AdvertisementNationalWAData centres ‘Difficult to reconcile’: The Australian council moving to ban data centres Indigo Lemay-Conway August 10, 2026 — 12:57pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. The City of Stirling could be the first local council in Australia to ban data centres. Many data centres use large volumes of water for cooling, which can place pressure on local water supplies. Data centres can generate substantial waste heat and create an industrial character that is often incompatible with surrounding uses. In NSW, councils including Penrith in Sydney’s west and Ryde – where the Macquarie Park cluster of data centres live – called on the government to hit pause on approvals of new data centres as part of a parliamentary inquiry into the impact they have on communities.