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The design of the National Aboriginal Art Gallery is planned to be completed towards the end of the year, followed by a construction tender soon after, according to an announcement this morning by Minister for Infrastructure Eva Lawler and Minister for Central Australia Economic Reconstruction Chansey Paech.
They say: “We intend to build this iconic Art Gallery at the ANZAC Hill precinct, which incorporates ANZAC Oval. The construction of the Art Gallery will open up the area for green space and community use.”
The oval is currently subject to compulsory acquisition from the Town Council.
The statement says: “According to the comprehensive business case for the project the gallery will bring an additional 53,000 visitors to Alice Springs every year, injecting up to $64m into the local economy and generating up to 245 local jobs”.
PHOTO: The oval is currently the venue of numerous community events. Its use for the gallery is being opposed by significant numbers of the Aboriginal community who want to see the project located south of The Gap, and by people in the wider community, in particular those who feel that the oval is part of their local heritage.
NT democracy, dictatorship or spoilt brat?
The word democracy itself means rule by the people.
A dictatorship completely disregards the rights of individual citizens.
The government and state will try to control all citizens through laws, police, spying and force not yet in the NT, or may be and we do not know.
Spoiled kids are those who never had a chance to handle disappointment.
Please keep those figures in the archive, Erwin. An additional 53,000 visitors? Haha that is very fanciful thinking.
Hopefully people will remember the attitude of Chancey: We’re putting it where we want and don’t give a stuff what you want.
“We intend to build this iconic Art Gallery at the ANZAC Hill precinct, which incorporates ANZAC Oval. The construction of the Art Gallery will open up the area for green space and community use.”
How does building an Art Gallery within a currently completely open sports field space ie ANZAC Oval, which is also used for community use/event i.e. Master Games opening and closing ceremonies etc “open up the area for green space”?
It seems to me the art gallery is likely to take up some of the existing open green space! Not enhance and increase it as is currently being spruiked and spun!
I’m even more confused now than I usually am?
How can Territorians rely on such figures given that it has been recently revealed in Parliament that this Labor Government has misquoted facts and figures to exaggerate the truth? Appalling abuse of power.
@ Marli Banks: You were the one to lead the town council’s reversal of support for the heritage listing of Anzac Oval 18 months ago, on the basis of your concern that this would limit the council’s management options for the oval.
First, given the Gunner Government’s stubbornness on the Anzac Precinct as its preferred location for the national Aboriginal art gallery, there was virtually no likelihood the then Heritage Minister Lauren Moss would have approved heritage listing of Anzac Oval – which of course proved to be the case.
However, the town council’s reversal of support for heritage listing of Anzac Oval, led by you, tarnished the council’s credibility on this issue.
The Alice Springs Town Council scored an own goal, effectively shot itself in the foot.
Now the town council is contesting the NT Government’s compulsory acquisition of Anzac Oval in the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
While I support this action, the reality is it’s a lost cause – even if the NTCAT decides in favour of the town council, the minister (now Chansey Paech) can overturn that decision; and should such an unlikely result occur with the NTCAT there’s absolutely no doubt that the NT Government will proceed regardless with its intentions for the Anzac Precinct.
Let’s face it, we’re all aware that Darwin always knows what’s best for us.
“The gallery will bring an additional 53,000 visitors to Alice Springs every year.”
People who come up with these figures not only have their head in the clouds, they also spend time at the bottom of the garden with the fairies or they have good quality supply of the smoking stuff, probably all three.