Antiques dealer Ross Thornton, who has lived through the rapid industrialisation that accompanied the coal seam gas boom more than a decade ago, said residents were scared of the unknown. "People don't know enough about it," he said. "It caused a boom-bust cycle and no-one wants that." Thornton is among those calling for a town hall meeting to hear the pros and cons.
AI company Anthropic has already signed a deal to use the first of four buildings at the facility, even though it has not yet received planning approval. The Queensland government this week confirmed it will become the "responsible assessor and coordinator" of data centre applications, removing local councils from the process.
Dalby resident Angela Prenzler, who has been promoting the petition, said locals were sceptical of the developer's plans to use rain and recycled water for operations. "We are always in drought," she said. "We know that when big business comes in, the locals don't have a say."