$1m lifeline for stalled opal museum after $30m in grants ran out
Construction of the museum boasting the world's greatest public collection of opalised dinosaur fossils has been on hold since the project ran out of money last year.
A rendering of the Australian Opal Centre design by architects Wendy Lewin with DunnHillam. (Supplied: Darcstudio)
The Australian Opal Centre Limited has received $1 million from the NSW government to pay its debts related to an unfinished opal museum in Lightning Ridge.
The not-for-profit organisation had received nearly $30 million in federal, state and local government grants before it halted construction last year.
The AOCL has cut staff and scaled back operations ahead of a planned relaunch in 2027, while the future of the building site is still to be decided.
The not-for-profit organisation behind Australia's stalled opal museum has received a $1 million government bailout months after an independent auditor raised serious concerns about its financial survival.
Construction of the Australian Opal Centre in the north-west New South Wales town of Lightning Ridge stopped last year after nearly $30 million in government grants ran out.
In February, an independent audit of Australian Opal Centre Limited [AOCL] found "a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on [its] ability to continue as a going concern," flagging a $5.4 million cash loss for the 2024–25 financial year.
The AOCL board said the lifeline from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will help clear outstanding debts to contractors and consultants connected to the building project.
Mr Lane said he was "95 per cent confident" the board could turn the business around to be sustainable now that debts were taken care of, but that confidence has come with some tough decisions.
The project to build a national monument to Australia's national gemstone, the opal, was halted before it could be finished. (ABC Western Plains: Catherine James)
The organisation's two remaining staff have been made redundant, and the longstanding Australian Opal Centre shopfront and exhibition space on Lightning Ridge's Morilla Street has closed.
Mr Lane said years of operational losses had gone unaddressed while the previous board, replaced in November, focused almost entirely on completing the new building.
"The operation side of the business has sort of been put on, I wouldn't say the backburner, but it hasn't had the attention that it deserved," he said.
The plan is to "revamp" the organisation by scaling back and rebuilding it with the goal of an Easter 2027 relaunch, he said.
"We're going to cut things that don't make money. We're going to pursue new opportunities and try to get the business back into a financial position where it can cover its o
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