Australia's Northern Territory is set to become the 'datacentre capital of the globe', but its push for this title has sparked controversy over concerns about groundwater usage. At the heart of the debate lies Robyn Cahill, the NT Minister for Trade and Business, who claimed last week in Darwin that extensive subterranean water reserves in the territory need to be utilised – or risk a catastrophic geomagnetic reversal.
Minister Cahill's comments have been met with widespread criticism from scientific experts. She stated that there is "scientific evidence" to suggest groundwater usage affects the Earth's axis, claiming: "There’s so much water underground in the Northern Territory that it actually impacts the axis of the Earth when we have a really bad wet season, so we need to use some of it otherwise we might find ourselves flipping the poles again." However, this assertion has been widely disputed by experts.
Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of the Environment Centre NT, dismissed Cahill's claim as "completely cooked," adding that the government's handling of regulation on industries such as fracking and datacentres suggests a worrying lack of understanding of water science. Dr Dylan Irvine, a groundwater hydrology expert at Charles Darwin University, clarified that geomagnetic pole reversals are driven by processes deep within the planet's core – not groundwater systems – affirming: "We’re not at risk of the poles flipping." The most recent major geomagnetic reversal occurred approximately 780,000 years ago and took an estimated 7,000 years to complete.
The controversy comes amidst significant plans for data centre development in the region. Beetaloo Digital, a subsidiary of gas company Beetaloo Energy, has been granted an exclusive commitment for 185 hectares near Darwin for a large-scale AI data centre powered by a 2GW gas-fired generation plant. Project Ares, proposed by Energy North, is also set to bring a 1GW data centre to Murranji station. These projects will allegedly make the NT a prime destination for "hyperscalers" seeking data centre locations.
Environmental groups have called for a public ban on fracking and data centres due to concerns over their potential impact on water resources and the local climate. The ECNT's Kirsty Howey highlighted: "We don’t want to see our precious aquifers drained for AI while we get nothing in return. We don’t want to be the datacentre capital of the globe – we want safe drinking water and a livable future for our kids."