No answers from government on what happened at Dolphin Discovery Centre before entering administration

Questions into the circumstances surrounding the voluntary administration of the Dolphin Discovery Centre have been left unanswered by the State Government in Parliament. No explanations were offered regarding the recent financial troubles at the Dolphin Discovery Centre by Bunbury MLA Don Punch when asked to explain what he knew about the situation in Parliament on Thursday. That was despite questions in the both the Legislative Assembly and Council by Opposition Leader Shane Love and South West MLC Louise Kingston respectively. Mr Punch, who is also the Regional Development Minister, responded to Mr Love’s question of if he knew of financial trouble at the Dolphin Discovery Centre and if he was approached by the centre for assistance during question time. “It (the centre) is of course managed by an independent Dolphin Discovery Centre Incorporated body who is not accountable to government, they lease the building from government,” he said. “My office is always open to the Dolphin Discovery Centre Incorporated to come and discuss their needs with us as they have done on occasions post-COVID when many, many tourism operators and tourism operations really struggled with the downturn of visitation during the COVID period.” Mr Punch said when the time came he would be open to supporting the organisation. “They, like many other organisations are managing that process (administration), when they’re ready, they make the decision to call in a voluntary receiver,” he said. “When they’ve got the recommendations from the voluntary receiver I am sure they will come and see me and they absolutely know that we support the Dolphin Discovery Centre as a very valuable tourism operation in Bunbury.” Later on the same day Mrs Kingston asked the State Government if it had been given reasons for the board and chief executive officer’s resignation, how much debt the centre was in and how many creditors were owed. Parliamentary secretary for the Minister for Regional Development Kyle McGinn MLC replied on behalf of Mr Punch. “The Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Incorporated does not report to an entity of the government, the appointed administrator RSM Australia is continuing its work to assess the financial position of the BDDI,” he said. In a statement released by the oppisiton on Monday, Mrs Kingston criticised Mr Punch for claiming the attraction was still open, when Administrators had ordered major functions to be cancelled and the café to stop serving breakfasts and lunches, replacing it with a smaller menu. “While the dolphin tours and the interpretive centre are still operating, the future hangs in the balance with Administrators not ruling out closure of the entire attraction,” she said. “Mr Punch owes the people of Bunbury and the South West an explanation about how the region’s premier tourist attraction was allowed to fail under his watch and how long he’s known about this financial mess. “Dolphin experiences are seasonal, so this facility relied on generating income with its function centre and interactive visitor’s centre, however, Mr Punch failed to ensure that it was adequately funded and properly promoted like other prominent WA tourist attractions. “He is ducking for cover claiming in Parliament that it is managed by an independent body and saying ‘my door is always open to the centre to discuss their needs’. “Mr Punch needs to answer questions we are putting to him on behalf of his constituents about how long he has known about the financial difficulties and whether he has been approached for financial assistance. “As Regional Development Minister, Mr Punch controls $1 billion a year in regional funding allocations, much of which is being cost-shifted to pay for Perth projects. “He needs to stop dodging questions and explain why the Dolphin Discovery Centre was allowed to fail under his watch and why he will not intervene to secure its future.”