Dropping plans for Indigenous cultural centre at Barangaroo a ‘backward’ step, Aboriginal leaders say

Wesley Enoch says a NSW government decision to cancel plans for an Indigenous cultural centre at Barangaroo is disappointing for the Aboriginal community. Photograph: Paul Braven/AAP

The New South Wales government has come under fire for its decision to cancel plans for an Indigenous cultural centre at Barangaroo’s enormous Cutaway site.

A number of feasibility studies and concept designs had been undertaken on the proposal for the subterranean landmark site, housing almost 5,500 sq metres of space. Wesley Enoch, an artist and playwright, and Rhoda Roberts, the head of Sydney Opera House’s Indigenous programming for nearly a decade, were among the First Nations arts leaders involved in the project.