The ACT Government is facing a political backlash after abandoning its decade-long plan for a Tuggeranong ice sports facility, with Labor and opposition MLAs among those expressing anger and disappointment.

Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton said Labor had taken the project to three elections but failed to deliver it, despite announcing a site, private partners and more than $16 million in government funding.

“Labor took this promise to three elections. They announced partners, they announced a site, they announced over $16 million, and they still delivered nothing,” Mr Parton said.

Brindabella Labor MLA Taimus Werner-Gibbings described the decision as a betrayal after a decade of work towards the facility.

“There are many people in Tuggeranong who will be extremely angry and deeply disappointed by today’s announcement,” he said. “I am one of them.”

The government announced today that the Tuggeranong Ice Sports Facility would not proceed after it and private project partners failed to reach agreement on its cost and delivery.

It said an updated proposal sought more than twice the financial assistance requested in the original high-level proposal, with unacceptable costs and risks leading officials to conclude it did not represent value for money.

The $16.265 million in government funding committed to the rink will instead be spent on other sport and recreation infrastructure in Tuggeranong.

Canberra Liberals deputy leader and Brindabella MLA Deborah Morris said the cancellation showed the government had failed to deliver promised infrastructure for Tuggeranong.

Shadow sport and recreation minister James Milligan blamed the choice of site, saying developers had offered five options during the expression of interest process but the government had chosen Greenway.

He also questioned the government’s plan to survey sporting clubs before deciding how to redirect the $16.265 million, arguing it duplicated a previously promised independent sports audit.

Mr Werner-Gibbings blamed private partners Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings for repeatedly looking at alternative locations rather than delivering the facility in Tuggeranong.

He welcomed the commitment to keep the money in the district but called on the government to urgently set out what projects it would fund and when they would be delivered.

Mr Werner-Gibbings said he would give Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Steel a preliminary list of options this week, including upgrades to major sporting facilities and infrastructure at Tuggeranong high schools and colleges.

Independent Murrumbidgee MLA Fiona Carrick, meanwhile, called on Geocon to outline its plans to improve the existing Phillip Ice Rink now the proposed replacement had been abandoned.

Geocon owns the Phillip site and is redeveloping its northern section. The Crown lease requires an ice rink suitable for national competitions to continue at the site until a new ice rink facility opens.

Ms Carrick said the ageing Phillip facility had suffered from a lack of spending because of uncertainty over its future and Geocon should now tell the community how it planned to improve it.

Mr Steel said the government understood the cancellation would disappoint the ice sports community and would continue discussions about future ice sports facilities in the ACT.

The government has also invited sporting clubs to identify infrastructure priorities through a new survey, with Tuggeranong proposals to be prioritised when determining how the $16.265 million will be redirected.

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