Webinar

From rocks to racks: Australia’s data centre boom

9 September 2026 – 12.00pm AEST (Sydney)

online

Australia is on the cusp of another investment boom. But it’s not resources this time. It is a mammoth data centre pipeline, with Australia leveraging its abundance of land, legal and political stability, renewable energy potential and subsea cable connections to make the most of the AI boom.

The impending boom puts Australia on an enviable path. But it is not without risks. Capacity constraints are already frustrating businesses and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Another wave of investment could exacerbate these pressures, keeping inflation and interest rates higher for longer, while squeezing the non-AI parts of the economy. And with so many growth eggs in the AI basket, the outlook will look more precarious if the boom goes bust.

In this webinar, Oxford Economics’ experts will explore these dynamics, as well as how AI adoption will affect workers and productivity, developments from the Middle East conflict, and the broader global macroeconomic outlook.

This webinar is being held on our new platform, ON24. If you do not receive your confirmation email, please check your junk and spam folders.

Speakers

Alex Hooper

Alex is a macroeconomist with over a decade of experience, she currently leads Oxford Economics’ climate & energy economics practice.

Head of Climate & Energy Economics, OE Australia

David Walker

David is the Managing Director at BIS Oxford Economics and heads the office for Australia and New Zealand. In August 2013 he moved to Sydney to establish the firm and is continuing to grow the business in this region as well as leading key projects within Australia.

Before moving to Australia David worked as part of Oxford Economics’ business development team in London. Prior to joining Oxford Economics he worked for KPMG as a management consultant, specialising in financial risk management including stress testing and scenario analysis. During this time he was also seconded to the main Financial Services regulatory body, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). He completed his degree in Economics at Nottingham University and also studied the chartered institute for securities investment diploma.

Managing Director, OE Australia

Michael Brennan

Michael Brennan is a Director at Oxford Economics, based in Australia, specialising in applied microeconomics, including cost-benefit analysis, program evaluation, business cases and economic impact assessment. He has extensive experience advising government and corporate clients across transport, energy, technology, defence and infrastructure sectors.

Before joining Oxford Economics, Michael held leadership roles at Accenture Strategy, AlphaBeta and Deloitte Access Economics, where he led major projects on the energy transition, digital transformation, infrastructure investment and workforce planning. His work has influenced public policy, government investment decisions and regulation across some of Australia’s most critical industries.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia.

Director - Economic Impact

Harry Murphy Cruise

Harry Murphy Cruise is the Head of Economic Research and Global Trade at Oxford Economics Australia. He leads the Australian Macroeconomic Service and global trade initiatives, including TradePrism. Harry frequently provides insights to major media outlets, including CNBC, BBC, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal. His research primarily focuses on global trade and investment flows, with particular interest in the challenges and opportunities of economic decoupling.

Harry holds a master’s degree in international and development economics from the Australian National University and a bachelor’s degree in arts and commerce from Monash University. He is a PhD candidate at ANU, exploring the role of China’s diverse households and firms in the country’s economic transition.

Prior to joining Oxford Economics, Harry was the Head of China and Australia Economics at Moody’s Analytics. He was previously responsible for Australian state and territory analysis at Deloitte Access Economics.

Head of Economic Research and Global Trade