Bulletin
48: Powerhouse – be aware and alarmed
And of course the main
immediate cause for alarm is not re the Powerhouse, and we all hope that all
may eventually be well, with thoughts, best wishes and empathy for those
seriously involved.
However, despite the current situation, or because
of the need for some good news, one hopes for a post-Harwin change of policy re
the destruction of the Powerhouse Museum, but in case this does not happen,
here is some recent news, related to the pernicious virus.
I emailed Ms Havilah asking for an assurance that
no work would be done on demolishing the Powerhouse during the Coronavirus
crisis and pending the heritage assessment consultation process, the
Pyrmont-Ultimo development plan consultation, the Parramatta site EIS
consultation and the new Upper House Inquiry.
A new round of ‘consultations’ is also being
undertaken by Ms Havilah, CEO of the Museum ‘move’, with the help of Ms Kylie
Cochrane of the PR firm Aurecon and Mr Tom Kennedy of Infrastructure NSW. Tom
Kennedy is a prime mover in the destruction of the Sydney Football Stadium
before the last election. Eighteen months later it remains a wasteland.
On 4 April I was invited to take part in a ‘Zoom’
discussion with these people and it went as per the first attachment.
I got no assurance that there would be a delay on the destruction of the
Powerhouse. More worryingly at a similar discussion on 7 April with Parramatta
people Mr Kennedy stated that the erection of the new museum at Parramatta
would be a project ready for commencement as soon as the current crisis was
over – see second attachment.
I remain terrified that the Government will use the
present crisis to begin the demolition of the Ultimo museum while everyone is
in lockdown. June 30 is a crucial date, forecast for the basic closure of much
of the museum, and so far this has not been altered.
So the purpose of this bulletin is to ask everyone to
take any action you can to register your views.
That is the vital part … the rest is information
will be of interest if you have time.
It is important to note that when asked if her new
consultation would be the usual travesty where the decisions had already been
made, Ms Havilah said that she was committed to getting the best outcome for
all concerned and that the project had not been ‘determined’ (ie it was still under investigation and subject to
discussion which was in its ‘early stages’.) Frankly I do not believe it: the
current survey being conducted at http://www.infrastructure.nsw.gov.au/projects-nsw/new-powerhouse-museum-in-parramatta/ assumes
that the ‘move’ will go ahead – see the third attachment. But we
will use her statement as much as possible.
A new Inquiry into Museums, notably concerning the
Powerhouse affair, is in train. Submissions are due on May 3. See more
information on attachment 4, including a
information about a detailed questionnaire, which is rather difficult to
follow, so I did write the questions out separately because I kept on
forgetting what I had previously written and this is included in the
attachment. It may help others when filling in the form which may fill in a
Covid seclusion hour or two.
.
Attachment 5 is
some ‘correspondence out’: submission re heritage assessment, correction of
statement from Ms Havilah re display spaces at Ultimo, request for information
re the 6 independent investigations carried out since 2017 by Infrastructure
NSW into the proposed ‘move.
And you can also take part in another alleged
consultation, this time on the Pyrmont / Ultimo area from https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Priority-Growth-Areas-and-Precincts/Pyrmont-Peninsula .
In the small print it says that the matter of the Powerhouse Museum cannot be
discussed, but surely this can be overridden.
Many other things on https://powerhousemuseumalliance.com/ are
well worth reading, notably https://powerhousemuseumalliancedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/pma-statement-on-consultation-7-april-2020.pdf .
Also, of course, the Save the Powerhouse facebook page is always great reading.
So if you are locked in to Covidvirus seclusion there
is plenty that can be done.
Thanks for reading this far… and thanks to the many
correspondents who have provided material and thoughts. Please send a
separate email, do not use the ‘reply’ button.
Tom.
tomlockley@gmail.com ,
0403 615 134, PO Box 301 Pyrmont 2009
tomlockley@gmail.com is
the best method of communication)
CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE POWERHOUSE
Australia’s major museum of arts and sciences in Sydney’s most evocative
heritage building. For more information
https://powerhousemuseumalliance.com/ See also: https://www.facebook.com/savepowerhousemuseum/ https://www.facebook.com/savethepowerhouse/ http://lockoweb.com/phm/
The business case is online at the private
website http://maasbusinesscase.com/