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Developer CEL Australia (previously SH Darwin) has reportedly dropped a project for a $100 million, 10-storey hotel attached to the Darwin Convention Centre, which was proposed for the city's waterfront precinct. Designed by Pact Architects, the proposal was granted development consent in July 2024 despite concerns from Larrakia custodians that the hotel looked down onto a sacred site.
In September this year, the project faced scrutiny from Traditional Owners when, under recently amended state legislation, the developers were added as parties on a 20-year-old Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) sacred sites certificate, giving them the power to proceed with the construction of the project without further First Nations consultation.
At the time, chair of the AAPA board Bobby Nunggumajbarr said, "The old waterfront certificate does not detail a high-rise hotel next to the Convention Centre or alongside the registered sacred site. Plans for a tower in that location were not part of the original Larrakia consultation."
According to Nunggumajbarr, "More recent certificates for development around Stokes Hill, including for the Larrakia Cultural Centre, set strict height limits to protect the sacred site. Larrakia custodians have been very clear that the current SH Darwin hotel design will impact the site."
He added that "with proper consultation and respect, [the] development can proceed in a way that benefits all Territorians, whilst also protecting the cultural heritage of the Larrakia people."
Earlier this week, Larrakia elders Bill Risk and Helen Secretary, represented by the Northern Land Council (NLC), made an application on behalf of all Larrakia people to safeguard against desecration of their sacred sites at Stokes Hill Wharf under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
Risk said, "Our sacred site at Stokes Hill Wharf has particular responsibility in looking out for Larrakia people … I worry about all our sites in the Darwin vicinity, in the harbour, in the rivers, Elizabeth River and across our country, which is the story of who we are and where we come from. I am asking the Minister [of the Environment and Water] directly, to please step in and use his authority to help protect Stokes Hill Wharf and our connection to Country."
NLC chair Matthew Ryan expressed his support for the bid, commenting that the proposal for the hotel "sets a dangerous precedent that puts all sacred sites in the NT at risk."
ABC News reported that Robert Lee, executive director of SH Hotels and its parent company Sing Haiyi Group, stated that after concerns were raised by custodians, they "explored various changes to the development but [were] unable to come to a result that would make the development feasible."
According to the article, NT Treasurer Bill Yan said that while the government was disappointed the hotel would not eventuate, it respected the developer's decision. "As a community, we need a balanced outcome that is sensitive to cultural concerns but also does not halt economic development and prosperity that would benefit all Territorians," he said.
