Ms WALKER - 2008-10-30
Can you inform the House of recent achievements at the Alice Springs Desert Park?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. It is my great pleasure to inform the House that the Alice Springs Desert Park, this year, has received its one millionth visitor. This is an extraordinary achievement for a bio-park in a regional centre. On the other hand, we are used to Alice Springs achieving extraordinary things. It is a unique little town in the Centre of Australia.
I have been a regular visitor to the Desert Park over the years, not just as a private citizen, but also as a local member. Often, I take my grandchildren for a visit and something to eat at the Desert Park and enjoy the environment.
The innovative achievements of the Desert Park are many, and I touch on just one example today. Last summer, the Desert Park erected a fence along the western side of its development area, constructed a simple path and, now, conducts evening tours through some mulga planted a decade or so ago. In this area lives bilby, mala, as the Chief Minister would know, bush-tailed and burrowing bettongs, and it will soon also see the stick-nest rats introduced to the Desert Park. This is a highly compelling visitor experience in Alice Springs. Not only does it allow people to have the great evening experience they were seeking, it also allows them to experience some of the fauna lost to other parts of Central Australia.
Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Gary Fry and his team at the Desert Park, who operate an important community facility - a centre of excellence for environmental education and tourism icon for Central Australia.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. It is my great pleasure to inform the House that the Alice Springs Desert Park, this year, has received its one millionth visitor. This is an extraordinary achievement for a bio-park in a regional centre. On the other hand, we are used to Alice Springs achieving extraordinary things. It is a unique little town in the Centre of Australia.
I have been a regular visitor to the Desert Park over the years, not just as a private citizen, but also as a local member. Often, I take my grandchildren for a visit and something to eat at the Desert Park and enjoy the environment.
The innovative achievements of the Desert Park are many, and I touch on just one example today. Last summer, the Desert Park erected a fence along the western side of its development area, constructed a simple path and, now, conducts evening tours through some mulga planted a decade or so ago. In this area lives bilby, mala, as the Chief Minister would know, bush-tailed and burrowing bettongs, and it will soon also see the stick-nest rats introduced to the Desert Park. This is a highly compelling visitor experience in Alice Springs. Not only does it allow people to have the great evening experience they were seeking, it also allows them to experience some of the fauna lost to other parts of Central Australia.
Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Gary Fry and his team at the Desert Park, who operate an important community facility - a centre of excellence for environmental education and tourism icon for Central Australia.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016