Disagreement between Federal and State ministers about support for Albany National Anzac Centre costs

A continued push for Federal funding to support the operational costs of Albany’s National Anzac Centre has hit another road block, but WA’s Veterans Issues Minister says he will continue to advocate for it. Six months on from saying he was “open” to discussions about funding for the centre, Federal Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh has effectively ruled out ongoing support. He said the the Federal Government supported the centre’s development and had provided one-off project grants, but the ongoing responsibility for State-owned and managed military cultural institutions “lies with the respective State and local governments”. “It was made clear in the funding agreement and correspondence with the then WA Premier that the ongoing operation of the centre wouldn’t be the responsibility of the Commonwealth,” he said. “I have encouraged the WA Government to consider providing support for the centre. “In particular the opportunity of the centre to possibly become a branch of the WA Museum, given the educational and interactive similarities between the two facilities, and given the WA Museum already provides curation support to the centre.” During his first visit to Albany as a Federal Minister in November Mr Keogh visited the NAC and said he would engage further with the City of Albany who have continued to advocate for funding support to help cover operational costs. Mr Keogh’s latest comments come after State Veterans Issues Minister Paul Papalia was questioned about funding for the centre during Budget estimates in late May. After being questioned about the level of State support for the centre by Opposition Leader Shane Love, Mr Papalia indicated he believed the Federal Government should contribute the recurrent costs as it “funded it at the outset”. “I would argue that it should be a part of the Australian War Memorial’s estate,” he said. “In the past, we advocated for it to be adopted as a Federal Government responsibility. “It is spending half a billion dollars on the War Memorial in Canberra, but that one has not been addressed.” He repeated the sentiment and said he would continue to advocate for the NAC “to receive Federal funding to assist with its ongoing upkeep and operation” in response to questions from the Advertiser last week. He said its national significance meant it would be “more appropriate for it to become a branch of the Australian War Memorial rather than the WA Museum”. “Albany is the location where thousands of east coast and New Zealand ANZACs met for the first time,” he said. “For many of them, it was the last Australian town they set foot in, and the last image of this country they would ever see. “It is important that we continue to tell both current and future generations of Australians about the historic role Albany played during World War I.”