The North Terrace dustbowl is becoming a political stain for the Premier
Remember Tarrkarri? The Premier wishes you didn’t, writes Mike Smithson in the first of his weekly insights into how the halls of power operate.
It’s rapidly approaching the Premier’s official ‘political basking’ season.
He’s preparing for the public relations power and glory of LIV Golf, AFL Gather Round and various festivals.
“Everywhere-Mali” will be almost everywhere over the next weeks and months, except for one prominent Adelaide landmark.
Peter Malinauskas will continue to bypass a valuable piece of dirt at Lot Fourteen on North Terrace where the old Royal Adelaide Hospital’s East Wing once stood.
It’s been earmarked for a world-class Aboriginal arts and cultural centre known as Tarrkarri.
A render of Lot Fourteen including Tarrkarri posted to LinkedIn.
As InDaily has reported, it would house tens of thousands of Indigenous art treasures and artifacts currently locked away in storage.
Let me be brutally honest.
It isn’t going to happen, but the Premier doesn’t have the courage, or perhaps the folly, to officially knock it out of the park and finally put several interested and frustrated parties out of their misery.
Here’s another observation.
The sensitive notion of “shooting Bambi” in the lead up to the March 2026 state election is a path the Premier won’t be treading as it’s a potentially bad look, and our politically savvy leader doesn’t like bad looks.
If he strides to victory for a second term, as widely expected, it would then be much easier to cut Tarrkarri loose with another four years to appease those who’ve been left horribly disappointed or even offended.
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This significant major project could have put SA on the global map but is now withering on the vine.
Queensland’s already stealing the march with its own planned showpieces in Brisbane and Cairns.
They promise to provide exposure to new domestic and international art and tourist markets.
For consecutive years we’ve been promised a decision early the following year.
Guess what?
We’re here again and still nothing.
So, enough is enough.
Tarrkarri was doomed from the moment it was put on hold by the Malinauskas government after entering office in 2022.
At that split-second in time the planned $200m facility was always destined for a cost blowout.
The price hike started at $50m with some estimates climbing to total cost of $600m.
That’s not from the fallout of bad economic management, but more likely from the ravages of inflation, rising construction costs and soaring interest rates.
The federal government chipped in $14.5m of its promised funds with another $70.5m still waiting in the wings.
But even the most optimistic business case is now all but down the gurgler.
Former Liberal Premier Steven Marshall was the prime mover in the Tarrkarri dream and cynics could argue the idea was doomed, if only to spite any state legacy he might have left behind.
Under his ambitious plan, the new gallery would have opened in April this year.
I’m neither a fierce supporter nor ardent critic of Tarrkarri, but I hate indecision.
The Premier will again be in the groove when WOMAD descends on Adelaide’s Botanic Garden during Mad March and will be within a drop punt of the vacant North Terrace site.
But he’ll barely cast a passing glance in that direction because it’s an irritating itch that he can’t scratch.
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Conversely, the Premier can’t afford it to become an ongoing political stain that he can’t remove.
If there was increased funding for the major project, he would have announced it by now.
My specific inquiry to Treasurer Stephen Mullighan this week clearly indicated his upcoming pre-election state budget won’t have any extra set aside.
Until a hefty cash mirage magically emerges from Canberra, the state government has no appetite to move forward.
Even then, Labor would prefer to direct any new federal handouts to more pressing issues.
The Premier has been hanging onto a top-level review from eminent economic observers namely former NSW premier Bob Carr, banking guru Carolyn Hewson and former Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt.
Don’t hold your breath for the review’s findings because you’ll go blue in the face before passing out.
It was handed to the Labor government almost two years ago, and despite promises it would be publicly released, the crucial document continues to gather dust.
The Premier says he’s holding off releasing the entire report until a time which suits the government.
So, what are the alternatives for this valuable dust bowl?
It seems no-one has the political balls to bury it completely.
Why would Anthony Albanese commit extra millions in co-funding when he really needs to win federal seats in other states?
Relying on massive philanthropic or corporate handouts would be as unlikely as Sanjeev Gupta paying his state royalties on time.
If the current funding is re-purposed for another drawcard, it must either tick Aboriginal, arts or tourism boxes.
This land won’t be rejigged for a multi-storey apartment block in the parklands.
But it certainly can’t remain in its current appalling, derelict state.
No-one in their right mind would allow a land parcel, ripe for appropriate development, to sit idle for years.
That’s a bad-taste joke.
It already has all the hallmarks of the old Le Cornu site at North Adelaide.
I was there when the bulldozers ripped through the iconic O’Connell Street furniture megastore in the late 80s and was also there when the first sod was turned almost three years ago.
That was a 33-year hiatus and not plagued with the same cultural, heritage and ownership burdens of this plot.
If there’s a sudden breakthrough and a greenlight for Tarrkarri, or anything else at the site, I’ll be the first to eat humble pie.
But the Premier’s easiest fix is to do nothing and kick it down the road yet again.
If he officially ditches it on March 22nd next year, the day after his likely re-election, he has another 1461 days to quell the complaints.
Mike Smithson is the weekend presenter and political analyst for 7News.
