Of all the parcels of land put in the hands of developers over these frenzied past few decades, has there been any that has inflicted more pain on the government than the Phillip pool and ice skating centre?
Approving the redevelopment of the site by Geocon might have seemed a good idea at the time, particularly for a government with limited means of raising revenue. But it has now seen the government snooker itself on not one but two major pieces of sporting infrastructure, all for the benefit of a private developer.
A full 10 years after committing to help fund a new ice skating centre in Canberra's south as a 2016 pre-election promise, the government has scrapped it, with no back-up plan in place.
The announcement leaves the ice sports community high and dry, although the recently minted sports minister Chris Steel was at pains to point out that the $16.265 million it had earmarked for the project would instead be spent on other sports infrastructure in Tuggeranong.
This is all well and good, but given the government has now enabled the demise of a 50m swimming pool and a skating rink in Woden with no replacements for either in sight, his promise to "continue to engage with stakeholders on the future provision of ice sports" inspires little confidence.
Not that the project wasn't already fraught; the announcement follows a warning earlier this year from the developers appointed to build the ice facility that the funding would not be adequate, and who threatened to walk away.
From a 2026 financial position, Steel's justification that the project would not deliver "value for money" might be prudent. But also betrays a lack of foresight and a tendency towards costly indecision.
No one should be surprised that $16 million does not go far at all in funding a new ice rink imagined a decade ago, just as they've been unsurprised as the costs of a new Canberra Stadium have ballooned over decades of dithering.
Meanwhile, the days of the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre have been numbered since the site was bought by Geocon in 2022.
The developer has approval to build on the site 286 units, a new aquatic facility including a 25-metre pool and cafe, and basement parking in the first stage of a planned project to construct nearly 700 units on the site.
The planning approval, issued in December 2025, does not cover the areas of the 50-metre pool and ice rink, which would be redeveloped later under Geocon's proposal.
The government in January promised a new, 50-metre outdoor swimming pool in Woden, with the possibility work could begin as soon as 2028, after a vocal and long-running community campaign against the loss of a 50-metre pool in the area. But, after today, how could anyone have any confidence that this promise will be honoured?
After all, this is in light of a recently released Auditor-General's report that revealed a ministerial brief suggesting the government consider taking over the Phillip site was barely considered after the long-standing operators of Phillip sold it to Geocon.
An appropriately sombre Mr Steel said on Monday that he understood "this news will be deeply disappointing for members of the ice sports community and others who championed this proposal".
He is correct - the decision will upset many, including voters who continue to keep ACT Labor in government. Another day, another big letdown on infrastructure in a city that deserves far better.
