Major WA tourism drawcard still in the lurch as businesses consider closing shop

There is still no plan for a new Penguin Island discovery centre more than a year after a decision to stop an on-island build, and major tourism operators in the region say they are losing out on millions of dollars in revenue as a result.

While the island itself has received upgrades including seating, shade structures, an information hub, and interpretation pods, tourism operators who used to be able to guarantee a little penguin sighting said those upgrades have done nothing to help business.

Visitors to Penguin Island this summer will see a demolition site, but possibly no penguins.

More than two years ago, the state government made a $3.3 million election commitment to build a new discovery centre on the island, despite over a decade of consistent advice that this would be bad for the penguin population.

It then backflipped on this decision only months later and instead announced the centre should be built on the mainland.

A new feasibility study was ordered by the DBCA – one of many that came before it – to find the best location for the new centre.

But there have been no updates on how this is going.

Rockingham Wild Encounters is one of the main tourism operators in the region, and manager Chad D’Souza said the business had just six months to a year left before it would be forced to shut if it kept losing money at the same rate.

“We have lost over $1 million this year alone,” he said, blaming the shortfall on the lack of a discovery centre.

“There has been no update on when a feasibility study will be completed or what the centre could look like. Our business can’t suffer any more.”

D’Souza said he had watched on in frustration and anger as other major ecotourism attractions gained direct funding – including the Bunbury Discovery Centre, which recently received $2.5 million – while they were left in the lurch.

He said he believed the state government had wiped its hands of the centre, given it would no longer be built on land it owned, despite needing to complete the feasibility study.

“It’s just not a priority,” D’Souza said.

“[The government] say they want to save the penguins, but they have done nothing to back this up. At some stage, they have to be at fault for our financial loss and the loss felt by the penguins.”

D’Souza is now considering legal action for the harm he says the government has caused, if no compensation is provided. It is not clear yet if this would be possible.

A state government spokesman told this masthead that financial compensation was not currently being considered.

Instead, $2.75 million will be invested in fixing up the Penguin Island jetty as part of the 2024-2025 state budget.

The government is also considering other tourism-based opportunities in the region, such as a limited trial for in-water seal interaction tours at Shoalwater.

A DBCA spokesman said a total of $3.3 million has been invested in the new facilities so far.

“Up to $250,000 has been made available to investigate the feasibility of locating a similar centre at a location on the mainland,” he said.

“This feasibility study is being led by the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.”

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