The Federal Court of Australia yesterday placed the Aboriginal Corporation for Sporting and Recreational Activities (ACSRA) into liquidation.
Located in the Canberra suburb of Narrabundah, ACSRA has held the leasehold title to Boomanulla Oval for the past 30 years and encouraged the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in sport at a local, state and national level. It has been an iconic sporting institution for many years in the Canberra community.
Boomanulla Oval closed its gates in November 2014 over financial concerns and the directors of the corporation wrote to the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Mr Anthony Beven, requesting that ACSRA be placed under special administration.
On 23 December 2014 the Registrar appointed Mr Frank Lo Pilato and Mr Tony Grieves from RSM Bird Cameron as the joint and several special administrators of the corporation.
‘The special administrators did everything possible in the last six months to save ACSRA but in the end the debts of the corporation were too large. There was no other option but to liquidate ACSRA,’ Mr Beven said.
The Federal Court appointed Mr Frank Lo Pilato from RSM Bird Cameron as the liquidator of ACSRA. The special administration ended upon the commencement of the liquidation.
The Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory Governments are working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the liquidator to ensure that Boomanulla Oval is not lost to the community.
Background
See the Registrar’s media release of 24 December 2014 (ORIC MR1415-18) at www.oric.gov.au.
Media contact
Christa de Jager
(02) 6146 4737
ORIC MR1415-37
24 June 2015