Key said they’d need to negotiate how much the Government contribution would be, but he’s not surprised by the steep price tag.
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Earlier on Tuesday Key confirmed the Government would help foot the significant bill – but said the cash injection “wouldn’t be massive”.
The Wellington City Council has been debating the idea, though there has been some concern the cost to bring the animals to New Zealand would outweigh the benefits.
It is widely believed that bringing the pandas to Adelaide partly caused the Adelaide Zoo to incur debts of $24 million, leading to a State Government bailout. All together, around 18 countries have been given pandas by China and each of the nations face similar charges every time their pandas successfully mate.
Last week, the Smithsonian announced that local billionaire David M. Rubenstein, the philanthropist whose name appears on his own gallery at the National Archives, planned to gift the zoo another $4.5million (he gave $4.5 million in 2011) for the giant panda research and conservation program.
“What’s happened in countries that have got them, or cities that have got them… they’ve been not only successful and popular, they’ve actually been a sort of money-making exercise that attract a lot of visitors. Just like the flag referendum this is just pandering to the Prime Minister’s personal peccadillos”, Andrew Little says.
However Labour leader Andrew Little says if the Wellington economy is dependent on the arrival of one or two pandas then “we are in serious trouble”.
“We think it would be great for the Wellington economy, and most importantly for conservation”.
National Zoo director Dennis Kelly: “Pandas build a bridge between the American people and the Chinese people, and it allows us to understand each others’ cultures better”.
“We’ve seen his love affair with pandas”.
Wellington’s Deputy Mayor is keeping an open mind.
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“While pandas are an iconic species and attractive to visitors and Wellingtonians, it would depend on dollar amount the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm translates into”. The surviving cub, who has not yet been named, is “doing very well”, zoo officials said last week.
