The Australian War Memorial should not be given a “blank cheque” to cover further cost blowouts in its controversial $550m expansion, a government MP has warned.
Opponents of the expansion have criticised it as a wasteful and unnecessary project designed to showcase weapons and military objects, rather than furthering the memorial’s core purpose as a place of commemoration.
But the new Labor government has so far maintained bipartisan support for the project, with the veterans affairs minister, Matt Keogh, saying it would “ensure our military history, and the veterans who have served our nation are acknowledged as they deserve”.
The cost of the project, initially estimated at about $500m, has already increased by $50m. In March, the former Morrison government agreed to fund the additional cost after a request from the memorial.
Keogh said the government was “closely” monitoring the project.
“I don’t think anyone is surprised that building and material costs have skyrocketed recently, not only in Australia but globally, and this has flowed on to the Australian War Memorial project too,” he said. “I have been and will continue to monitor this project closely.”
The AWM director, Matt Anderson, said the memorial had not requested any further funding since March, and was on track to deliver within budget. But he also raised the possibility of further pressure on construction costs.
“We are not in a position to forecast future market movements, however the impacts of inflation, supply chain constraints and shipping cost increases continue to put pressure on construction costs, not only here in Canberra but throughout Australia,” he said on Tuesday. “We will continue to do everything we can to value-manage the project.”
The memorial has faced much public scrutiny over the expansion, including from the peak body for the country’s architects and heritage experts. The project includes demolishing and rebuilding the award-winning Anzac Hall and creating a glass area to house large objects such as an F/A18 Hornet, reconnaissance aircraft and armoured vehicles.
The former AWM director Brendon Kelson warned before his death in March the changes would turn the memorial into a military “theme park”.
Two Labor MPs – David Smith and Tony Zappia – have previously questioned whether there were more cost-effective solutions for the memorial.
Last year, in a public works committee report on the expansion, Smith and Zappia dissented and urged the government to reconsider the need to demolish Anzac Hall. They recommended that lower-cost options be considered, such as greater use of the memorial’s precinct in the industrial Canberra suburb of Mitchell.
On Tuesday, Smith, a former senator for the ACT who is now the government whip, said one of his chief concerns – the demolition of Anzac Hall – could no longer be remedied.
“It’s unfortunate that Anzac Hall is no longer there,” he said.
Smith said the cost increases to date were not a huge surprise.
“Obviously we’ve seen more substantial costs due to what’s happened in … Ukraine and elsewhere,” he said. “At the same time, they can’t expect a blank cheque.”
The Medical Association for Prevention of War said the expansion project “as it stands” should be put on hold to allow for greater consultation on the “need for and purposes of any expansion of the memorial”.
“Current plans totally ignored extremely strong public sentiment about the need for the memorial to move away from showcasing weapons and military objects, and return to its core purpose of commemoration,” the association’s president, Sue Wareham, said.
“In addition, there have been repeated calls over many years for recognition and commemoration of the frontier wars, which the memorial have also ignored; it is long since time for these wars to be commemorated at the AWM, but the current expansion will not do that.
“In every respect, the approval processes for the current plans were a travesty of the democracy that Australians are said to fight for.”
