Exhibition Park recorded a loss of $916,000 in the past 12 months, and has struggled since the loss of major events including the National Tally Room. The government came to the rescue with a $300,000 loan, two years' interest free. It has now disbanded the corporation, in legislation passed on Tuesday, and will now move Epic back into its venues and events unit, which also manages Canberra Stadium, the Manuka Oval and Stromlo Forest Park.

Treasurer Andrew Barr said it was the best way forward for the venue and was supported by the Exhibition Park board. It was inefficient for a corporation of Epic's size to have to develop its own corporate systems, including a strategic plan, risk management systems and other policies, he said. Bringing it into the department would not bring large savings but would mean a saving of about $35,000 a year.

But Liberals treasury spokesman Brendan Smyth said the change would be to the detriment of Exhibition Park and a poor outcome for Canberra. He blamed the corporation's financial struggles on the government, saying it had been stifled since 2009, with no masterplan despite years of talking about one, and no accommodation on site, despite years of planning. The board had been reduced from seven to five, and now had only three, after resignations.

"The government has stifled the activities of Epic to justify their case for it to be pulled inside the ACT government," he said. "It's been given no direction, no backup. If it's not performing, it's not performing because the government hasn't allowed it to perform."

Mr Barr tried to disband the corporation five years ago but was blocked by the Greens, including Shane Rattenbury, who was concerned about loss of community input at the venue. Now a Minister in the Government, Mr Rattenbury supported the change, giving the Government the vote it needed, saying the case had been made much more clearly.