Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer has been given the go-ahead to build the world's biggest dinosaur park on the grounds of his Sunshine Coast resort - as long as they don't roar too loudly.
Clive Palmer poses with Jeff the T-Rex at his Coolum resort on the Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast regional council voted unanimously to approve the plans which include 149 life-size dinosaur models to join the already existing eight-metre tall T-Rex named Jeff, and a vintage car museum, all within the grounds of Palmer's Coolum resort.
The approval was subject to 30 conditions, including noise and environmental concerns and on the proviso that all models would abide by various height restrictions of a maximum six metres, except for a Ruyangosaurus which will stand 10 metres tall.
Roaring from the dinosaurs must not exceed 5 decibels above background noise levels. No vegetation is proposed to be removed and the resort site's environmentally sensitive areas are to be protected.
The council received almost 200 objections including concerns about parking and noise, and that the park's existence would devalue the area.
However, it was found that "the vintage car museum and the dinosaur park would establish new tourist exhibits to attract patrons to the resort," according to the minutes of the council meeting.
"The new attractions are internal to the resort and would, therefore, not impact on the character of the area."
In March this year, Palmer launched his plans to build Titanic II, a replica of the doomed cruise vessel. This week it was reported that several UAE companies were keen to bring the ship into Dubai once built.
There were also rumours this month the Palmer was looking at launching a newspaper, after it was revealed he had registered the names "The Australia Times" and "The Australasian Times".
Palmer dismissed the rumours, saying "we never said we'd do anything with it, so it's just media speculation. There's no plans to at this stage."
Palmer has been contacted for comment on the dinosaur park. He is currently contesting the federal election through his Palmer United Party.
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