Premier Jacinta Allan has unveiled one of Victoria’s most ambitious economic and industrial strategies in years, declaring her government will be “ruthless” in its push to turn the state into Australia’s leading data-centre and artificial-intelligence hub.
Speaking to top economists at a CEDA event on Thursday, Ms Allan announced that the government has formally approved an antimony exploration tunnel at Sunday Creek, near Broadford—effectively “hitting go” on a new mining project aimed at unlocking Victoria’s underutilised critical-minerals sector. The approval allows Southern Cross Gold to drill underground to assess the viability of extracting gold and antimony, a mineral used in storage batteries and semiconductor manufacturing.
Ms Allan said the decision was central to Victoria’s mission to become the “data-centre centre of the nation,” arguing that the state has the land, workforce and energy capacity needed for one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
In a striking moment, the Premier quoted US President Donald Trump, who earlier this year praised Australia’s critical-minerals potential while signing a joint agreement with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: “Australia will have so much critical minerals and rare earths you won’t know what to do with them.”
Victoria, she said, is already home to significant deposits of titanium, zirconium, and rare earths—along with Australia’s largest and only operational antimony mine.
Demand for data-centre infrastructure has surged globally, with the sector expected to exceed $584 billion by 2032. Tech giants Amazon, Google and Meta are already investing billions into hyperscale centres that consume enormous amounts of power and must run continuously to support global search engines, cloud services and social-media algorithms.
With more than 40 data centres already operating across metropolitan Melbourne and regional zones, Victoria is positioned as one of the world’s most attractive markets for expansion. Ms Allan said future facilities in the state would be “sustainably powered” and designed to support the next generation of AI development.
However, the plan has raised concerns in Melbourne’s outer-north, where local mayors warn that large-scale data centres require massive volumes of water for cooling—posing risks to future residential growth and water security.
To support the workforce these centres will require, the government will invest $8.1 million to transition more than 1,300 at-risk workers into AI, digital operations, and construction roles. TAFEs will be restructured to deliver intensive training streams to “upskill digital professionals into AI specialists.”
“This will put people first in a future with AI,” the Premier said.
Victoria Chamber Chief Executive Sally Curtain welcomed the new mining approval, calling it an “important development” for a state often left out of Australia’s resources boom.
“Critical minerals give Victoria new revenue, new jobs and the chance to finally compete with Queensland and Western Australia. But projects must progress quickly to seize the opportunity,” she said.
Ms Allan’s bold pitch places Victoria at the centre of the national fight for AI investment—one she insists her government is determined to win.
