Australia Zoo Expansion back on the agenda

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
AUSTRALIA Zoo will give the state government 200 hectares of Peachester forestry plantation and $400,000 to expand its Beerwah site.

In a proposed deal struck with the government, 114.6 hectares of land from Beerwah State Forest will be traded with the zoo.

The extra land will enable the zoo to expand to include a 300-room hotel and an open-range safari experience, incorporating landscapes and animals from places like Africa, South-East Asia and North America.

Sustainability minister Kate Jones told parliament the deal was the best way to accommodate the zoo’s expansion.

“It represents a significant step in enhancing the zoo’s already wide-reaching profile and provides an opportunity for it to demonstrate its commitment to nature conservation on a global scale,” she said.

“The Department of Environment and Resource Management and Forestry Plantations Queensland have given very careful consideration to the proposal put forward by Australia Zoo, and consultation has occurred with numerous stakeholders.”

Though the proposal was supported by the LNP, Member for Noosa Glen Elmes said he was concerned the zoo, as a commercial enterprise, stood to make millions of dollars through the exchange and it was “important that the exact details of the arrangement are made public and go on the record”.

A spokeswoman from the zoo said the deal recognised the contribution the zoo made to the local economy and its potential to increase Queensland tourism.

The economic boost to the local economy is expected to be about $90 million per year.

Land provided for Australia Zoo expansion - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
 
@kiang: thanks for posting the link. It is great to finally hear news of the long-anticipated expansion of Australia Zoo, and hopefully things can progress from here.
 
So the Qld government swapped state forest for a pine plantation, so that the state forest could be turned into a 300 room hotel?

Who makes these decisions?
 
CGSwans said:
So the Qld government swapped state forest for a pine plantation, so that the state forest could be turned into a 300 room hotel?

Who makes these decisions?
Click to expand...

Probably the same people who are privatising the State forests anyway. Better to do the deal now rather than wait to negotiate with the new owners.
 
CGSwans said:
So the Qld government swapped state forest for a pine plantation, so that the state forest could be turned into a 300 room hotel?

Who makes these decisions?
Click to expand...

If the state forest is natural bushland, even if it has been logged before, makes me wonder about the enviromental cred. of the deal.
 
Guys, just to clarify... there were 3 parcels of land in this deal which was more indepth then the tiny story suggests.

The Zoo actually swapped a parcel of land at one of the conservation properties (I'm can't remember which one) for the land next to the Zoo. The deal was set out years and years ago. Also, just so you know, the plantation next to the Zoo hadn't had any new trees planted in quite a few years. I haven't seen any on it since i've been here.
Cheers
 
I wasn't sure which Australia Zoo thread would be the best to post this in, but "Expansion back on the agenda" seemed so ironic.....
Australia Zoo in crisis? | Sunshine Coast News | Local News in Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast Daily
21st February 2011

FORMER staff of Australia Zoo have reportedly spilled the beans on the tourist icon, with claims of mismanagement and a financial crisis which could see the facility collapse.

Last night, New Idea magazine revealed its latest edition, on sale today, would feature an exclusive story alleging recent developments at the zoo, including dismissals of up to 30 staff and significant financial losses.

The allegations come just a month after the Daily first revealed the zoo had sacked 22 employees and forced dozens of other workers to take unpaid leave and job share.

Zoo management blamed the job losses on fewer visitors due to floods and the global economic crisis.

BUT former Australia Zoo receptionist Amy-Lee Hines has reportedly told New Idea “a lot of people are scared to tell the truth but the truth needs to be told”.

“If things don't turn around, (Australia Zoo) will go down,” she is quoted as saying.

New Idea said, of the 30 people it spoke to, multiple sources claimed the zoo's financial woes had nothing to do with the global financial crisis and recent floods but everything to do with a management team struggling without their one-man brand.

“It's terrible,” the zoo's former curator Bruce Murdock is quoted as saying.

“They have blown millions on poor planning and poor execution.

“They have dreams but they don't know how to put a structure in place to make it happen.

“There is no funding allocation, no budgeting for the long-term.

“Steve had a lot of dreams. But they were massive dreams that only he could fund.

“After Steve died, they said they were still doing everything he wanted. They are trying to do it on the back of Bindi and Terri but I don't think they can support it.”

The Daily approached zoo officials to respond to the allegations before the magazine hit the streets but they did not accept the offer.

It is not the first time the zoo has cut jobs to keep out of the red.

In March, 2009, the Daily reported the zoo's announcement it would lay off 26 staff and delay expansion.

Employees who fell victim to the most recent staff culling, and former employees, blogged on the Daily website about their experiences.

Shiloh McFee, from Happy Valley, wrote that she had been assured her long-term job was secure the week before she was laid off.

“I was sat down by management and assured my position was safe and I was one of the ‘lucky ones',” she said.

“I was told they had been laying off most casual staff, with that number of staff being around 40 or more.

“But full-time staff were not being laid off, as last time they made people redundant it was an expensive exercise.

“After being told the news, four days later I was being made redundant and handed my little white envelope.

“The lowest point of this whole thing though was the fact that when walking out with the past seven and a half years of my working life in a box, I walked past (the bosses), not even receiving eye contact or a goodbye.”

Former employee Granger, from Morningside, claimed many had been “exploited in some way”.

“I am so sad to hear about this happening again, and to use the floods as an excuse is disgusting,” he said.

“The upper management there are toxic and it filters down to everyone else.”
Click to expand...
there's several versions of this article all over the news feeds
 
I'm just reading all the comments after the articles.
Very few are supportive and many complain about the hight entry price. Nealy $200 for a family of 5.
 
Terri Irwin unloads multimillion-dollar property portfolio as Australia Zoo struggles | Courier Mail
27 March 2011

STEVE Irwin's widow Terri has been quietly selling off properties from a multimillion-dollar portfolio amassed by the star couple.

In a sign Australia Zoo has hit hard times, Mrs Irwin has placed several Sunshine Coast properties on the market. A number of zoo exhibits are on hold or delayed.

Mrs Irwin has admitted a horrific wet summer drastically affected visitor numbers and forced job cuts.

An investigation reveals Mrs Irwin has been trying to offload properties since late last year many at a loss.

Four directly border the zoo on Fraser and Bunney roads, Beerwah, and were originally purchased back when expansion plans were at full throttle.

A sprawling 95ha parcel at Peachester, with views of the Glass House Mountains, is the largest for sale with a $1.25 million price tag.

Mrs Irwin has also sold a $1.3 million luxury property, at a $380,000 loss, next to the family's $3.22 million home at Minyama the Sunshine Coast's millionaire's row.

Beerwah Real estate agents, who have been sworn to secrecy, refused to reveal the identity of any of the properties' owners nor their addresses. However a record search reveals they were owned by Silverback Properties Pty Ltd or Rosette Properties Pty Ltd, whose sole owner is Terri Irwin.

At the time of his death in 2006, Steve Irwin and Terri had amassed a property portfolio estimated at $20 million.

The holdings included 33,730ha of former grazing land at St George, 1092ha at Emu Creek, southwest of Blackbutt, and 115ha at Landsborough.

After her husband's death, Terri finalised several deals, including 135,000ha at Wenlock on Cape York, which was refunded through a $6 million federal grant.

She also completed a land swap with the State Government last year, handing over a 200ha parcel at the foot of Mt Beerwah in exchange for state forest to the south of the zoo for its expansion.

But Steve's ambitious expansion plans are now on hold, including the partly-constructed Madagascar Island.

A rhino and three giraffes were bought for an Africa Exhibit, which was meant to be completed last year but has been delayed until December. And the grand vision of a $100 million open-range African Safari Resort, with animals roaming a plain, is on the backburner.

An Australia Zoo spokesperson said the zoo had been affected by the recent downturn in tourism. "In response to this, we have conducted an extensive and thorough review of the business and our operations, exploring all other avenues of cost savings right across the business," she said.
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