11 July

I live in the regions, and I want them to survive. They won’t when their only idea is to become tourist locations for bored city people. Tourism generates activity, people passing through, it doesn’t and can’t create density and stability. All towns and cities need some form of ‘industry’ to survive. Right now the regions are what big industry needs. Cheap energy, and lots of relatively inexpensive space. They’re awash with cheap renewable energy. Many see the building of renewable energy assets in the regions as only about creating energy for the cities. But internationally that cheap energy is being used to drive big industry in the regions themselves. This is Meta’s (owner of Facebook) first big data centre outside the US. It’s in northern Sweden, near the Arctic circle. It runs on 100% renewable energy and is cooled mostly by the cold climate. Thousands of people were needed to build it. Over 300 people now have full-time jobs because of the data centre. Data centre owners are flocking to Australia now as a perfect location to put their operations. The regions are in the box seat to host that business. The business is coming to them, they don’t have to go and find it. This is the biggest growth industry in the world, wanting to set up in your local town. Social media is already doing everything it can to prevent this. Running one fake viral outrage after another about renewable energy. All the anti-wind and anti-solar farm obstruction. Often sponsored by foreign actors trying to sabotage development in Western countries. And now gearing up to obstruct data centres too, with fake factoids about energy and water use. We need to save our towns and regions from social media. It’s destroying them. The regions will not survive as tree change theme parks for bored city people, selling only views, coffee, food and events.