00:00It's a sudden turn that's left people scratching their heads.
00:07Darwin's sparkling new art gallery scrapped at the 11th hour.
00:11We've seen those budget blowouts.
00:13I think it was slated at 46 million dollars.
00:16We're now up around 143 to 147 million dollars.
00:20And what the previous government never did, Adam,
00:23they never put any money in the budget to actually run the thing.
00:25The plan for the gallery was signed off in 2018
00:29as part of a major infrastructure package for Darwin CBD,
00:33including the new university campus
00:35and the underground car park at Parliament House,
00:38both of which are already complete.
00:41But the gallery, only months before completion,
00:43is now up for grabs as something else entirely.
00:47The building is very specific and very purpose-built.
00:50So the expressions of interest we're looking for,
00:52both nationally, internationally and even locally,
00:55is how that space may then be activated.
00:58Darwin's mayor saying the project was doomed from the start
01:02and that it joins a long list of public buildings
01:04that have broken the NT's bank.
01:07I hope the Treasurer, Bill Yann,
01:09and Chief Minister Lea Finocchiara have a good look
01:12at the departments to find out
01:14why do we have this blow up of budgets in public buildings.
01:19It's also raising concerns that potential investors will be spooked.
01:23We've had economic decline for the last few years.
01:26We've had our tourism numbers drop for the last few years.
01:29So if you're looking at other proponents coming in,
01:32they're going to be looking at the viability of that building.
01:35The ABC has spoken to arts and tourism sector operators
01:39who stand to benefit from the new gallery.
01:41They complain they've been left in the dark,
01:44only finding out the project was being canned
01:46when it was publicly announced this week.
01:49And they're going to be at the university
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