Managing Minjerribah Futures funding

In 2016, the Queensland Government launched the North Stradbroke Island Economic Transition Strategy (transition strategy) to assist the North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) community in its economic transition away from sand mining. The transition strategy identified 23 projects due for completion by the end of 2021. The Queensland Government approved funding of $20 million, which was approximately one-third of the total estimated cost of delivering these projects.

The transition strategy was reissued in 2019 as Minjerribah Futures, with responsibility transferring from the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning (Department of State Development) to the Department of Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and the Commonwealth Games (Department of Tourism).

The Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) was the assigned project coordinator for 9 of the original 23 projects. Between 1 July 2016 and 31 December 2021, the period of our review, we identified that QYAC received $8.7 million under the transition strategy and Minjerribah Futures. This report outlines the key findings from our assessment of how the departments managed funding agreements with QYAC. As QYAC is not a public sector entity, we did not audit its use of the funds.

Reporting on the status of projects could be improved

While the Department of Tourism’s website includes information on the Minjerribah Futures projects, this could be improved to provide greater clarity. Project names have changed over time and there is currently no reconciliation of the projects between the original transition strategy and Minjerribah Futures. There is also no current public reporting on the status of funding under Minjerribah Futures.

The design of the program impacted its timely delivery

The original design of the overall program impacted the timely delivery of projects. Successful and timely delivery of Minjerribah Futures depended on generating significant third-party funding. It was not clear from the transition strategy documents which entity was responsible for identifying funding sources. Ultimately, the additional third-party funding was not obtained, requiring the Queensland Government to progressively increase its funding for the projects.

In developing the transition strategy, the Queensland Government did not assess the size and available skillset of QYAC in selecting it to lead and deliver multiple complex projects within the strategy’s time frames. The funding agreements were not suitably tailored to recognise QYAC’s size nor the volume of reporting requirements across these agreements. This meant QYAC was required to meet many concurrent deliverables and milestones, despite having limited capacity to do so.

For 3 large construction projects, the Department of Tourism renegotiated funding agreements with QYAC to reassign responsibilities to the Department of Housing and Public Works. While this improved the management and progress of these projects, 2 of the construction projects are yet to be completed.

Oversight of projects was inconsistent

Governance arrangements were complex and inconsistent and did not adequately cater for community oversight and engagement. They were also impacted by machinery of government changes, which resulted in the focus of the program’s objective changing.

The volume of reporting requirements in funding agreements impacted funding acquittal processes. Some agreements did not clearly define the extent to which available funds could be used to meet administrative costs. This inhibited acquittal of the funds and meant the departments continued to provide funding to QYAC without satisfying themselves that milestones under the funding agreements were achieved.

We have made 7 recommendations based on these observations.

We have grouped the following recommendations based on the actions required and who is responsible, rather than listing them in the order they appear in the report.

While these recommendations are addressed to the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation and Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, other government departments should also consider these learnings when developing similar programs.

Reference to comments

In accordance with s. 64 of the Auditor-General Act 2009, we provided a copy of this report to relevant entities, including QYAC. While we did not audit QYAC, we considered it to have a special interest in this report. In reaching our conclusions, we considered all entities’ views and represented them to the extent we deemed relevant and warranted. Any formal responses from the entities are at Appendix A.

North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) is the second largest sand island in the world. In May 2016, the Queensland Parliament passed the North Stradbroke Island Protection and Sustainability and Other Acts Amendment Act 2016 (the Act). The main objective of the Act was to substantively phase out sand mining on Minjerribah by 31 December 2019. Sand had been mined there since 1949 and was a major contributor to the local economy.

To support the phasing out of sand mining, the Queensland Government recognised it needed to work closely with the island’s residents and workers to create more long-term employment opportunities promoting sustainable economic growth, and protect the island’s natural environment, cultural heritage, and community vision for the future.

The government issued the draft North Stradbroke Island Economic Transition Strategy (transition strategy) for public consultation in December 2015. The transition strategy, supported by $20 million in state government funding, was designed to assist the Minjerribah community in its economic transition away from sand mining.

In September 2016, the Queensland Government published the final transition strategy, which included 23 projects to address the following priorities on Minjerribah:

• diversify and expand the current tourism industry
• expand the education and training sector
• stimulate local business development and growth.

An indicative time frame in the final transition strategy targeted completion of all projects by the end of 2021. This included 18 projects scheduled for completion before March 2020 (which was when COVID-19 lockdowns began).

At the time of launching the transition strategy, the government understood that the combined cost of delivering the planned projects was significantly more than its $20 million funding commitment. The government intended that its $20 million commitment would also drive and facilitate private investment (of $37 million) to fund the programs’ total costs. However, the transition strategy did not clarify which entity was responsible for sourcing the private investment. The additional private investment did not eventuate, resulting in the government progressively increasing its total funding commitment, particularly for the larger construction projects.

The Queensland Government assigned administrative responsibility for implementing the strategy to the former Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning through its regional economic development division. This included responsibility for coordinating key governance groups and entering into funding agreements to progress projects.

In 2018–19, the government reassigned administrative responsibility for the strategy and most funding agreements to the tourism division of the former Department of Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and the Commonwealth Games.

In 2019, the Queensland Government published a revised version of the transition strategy called Minjerribah Futures. Minjerribah Futures emphasised the role of the Quandamooka people (as the Traditional Owners) in achieving its objectives. It also acknowledged that the approach adopted in developing Minjerribah Futures was guided by the values and aspirations of the Quandamooka people.

In developing these programs, the government adopted a collaborative approach with the Quandamooka people and other stakeholders. Direct engagement with the Quandamooka people as the Traditional Owners of the island was seen as important to ensure there was appropriate consideration of economic, social, and cultural aspects in the future plan for the island.

The objectives of the published Minjerribah Futures strategy were largely consistent with the transition strategy, including supporting the Minjerribah community in its economic transition from sand mining to tourism. However, Minjerribah Futures included an increased focus on making Minjerribah a leading destination for cultural and eco-tourism, built on a foundation of Quandamooka culture and sustainability.

The Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), representing the Quandamooka people, was responsible for delivering 9 of the original 23 projects under the transition strategy and Minjerribah Futures. A funding agreement between QYAC and the relevant government department supported each project. These agreements identified the funding available to QYAC, and the key milestones and deliverables it was required to meet in completing the projects.

This report outlines our assessment of how the following departments managed the funding agreements between July 2016 and December 2021:

• Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning (now called the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning)
• Department of Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and the Commonwealth Games (now called the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation).

We selected this period as it represented the time frame for completion of all 23 projects under the transition strategy. Both departments were subject to several machinery of government changes between July 2016 and the date of this report. This resulted in the departments being renamed, and their functions being restructured several times during this period. For this report, we have used the names State Development and Tourism to identify the 2 departments.

Our assessment of Minjerribah Futures did not include an assessment of the strategic objectives of the program or whether these have been achieved. Instead, our assessment focused on the design and management of funding agreements used to support the delivery of individual projects. We did not assess:

• how the government selected individual projects and whether they were appropriate to meet the overall program objectives
• whether the government and QYAC successfully delivered the individual projects
• whether the completed projects were successful in meeting the program objectives.

Key stakeholders advised us that the successful delivery of the projects is expected to provide economic, social, and cultural benefits to the Quandamooka people and the broader Minjerribah community.

We also identified and assessed non-Minjerribah Futures payments of approximately $38 million that the following public sector entities made to QYAC during our review period:

• Department of Environment and Science (now called the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation)
• Department of Resources (now called the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development)
• Redland City Council
• The University of Queensland.

Our review did not identify any issues with how these entities managed their agreements with QYAC. Accordingly, we have not included any comments on our assessment of these in this report. Further information on the payments we assessed is included in Appendix B.

As QYAC is not a public sector entity, we did not assess how it used the funding provided to it. The focus of our assessments and this report is on how public sector entities managed the funding agreements with QYAC.

Section 36A of the Auditor-General Act 2009 provides the Auditor-General with the ability to audit funding that a public sector entity provides to a non-public sector entity. We concluded that we did not need to use this power in conducting our assessment of the funding agreements because:

• we considered it unlikely that using these powers would provide access to additional information that would be unavailable from the public sector entities we engaged with
• exercising these powers was not required to achieve our objective of assessing how the public sector entities managed their funding agreements with QYAC.

Under the North Stradbroke Island Economic Transition Strategy (transition strategy), the Department of State Development reported publicly on the status of projects through 2 annual updates for the 2016–17 and 2017–18 financial years. These annual updates included information on:

• the estimated timing and status of each of the 23 projects
• the lead organisations and other partners responsible for each project
• the amount expended under the transition strategy both for the current year and in total.

These reports identified that the Department of State Development was intending to release annual updates for the 5-year life of the strategy to keep the community and key stakeholders informed on progress, showcase the projects, and acknowledge key achievements. However, when responsibility for the strategy was transferred to the Department of Tourism, it stopped preparing these annual updates.

Under Minjerribah Futures, the Department of Tourism provided updates through its website and its annual reports. This publicly available information was less comprehensive than the previous annual updates and made it more difficult for interested parties to assess the overall status of projects under the program.

Reporting on the status of projects has been limited

After the transition strategy became Minjerribah Futures, the Department of Tourism published 2 Minjerribah Futures Project Updates for Spring 2021 and Winter 2022. In these updates, the Department of Tourism reported whether the projects were complete, in progress, or on hold. The updates, however, did not identify the actions taken for the projects identified as complete.

The Department of Tourism currently provides information on Minjerribah Futures through a dedicated page on its website. Information available on the website includes a Minjerribah Futures program overview and information on individual projects under the program. As at 31 October 2024, the website stated that ‘all but 3 projects have been substantially completed’.

Our review of the information available on the website, however, identified that it was not easy to ascertain the exact status of individual projects under the program. This was because the information provided on each project did not include a clear statement on whether the projects were complete or still in progress. The Department of Tourism’s website did not define what ‘substantially completed’ meant.

We also found it difficult to reconcile information on the website to information previously reported for both the transition strategy and Minjerribah Futures. This was due to changes in the names and number of projects reported. For example, the:

• transition strategy annual updates reported on 23 projects
• Spring 2021 and Winter 2022 Minjerribah Futures Project Updates reported on the status of 21 projects
• Minjerribah Futures program overview identifies 17 projects
• Department of Tourism website includes information on 14 projects plus a further 5 projects identified as ‘concluded’.

We understand that the original 23 projects were subsequently expanded to include a further 2 projects. However, we could not identify any public reporting that explains changes in the projects, including changes between the 23 projects identified in the transition strategy and those now identified for Minjerribah Futures on the Department of Tourism’s website.

The Department of Tourism has provided some updates on Minjerribah Futures through its annual reports. However, this information has typically been limited to brief updates on individual projects. The Department of Tourism’s annual reports have not provided any information on the overall status of projects under the program.

We have included a list of projects under both the transition strategy and Minjerribah Futures, including the reported status of projects under the program, in Appendix D. We prepared this appendix based on publicly available information as at 31 October 2024.

No current public reporting on the status of funding

While the 2 annual updates reported on expenditure under the transition strategy, we were unable to identify any regular public reporting on the status of funding paid under Minjerribah Futures.

The total funding the Queensland Government approved under the transition strategy was $20 million. However, it also identified that a further $36.6 million would be required to meet the estimated costs of the 23 projects under the strategy. It was not clear where this funding would be obtained from or who was responsible for obtaining it.

After the initial launch of the transition strategy, the Queensland Government increased its total budgeted investment from $20 million to:

• $24.75 million in June 2018
• $34.7 million in the 2020–21 state budget
• $39.4 million as at 30 April 2024.

There has been no recent public reporting on the overall funding for the program and how this compares to the increased budget.

The 2023–24 Queensland budget identified that an additional $17.5 million was allocated to the Department of Tourism to progress the construction of the Quandamooka Art Museum and Performance Institute (QUAMPI) – now called the Quandamooka Arts and Culture Centre – and auxiliary infrastructure of the recreational trail. This represented a significant increase on the funding approved for this project under the transition strategy.

A progress update report prepared by the Department of Tourism identifies that the approved funding for all Minjerribah Futures projects as at 30 April 2024 is $39.4 million. This included:

• $33.2 million for QYAC led projects
• $6.1 million for non-QYAC led projects.

The update report also identified that as at 30 April 2024, $30.6 million had been spent on these projects. This includes $24.7 million spent on QYAC led projects. Of this amount, the government only provided $9.3 million directly to QYAC, with the remaining funding provided to either the Department of Housing and Public Works or other entities contracted by the Department of Tourism. Further information is included in Appendix D.

Neither the 2023–24 or 2024–25 Queensland budgets identify the current total approved budget expenditure for Minjerribah Futures. The 2024–25 budget, however, identifies that the total estimated cost of capital expenditure (money spent to buy or build new assets) for the Minjerribah Futures program is $26.3 million. This is represented by estimated capital expenditure of $17.8 million to 30 June 2024, with a further $8.5 million in capital funding allocated for the 2024–25 financial year.

This increased investment reflects the project’s inability to attract the additional private sector funding, as identified in the original approved strategy. QYAC directly negotiated a further $3.5 million for Minjerribah Futures projects comprising:

• $2.5 million from the Australian Government, through the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation, for the construction of QUAMPI, and
• $1 million from The University of Queensland for Yalingbila Bibula.

The inability to attract additional funding also meant that the initial government funding was spread across the individual projects and was not always sufficient to ensure delivery of the original projects.

In 2018, the government redirected funding for some of the original 23 projects to 5 priority projects. These were:

• recreational trails
• development and upgrade of Minjerribah camping grounds
• Minjerribah Ganaba Project
• Yalingbila Bibula Project (now called the Yalingbila Mil Bibula project)
• Quandamooka Art Museum and Performance Institute (QUAMPI).

In developing the transition strategy, the government may have benefited from conducting market analysis to identify whether the additional funding required was available and if it would be sufficient to meet the estimated costs of the projects. This may have enabled the government to identify earlier whether it may be required to provide additional funding or reprioritise available funding.

The lack of regular public reporting on the status of the projects means that key stakeholders and interested parties cannot assess whether the funding provided was consistent with the funding approved under the transition strategy.

Of the original 23 projects in the North Stradbroke Island Economic Transition Strategy (transition strategy), Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) was listed as the project coordinator in 9 and as a partner in the remaining 14, with other entities identified as project coordinators.

Between 1 July 2016 and 31 December 2021, $8.74 million was paid to QYAC by 4 state government departments under both the transition strategy and the Minjerribah Futures program. This is shown in Figure 4A below.

Information provided to us by the Department of Tourism identified QYAC as the lead for 13 of 25 projects under Minjerribah Futures. As identified in the previous section, as at 30 April 2024, $9.3 million had been provided directly to QYAC for these projects. Further information is included in Appendix D.

We assessed 7 funding agreements between the state government and QYAC where QYAC was the nominated project coordinator. Under these 7 agreements, Queensland Government departments paid QYAC a combined $5.02 million between 1 July 2016 and 31 December 2021.

The projects assigned to QYAC were not appropriately designed to enable QYAC to deliver on its obligations. This included assigning QYAC responsibility for delivering:

• multiple, complex projects concurrently
• projects that were not fully funded
• projects that required skills in project management, construction, and contract management.

The funding agreements supporting the projects also imposed a significant reporting burden on QYAC and the responsible departments.

This also made it difficult for the responsible departments to hold QYAC accountable for its obligations. For 3 projects, this resulted in agreements being renegotiated and responsibilities being reassigned to the Department of Housing and Public Works.

This chapter outlines the overall findings from our assessment of these agreements. We list the agreements we reviewed in Appendix B.

The government should have better considered QYAC’s ability to deliver multiple projects concurrently

The projects to be delivered by QYAC varied in their nature, size, and complexity. Under the transition strategy and the subsequent Minjerribah Futures program, the government assigned QYAC responsibility for delivering several projects that were not fully funded. The successful delivery of several projects also required skills in project management, construction, and contract management.

QYAC is a small entity that employs less than 100 full-time staff. Its primary functions involve managing the recognised native title rights and interests of the Quandamooka people. Its main revenue source is government grants.

In developing the transition strategy, the Queensland Government, through the relevant departments, did not effectively assess QYAC’s capacity and skillset to successfully deliver large construction projects. In addition, the government underestimated the level of support QYAC required from the departments.

When the Department of Tourism assumed responsibility for Minjerribah Futures in 2019, it recognised that QYAC lacked the specialist skills required and that additional support was necessary, especially as QYAC entered into more agreements. In response, the Department of Tourism brokered an arrangement on QYAC’s behalf to reassign 3 significant construction projects to the Department of Housing and Public Works (DHPW). The construction projects were:

• Minjerribah Ganaba Project (now complete)
• Quandamooka Art Museum and Performance Institute (QUAMPI) (construction in progress)
• Yalingbila Bibula (Whale on the Hill) Project (currently on hold).

However, the Department of Tourism could not fully address all issues impacting the delivery of all projects. This was because most projects were still underfunded, and as a small entity, QYAC lacked the capacity and skills required to accurately estimate the costs and deliver the projects it was assigned under the strategy.

The department’s intervention improved delivery of the Minjerribah Ganaba Project. This project involved transforming the old secondary school campus into a modern venue for education, training, and employment. DHPW provided clear advice to the Department of Tourism on the additional funding it required to complete construction before responsibility for constructing the project was reassigned to it in August 2019. With the additional funding and DHPW’s expertise in delivering construction projects, it completed construction of the project in January 2021.

The involvement of DHPW also ensured the construction of QUAMPI progressed. In September 2024, the government announced that it anticipated construction of QUAMPI would be complete in November 2024, with an official opening in 2025. We understand that similar project delivery models using DHPW to provide expert skills, advice, and assistance have subsequently been adopted in other non-Minjerribah Futures projects between QYAC and the government.

The funding agreements were not tailored for QYAC

The initial funding agreements between the Department of State Development and QYAC were designed using the department’s standard templates. The department did not tailor the agreements to recognise QYAC’s capacity as a small entity to meet key deliverables.

When the Department of Tourism assumed responsibility for Minjerribah Futures, it retained most of the existing agreements, rather than seeking to renegotiate them. There were more than 20 agreements in place at that time. As identified in the previous section, the Department of Tourism renegotiated 3 agreements, reassigning responsibilities to DHPW for 3 major construction projects. The department, however, still used a standard departmental template for these revised agreements.

The agreements could have been enhanced by the departments and QYAC working together to ensure that QYAC was only required to provide information necessary for the departments to make informed decisions on the status of the projects. This would have assisted QYAC to meet its reporting requirements while maintaining an appropriate level of accountability.

The agreements imposed a significant reporting burden on QYAC and the responsible departments

The standard departmental templates used for the agreements with QYAC, including all 7 funding agreements we reviewed, included traditional government grant reporting requirements and delivery arrangements. They also required QYAC to submit a significant number of reports and acquittals.

Figure 4B shows the number of milestones QYAC was required to meet each year between 2016 and 2021 under the 7 funding agreements we assessed. The figure shows that, as QYAC entered into more agreements, the number of milestones it was required to meet rose significantly, peaking in 2019.

It is normal and appropriate to include milestone reporting in standard Queensland Government funding agreements. The relevant departments and QYAC discussed and agreed on the reporting requirements included in the agreements. However, they may not have considered whether these requirements were achievable for a small entity like QYAC in completing multiple, concurrent, complex projects.

QYAC rarely met the financial or progress reporting requirements set out in the funding agreements. Where QYAC did submit financial acquittals, it did not provide sufficient detail and evidence to demonstrate how it used the funding to achieve the project objectives.

As a result, the responsible departments executed multiple variations to all the funding agreements, extending the due dates for QYAC’s reporting and milestone deliverables, and/or the expiry dates of the agreements. These variations contributed to the lack of timely delivery of projects under the strategy.

The Department of Tourism invested significant resources in supporting, and sometimes developing, QYAC’s skills to meet its reporting obligations. For example:

• it engaged a contract manager who assisted QYAC by developing a contract framework and tracker, and templates for reporting project plans, budgets, and milestones
• the contract manager and other staff conducted regular site visits to monitor priority projects, including developing and upgrading the Minjerribah camping grounds and recreational trails.

Despite the department’s investment, QYAC did not always meet the reporting and delivery requirements under the agreements. Our assessment identified that the responsible departments continued to pay instalments under the multiple agreements even though QYAC did not meet the required milestones and prior to receiving the required reports and acquittals. We acknowledge that for some agreements the funding was provided to support businesses on Minjerribah during COVID-19 lockdown periods.

In late 2020, the department ceased paying QYAC while acquittals and final reports were outstanding. The Department of Tourism worked with QYAC to ensure it received the final reports and acquittals required on outstanding projects.

Requirements in the agreements were not always clear

The requirements in the funding agreements and other supporting information were not always clear to QYAC. For example, the agreements did not clearly define whether QYAC could use funding to cover indirect costs, including administrative overheads, consulting, and management charges.

This led to uncertainty about the extent to which funding could be allocated to these indirect costs, how they should be calculated, and what evidence QYAC was required to provide to the department supporting these costs.

Examples of issues identified in managing funding agreements

The following case study demonstrates an example of the types of issues the departments of State Development and Tourism encountered in managing one of the larger funding agreements. In this case study (Figure 4C), the agreement between the Department of State Development and QYAC lacked clarity around the level of information required to support expenditure claims, including the type and extent of indirect costs that could be claimed on the project.

The North Stradbroke Island Economic Transition Strategy (transition strategy) and the Minjerribah Futures program involved multiple stakeholders with different priorities. It was vital that the program had a clear objective, with all stakeholders working towards it. Success of the program also depended on the government establishing strong governance arrangements focused on monitoring progress towards achieving this objective.

The governance arrangements were complex, changed multiple times over the course of the strategy, and had varying levels of activity and engagement. The governance arrangements did not provide detailed and consistent oversight of the Minjerribah Futures program and did not always provide broad community engagement.

Inconsistent governance arrangements including community oversight and engagement

In 2017, a transition strategy implementation committee (the implementation committee) was established. The implementation committee was responsible for program governance and provided a forum to consider progress updates from project leaders, as well as government liaison and community input.

Between 2017 and 2019, the implementation committee was chaired by a Deputy Director-General from the Department of State Development with representatives from:

• Department of Tourism
• Redland City Council
• Straddie Chamber of Commerce
• The University of Queensland
• Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC)
• Queensland Treasury.

In early 2019, responsibility for Minjerribah Futures transferred to the Department of Tourism. At this time, the objectives of the strategy included an increased focus on making Minjerribah a leading destination for cultural and eco-tourism, built on a foundation of Quandamooka culture and sustainability.

The implementation committee continued on after the Queensland Government transferred responsibility for Minjerribah Futures to the Department of Tourism. In mid-2019, a review by the Department of Tourism found the existing governance arrangements were not fit for purpose because of a lack of formal reporting lines to the overarching Minjerribah governance groups.

Subsequently, the Director-General of the Department of Tourism endorsed a new governance framework for all state government support activity on Minjerribah. Under the new framework, the implementation committee was dissolved following its last meeting on 5 July 2019.

The new framework included the Minjerribah Futures Strategic Oversight Group to provide oversight and monitoring of all Minjerribah Futures projects. Several new groups and committees were also created. The groups and committees overseeing state-supported activities on Minjerribah, including Minjerribah Futures were:

• Minjerribah Ministerial Forum (overarching)
• Minjerribah Steering Committee (overarching)
• Minjerribah Futures Strategic Oversight Group
• Construction Projects Steering Committee
• Minjerribah Futures Reference Group
• Communications Working Group
• Minjerribah Futures team.

Further information on these groups and committees, including their membership and roles, is described in Appendix E.

The new groups and committees included representatives from 7 government departments, 3 other government entities, and 4 non-government entities, including QYAC. Representatives from island businesses, community leaders, and other Queensland Government agencies also attended meetings where invited.

Unlike the dissolved implementation committee, the Minjerribah Futures Strategic Oversight Group did not include members drawn from Minjerribah’s business community or other non-QYAC community stakeholders. In total, the Minjerribah Futures Strategic Oversight Group met 5 times, with all meetings held between February and July 2020. This left long periods where no governance committee was fulfilling the Minjerribah Futures Strategic Oversight Group’s role, both before February 2020 and after July 2020.

In contrast, the Construction Projects Steering Committee has met consistently and frequently since June 2019. The committee was created after the Department of Tourism and QYAC jointly agreed to reassign responsibilities for construction projects to the Department of Housing and Public Works. The committee oversees the following Minjerribah Futures projects:

• Quandamooka Art Museum and Performance Institute (QUAMPI)
• Yalingbila Bibula (Whale on the Hill)
• Gumpi – Bummiera Recreational Trail.

This committee’s purpose is to ensure appropriate project governance by stakeholder representatives and to facilitate regular, comprehensive reviews of the current projects’ status.

The complex governance arrangements of the Minjerribah Futures program meant it was difficult for any one group to provide effective oversight over its progress and ensure that all projects were being delivered on time and on budget.