Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council | Questions Without Notice
29 June 2026
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan Region):
My question is to the Minister for Planning. Yesterday Hobsons Bay council voiced its opposition to the proposed Stockland data centre in Brooklyn. In a letter to the Department of Transport and Planning, it states that the 14-day notice period was insufficient to undertake a comprehensive and coordinated assessment on the impacts of a billion-dollar hyperscale data centre.
Concerns centred around substations, generators, fuel and battery storage and fire equipment, and the proposed site proximity to residential areas, including a childcare centre which is literally situated across the road. No sustainability management plan was provided to council, and requests for further justification and mitigation measures were not responded to within the timeframe given by DTP to the council.
My question to the minister is: how can the government claim it has consulted properly on this matter given it allowed only 14 days and did not provide the necessary information to council?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria Region):
Thank you, Mr Ettershank. I am very happy to provide this question to the Minister for Planning in the other place and to seek an answer in accordance with the standing orders.
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan Region):
Thank you, Minister; I appreciate that. We have consulted across western and north-western councils, who have all shared concerns about the referral process being imposed upon them. These reduce council and community involvement to a procedural tick-a-box exercise rather than being a meaningful mechanism through which advice from council or input from the community can be properly considered and concerns adequately addressed.
There is no social licence for these facilities, which are being fast-tracked with no rigour and no regard to the complexities of the project. The workings of the development facilitation program of the DTP to expedite these projects are completely opaque and operate in an apparent regulatory vacuum.
So I ask: what is the framework for approvals of this scale, and will the government release full details of timeframes and evaluative criteria to be applied to these projects?Thanks, Mr Ettershank. As stated in response to your substantive question, the matter will be referred to the Minister for Planning for an answer in accordance with the standing orders.
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria Region):
Thanks, Mr Ettershank. As stated in response to your substantive question, the matter will be referred to the Minister for Planning for an answer in accordance with the standing orders.
Written Answer
Received: 06 August 2026
Hon. Sonya Kilkenny MP
(Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence)
I thank the Member for Western Metropolitan Region for his question.
The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is currently considering a proposed data centre at 413 Francis Street, Brooklyn, through planning permit application PA2604419. This proposal was submitted through the Development Facilitation Program (DFP), which provides a streamlined pathway for eligible projects that inject investment into Victoria, support jobs and strengthen local economies.
I understand the concerns raised regarding the complexity of data centre projects of this scale and the Victorian Government is committed to ensuring the planning process appropriately engages local councils, the community, and referral agencies.
I am advised that DTP engaged with Hobsons Bay City Council during the pre-application stage of the project in January and February 2026, in addition to engagement with Greater Western Water, EPA Victoria, WorkSafe, Melbourne Water, Fire Rescue Victoria, AusNet Transmission Group, the Head, Transport for Victoria and Jemena Electricity. Following lodgement of the permit application on 22 May 2026, DTP gave formal notice of the application to Hobsons Bay City Council under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 25 May 2026. While 14 days is the standard timeframe for notice under the Victorian planning framework, in practice the council has been afforded substantially longer, as evidenced by the council considering the matter at its meeting on 28 July 2026.
Public notice was undertaken on 16 June 2026 and submissions by community members can be made up to the date of a decision being made.
The application will be assessed against the requirements of the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme including relevant local policies and planning controls.
[ENDS]
