New Zealand Greens call for one‑year moratorium on AI data centre consents

Green Party co‑leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson announced a proposal to pause the consenting of new AI‑focused data centres for one year. The party says current approvals are being made behind closed doors, citing a recently approved $3.5 billion project near Invercargill that received consent without public notification. Swarbrick argues the pause would give time to develop regulation, protect natural resources and ensure community input, while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon dismissed the idea as "alarmist" and rejected a pause.

The proposal is part of the Greens' broader election manifesto, which also calls for reforms to the public finance system, a lower voting age, and extending voting rights to people in custody. The party positions the moratorium as a step toward transparent and accountable development of high‑resource infrastructure.