Tarrkarri on hold as Premier launches urgent review

Work on the $200 million First Nations Cultural Centre proposed for Lot Fourteen has been put on hold after a cost blowout of $50 million.

Late last year the managing contractor of the project advised the SA Government that an extra $50 million would be needed to build Australia’s premier Aboriginal arts and cultural centre, a place of international significance, which was the original proposal by the former Marshall and Morrison governments.

The project’s professional services team Woods Bagot and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro projected that building the centre within the existing $200 million budget would lead to a significant reduction in scope and result in a centre of only “local state-level standard”.

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced an urgent review to examine the best way forward, led by former Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt, former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr and former investment banker Carolyn Hewson. The panel are due to hand down their findings in early 2023. Mr Malinauskas said that it wasn’t an easy decision to postpone works, but one that he firmly believed was right.

“We only get one chance to get this right. Put simply, it doesn’t make sense to invest $200 million of taxpayers’ money for a sub-standard outcome which will fail to deliver a centre of international significance,” he said.

“I am determined to ensure this is a project which delivers for our state for the long term, both culturally and economically.”

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher said, “the Centre for First Nations Cultures at Lot Fourteen is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an internationally significant landmark to celebrate First Nations peoples. Properly honouring and paying respect to the oldest living culture on the planet is something we have a duty to get right.”

The Cultural Centre, which had formerly been scheduled to open in early 2025, is called “Tarrkarri”, which means “the future” in the Kaurna language.

Early remedial and foundational works started on the site of the centre on North Terrace back in December 2021, however further progress is on hold, pending the outcome of the review.