$2.7 million grant for koala research facility reallocated for Steel Taipan construction

[Slick]

Here's some more insight about the ad here. From Koala:

Quote

In response to Dreamworld redirecting 2.7 million dollars of taxpayer funds from a koala sanctuary to a rollercoaster, Koala has released a blitz campaign over the weekend having a dig at the theme park giant.

Last week it was revealed that the creation of a new state-of-the-art koala research facility, which would have given guests a glimpse into scientific conservation methods, was instead put towards building the theme park’s Steel Taipan rollercoaster.

The print ad featured in news outlets across Queensland, including the Courier Mail and the Gold Coast Bulletin, cheekily unveils the companies conservation efforts and partnership with

WWF-Australia, whilst nudging Dreamworld that “no rollercoasters were harmed in the making of this ad”. To spread the message further, targeted digital ads ran alongside news articles across the eastern seaboard.

Koala’s creative director Taylor Thornton said: “Koalas are so much more than just the name of our business. They’re an Aussie icon and we couldn’t let this slide. And we’re proud to say that through our ongoing partnership with WWF-Australia, we’ve donated over $1.5 million to help regenerate koala habitats.”

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

"We couldn't let that slide" is marketing speak for "we wanted to capitalise on what was already trending and get our brand some free advertising".

[rappa]

Least someone’s PR and Marketing departments are on the ball!

[New display name]

I agree @DaptoFunlandGuy

 

The good thing to come out of this is Queen Palaszczuk got to get a photo with a koala yesterday.

 

 

[Guest 239]

This has quickly become an 'everything is awful' situation for me. It's gone from nothing to something and Dreamworld's silence hasn't helped in the slightest, but Koala using this as an opportunity to market themselves just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

I have no idea what Dreamworld could do in the short-term to curtail this controversy. 

At least the media gets their clicks and Koala gets their promotion. Good on 'em.

 

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

8 minutes ago, Guest 239 said:

I have no idea what Dreamworld could do in the short-term to curtail this controversy. 

Other than the initial statement \ quote in the first article, I think the radio silence is actually the right thing to do here. They did nothing wrong. They had permission to do what they did from the people who gave them that money. 

If there's any beef here its with the government permitting the repurposing, but as has been noted repeatedly - the grant was to boost tourism, and post-covid, building Taipan would have more impact on boosting tourism to the region than the koala facility. 

[New display name]

DW probably needs to silently take the blame because DW coming out and blaming the queen is probably not in DW's future interest.

[Slick]

2 hours ago, Guest 239 said:

I have no idea what Dreamworld could do in the short-term to curtail this controversy. 

Easy - build Future Labs.

[Archer]

1 hour ago, Slick said:

Easy - build Future Labs.

Ardent  don’t have the funds ‘to spare’.

Ardent could sell another part of their portfolio,………..….ooops 😁 they only have Skypoint left after they sold marinas, fitness clubs, bowling alleys and US entertainment centres in the last few years 🤣

[joz]

I mean if they still intended to ever build it they could say that. I don't think they handled it well, but their initial statement needed to be better. At this point ride it out and don't let the damage get worse.

 

Also saying it is a tourism grant is still missing the point. They got it promising they were going to do Koala Research. They were planning to build a ride when the program started, if they wanted to apply for a ride grant for SV they could have, and didn't. What they did apply for was a grant to build a Koala Research lab, that is what got approved. They then changed their minds on it (interestingly they weren't publicly talking about futire lab late in 2019).

 

That is what people are upset about, that and the fact the government allowed them to do it. It's also Anastasia's government, though it's possible she didn't know about it because it's a fairly small amount in the grand scheme of things.

 

As for the Koala advertisement, the bad taste in your mouth doesn't come from them. It's the right level where they haven't gone all in laying the boot in - which is wise because DW even these days does more than nothing for conservation, but instead they just take a little jab which seems pretty fair.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:07 PM, Slick said:

Easy - build Future Labs.

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?

On 3/8/2022 at 10:00 PM, joz said:

At this point ride it out and don't let the damage get worse.

Precisely. Radio silence. Do nothing, commit to nothing, wait for the 24 hour media cycle to move onto Barnaby Joyce's latest escapade.

 

On 3/8/2022 at 10:00 PM, joz said:

They then changed their minds on it (interestingly they weren't publicly talking about futire lab late in 2019).

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...

On 26/3/2019 at 6:17 PM, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

• reopen eureka mine ride
• wipeout has 10 more years
• adventure river with wildlife right beside you
• VR on MDMC
• Sky Voyager opens this summer.

 

On 3/8/2022 at 10:00 PM, joz said:

That is what people are upset about, that and the fact the government allowed them to do it.

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!

Quote

The 2024 Queensland state election is scheduled to be held on 26 October 2024

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by rappa
Against community guidelines

[joz]

11 hours ago, joz said:

They got it promising they were going to do Koala Researc

I said what I meant. They got it by promising they were going to open a Koala Research Lab. Also the point about it being cancelled before covid, is it is not pandemic related despite the claims of many.

 

Also 

29 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

...and wouldn't you know it - we're entering an election year!

It's currently 2022. The election is more than 2 years away.

 

Quick edit to say I'm not arguing against stimulus or the merits of government assistance for DW at the time, merely the way it was don't in this instance was crappy. It's like if maccas got a grant to open a Ronald McDonald house for sick kids, and instead repurposed it to open another store. You can argue how it's different all you want but that's 100% the perception. They just have to ride it out. They'd still be ahead, there's no way this is $3million worth of bad publicity.

[Guest 239]

14 hours ago, Slick said:

Easy - build Future Labs.

Is that short-term?  I agree with @joz that their only real option is to ride the wave.

11 hours ago, joz said:

As for the Koala advertisement, the bad taste in your mouth doesn't come from them. It's the right level where they haven't gone all in laying the boot in - which is wise because DW even these days does more than nothing for conservation, but instead they just take a little jab which seems pretty fair.

It's fine, but I feel its taking advantage of a warped narrative (which, to be fair, is kind of Koala's thing.)

Not a great comparison, but this gives me 'Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard' vibes where many people were happy to see Depp lose career opportunities and support at the start of the accusations of their abuse because obviously he has to be in the wrong because he's a man and woman can't be abusers. Yet once more information came out regarding their situation we discovered that it was far more nuanced and complex than first believed, and perhaps the immediate reactions towards Depp weren't justified.

Similar seems to be happening here in which Dreamworld obviously has to be in the wrong because of their history, yet the more information that comes out shows that this situation is more nuanced and complex than first believed. 

I have no horses in this race so the overall outcome ultimately doesn't affect me. Thankfully this controversy has been a net-positive for Koala conservation and awareness so I there's that!

[New display name]

Future Lab was under a previous CEO so what do people want the new CEO to do?  For me it's forget it and move on.  I can't see a good business case for DW to spend 3m on this because would a Future Lab give DW any financial return? (DW already have a tone of Koalas)

The only reason why Future Lab was going to happen is because somebody else was going to pay for it and DW wasn’t willing to put any money into it.  DW didn’t pay a professional to come up with a design, DW asked students to design it for free.

[Slick]

2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

It is a financially stupid decision, which is probably why they shelved it in the first second place.

Probably? I mentioned the reason why already. Not sure I see organisational strategy/culture/sustainability the same way as you but agree to disagree.

40 minutes ago, New display name said:

Future Lab was under a previous CEO so what do people want the new CEO to do?  For me it's forget it and move on. 

Future Lab was both announced and suspended pre-COVID-19 during John Osborne's tenure.

52 minutes ago, Guest 239 said:

Is that short-term?

The short term is you make the announcement, and kick the can down the road 2-3 years when the park is revenue positive and the next leadership can figure out a more holistic approach to the brand's strategy and culture around sustainability. 

2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

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

They most definitely have the cash now.  So what's the problem? Is the argument that they shouldn't build it because research and conservation don't matter? Should their focus be solely on generating revenue from their animal exhibits with no consideration for sustainability? 

52 minutes ago, Guest 239 said:

it was far more nuanced and complex than first believed,

This is pretty ironic because you're dead on the money, brand strategy is nuanced and complex. The issue for Dreamworld is that they keep falling into situations where they're simply not asking "how will this be perceived" at a time when their brand is still in the toilet and they're trying to gain value so that they can maximise the amount from the inevitable sale.

Just a side-note -  I think the issue in this thread is that there are actually quite a few different arguments going on here. For clarity from my end - I love Dreamworld, and I'm passionate about it (and by that extension, critical) because that's how things get improved over time. I don't personally have a problem with the grant re-allocation, it was arguably not necessary in the grand scheme of things but that's a whole other thing. Leadership did things to keep the business afloat and I get that.

I continue to believe that the crux of the issue for many folks that think it was a bad call (and ultimately it was) was the lack of consideration or planning for any downstream impacts. And the net result of that lack of consideration has landed them in the news three times, decimated their inbound marketing for a while and further tarnished the brand. This is a brand that was previously perceived extremely positively regarding its contributions toward conservation. As a result, no matter how positive or well-positioned a DWF conversation effort is, it'll be tainted by this situation, and the flow on from that is more than likely that people will donate less.

2 hours ago, joz said:

It's like if maccas got a grant to open a Ronald McDonald house for sick kids, and instead repurposed it to open another store. You can argue how it's different all you want but that's 100% the perception. They just have to ride it out. They'd still be ahead, there's no way this is $3million worth of bad publicity.

Exactly this.

[Gazza]

Aren't most charitable endeavours "financially stupid" though @DaptoFunlandGuy?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

3 hours ago, joz said:

It's currently 2022. The election is more than 2 years away.

You are of course entirely correct - my bad, i'm currently in "Financial Year 2023" and didn't convert to calendar. 

3 hours ago, joz said:

They got it by promising they were going to open a Koala Research Lab.

Pedantic. Technicality - call this whatever you like - but that isn't how grants work.

The government said "we want to encourage more Asian tourists. we will give you money if you can bring more tourists - just tell us how!"

Dreamworld said "we will.... something something koalas! Yes! Koalas will bring asian tourists in! Umm... we already have koalas... so we'll.... build a better koala facility, and in doing so this will increase asian tourism!"

Government "sounds great! Here's some tourism grant money to build your koala thingy!"

3 hours ago, joz said:

Also the point about it being cancelled before covid, is it is not pandemic related despite the claims of many.

It was certainly put on hold prior to covid. then covid happened and they said 'hey, uh, not sure asian tourism should be our priority now - can we spend this on local tourism instead?' and the project was cancelled... after covid.

3 hours ago, joz said:

You can argue how it's different all you want but that's 100% the perception. They just have to ride it out. They'd still be ahead, there's no way this is $3million worth of bad publicity.

You're entirely correct.

1 hour ago, Slick said:

They most definitely have the cash now.  So what's the problem?

Dude, you LITERALLY  said in your last sentence that the park should wait 2-3 years when the park is revenue positive, and now you want to claim they "have the cash" ? Just because they've discharged existing debt, it doesn't mean they're well positioned to build white elephants.

1 hour ago, Gazza said:

Aren't most charitable endeavours "financially stupid" though @DaptoFunlandGuy?

No. DWF, SW Trust and other similar animal conservation endeavours are great for the brand. Anytime a whale is caught in a net, Sea World gets its brand in prime time news. Its image positive and it gives people warm and fuzzy feelings. This goodwill towards your brand is measurable and tangible and most people don't create these sorts of foundations unless it's doing their image or their bottom line good (and if it's image, that usually flows onto the bottom line as well).

By all accounts, Dreamworld has not returned to a pre-2016 situation. While they may have divested themselves of numerous assets, and in doing so, have rid themselves of much of their ongoing debt facilities, they still have a ways to go to get back to those historic levels.

As Parkz News said when Steel Taipan was announced:

Quote

Dreamworld are spending big, but in a razor-focused way that they haven't in a long time. This isn't the tens of millions thrown haphazardly at the likes of Sky Voyager, or a sprawling, costly lazy river that was deservedly scrapped earlier this year. The ideas that Dreamworld have toyed with might have impressed executives masquerading as theme park visionaries in boardroom meetings but in reality would never change Dreamworld's sinking narrative, let along put it on a level playing field with Village.

A koala research facility isn't going to change their sinking narrative. When they don't need to borrow money from the government to build a ride, when Parkz articles are shouting "Dreamworld has returned to prosperity!"... THAT is the time when a charitable endeavour to save the koalas would be worth doing for brand goodwill. Right now they just need to make sure they don't kill anybody and can keep the rides running long enough to make it to that point.