The Australia Forum is a proposed
convention centre
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
complex for
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, Australia. The project was first put forward in 2011, and in 2017 its future became uncertain when the
ACT Government withdrew funding for the preparation of a business case for it.
History
In response to what its planners saw as the Australian capital's "lack of a sufficiently large, high quality, secure venue that can be locked down without disrupting the city, as well as a lack of sufficient accommodation of a suitably high standard"
a proposal was announced on 11 April 2011 for a $328 million complex in what is now
Acton park on the shore of the Western basin of
Lake Burley Griffin. The complex would include a plenary hall catering for up to 3000, a purpose designed Centre for Dialogue, a ballroom, large exhibition space, restaurants, bars, five-star hotel and associated parking. The centre is expected to be able to securely host political dialogue meetings such as the
G20 or
CHOGM
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of gov ...
as well as trade conferences. Whilst the announcement of the plan was received with broad, though not unanimous, approval
it was noted in the
Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
's supportive editorial that the community rarely embraces such ideas usually for reason of public expenditure or vague public benefit. It was also noted that the Government might also be liable for substantial environmental rehabilitation costs before construction could begin.
In March 2010 the Steering Committee for the "Australia Forum Scoping Study" was announced subsequent to several previously rejected proposals.
The
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...
government invested $500,000 in 2010 for the scoping study and in April 2011 agreed to allocate a further $1 million for technical studies.
In 2015, a design for the building was announced by
Guida Moseley Brown Architects,
to be designed by
Massimiliano Fuksas.
Committee
The committee consists of:
*Professor
Peter Shergold
Peter Roger Shergold is an Australian academic, company director, and former public servant. Shergold was the Chancellor of Western Sydney University from 2011 through 2022.
Between February 2003 and February 2008, he was the Secretary of the ...
, former head of the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (Chair)
*Dr Dawn Casey, Director,
Powerhouse Museum and formerly Director,
National Museum of Australia
*Professor
Ian Chubb, AC, Vice Chancellor,
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
*General
Peter Cosgrove, AC, MC Chair of the
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...
Council
*Ms
Virginia Haussegger,
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
presenter
*Mr
Rupert Myer
Rupert Hordern Myer (born 13 August 1958) is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. He is a member of the Myer family, which, in 2014, was the sixth wealthiest family in Australia, with a net worth of more than $2 billion in properties ...
, AM, Chairman of the
National Gallery of Australia
See also
*
National Convention Centre Canberra
The National Convention Centre Canberra is a convention centre located in Canberra, Australia, which opened in 1989. The Centre is Canberra's largest, purpose-built functions, meetings and events venue, and is managed by InterContinental Hotels Gr ...
References
External links
*
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Convention centres in Australia
Buildings and structures in Canberra
Proposed buildings and structures in Australia