Labor has again committed $14 million to expanding Newcastle Art Gallery, a project now costed at about $45 million, if it wins the March state election.
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Newcastle Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp raised the saga of the art gallery’s expansion as an election issue when he announced the funding commitment on Monday.
He made an identical commitment before he won the seat in a 2014 by-election, on the proviso Newcastle City Council contributed $7 million to what was then a $21 million project.
Labor lost the 2015 election, but two years later the council submitted a business case to the Coalition government asking for a $26 million contribution.
Arts Minister Don Harwin handed over $244 million for the Art Gallery of NSW extension in the 2017 state budget but rejected Newcastle’s request.
Newcastle lord mayor Cr Nuatali Nelmes said on Monday that the latest Labor pledge was “definitely close to a third of the way” to funding the project, suggesting the cost has grown considerably in the past two years.
The council would contribute “close to another third” from special rate variation funds if the federal government paid the rest.
The council is updating the business case with help from a gallery expansion working party it formed last year.
“Business cases, like any document, become out of date. We’re expecting a draft this month that we’ll be able to present to government,” Cr Nelmes said.
“It is shovel-ready and has been for a number of years.
“There’s an approved DA for the redevelopment, and the business case will include options that can be resubmitted back to Treasury.
“In particular, it will update the estimates, because since the last time this project was mooted it will have CPI and some increase in building costs.”
Mr Crakanthorp challenged Mr Harwin to match Labor’s gallery commitment.
The art gallery’s expansion has been the subject of bitter debate for more than a decade, especially during the reign of former lord mayor Jeff McCloy from 2012 to 2014, when the city was forced to hand back a $7 million federal grant after failing to secure state funding.
Read more: Council floats City Hall art gallery
A new gallery would include more exhibition and storage space, a secure loading dock and a cafe. The gallery exhibits only about two per cent of the 6400 works in its collection each year.
Working party chair and former lady mayoress Cathy Tate said the “best regional collection in Australia” was housed in a “very poor building” which needed to be brought up to 21st century specifications.
She said Monday’s announcement “doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to happen, but it certainly brings it one step further”.
Parliamentary secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the government had provided feedback on the business case since 2017 but would not make a decision until the final version had been reviewed.
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- Newcastle Art Gallery expansion project grows beyond $40m as Tim Crakanthorp revives Labor funding commitment (January 21, 2019)
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- Labor lines up Cessnock deputy mayor Melanie Dagg to replace Martin Rush as Upper Hunter candidate (January 19, 2019)
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- Premier Gladys Berejiklian says extra $100m Hunter Water dividend will flow into state's consolidated revenue (January 15, 2019)
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