NextDC tells investors plans to double the size of its west Melbourne datacentre have hit obstacle after community objects to 22 metres-high power poles

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Australia’s largest datacentre operator has been forced to delay the controversial expansion of its M3 site in Melbourne’s west amid a pause in construction of new 22m power poles following community protest.

On Wednesday, NextDC told the Australian Stock Exchange that delays to electricity provider Jemena’s upgrade of the power poles – essential to delivering the increased electricity required by the expanded West Footscray site – would mean the expansion would be pushed back to the 2027/2028 financial year.

Monitoring tools common in a range of workplaces, including factories, office jobs, delivery work and in retail – often without employees being informed

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Employers are increasingly using technology, from CCTV to keystroke monitoring, to track workers’ moves and it is being accelerated by the use of AI, the Human Technology Institute has warned.

Examples provided to Guardian Australia by the institute include a fast-food restaurant using surveillance cameras to stop workers using their phones, and AI tracking leading to a cashier warned over making a mistake once every 533 scans.

Of the dozens of countries approached to water down their laws, Australia appears to be the only one considering it, publishers’ group says

• Get our new political email, free app or daily news podcast

AI has already been trained on the works of Australian artists including Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave without compensation, the peak global body for music rights has claimed, as the Australian government has been warned against giving in to “strong-arming” from tech companies seeking to weaken copyright law.

The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) – which represents Sony, Warner and Universal as well as thousands of independent publishers on six continents – has warned that of the dozens of countries approached to water down copyright laws, Australia appears to be the only to consider doing so.