Easy?
This whole discussion is because they couldn't afford to build the coaster due to the pandemic shutdowns \ cashflows \ whatever, and you think them pulling $3M (it would have certainly cost more than that) out of their arse to build something that is unlikely to be in their best interests (there's been much analysis that even things like Sky Voyager in their recovery phase was foolish and ultimately not going to be worth the money spent) just to satiate the unwashed masses who are just as likely going to forget about the koalas the next time they have a holiday on the gold coast and buy tickets to the park to ride taipan anyway?
Precisely. Radio silence. Do nothing, commit to nothing, wait for the 24 hour media cycle to move onto Barnaby Joyce's latest escapade.
Yes, by all accounts, Dreamworld had put the project on hold before the pandemic hit. Non-starting projects shouldn't be a surprise to anyone...
The people are upset because the media have told them to be upset. They've all forgotten how much diverted funding went into paying people via Covid stimulus payments including Cashflow Boost, JobKeeper, increases to JobSeeker, and later JobMaker. The governments across Australia moved money from existing projects into covid related stimulus projects throughout the past 2.5 years. This isn't an isolated instance - its just the one that makes for a juicy story with the right twist to it.
This project is not (and was not) a good fit for Dreamworld in their recovery phase. It was a concept borne of a time of Ampitheatres, Lazy \ Adventure Rivers and hard to market flying theatre attractions. Thankfully, those days are over, and those projects buried, like they should be.
Set aside the government funding, if Dreamworld announced today that they were building this facility of their own bat, everyone here would lose their minds, and Richard\Parkz would no doubt publish an article calling it folly when there are so many other things they could be spending their money on that would have a bigger impact on their recovery program. And that article would be 100% on the money.
It is a financially stupid decision, which is probably why they shelved it in the first second place. And guarantee if there was some way they could have returned the grant (harder than it sounds, trust me) they'd have probably gotten the same value loan that village got. Instead they got a reduced loan and a grant already awarded.
...and wouldn't you know it - we're entering an election year!