Your views: on a culture centre in limbo
Today, readers comment on rising costs and doubts over whether a showpiece Aboriginal cultural centre will be built on North Terrace.
Commenting on the story: $400-$600 million new quote for Aboriginal cultural centre
A few observations are needed in response to recent articles on the proposed Tarrkarri Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
Most importantly, the proposed centre was conceived by the Weatherill Government not the Marshall Government, and aside from its title, has not significantly changed.
In terms of capital costs, even $600m looks cheap. While operating costs have not even been discussed, these would be enormous. These include the attendants, curatorial staff, public programs staff, education, management and executive, all of them duplicates of the North Terrace museum, library and art gallery staff.
The extra imposition is likely to erode those already under-funded institutions. South Australia is unchallenged for having all the ingredients as the best place in the world to learn about Aboriginal cultures. The failure of successive State governments to adequately promote and fund them is well-known.
It has the world’s biggest and best collections, the most significant history of anthropological research, the strongest contemporary Aboriginal cultural programs and far and away Australia’s leading Aboriginal visual arts festival, Tarnanthi. These are encompassed through multiple organisations including SA Museum, Art Gallery of SA, State Library of SA and Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.
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Instead of building another politicians’ monument, successive SA Governments should take responsibility for properly funding and promoting what they have. The Lot 14 site, as a ceremonial ground created with guidance from today’s living Aboriginal cultures, would be a far more appropriate development. It could be made by SA Botanic Gardens, to which, since settlement, the land once belonged. – Tim Lloyd
Adelaide and South Australia is a pathway to central Australia with its diverse cultures and histories.
Seriously, how can there be a cloud on the part of any political party over creating and investing in an internationally significant and worthy Tarrkarri Aboriginal Cultural Centre on the otherwise western culturally imbued North Terrace?
A previous Labour Government spent nearly a billion dollars on a sports facility for football and cricket operated by huge corporate interests, and created a stadium authority on Adelaide park lands in their commercial interests. A current Labour Government is demolishing state heritage and proposing to spend millions to put a new police compound on park lands.
If spending public money on new sports and policing facilities trumps investing in age-old aboriginal culture, what does that say about the cultural and societal priorities of politicians and us as a state and a nation?
Just as future generations should be permitted to enjoy untrammelled public park lands, so too should future generations have access to what ought to be an internationally-renowned centre that will be a gateway to the rich diversity and history of Aboriginal culture and be a source of national and cultural pride for all. – Elbert Brooks
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Commenting on the story: Thebarton Theatre’s $8m facelift revealed
I’ve been going there for concerts/shows for over 20 years and the one thing I’d highly recommend including in the upgrade would be air-conditioning for the theatre itself.
Forty degree days and nights are very slippery and sweaty in there with full attendance. – Kati Jenkins
Commenting on the opinion piece: SA was once a democratic vanguard and can be so again
Excellent piece on why Australia needs to revitalise its democratic structure. But as a former journalist one comment struck me; where Freedom House reported that Australia’s “free press” was “in working order”.
Regrettably, our mainstream print and electronic media is one of most heavily monopolised in the western world, and that is detrimental to having both a well-informed public and a participatory democracy. Quality ‘independent’ media is carrying a very heavy load – something our federal government needs to finally address, and correct! – Brian Morris
Commenting on the opinion piece: Building sustainable housing at a neighbourhood scale
I would have thought that the first obvious step, which wouldn’t require any “expert” consultation would be to stop building all of these houses with black/charcoal bricks, fences, roofs, driveways, and artificial grass, all of which increase the temperature by 3-5 degrees.
Then of course, no trees are planted, footpath green strips and trees are not watered and left to die. Pretty basic really. – Janice Hutchison
