New Northern Territory Government halts work on Alice Springs Indigenous art gallery to preserve town's Anzac Oval

The newly elected Northern Territory Government has pledged to preserve Alice Springs’ Anzac Oval sportsground, halting work on previous administration’s planned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery.

Making her first visit to Alice Springs since being elected last month, Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro told the ABC that demolition work on the site had been paused after "listening to the community".

The sports field was the previous government's intended site for a controversial new art gallery, despite opposition from traditional owners and others in the outback town.

Chief Minister Finocchiaro advised “we want to get this right for people in Alice Springs”

Committing to building the $150 million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery, she advised that she still wants the project to go ahead without "excessive delays", stating that it may be possible to retain the popular sports oval and build the gallery at the same site.

She added “we might be able to redesign and actually have them both at that beautiful location.

"We've heard from tourism and the business community that they want it at that end of the mall, and we've also heard from the community that we need sporting facilities.

"It seems like such a waste and such a shame to knock down perfectly good facilities that we need for our kids and our adults."

Among sports impacted by the development, rugby league was set to be moved to the town’s Jim McConville Oval from next season due to demolition work commencing at Anzac Oval.

Since its conception, the project has been marred by failed negotiations with traditional owners, who argued sacred sites could be threatened by the planned development at the Anzac Oval site.

The previous Labor government ignored the advice of a steering committee it set up in 2017, which concluded the gallery should be built out of the town centre, at the Desert Park.

The Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) also took its fight to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2021, with the tribunal recommending the government give further consideration to the concerns of traditional owners before moving ahead.

Images: Alice Springs' Anzac Oval (top) and the most recent design concept for the town's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery (below, credit: NT Government).