Wellington Zoo needs $14 million for its lion enclosure. It's urgent. It's not something that can be deferred. Wellington City Council needs to cough up the money.
What's more, Wellington Zoo may not be a going concern as early as the middle of next year, which means Wellington City Council will have to cough up again. The zoo will probably run a deficit of around a quarter of a million dollars next year, then another deficit the following year and another the year after that. After that, who knows?
The problem is Wellington City Council doesn't have money. It doesn't even have money for essential infrastructure, like wastewater pipes.
Meanwhile, Wellington homeowners are already paying some of the highest rates in the country, to the extent that some pensioners are considering selling their homes because they can no longer afford them. Depending on who you talk to, those rates are also hurting business. Commercial rates are placing significant pressure on some of Wellington's businesses.
So Wellington City Council does not have money for the lions.
And there's something really strange going on with the way Wellington Zoo is run.
Despite having the highest revenue for each visitor in the country, even outperforming Auckland Zoo, the council subsidy for each visitor is four times higher. Auckland Council contributes about $5 a visitor; Wellington City Council contributes about $21.
The cost per species is also considerably higher than at Auckland Zoo, Hamilton Zoo or Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park.
Now, the problem, of course, is that Wellington Zoo can't close. That's not really an option, is it?
Modern cities have zoos and for good reason kids love them. I personally hate them, but the kids love them.
I took my kids to Auckland Zoo on Saturday to see the Tasmanian devil and the ostrich and apparently it was the highlight of their weekend.
But I think Wellington City Council, because it can't simply shut the zoo down, needs to be brutal. It will always have to provide some level of funding because most zoos in New Zealand require subsidies. However, it should demand, in a way it clearly hasn't until now, that the zoo turns its finances around and explores every possible commercial opportunity.
That lion enclosure won't be the last major expense. And it's hard to justify spending money on discretionary attractions such as zoos when you're not spending enough on wastewater infrastructure and untreated sewage is flowing into the sea.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and radio broadcaster who hosts Newstalk ZB's weekday Drive-Time Show – where this article was sourced.
10 comments:
Why not just sell the lion and use the enclosure to house something it's suitable for - maybe some city councillors?
I could save them some money and build the new enclosure for 13 million.
How come these issues become "urgent" Surely they are identified earlier on and at that point alternatives to raiding the ratepayers pockets can be looked into. Would the Lion Foundation like to fund the lion enclosure, would the big Aussie banks taking billions in profits out of NZ consider sponsorship.I sit on a council as a newly elected member, after years running my own successful business, and see this sudden shock tactic coming up again and again.
My comment is always the same: give ratepayers a list of expenses and choices. We could save the zoo and cut all cultural advice costs, for example.
Here's an idea - when visitors show up to the zoo try putting the animals on display!
Then kids might be interested in showing up - adults would also pay a market based entry fee for admission (current admission prices are a fraction of what it costs to go to other zoos around the world). But at other zoos the world over you can actually see the animals...but no not in wokington!
I love going to the zoo and love taking my kids to the zoo - and most of the time they love going....but everyone hates wokington's zoo because
1 - you never see the animals - their exhibits are always closed, incl during school holidays, or the animals are hiding at the back of some huge enclosure during peak viewing times.
2 - parking is almost always difficult (hey wokington travelling from an hour's drive away to visit your woke zoo with 2+ kids and all related gear like coats, drink bottles etc) would be even harder on a blinking bike!
3 - the animals on display are a joke! I can see crocodiles, elephants and snakes in queensland, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and more elephants in Melbourne. Penguins, seals and sea lions, gorillas and all sorts of things in Australia...heck I can even hold a koala and watch a trained eagle show - and love to get up close to the young wombats! But in Wokington....I can't see the kiwi...never even once seen it, I still haven't seen half the monkeys, or big cats, or even the keas/ kakas in the aviary....I saw the sun bear show twice but otherwise the animal is invisible...and frankly there is very little else to see except some chickens and pigs....coming in from a semi rural region chickens and pigs are everyday animals - not worth paying to see in a woke zoo.
The idea that taxpayer/ ratepayer funding supports yet another "woke has ruined it" attraction of wokington...how to make me laugh.
Anon@ 10.14. How would we know which was which?
MC
Now does this "facility" classify as a "historic building or other per historic place", that may and/or may not fall under The Historic Places Trust, a 'group' who are hell bent on keeping decaying buildings upright.
Case in point - Wellington Town Hall, that has cost Millions of $$$$$$ just to re-do the foundations.
Sadly what was missed from that remit, it was built on reclaimed land, and had failed to be a venue for choice.
Now for the City Council, as I see it -
- they can be a group of 'duly elected', with no active end objective for improving the City.
case in point[s] >
- Lambton quay and other CBD areas
- road travel to [and from] the Airport
- parking at the Airport
- fixing all waste and storm water pipes
- being "bold" about he stuff up with Moa Point and "claiming" responsibility.
But a Council is elected "to serve the people" by reviewing all tasks -
- handed to them by a past Council
- being critical of all data given - by Council Staff
and making judgements on above, not playing personal and/or political party [the one they tug a forelock to] both at the Council table or via Social Media and MSM interviews.
Wellington is Stuffed - Politically, socially and in terms of its infrastructure. A basket case run by the Black and White Show and in urgent need of remedy!
Steve Ellis
"Despite having the highest revenue for each visitor in the country, even outperforming Auckland Zoo, the council subsidy for each visitor is four times higher. Auckland Council contributes about $5 a visitor; Wellington City Council contributes about $21.
The cost per species is also considerably higher than at Auckland Zoo, Hamilton Zoo or Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park."
Is it possible that the size of the subsidies have meant that Wellington Zoo hasn't had to operate as a viable business and thus the subsidies are partially responsible for its decline?
If a city cannot fund essential infrastructure then it doesn't have a right to have nice to haves like zoos, especially with the rates of childlessness. Wellington already has Zeelandia. Does it really need an exotic animal park as well?
Had difficulty seeing anything at Zealandia either . They need a marketing plan , better parking plan , is there a monkey tea party, get a sponsor , run a raffle , get rid of people off the council who don't know how to finance and correctly prioritize essential things . Poor Wellington - all those earthquakes as well .
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