A legal action to stop Darwin’s new town hall development has bombed
Opponents of a new CBD development have collapsed after months spent criticising the project. Read what happened.
Northern Territory
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Attempts to use the federal court to block City of Darwin’s civic centre and town hall development have come unstuck, with the action dismissed even before it had cleared its first legal hurdle.
The federal court ordered by consent on Friday that an application filed by Nourse & Co in relation to the Civic Centre be dismissed.
The NT News understands Nourse’s solicitors approached City of Darwin to have the matter discontinued the day before hearings were due to begin last week.
City of Darwin welcomed the decision and the implications behind the failure to continue with the action.
“City of Darwin is pleased that the Federal Court has ordered that the application regarding the Civic Centre be dismissed by consent,” a council spokesman said.
“City of Darwin maintains that the general allegations made by the applicant about improper decision making surrounding the Civic Centre redevelopment were without basis.
“City of Darwin did not concede to any arguments made by the applicants in relation to alleged improper decisions in accordance with legislation requirements, or the use of reserve funding for the project.
“The dismissal of the proceedings shows that the allegations lacked any basis in fact.
“We have been compliant with our obligations under the Local Government Act, Planning Act and the general principles of good governance.
“The Civic Centre project has been in planning for over four years, and the final procurement process had probity oversight in place to ensure all legislative requirements were met.
“The proposal has been subject to scrutiny by the Development Consent Authority as part of the due processes required under the Planning Act.”
Opponents of the $150 million 21-storey development lodged an application with the federal court last month due to what they described as a “lack of disclosure”.
They had been waging a covert war against the development ever since CoD announced last year that Territory construction company DCOH had been awarded the contract to build the new town hall.
They alleged “at least” 16 major breaches by the council under the Local Government Act.
“We believe the project will cost more than the $150 million,” a supporter of the legal action said. “The council has never answered what will it do if there is a cost over run?
“We want to know what contingencies are in place … will they levee rate payers or will they absorb it within their own financial mechanisms?”
People contacted by the NT News who knew about the federal court’s decision were reluctant on Monday to comment pending further details around the decision.
Lawyers De Silva Hebron who were representing Nourse & Co in the action did not respond to questions yesterday.
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