The ACT Government is unlikely to reap any financial benefit from the taxpayer-funded Skywhale's proposed appearances overseas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A spokeswoman for the Centenary of Canberra said the ''the legal arrangement between the operator and the territory ceases on 31 December 2013''.
''All commitments to flights after 2013 are a matter for the artist and the operator to consider,'' she said.
A spokesman for Chief Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed this meant the government would not be involved in any negotiations or any potential spin-offs from future flights of the controversial hot-air balloon.
Centenary of Canberra creative director Robyn Archer revealed this week she was making approaches for Skywhale to appear in Sydney and Brisbane as well as in Beijing and Shanghai in China and at summer festivals across Europe.
While taxpayers paid $300,000 for the balloon, it remains in the ownership of Global Ballooning director and pilot Kiff Saunders. Any future appearances and the receipt of any possible booking fees will be down to him and artist Patricia Piccinini who designed the balloon.
Ms Archer also suggested this week that Skywhale only received bad press in Canberra, with the most negative coverage in The Canberra Times.
She said the Centenary of Canberra held statistics to back this up.
When asked for those statistics, the following statement was released by the Centenary of Canberra:
''The Skywhale received significant ACT and national media coverage from its reveal on the 9 May to the 14 June, with just under 1000 media items found in Australian print, broadcast and online media.
''Twenty per cent of Australian media items found between 9 May – 19 June were analysed for sentiment and reported as negative, neutral or positive.
''The analysis revealed that ACT print articles were more likely to be negative than local online and broadcast items.''
