Anzac Oval site set to be acquired by NT government for National Aboriginal Art ­Gallery in Alice Springs

The Alice Springs town council will step aside for the NT government to compulsorily acquire the Anzac Oval site to make way for the long-awaited National Aboriginal Art ­Gallery.

THE Alice Springs town council will step aside for the NT government to compulsorily acquire the Anzac Oval site to make way for the long-awaited National Aboriginal Art ­Gallery.

The extraordinary decision to take no further legal action on the matter was made by council in a confidential meeting in ­November, but was only made public this week.

A tribunal in September censured the NT government for failing to adequately consult over plans to forcibly ­acquire land for the gallery near the town centre, against the wishes of traditional owners and the council.

In a letter sent to Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler in November, Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson said the council had accepted that “legal avenues have now concluded” and the NT government now had “the opportunity to conclude its acquisition” of the Anzac Oval site.

Mr Paterson said the council had fought hard to hold on to the piece of land for years but now the decision was in the NT government’s hands.

“At the end of the day, it’s the NT government’s project,” he said. “We just have a piece of grass – that’s why we’ve been dragged through this.

“This has been going on for four years. It’s now up to the government and if Minister Lawler is looking at acquiring it, then that’s that.”

Mr Paterson ruled out taking the matter to the NT ­Supreme Court.

He said there was a desire within the community to “just get on with it”.

The letter also said the council hoped to continue working in partnership with the NT government for the benefit of the community.

The $150m gallery was a key election promise made by the Labor Party leading up to the 2016 Northern Territory general election.

Ms Lawler thanked the council for “being supportive” of the gallery project and making its decision to enable the government to proceed with the acquisition.

“We are at the beginning of the process,” she said.

“The National Aboriginal Art Gallery will be a world-class facility that will attract national and international visitors to Alice Springs, providing wide-ranging social benefits and opportunities for local jobs and economic growth. It is a linchpin in our plan towards revitalising the CBD, more important than ever, as we begin to rebuild the economy following the Covid pandemic.”

Since the NTCAT report was handed down, Ms Lawler said she had met with Lhere Artepe board members and the chief executive, traditional owners, the council’s mayor and chief executive, and Tourism Central Australia.

Adding to the fiasco, South Australia in 2019 secured $85m in federal funding for its own ­National Gallery for Aboriginal Art and Cultures to be built at the former Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Mr Paterson reaffirmed his hope for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery to be built in Alice Springs.

“We’ll have the biggest, the best one, and we are the home of Indigenous Australia, so it’s the right place for it to happen,” he said.

Originally published as Anzac Oval site set to be acquired by NT government for National Aboriginal Art ­Gallery in Alice Springs