Cabinet documents from 1989 show that the plans to develop a futuristic (by 1989 standards) new city based on a Japanese proposal were shrouded in mystery and confusion.
The story of the Multifunction Polis is a fascinating one from a political standpoint, as it was mooted, discussed, pitched for, awarded to Queensland, withdrawn, awarded to South Australia and then finally abandoned.
Newly released cabinet documents from 1989 show that the Hawke government of the day, while championing the idea, still wasn’t entirely sure what it was actually for, with only vague references to a “techopolis” for developing futuristic technologies, bearing in mind again that this was the late 1980s, as well as a biosphere to tackle ecological problems.
The Guardian reports that the plan was to involve minimal Australian investment with the majority of funding to come from private Japanese investors, but delays, endless feasibility studies and the shifted location led to its eventual demise as a project by the late 1990s.