Massive site secure to protect koalas during M1 project

Annastacia Palaszczuk has challenged Dreamworld to fund a koala research centre itself despite her own government allowing them to spend $3m of taxpayer money on a rollercoaster instead.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has challenged Dreamworld to fund a koala research centre itself despite her own government allowing them to spend $3m of taxpayer money for the facility on a rollercoaster instead.

The Courier-Mail last week revealed that a $2.7 million grant from the state government to build the koala centre announced in 2019 had been diverted so the theme park could build a new rollercoaster to help draw more visitors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision, made in conjunction with the government’s tourism department, sparked intense criticism from the Opposition and conservation groups, but the koala project remains on hold, while the Steel Taipan rollercoaster was opened to the public late last year.

Announcing new koala conservation projects today, Ms Palaszczuk said she hoped Dreamworld would “ do the right thing” and step up to provide the funding for the koala centre without further government assistance.

“I’m hoping Dreamworld will come good and invest their own money into that koala conservation for their own exhibition because it was a tourism grant – it wasn’t a conservation grant,” she said.

In a statement, a Dreamworld spokesman said the project was on hold as the park continued to fight back after two years decimated by the pandemic.

“The original plans for Future Labs remain on hold as Dreamworld focuses on its recovery and on breaking even as a priority, allowing the business to support the long-term employment of its valuable team members and to continue supporting its local supplier network,” the statement said.

Dreamworld’s Steel Taipan rollercoaster

“The dedicated Dreamworld wildlife team continues to partake in crucial koala conservation and research projects and the business remains committed to conservation, making meaningful change via the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation, which has raised over $3.5 million for animal conservation and continues to fund important conservation projects in Australia and internationally.”

It came as Ms Palaszczuk revealed koalas set to be displaced by the duplication of the Pacific Motorway would be relocated to a new site on the Gold Coast after the government secured a further 400ha of land to protect the native species.

The new arrangement involves the private land holding Greenridge in Pimpama, next to the Pimpama River Conservation Area.

Ms Palaszczuk said the land would allow koalas found in the new Coomera Connector corridor to be relocated to the nearby habitat, and would complement another 400ha site already set aside at Tabooba.

But Gold Coast MP and shadow environment minister, Sam O’Connor said the land was always destined to be set aside for wildlife.

“The 400 hectare parcel of land announced by the Palaszczuk Government today is in fact the environmental offset required for the Coomera Connector project,” he said.

“The purchase of this land was finalised early last month.

“For the Premier and Minister Bailey today to dress the announcement up as being about koalas and not mention the actual reasons the land has been purchased is completely misleading and disingenuous.”

The new site at Pimpama is set to house koalas displaced by the construction of the Coomera Connector. Picture: Aussie Ark

Thermal drones have found 68 koalas already living on the newly secured property.

Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King described the securment of the property as a critical step in protecting the population of the native species along the Coomera Connector corridor.

“We all know the second M1 is desperately needed and, while there are unavoidable impacts, I am confident all measures will be taken to responsibly deliver this critical infrastructure,” she said.