own briefing material, written on March 18, five days before the guidelines were published, says “the department consulted Anthropic on the development of the expectations”.
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department → write → expectations
It adds that the advice could change “pending the outcome of today’s meeting with Anthropic”.
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advice → add → Anthropic
The rest of the passage was blacked out.
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rest → black → passage
The government said it routinely consults widely, and that Anthropic was one of a number of stakeholders consulted across industry, experts and government.
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Anthropic → say → industry
It said Anthropic agreeing to align with the guidelines was its condition for finalising the memorandum, the same approach it took with Microsoft.
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it → say → Microsoft
Microsoft signed its own memorandum on April 23, a month after the guidelines were published.
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guidelines → sign → April
The documents do not show whether Microsoft or any other company was given a draft.
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Microsoft → show → draft
Data centres use about 3 per cent of the power on the national grid.
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centres → use → grid
The Australian Energy Market Operator expects that to reach 13 per cent within a decade.
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that → expect → decade
Anthropic now has a stake in how the guidelines are applied.
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guidelines → have → stake
Last month it signed a lease on the first stage of a proposed $32 billion data centre campus at Western Downs in Queensland.
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it → sign → Queensland
The deal still needs approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, which vets foreign investment for the national interest.
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which → need → interest
At its planned peak, the campus would draw 2.16 gigawatts, about the average use of 1.5 million Australian homes.
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campus → plan → homes
Community opposition to data centres is growing.
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opposition → grow → centres
Local group Save Our Darling Downs has raised concerns about the Western Downs campus’ energy use, and the Climate Council and Greenpeace have warned it could increase reliance on coal and gas.
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it → raise → coal
In a joint statement, Anthropic and the project’s developer said the campus would buy power from “a combination of existing Queensland generators and new generation that will add more supply to the market than we will use”.
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we → say → market
The statement did not say how much of that new supply would be renewable.
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much → say → supply
Treasury’s foreign investment policy, updated in May, says data centre proposals that align with the guidelines will be prioritised in the approval process where possible.
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that → update → process
The commitment to share the draft was made after a March 12 meeting with Anthropic.
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commitment → share → Anthropic
Joel Einstein, an acting general manager at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, told a colleague to note “the commitment for DISR to send the draft copy of the expectations”.
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DISR → act → expectations
The email was released to this masthead under freedom of information laws.
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email → release → laws
Asked whether a timeframe had been agreed, Einstein replied there was “no timeframe commitment on sharing the draft expectations”.
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Einstein → ask → expectations
The next day, Simon Writer, then the department’s acting deputy secretary for science and technology, circulated an “updated MOU and confidentiality deed”.
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Writer → circulate → MOU
Both were withheld.
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Both → withhold → ?
Kate Griffiths, the Grattan Institute’s deputy director of democracy, said lobbying could improve policy, but well-resourced groups had far more access to decision makers.
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groups → say → makers
“No one should be surprised that these groups are knocking on doors,” she said.
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she → knock → doors
“But politicians and public servants should be seeking out a wider range of views to adjudicate the public interest.”
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politicians → seek → interest
She said a federal register of lobbying contacts and the publication of ministers’ diaries would show “who’s lobbying who, on what, and how often”.
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who → say → what
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei signed the memorandum in Canberra on April 1, when he met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
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he → sign → Albanese
In it, Anthropic pledged to “align its Australian operations” with the expectations and to uphold Australia’s laws and values.
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Anthropic → pledge → laws
The memorandum says it gives Anthropic no preferential treatment in regulatory decisions or Commonwealth procurement.
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it → say → decisions
Anthropic has also pledged to pay its share of power generation and transmission costs in Australia, as it has in the US.
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it → pledge → US
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
