Darwin Dinosaur Festival claims new venue to be announced after ‘scam allegations’

Dinosaur festival organisers claim new venue will be announced following scam allegations.

UPDATE JUN 25: ASPIRING paleontologists have been warned against buying tickets to a new Darwin Dinosaur festival, after organisers claimed their advertised venue had pulled out.

The City of Darwin and the NT Consumer Affairs Commissioner have warned customers away from purchasing tickets to the Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

The Dinosaur Festival has drawn criticism after a string of cancellations and postponed events around Australia.

Events were postponed in Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, Bendigo, and Newcastle among others, with some ticket holders reportedly left without a refund.

Earlier this month the NT News confirmed that despite organisers advertising the event at the Jingili Water Gardens for July 29-31, no permit had been granted by the City of Darwin.

“The dinosaur people applied for a permit to hold their event,” a council spokesman said earlier.

“However, they withdrew their application before any decision was made.

Parents are being warned to be cautious about the July 2022 Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

“So they never had a permit to stage an event at the water gardens.”

On Friday, the controversial event wrote on Facebook that organisers had applied for a permit and paid a deposit, but were told in May that major works meant it could not be held at the Jingili Water Gardens.

“We have engaged (other venues) immediately and (are) currently at an advanced stage of finalising,” organisers said.

“We would like to reassure the people of Northern Territory that the event will be coming to Darwin as planned and all tickets will remain valid on (sic) the new venue.”

Despite admitting they did not have a permit or a confirmed venue, their Facebook event continued to state: “We have confirmed the venue in Darwin. The Dinosaur Festival will be going ahead at Jingili Water Gardens”.

Earlier this week the NT Consumer Affairs Commissioner Sandra Otto said there was no indication that the event may be held elsewhere in Darwin, and said those thinking of buying a ticket should “beware”.

“Given that the event has previously taken place in other parts of Australia, we had no reason to entertain the scam allegations that arose in the past,” Ms Otto said.

“(But) the venue operators have confirmed that the event will neither go ahead at the Jingili Water Gardens nor the Darwin Show Grounds at that date. Applications to hold the event on another date have not been received.

“In light of this new information, it is time to warn consumers and hopefully save Territorians some money.”

UPDATE JUN 23: DARWIN Council have put their foot down and are openly warning dinosaur fanatics away from booking tickets to a controversial event, which has not received a permit.

The Darwin Dinosaur Festival is advertised as happening from July 29-31 at the Jingili Water Gardens.

However, the event has yet to secure a permit for the event from council and was earlier this week handed a consumer warning from NT Consumer Affairs.

Parents are being warned to be cautious about the July 2022 Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

Dinosaur fever may be on a high right now with the third instalment of Jurassic World hitting the big screens, but Jingili will remain a dinosaur free zone.

“City of Darwin is aware the promoter is advertising the Water Gardens as the venue for the event. This is not the case,” a spokesperson said.

“We have asked organisers of the festival to remove any reference to the Water Gardens as the site for their event.”

UPDATE, JUNE 20: NORTHERN Territory Consumer Affairs have sent a warning to Top End dinofiles about to purchase tickets to a controversial event, which is still yet to receive a permit.

The Darwin Dinosaur Festival is still advertising the July 29-31 event and selling tickets, despite the City of Darwin confirming an application for a permit to hold the event, at either the Jingili Water Gardens or Darwin Showgrounds, has not been processed.

NT Consumer Affairs Commissioner Sandra Otto said there was no indication that the event may be held elsewhere in Darwin, and said those thinking of buying a ticket should “beware”.

“In light of this new information, particularly the absence of any confirmed bookings for a venue at which to hold the event, I would encourage those who have already purchased tickets to the event to contact Festival Ignite Pty Ltd and ask for a refund anyway.

“If you don’t have any joy, you may wish to lodge a charge-back with your bank to have the payment transaction reversed.”

She said inquiries to the event organisers have been unanswered.

Ms Otto also said the Terms and Conditions on the event website could mislead consumers about their right to a refund.

“Given that the event has previously taken place in other parts of Australia, we had no reason to entertain the scam allegations that arose in the past. However, in light of this new information, it is time to warn consumers and hopefully save Territorians some money,” she said.

INITIAL, JUNE 16: IT is every young paleontologist’s dream to walk with dinosaurs, but Top End parents are being urged to be cautious before grabbing tickets to the Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

Advertised as a once in a million — or 65 million — opportunity to walk among the prehistoric beasts, the Darwin Dinosaur Festival has been flagged by numerous Facebook users.

The Dinosaur Festival claimed that from Friday July 29 to Sunday July 31, families and school groups could see lifelike animatronic dinosaurs at the Jingili Water Gardens.

“See its teeth, see its eyes blink and hear the majestic roar,” the Dinosaur Festival said.

“A must see, not to be missed (event).”

Event organisers told Top End customers that “tickets are usually sold out before the event dates”.

“We advise our customers to book their tickets in advance in order to avoid disappointments on (sic) the last minute.”

“This week we have confirmed the venue in Darwin. The Dinosaur Festival will be going ahead at Jingili Water Gardens.”

A screenshot of an advertisement for the Darwin Dinosaur Festival. City of Darwin said the event had not booked the Jingili Water Gardens, despite claiming otherwise.

Yet, the City of Darwin said no permit has been granted for the July festival.

A council spokesman said he was surprised to see the Dinosaur Festival had advertised their event on council grounds.

“The dinosaur people applied for a permit to hold their event,” he said.

“However, they withdrew their application before any decision was made”.

“So they never had a permit to stage an event at the water gardens.”

A similar incident occurred at the Brisbane Dinosaur Festival, where the Showgrounds said the organisers had been in contact but had not booked the facilities despite advertising tickets.

The Courier Mail reported the July 2020 event was forced to postpone “until further notice” with customers complaining they were charged for more tickets than they ordered.

Parents are being told to be cautious about the July 2022 Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

One woman said she ordered tickets for two adults and one child, totalling $34, but was then charged for six adults and three children and charged $124.

She said she was also charged for six more tickets valued at $91.

A statement published by the festival said it would refund all ticket holders.

“Wherever money is involved, trust issues arise. The organisers of this event are by no means scammers and will handle all transactions with utmost honesty. Refunds will be done manually in daily batches for up to 10 days,” it said

The Cairns Dinosaur Festival in August was also plagued with social media customer complaints over the supply of pre-purchased tickets and responding to emails.

According to their website, the Sydney event expected for August was postponed. While an event in Bendigo, in Central Victoria, was also cancelled in May, with ticket holders reportedly given no warning about the cancellation.

The Dinosaur Festival previously postponed a January Newcastle event to March, where it was again delayed to May before it was “rained out” with ticket holders not offered refunds.

“We are forced to invoke the provisions of our terms and conditions, in particular …(that) Dinosaur Festival Australia shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly by circumstances beyond its reasonable control,” a statement on its website said.

Organisers were contacted for comment, but did not respond to questions from the NT News.

But a statement on the Facebook event hit back at “speculation” over its authenticity.

“The Dinosaur Festival is the official partner of The Dino Expo which has hosted more than 12 successful exhibitions across Australia,” it said.

Parents are being told to be cautious about the July 2022 Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

This is not the first time the Dinosaur Festival has been accused of questionable practices, with another post to Facebook about a Newcastle event.

“The statements claiming that we are a dubious entity are unfortunate, utterly irresponsible and libellous primarily because they are false and intended to cause confusion in the Newcastle community,” it said in January.

“Ninety per cent of our events in the last year have been extremely successful.”

“For events held at the peak of the pandemic, we were bound to encounter problems.”

Northern Territory Consumer Affairs Commissioner Sandy Otto did not say the event was a scam, but urged customers to be cautious.

“Currently there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that the Dinosaur Festival is not legitimate,” Ms Otto said.

“Whilst it has attracted some public criticism regarding issues with rescheduling, cancellations and the processing of refunds, the event does appear to have gone ahead in other locations within Australia, such as Toowoomba and Brisbane, with mixed reviews.

The Commissioner said anyone considering purchasing tickets should “carefully read the terms and conditions particularly in relation to cancellations and refunds”.

Parents are being told to be cautious about the July 2022 Darwin Dinosaur Festival.

Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Davey also encouraged people to purchase tickets using a credit card where possible, as they could apply for a charge back from the bank if needed.

“If a person needs to request a refund, we suggest writing to the event operator, allowing a reasonable time frame for a response,” Ms Davey said.

“In the event there is no response or the response is not satisfactory, then they can contact our office.”

The Dinosaur Festival website said it would not provide refunds, unless the event was cancelled and an order processing, service and delivery fees would be deducted from the repayment.

“If your event is postponed, we will contact you with the new date and time,” it said.

“Venue and talent are subject to change without notice and are not grounds for a refund.”

Ms Otto said anyone concerned should contact NT Consumer Affairs on 1800 019 319 or email to [e-mail].

Originally published as Darwin Dinosaur Festival claims new venue to be announced after ‘scam allegations’