Dreamworld rafts removed
Ardent Leisure's Dreamworld is no closer to re-opening after the company announced it had begun an independent safety review of all 40 rides at the Gold Coast theme park.
But with publicly-listed Ardent Leisure estimated to be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each day it remains closed, there will be pressure for Australia's largest theme park to re-open later this month before the popular summer holiday season begins.
More than 1.8 million people visit Dreamworld every year, making it a profitable business for Ardent. The company has already flagged a fall in revenue after last Tuesday's accident when four tourists were killed on the Thunder River Rapids ride.
Dreamworld chief executive Craig Davidson said no decision had been made on the re-opening of the park following last week's aborted attempt to re-open on Friday – only three days after the worst accident at an Australian theme park since seven people died at Luna Park in 1979.
"At this point there is no timeframe or decision with regard to the park's re-opening," Mr Davidson said on Monday.
"Further, Dreamworld confirms it will not be making a decision on re-opening or providing a timeframe at any stage this week."
Ardent Leisure chairman Neil Balnaves told shareholders at last week's annual general meeting the accident – in which one of the rafts flipped over – would hit the company's bottom line.
"It will have a material effect on Dreamworld's result in the second half, there's no doubt about that. And there will be a continuing effect, I would expect, through the next financial year, but it will diminish as time goes by," he said.
According to their financial statements, Ardent Leisure earned $107.5 million in revenue from its Australian theme parks, including Dreamworld, White Water World and SkyPoint, last financial year – or about $294,700 a day.
Ardent is expected to have a capped $100 million insurance liability exposure as per the industry standard. But it remains unclear whether the company has an industrial special risks policy to deal with the costs of a protracted business interruption.
A spokeswoman for Newgate Communications, Miche Paterson, who was hired to help deal with the public relations disaster, did not return calls to The Australian Financial Review on Monday.
The AFR revealed on Monday a lobbying firm with strong links to the union movement had been engaged by Ardent Leisure. Next Level Strategic Services' key lobbyists include Bill Shorten's former chief of staff Cameron Milner and Stephen Beckett, who was a deputy chief of staff to former Queensland premier Anna Bligh.
Mr Beckett on Monday confirmed Ardent Leisure was one of his clients but he would not say what he did for the company which has had a long battle with the Australian Worker's Union over safety at the theme park.
Mr Davidson said the park-wide safety review would be conducted by independent and "world-leading" mechanical engineering and safety experts.
This comes on top of the internal review of the park's ride operating policies and procedures.
Inspectors from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland are already looking at Dreamworld's rides as part of a crackdown on Gold Coast theme parks.
About 200 staff returned to theme park at Coomera, just north of the Gold Coast, on Monday.
"Returning to work is not compulsory - it is for those staff who want to come back and help the park and support their colleagues," Mr Davidson said.
"Dreamworld reiterates that all staff will be paid while the park is closed whether they have returned to the park or not. Counsellors are available for Dreamworld staff and will remain available for some time."
The Dreamworld boss also hit back at media reports of its compliance with ride operations and the number of ride operators on each ride. He said Dreamworld's staffing arrangements were approved by ride manufacturers, independent safety experts and then approved by the regulator, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
