Muliyaan Cultural and Wildlife Centre in Narooma was to be a place where members and friends of Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council could tell their stories and talk about their heritage.
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It was one of 25 projects in the Bega electorate that received funding from the federal and state governments' Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLERF).
The consulting firm that first worked on Muliyaan said government agencies' involvement had jeopardised the project.
Some of Muliyaan's experiences echo those of other BLERF projects including the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre (CBRC) and the Narooma Arts and Community Centre.
Rhonda Ayliffe, CBRC vice-chair, said delays put the Cobargo project in jeopardy several times.
"The volunteers get our job done and we are waiting for all the highly-paid professionals to do theirs."
She said the overall process was "traumatic".
"Competitive, high-stakes grants are not the way to deal with recovery."
Through no fault of their own, several sizeable BLERF projects including the Narooma Arts and Community Centre, experienced escalations in construction costs and supply shortages over the last two years and were asked to rescope and again compete for additional funding.
Joe Aston, a Narooma School of Arts spokesperson, was critical of that process too.
Tussle to manage Muliyaan project
On behalf of Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council (WLALC), Canberra consultants Capitol Commerce (CapComm) were notified in July 2021 that they would receive $3.3million from the BLERF to build the Muliyaan Cultural Centre.
In December 2021, WLALC contracted CapComm to manage the project.
CapComm's Daryl Young said they subsequently spent 18 months battling with NSW government representatives on process.
The original deed required a Project Control Group (PCG) be established with representatives from NSW Public Works Advisory (PWA), Regional NSW and WLALC.
Mr Young said the PCG's role was to oversee and monitor progress but WLALC did not have to accept its recommendations and remained solely responsible for delivering the project and managing its risks.
However, "through the PCG, PWA took control of the project and introduced external impositions that caused delays, weren't originally budgeted for and were unnecessary for a project of that scale", he said.
No progress
Public Works would not allow WLALC to renew CapComm's 18-month contract in June 2023.
WLALC would not speak about the project due to restrictions in the funding deed around public announcements.
Eurobodalla Shire Council (ESC) accepted a development application (DA) in December 2022.
A council spokesperson said the major issues blocking its approval are a restrictive covenant on the land's title and lack of clear information about the traffic impact.
A spokesperson for the Department of Regional NSW said it is considering the response from ESC regarding the DA and additional requirements.
"The Department continues to work with the WLALC to explore the options available to enable the project to progress," the spokesperson said.
