How Dreamworld Got $2.7 Million Taxes to Help Save Endangered Koalas… But Built a Roller Coaster Instead
The government of Queensland has allocated $2.7 million to the koala research center
But the state’s tourism minister said on Tuesday it was being used on a roller coaster
MP Stirling Hinchcliffe was ‘glad’ that the government approved the redistribution
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Nearly $3 million in taxpayer money donated to Dreamworld to create a research facility to help increase koala populations was actually spent on a new roller coaster.
The government of Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2019 granted the theme park $2.7 million to build the Future Lab project, but revealed on Tuesday that they were “glad” that the money would go to the $2.7 million Steel Taipan ride instead. 5 million went.
The beloved Australian marsupial was classified as endangered by the Australian government in February after bushfires, drought, disease and habitat loss decimated their numbers in the wild.
Ms Palaszczuk’s Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe was forced to admit on Tuesday evening that the government gave the green light to the redeployment of the funds.
Taxpayer cash donated to Dreamworld for a koala research center was spent on a new roller coaster to be completed in December 2021 (pictured)
“As the Future Lab project has been shelved, the Queensland Government has approved that the previously approved funding for the research facility be reused to support the construction of the new ride,” said Mr Hinchcliffe. The courier post.
He said the move took into account “the impact of the pandemic” and the “appeal of new tourism offerings to attract returning domestic visitors and international tourists.”
“I’m happy to report that where that (money) ended up in the newest attraction, the Steel Taipan, which opened in December 2021.”
Opposition Innovation spokesman Sam O’Connor fired back, asking whether the government had followed up on whether Dreamworld was going to build the lab or if it had been demolished.
“So the funding for the koala lab went on a roller coaster ride?” said Mr. O’Connor.
The money was allocated from the government’s $25 million Growing Tourism Infrastructure Fund, established to help the industry recover after Covid.
Dreamworld’s Coomera location is one of Queensland’s fastest growing residential development areas and is also home to a huge koala population (file image)
“The Dreamworld Future Lab will be a world-class research facility, enabling us to deploy experts to address some of the biggest problems facing our native wildlife,” Palaszczuk’s government announced in 2019.
“We expect the Future Lab to start construction in mid-2019 and provide great opportunities for school groups and visitors to experience first-hand the impact of scientific research and the importance of animal conservation.”
The redistribution of the funds was not confirmed until Tuesday after Gold Coast Councilor Herman Vorster wrote a letter to Meaghan Scanlon, Assistant Secretary of Tourism, requesting an update on the project as there is “intense local interest.” ‘ was on the Gold Coast.
Dreamworld’s Coomera location is one of Queensland’s fastest growing residential development areas and is also home to one of the state’s largest koala populations.