Canterbury councils reject Orana Wildlife Park's plea for $1.5m of annual funding
Thursday, 24 June 2021
Four Canterbury councils have turned down Orana Wildlife Park’s plea for long-term funding, despite the Christchurch zoo warning it will be in “serious financial difficulty” within two years if nothing changes.
Other zoos around the country get millions of dollars in operational funding from local authorities each year.
But Christchurch City Council’s greatest annual contribution in the last five years to Orana Wildlife Park was just $350,000.
The zoo’s chief executive, Lynn Anderson, told Stuff she is adamant the organisation will continue to do “whatever we need to do” in its bid to find the extra $1.5 million of annual funding, which will help pay staff a living wage and cover other operating costs.
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“We’re a really tenacious bunch … we will leave no stone unturned.”
The zoo approached four councils in Canterbury this year and asked for funding for the 2021/22 financial year and beyond to help its operations.
It proposed a $750,000 contribution from Christchurch City Council, and a further $250,000 contribution from Selwyn District Council, Waimakariri District Council, and Environment Canterbury.
None committed to this funding as part of their 10-year budgets – a decision Anderson called “disappointing”.
“Running a modern zoo these days is a very expensive business,” she said.
She was adamant that not securing the funding was not on the park’s radar – and it was already pursuing other funding applications. She said the zoo was experienced with fundraising, which was how they funded all of their capital projects.
Gate-takings and other trading activities previously covered 95 per cent of operating costs, but that has dropped to just over 70 per cent.
“Costs go up year-on-year,” Anderson said.
Retaining staff proved difficult as Orana WIldlife Park’s salaries were “significantly less” than other major zoos in New Zealand, Anderson said in her submission to the city council.
In the 2018/19 financial year, the park lost $1.2m.
It broke even in both 2019/20 and 2020/21, but these results were thanks to significant Covid-19-related government funding.
Anderson said in her submission that if nothing changed, annual losses of $1m would be a reality. In this situation, the park would be in serious financial difficulty within two years, she said.
Other major zoos in New Zealand receive millions of dollars each year from their local councils.
Wellington Zoo got $3.4m of operational funding from Wellington City Council in 2020/21, a spokesman said. The trust running the zoo is a council-controlled company. The zoo also got a further $1.6m ratepayer contribution for capital projects and a further $900,000 for renewing assets.
Auckland’s ratepayers contributed $6.1m and $5.9m to Auckland Zoo in the past two financial years, while Hamilton Zoo, owned and operated by the local council, also gets a contribution of over $1m from ratepayers.
The only public funding previously given to Orana Wildlife Park was a grant from a community fund administered by the city council. In 2020/21, the park got $350,000. In the five years prior to this, it was only given $200,000 each year.
The park has already submitted its 2021/22 application for this fund and should hear back about it in August.
Environment Canterbury intends to invite Orana Wildlife Park to apply this year for part of a $100,000 fund.
Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton said despite turning down funding in the long-term plan, he was talking with Orana Wildlife Park about councillors and senior staff making a visit.
“It was interesting to hear their proposal and it was something we’d want to discuss further with the ratepayers of Selwyn before making a final decision,” he said.