At first I wasn’t sure whether or not this was actually a April Fools article printed a day late… but the Canberra Times Online has an article proposing that the naval station at Belconnen should become a tourist attraction serving several purposes:
(a) preserving the historic naval station as a museum,
(b) providing a tourist attraction targeting Asian tourism and
(c) preserving the endangered grasslands.
The proposal is not totally without merit as there are similar attractions already operating in the Territory. The first that comes to mind being “Gold Creek Station” a tourist facility that is run by John and Beverley Starr on the Gold Creek Homestead site in Gungahlin. Here tourists experience typical activities of a sheep station including watching dogs work the sheep, experience sheep shearing fist hand, informed about aspects of the wool industry and get to sample the culinary delights of the ubiquitous “Aussie BBQ”.
The proposed concept for the Naval Station is highly divergent of the aspirations that the ACT Government had of making the highly PCB contaminated site into affordable accommodation… but you have to give people credit for coming up with novel ideas.
[Ed. This was also sent in by Thumper who makes an important note below - the site is owned by Defence]
If the concept is accepted by Defence, the 143ha site at the centre of Canberra’s kangaroo cull controversy would remain Commonwealth land and its combined attractions could raise millions of dollars as a tourism venue.
It would also protect the site’s grasslands from future housing subdivision.
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I suppose it is a change from Defence buying helicopters that can’t fly and submarines that are next to useless.
Rootopia?
How’d the PCBs get there?
How about building some affordable housing instead, that isn’t in Tharwa or Yass?
zee, affordable housing has been built in Dunlop, Gungahlin, Brindabella, Forde, Holden etc since the cows came home.
You can bet your bottom dollar they’ll make a skank of Molongolo Valley as well.
It’s actually about time for the other types of housing to be built, notwithstanding this accomodation crisis we are in because of the utter inefficiencies of the incumbents.
My money is firmly placed on pidgeon box blocks though, more buck for your bang, in income terms.
RuffnReady said :
See:
http://nqr.farmonline.com.au/news/metro/national/general/roo-cull-land-contaminated/82884.aspx
and ACT Hansard 1992 – Naval Communication Station (Page 3526):
http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/1992/pdfs/19921126.pdf
Nahhh, I reckon just another CT fu(k up, they meant to print this yesterday.
Otherwise as suggested previously, turn it in to some sort of safari park where tourists can come and pay a fee to shoot roos. FFS throw some of the greenies in as well for fun.
Spin doctery at its best.
They better put the antennas back up then.
I blame Carnell for the antennas.
I think the antennas ought be used to create a giant trebuchet.
Here is the Yass Tribune’s perspective. Basically, a gut int he nuts to the ACt Government and the Fed’s for making the ‘Roos someone elses problem. It does touch on an interesting point. This overpopulation wouldn’t have been a problem if Australia’s Megafauna and carnivourous native species such as the Thylacoleo were still around.
Moderate my ass italic nazi.