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The Guardian — AI · October 7, 2026 · On the brief until October 21, 2026

Australia is building a lot of new homes. But is the datacentre boom holding us back? | Greg Jericho

EconomicsUrban PlanningCivil Engineering
THE AI ANGLE
driving datacentre construction and consuming builder capacity

Australian datacentre construction expanded to 20 percent of non-residential building commencements over the past year. This rapid growth pulls labor and building capacity away from residential projects during a national housing shortage. Planners, economists, and engineers face direct competition between digital infrastructure and home supply.

Summary written by AI Business Lens with an AI model from the article at theguardian.com. It is not the article, and the publisher has not reviewed it. For publishers.

THE TEACHING ANGLE
Datacentres absorb major shares of construction resources while providing few long-term jobs and no residential space.

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