AUSTRALIAN BIOME PROJECT
1153. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the minister representing the
Minister for Tourism:
I refer to yesterday's
report in The West Australian regarding three giant bio-domes to be
built near Perth Airport.
(1) Can the
minister please inform me of the extent of the government's involvement
in this initiative, or is this being pursued entirely by private enterprise?
(2) What will be
the government's contribution to this project, be it in the form of
money, government grants, tax concessions or subsidies?
(3) Does the
government know what the yearly cost of running, operating and maintaining
these facilities would be?
(4) Are these
facilities expected to generate and run at a profit?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The following information has been provided by the Minister for Tourism.
(1) The
Australian Biome Project is being pursued by the private sector, and I received
a briefing from the proponents last year.
(2) The project
spokesperson, Mr Adam Barnard, stated in the media yesterday that the
proponents were not seeking state government funding.
(3) No.
(4) Private
sector projects would expect to generate a profit.