Speech to the launch of the Equinix ME1 data centre

Congratulations to Equinix on the launch of the ME1 data centre, and congratulations to global Equinix CEO Steve Smith, Asia-Pacific President Samuel Lee and local MD Jeremy Deutsch on today's opening.

I should also congratulate Equinix's creative consultants who came up with the name 'ME1' for the company's first data centre in Melbourne. No doubt a lot of brainstorming went into that and they probably sent you a hefty bill.
As a Sydney-based MP I'm especially pleased that you're putting Melbourne on the map - albeit after Equinix being in Sydney for some years.
There are three major factors underpinning the dramatic rise of data centres to become vital features of the modern economy: technology trends, regulatory developments, and economic growth and innovation.
First, the technology trend of the Internet as a decentralised network - famously built to keep operating in the event of a nuclear attack. Data centres like this are essential infrastructure as more and more data is shifted around the globe - Equinix is opening five similar data centres globally in the first quarter of this year, an investment of over $7.5 billion.
A second factor behind the rise of data centres are regulatory developments. The deregulation of the telecoms industry was pivotal to industries such as this emerging as telecoms carriers needed to interconnect with one another. 25 years ago there was only one carrier in Australia and no one else to interconnect with - today there are some 130 network providers in Australia, and their networks meet in facilities like this.
The third factor underpinning the rise of data centres is economic growth and innovation. The growth of the service economy has created businesses that didn't exist 20 years ago, all relying on data centres to operate: online retailers, social media services, over-the-top content companies and video on demand providers like Netflix, Stan and Presto.
The rise of the 'Internet of things' and the 'industrial Internet' have created huge volumes of data which need to be processed and stored.
Shifts in business towards greater specialisation and disaggregation have meant that companies no longer need to store their own data, and data centres have become a specialised business in this area.
From a government perspective, we want this kind of infrastructure in our country - it is as vital as ports, airports, and logistics hubs in the digital economy. This government wants to create the right environment for private sector investment in these facilities. We welcome the private sector involvement in building this data centre and supplying the market - and I congratulate Equinix on this $65 million investment.  It will play a critical role in helping Australian businesses serve their customers - in Australia and around the world.
Thank you for inviting me to be here this morning, and it is my pleasure to officially declare the ME1 data centre open.