The ears of Canberrans will always prick up at any talk of a new national cultural institution in our midst.
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When the news broke, more than two years ago, that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural precinct would be built in the Parliamentary triangle close to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, it seemed to come out of nowhere.
The Morrison government announced that it would be built based on an AIATSIS proposal that had, presumably, been years in discussions.
"Presumably" being the operative word here, because it seems the news took members of the local Indigenous community by surprise.
Ngambri elder Matilda House said at the time the plans from AIATSIS did not represent traditional custodians of the land, and that the government had clearly consulted with the wrong people.
The project then seems to have stalled for the ensuing two-and-a-half years, until Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney announced last week that the precinct would now be on Acton Peninsula, adjacent to the National Museum, where AIATSIS is currently housed, and will now stay.
But it seems some parts of the project had not stalled at all; a design competition for the original site in the triangle proceeded with enthusiasm and plenty of interest from the architecture and design sector.
![Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney. Picture by Gary Ramage Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/231012065/d6d9042d-6b9f-44d9-87f8-337aa490dbc0.jpg/r0_293_5737_3531_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A winner was even selected from 25 entries, and given the happy news.
But the elation was short-lived; just days later, Ms Burney announced the new site, meaning the winning design, while bold and elegant, is now wholly redundant.
What appears on the face of it to have been a monumental failure to communicate has been explained away by statements around cost and practicality.
These are the usual pronouncements by staffers caught on the hop and struggling to smooth over the very obvious bumps that we know have always been in the system when it comes to announcing big projects.
But it seems even this new site, while eminently sensible, practical and above all cheaper to realise, has other legitimate concerns attached to it.
Tucked away on the Acton Peninsula is the proposed location for the official memorial for Victim-Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, and while it has been delayed due to asbestos contamination and debates around the design, there are serious questions as to whether it should be co-located with Ngurra at all.
Why is consultation and communication apparently so difficult for government agencies, especially when their decisions will so clearly impact on the various groups they are apparently trying to serve?
Scrapping a winning design just days after it is announced recalls, as do so many government actions, an episode of the satirical TV program Utopia.
So many institutions work in silos, and ministerial announcements are rarely timed to take into account the many hours of meetings and reams of notes that have accumulated by stakeholders and those who have an interest in the ultimate decision.
It's easy to laugh when it's on the screen.
But, as the public servants caught up in such farcical arrangements know only too well, there are always people, real people, affected by government decisions.
And, when it comes to real life, it's no laughing matter.
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