Dear Mr Anderson

Thank you for meeting with me and providing a tour of the Australian War Memorial earlier this month. It was great to meet you and you were very generous with your time. I much appreciated the opportunity to discuss with you the concerns that people are raising with me about the expansion and to hear your thoughts.

As you would expect, I continue to hear from constituents and other advocates about the AWM development project, including the Australian Institute of Architects who I met with yesterday, and as you are likely aware have written an open letter to all members of Parliament regarding the project.

What is clear to me is that everyone who has voiced concern has a deep respect and appreciation for the AWM and what it commemorates. Like you, they want what is best for the memorial and share concerns about the wellbeing of veterans and the way in which we commemorate the sacrifices made in war.

As we discussed in our meeting, central to the concerns of many in the community is that they feel the consultation processes have not been genuine. The Architects specifically expressed concern that consultations are not genuine if there is no scope to change or adapt the plans presented in the consultation.

They have also raised the point that the project has begun even though consideration by the Public Works Committee and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation process, as well as the NCA process has not been completed. Considering these things, I understand why there is so much concern in the community.

When we met, it was particularly welcome to hear your openness to meet with and consult further with the community about the expansion project. However, many in the community still do not feel that their concerns are being heard or addressed.

I urge you to review the consultation process the AWM has undertaken to date and consider a further round of consultations with the community to ensure that the planned development is truly the right course of action for the AWM.

Sincerely,

Alicia Payne MP

Member for Canberra