COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND JUSTICE STANDING COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO THE INSIDE AUSTRALIA PROJECT AT LAKE BALLARD (MENZIES) Report No. 3 in the 38th Parliament 2009 Published by the Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australia, Perth, November 2009. Printed by the Government Printer, State Law Publisher, Western Australia. Community Development and Justice Standing Committee Inquiry into the Inside Australia project at Lake Ballard (Menzies) ISBN: 978-1-921355-73-8 (Series: Western Australia. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committees. Community Development and Justice Standing Committee. Report 3) 328.365 99-0 Copies available from: State Law Publisher 10 William Street PERTH WA 6000 Telephone: (08) 9321 7688 Facsimile: (08) 9321 7536 Email: [email protected] Copies available on-line: www.parliament.wa.gov.au COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND JUSTICE STANDING COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO THE INSIDE AUSTRALIA PROJECT AT LAKE BALLARD (MENZIES) Report No. 3 Presented by: Hon A.J.G. MacTiernan, MLA Laid on the Table of the Legislative Assembly on 26 November 2009 COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chair Hon A.J.G. MacTiernan, MLA Member for Armadale Deputy Chair Mr A.P. Jacob, MLA Member for Ocean Reef Members Mr I.M. Britza, MLA Member for Morley Mr A.P. O’Gorman, MLA Member for Joondalup Hon T.G. Stephens, MLA Member for Pilbara COMMITTEE STAFF Principal Research Officer Dr Brian Gordon, Research Officer Ms Jovita Hogan, BA (Hons) COMMITTEE ADDRESS Community Development and Justice Standing Committee Legislative Assembly Tel: (08) 9222 7494 Parliament House Fax: (08) 9222 7804 Harvest Terrace Email: [email protected] PERTH WA 6000 Website: www.parliament.wa.gov.au - i - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND JUSTICE STANDING COMMITTEE TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMITTEE MEMBERS........................................................................................................................... i COMMITTEE STAFF.................................................................................................................................. i COMMITTEE ADDRESS............................................................................................................................ i COMMITTEE’S FUNCTIONS AND POWERS.......................................................................................... v INQUIRY TERMS OF REFERENCE........................................................................................................ vii CHAIR’S FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................. ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... xi GLOSSARY.............................................................................................................................................xiii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ xv FINDINGS.............................................................................................................................................. xvii RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................................................ xxiii MINISTERIAL RESPONSE ................................................................................................................. xxvii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 INQUIRY PARAMETERS ............................................................................................................... 1 1.3 CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY........................................................................................................ 2 CHAPTER 2 THE SCOPE AND VISION OF THE PROJECT.................................................................... 3 2.1 THE HISTORY ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 THE VISION.................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 ANTONY GORMLEY ..................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LANDSCAPE................................................................................. 6 2.5 THE RESIDENTS ............................................................................................................................ 8 2.6 LONG TERM VISION ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 3 GOVERNANCE...................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 EVOLVING STATUS 2003-2009................................................................................................... 13 3.2 STATUTORY STATUS 2009......................................................................................................... 15 (a) Western Australia Land Administration Act 1997 Management Plan............................... 15 (b) Rules for the Lake Ballard Association (Inc)................................................................... 15 (c) Deed of Transfer Relating to Inside Australia.................................................................. 16 3.3 CURRENT GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................... 17 3.4 CURATORIAL AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL ...................................................................... 19 (a) Shire of Menzies ............................................................................................................ 20 (b) Art Gallery of Western Australia .................................................................................... 21 (c) Tourism Western Australia............................................................................................. 22 (d) Lake Ballard Association (Inc) ....................................................................................... 23 (e) The Lake Ballard Advisory Committee........................................................................... 25 3.5 FUTURE GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................. 26 3.6 ALTERNATIVE GOVERNANCE MODELS ................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER 4 FUNDING ............................................................................................................................... 31 4.1 CURRENT POSITION ................................................................................................................... 31 4.2 FUTURE FUNDING ...................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 5 TOURISM............................................................................................................................... 39 5.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF INSIDE AUSTRALIA TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA ...................................... 39 5.2 IMPACT OF THE ISOLATION OF THE SITE .............................................................................. 41 5.3 INDIVIDUAL TOURIST IMPRESSIONS OF INSIDE AUSTRALIA............................................... 42 5.4 INSIDE AUSTRALIA AS A TOURIST DESTINATION.................................................................. 44 5.5 ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE REGION................................................................................... 46 5.6 CURRENT DEVELOPMENT DEFICIT......................................................................................... 48 (a) The site is not ‘market ready’.......................................................................................... 48 (b) Need for a business plan................................................................................................. 52 5.7 THE COMMERCIALISATION OF THE SITE AND ITS SCULPTURES ...................................... 53 - iii - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND JUSTICE STANDING COMMITTEE (a) Restrictions on commercialisation ...................................................................................53 (b) Commercial leveraging of site.........................................................................................56 CHAPTER 6 CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE............................................................................59 6.1 INCIPIENT AND GROSS DEGRADATION ..................................................................................59 (a) Damage to the landscape.................................................................................................59 (b) Damage to the sculptures.................................................................................................61 6.2 MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION OF THE SCULPTURES.................................................64 CHAPTER 7 SITE AND INSTALLATION DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................67 7.1 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE.....................................................................................67