Premier Peter Malinauskas told InDaily that the panel – comprising former Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt, former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr and former investment banker Carolyn Hewson – late last week gave him a “top-line” briefing of their review of the Tarrkarri Centre for First Nations Cultures planned to be built next to the Botanic Garden at Lot Fourteen.

He said the panel would present a report outlining their findings to State Cabinet this morning.

“The first thing is for it (the report) to get to Cabinet and we will be considering it and in due course we’ll be seeking to release it,” Malinauskas said ahead of the Cabinet meeting.

“This is going to require a big decision from us.”

The review was ordered by Malinauskas in October after the project’s managing contractor advised the government that the cost of the state and federal-funded Aboriginal art and cultural centre had blown out by $50 million.

I’ve got very strong views about that particular parcel of land

They said that building the centre within the $200 million budget would require a “significant reduction in scope”, meaning the building would only be of a “local state-level standard”.

Malinauskas in October put the project on hold while the review was underway, but insisted that the centre would still be built at Lot Fourteen, as builders had already started early remedial works at the site.

Wyatt, Carr and Hewson told InDaily in January that the state government would need to invest a “big capital cost” to create an internationally-significant Aboriginal cultural centre.

They said they were not contemplating scaling back the centre; rather, they would tell the government how much it would cost to make the institution “the best in the world”.

Asked if they would recommend that additional taxpayer money be spent on the Tarrkarri project, Wyatt said: “If it leads to that, yes we will, because if you’re going to do this right and have the people of South Australia proud of a facility that no other state or territory will have, then that will require investment”.

Former NSW Premier Bob Carr, former investment banker Carolyn Hewson and former Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt at the Tarrkarri construction site. Photo: Ben Kelly/InDaily

Malinauskas this morning said the government would “potentially” consider making a decision about the future of the project as part of its budget considerations for next financial year.

“This has been something that I don’t think lots of people have been paying attention to because it’s been under review and that’s been happening behind the scenes,” he said.

“When we came to government it’s something that I got actively briefed on quickly.

“I’ve got very strong views about that particular parcel of land and making sure that it’s used for the opportunity that it presents.”

The Premier said he was unable to say when the government would publicly release Wyatt, Carr and Hewson’s report.

“I’m just not in a position to commit to timeline on that without actually having seen it thoroughly in its full detail, which is what we’ll see this morning,” he said.

“You’re right to ask about it and I welcome you asking about it because this is a big one.

“This is a big decision that we’re going to have to make, which, of course, we’re up for, but I just want to be informed by that expert review panel in the first instance.”

The government has previously told InDaily that Wyatt, Hewson and Carr’s review would cost under $200,000.

The latest concept design of Tarrkarri – Centre for First Nations Cultures by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot. Image: Supplied

The Opposition’s arts and festivals spokesperson John Gardner urged the state government to “move forward and complete Tarrkarri”.

“When this review was announced last year, Peter Malinauskas assured the Aboriginal community and wider South Australia that it was not just a pretext to scrap Tarrkarri in order to pay for Labor’s pet projects,” he said.

“Now Peter Malinauskas has received the review it’s time to move forward and complete Tarrkarri, which is set to bring tens of thousands of people to South Australia in the years ahead.”

Former Premier Steven Marshall revealed plans to build an “Australian National Aboriginal Art and Culture Gallery” at Lot Fourteen ahead of the 2018 state election, at the time saying it would be “the jewel in the crown” of the Liberals’ plan for the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

But the Marshall Government later dropped the word “national” from the centre’s title, with the then Premier conceding that there was “further consultation that’s required and approvals needed at the federal level when you’re going to start naming things as national centres and we just thought it wasn’t necessary”.

The project was later renamed “Tarrkarri”, meaning “the future” in Kaurna.

Funding for the project was secured under a “city deal” signed between the Marshall and Morrison governments in 2019, with the Commonwealth chipping in $85 million and state taxpayers funding the rest.

The centre was scheduled to open in early 2025 and was expected to display pieces sourced from the SA Museum, Art Gallery and State Library collections – the majority of which is currently kept in storage – alongside new digital and performing arts displays that would tell the story of Australia’s First Nations peoples.

Original plans showed the building would span 12,500 square metres over three levels, which would make it bigger than the SA Museum and Art Gallery combined and one of Australia’s largest cultural institutions.

The former government estimated between 485,000 and 581,000 people would visit the centre in its first year, with the figure estimated to increase to up to 665,000 people by 2040.