Arabic version: كبيرة من شعب الأرنتي تتساءل عن أعمال البناء في تل أنزاك

According to ABC News, construction has begun on an $8.8 million multicultural centre at the old Alice Springs High School site in the Anzac Hill precinct. The Northern Territory government says the project is covered by prior sacred-site approval and is expected to be completed in 2027.

Senior Arrernte elder Doris Stuart Kngwarreye said she first learned of the development when bulldozers began operating last week. She said the area was a women’s site and asked who had given permission for the work to proceed. Ms Stuart said Arrernte people were also upset when Alice Springs High School was built between Anzac Hill and the Todd River in 1953.

Resident Jodie Clarkson said she and others told Ms Stuart and her family about the work. She said a foreman showed her a 2018 Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority certificate issued for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia, rather than for the multicultural centre. That certificate lists rocky outcrops, corkwood trees and vegetation that must be protected.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said it was “perfectly fine” to reuse the certificate and said there was no requirement to consult custodians. She said the former high school had been demolished, the development was not affecting sacred sites and the government would proceed with what she described as a construction investment and community asset. Multicultural Community Services Central Australia, a future user of the centre, said it was concerned to learn the location was in the same area as a women’s sacred site and was engaging with traditional custodians.