By Rob Bartrop – AirTrunk Associate Vice President, Social Impact & Community
Across regional Australia, people are paying ever increasing attention to the growth of data centres. People are asking reasonable questions about energy and water, traffic and noise, and what the long-term impacts might be on daily life.
Those concerns deserve to be heard.
At AirTrunk, we have spent months listening to the Kurri Kurri community – through community consultation sessions, a drop-in centre on Lang Street, and dozens of conversations with local businesses, sporting clubs, community organisations and interested residents.
Much of that work has been about understanding concerns and making sure they are reflected in the project we have proposed.
But there is another question we think is equally important.
What will actually be different in the day-to-day lives of people who live here?
Our view is that, if we get this right, Kurri Kurri will be a stronger community because of the project.
That starts with something tangible: 350 good, long-term operational jobs and genuine pathways for people to find work.
In a region experiencing significant workforce transition, particularly as people look towards new careers beyond traditional industries, that matters.
These are opportunities for people to build a career close to home, with the potential for well-paid, full-time employment across a wide range of roles. And through a long-term partnership with Kurri Kurri Community Services, we want to support young people aged 14 to 17 who have disengaged from mainstream education – providing a pathway back towards opportunity, confidence and employment.
We expect that program to support around 20 to 30 young people each year, which will hopefully impact hundreds of young people and their families over decades to come.
We are also partnering with Hunter Trade College and TAFE to create scholarships, placements and other opportunities for young people looking to build practical skills and enter the workforce.
A $37m contribution to local infrastructure that will provide lasting benefit.
The project will contribute to the delivery of major local infrastructure improvements, including a multipurpose community facility and two new playing fields at Loxford. We have heard repeatedly from local junior sporting organisations in Kurri that access to playing fields is a constraint, and that Cessnock City Council can’t find the funds to provide them.
For a local parent, that means something very simple: more opportunities for children to play sport closer to home.
It also means stronger sporting organisations.
Kurri Kurri is home to several historic clubs that are run largely by volunteers and play an enormous role in bringing people together. Our multi-year partnerships with local sporting organisations are intended to help those clubs continue to thrive, including supporting the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs to introduce a women’s team and ensuring junior programs can continue to grow and become more affordable for the local soccer and rugby league clubs
The same principle applies to the organisations that support people when they need it most.
We are making a significant commitment to the Cessnock District Rescue Squad, including the provision of a new four-wheel-drive rescue vehicle to support volunteer rescuers across the area. This will be the first such vehicle to be made available to a Rescue Squad outside of a major city.
And there is another benefit that is much closer to home: household energy costs.
Through our proposed community energy program, around 5,000 homes across Kurri Kurri, Heddon Greta and Weston would be able to participate in our Community Energy Program, with eligible households able to receive a credit of up to $200 a year on their electricity bills that is enabled through our funding of a local community battery.
For families, that is not an abstract benefit. It is money that stays in the household.
Yes, the community is entitled to ask hard questions about data centres. We should expect that scrutiny, and we should continue to listen and respond.
But we should also realise that all of these opportunities have been embedded in the delivery plan for the Kurri Kurri data centre project.
In other words, a Kurri Kurri that is stronger, more connected and better equipped for the future.
That is the opportunity we see in this project – and it is the standard we believe we should be held to.
You can find out more information about our Kurri Kurri Data Centre Project website.