Creating Synergy Podcast

#31 - Elaine Bensted, CEO of Zoos SA on Leading with Efficiency, Passion and being Environmentally & Socially responsible

April 29, 2021 SynergyIQ
Creating Synergy Podcast
#31 - Elaine Bensted, CEO of Zoos SA on Leading with Efficiency, Passion and being Environmentally & Socially responsible
Show Notes Transcript

Elaine Bensted is Chief Executive of Zoos SA which operates both Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park and has been in this role since September 2012.  

Since being in the role Elaine has led an improvement in the financial position of this conservation charity and an increase in Zoos SA membership base from 26,000 to over 50,000.  She also led the work that culminated in the release of a 20 year Master Plan for both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos in early 2015. 

A wife, a mother and a proud owner of German shepherd dogs, Elaine was the recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management Not for Profit Manager Award and the recipient of the Telstra South Australian Business Woman of the Year Award for Purpose and Social Enterprise 2017. 

Outside of her work with Zoos SA, Elaine is also Vice President of Zoos & Aquarium Association (ZAA) and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, Board member of Children’s University Advisory Board, Uni SA Business School Program Advisory Board, The Australian Rhino Project Board, International Koala Centre of Excellence Advisory Board, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Membership & Ethics Committee and the Treasurer, Board member of the Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland Board and Environment Institute Advisory Board. 

In this episode, Elaine and Daniel talked about Elaine's journey to where she is today, the future of Zoos SA and how they managed through the tough time of 2020. We also touched on what we can do to be more environmentally conscious and play our part in creating a better world not only for the humans on this planet but for the longevity of all life. 

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au

Where to find Elaine Bensted 

LinkedIn 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.    

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us. 

Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn.  

Books mentioned on this episode: 

The Living Planet - A Portrait of the Earth - By David Attenborough
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By  Stephen R. Covey.
Man's Search For Meaning - By Viktor E Frankl

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Daniel Franco:

Hi there synergises and welcome back to another episode of The creating synergy podcast. My name is Daniel Franco and today we have the one and only Elaine Bensted. Elaine is the chief executive of Zoos USA, which operates both the Adelaide Zoo and manado Safari Park. She's been in this role since September 2012. Since being in the role, Elaine has led the improvement of the financial position of this conservation charity and increased zoos si membership base from 26,000 to over 50,000 people. She has also led the work that culminated in the release of a 20 year master plan for both Adelaide and manado zoos in 2015. Prior to her appointment as chief executive of Azusa se, Elaine held the position of Chief Executive of TAFE si and proceeding this held senior roles in both state and local government. Elaine has also worked in the private finance sector with human resources and training management experience, operational and project management experience and many many other management roles. She's a wife, a mother and a proud owner of German Shepherd dogs. Elaine was the recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management non for profit manager Award and the recipient of the Telstra South Australian businesswoman of the Year Award for Purpose and Social Enterprise in 2017. Outside of her work with Zuzia say Elaine is also the Vice President of Zoos and Aquariums Association, and chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. She's a board member for children's University advisory board, uni as a business school program advisory board, the Australian Rhino project board, international koala Center of Excellence board, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, membership and ethics committee and also the treasurer. She's a board member of the regional development of Australian merrylands, the river Land Board, and also the Environment Institute and advisory board. So getting to the podcast itself. As we arrived at the Adelaide zoo, Elaine had somehow orchestrated the white cheek Givens and assignments to call out to us as we entered, it was an absolute treat. The podcast was also a real treat. As we talk to Elaine about her journey on where she is today to the future of Sousa say to how they manage through the tough time of the pandemic in 2020. We also touched on what we can all do, to be more environmentally conscious and play our part in creating a better world not only for the humans of this planet, but for the longevity of all life. You are absolutely going to love this podcast as Elaine's passion does not waver the whole episode. So if you liked the episode, remember to hit subscribe and check us out at Synergy IQ comm W. Gs. So welcome back to the creating CDG podcast. My name is Daniel Franco, your host and today we have an amazing Elaine Bensted on the show CEO of adalet Moses, I should say welcome to the show. Thank you looking forward to the chat, Daniel. It's I didn't know who's more excited about me being here today, my two children or myself and Adelaide zoo. Kind of sewer at heart. I've been here a few times my family loved this place. So that's great to hear. Thank you. So thank you for coming on the show. So tell us a little bit about Elaine, who you are and you know where you got to today being the CEO.

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, a lot of people ask me because I'd certainly didn't have a standard career. But I grew up in South Australia pretty much I'm Scottish. But we came out when I was very young, and always had a love of animals and literally going through high school on primary school and then High School. All I ever wanted to do was be a vet. And I was about to I had plans to go to Perth because there wasn't a vet school back in those days in South Australia. And I kept hoping I would grow out of the fact that I'm really really squeamish. So if there's blood, I faint, really, and that's not a good Korean, really so I couldn't be of it. So I went to uni and I was doing a science degree because I picked all my subjects about being a bit and then realized I didn't want to be a scientist so I dropped out and ended up going a very different career path went down the sort of business route worked in the banking and finance sector for a long time but mainly in trainings. As a training manager for a and Zed, and then eventually ended up in government, with my last role in government, I was the chief executive of TAFE, here in South Australia, and then literally saw the job of Chief exec of ccsa advertisement, the dream job, dream job. And then I thought about it that I really don't know very much at all about running zoos. But I talked to the recruiter and was successful, because at the time, things easy say, was in a pretty bad financial position, and like a really bad financial position. And yet, all of the animal part of the operations was running really well. But the business part of it wasn't. So it was probably really good luck, timing for me, that I had the business skills and the education, which of course, is such an important part of what we do. And that was back in 2012. And so I've been here since then. And I've told the board that this is my last year. Yes, it's gone. incredibly quickly. Yeah, yeah, it's going really quickly. But in some ways, yeah. The the life before the zoo seems a long time. In my history. Yeah.

Daniel Franco:

Isn't it funny, the way the universe moves, it moves out of your way to suicide helps you head in the direction that Yeah, things

Elaine Bensted:

just sort of sometimes. And I think it's also being willing, and I do quite a bit of mentoring with younger people. And one of the key bits of advice I give them is stretch yourself and be brave, like, quite literally, I just sort of jumped in feet first. And then sort of afterwards, I thought, really, I don't know much about the zoo business at all. But it is a really close network of people. So I now have friends who run zoos all around the world. And I could always reach out to colleagues in Victoria and who are in Sydney and, and sort of share ideas. And so it's it's a very welcoming group of good zoos, because while there's a lot of those in the world, I'd say there's not a huge number of really good zoos, and we'll network very closely.

Daniel Franco:

What did the first few months or six months look like starting as a CEO, you say you're coming from a background or education TAFE government body moving into a non for profit, say the learning curve must have been huge. You said before you mentor about teaching kids to move into them? Sort of uncomfortable zone? Yeah, you definitely would have been there in that first six months,

Elaine Bensted:

I think the first week, I got on a plane and flew to China. And I had to have conversations with our China partners about Giant Panda Breeding. So yes, there was a lot of learning, I was reading a lot of scientific papers in the client. And so yes, there was, there was a lot of learning and there still is I still learn things all the time. But at the same time, there was a lot that was the same Yeah. And so if you look at the role of a chief executive, you know, I don't have to be a vet, I've got an amazing team events, did have to manage budgets, while I was managing a really big budget. In TAFE. The concepts of budget management, whether it's a household budget, whether it's a 3 million was like as a 30 million to spend 350 million, but the actual concepts of running a budget are exactly the same managing staff, managing people, stakeholder relationship, all of that is the same. It's it's the business element of it. It's just in a different context. So it was learning the context learning what makes people tick in a zoo environment,

Daniel Franco:

different, maybe so many different types of stakeholders, in

Elaine Bensted:

lots of stakeholders, and especially in those first, that first year where the zoo had been in such difficulties, a lot of discussions with banks, a lot of discussions with Treasury, and then and a lot of discussions with the unions and staff to try and get us back on some form of balance, which we did. And we started in investing in the future little thing called COVID, has made a little bit of extra challenge in the last 12 months, but we'll survive I'm sure. So yes, it's we've sort of feel like we've gone in cycles of where I've needed to put my energy, the first year was getting the zoo back on track financially and having some good planning. And then we sort of had that rule focus on master plan and conservation planning. And then we were just starting to get into the development phase that's been put a little bit behind with with COVID. But yeah, so there's been different challenges across those nine years.

Daniel Franco:

Well, it feels to me the branding, especially of those sa whether it may be because I've got kids that are nine and seven years old. At the time. I see it all the time. Yeah, but I mean, that's a good thing. The fact that I do have kids and I am seeing the brand pop up all the time is you're doing your marketing, right?

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, I've got a fabulous, fabulous team, I must say when I first started that was one of the KPIs and I'm a really firm believer in having very strong performance targets and One of them was about the number of media releases that we would issue every week. And it was just changing the mindset of our staff that we've got so many staff that see amazing things all the time. And most people these days, have a mobile phone with them. So capture it, you know, let's use social media so we can get hashtags out, use LinkedIn, all of that stuff. So I really wanted the conversation of the zoo to be about animals and conservation, and not about the fact that the zoos got a debt that it can't manage, because that had been the ratio. That was really the only thing that was in the media at the time. And we needed to shift that and it took about, I'd say, about four years before I would do media interviews where I wasn't asked about finances. Yeah, then it finally got to that point of Hallelujah, we can just talk about good stuff and animal stuff and conservation stuff. Not Yeah,

Daniel Franco:

absolutely. So what you know, you walk into a CEO role where you know, debt is a problem. What's the first thing that you look at? Did you make cards? Or did you just what? What was your thought process? Yeah,

Elaine Bensted:

looking again, it's it's the same as any organization would we literally went through the budget line by line, it's also a really good way to get to know an organization because I just asked lots and lots of questions. Why do we have to spend this what is this being spent on? So it was literally line by line of expenditure? And we asked three questions. So we set with each budget manager so we my myself and the finance manager. We asked Do we have to spend the money? And the answer that was pretty much Yes, it was the zoo wasn't wasting money. So there weren't those nice easy, low hanging fruits and having worked in government I think if you go through that same exercise, you can usually find a few of those. A lot of fridges full of meals didn't have a lot of that we were down to the stage of you know Dubai long life milk because it's cheaper. So that was our discussions. So yes, can we do we have to spend it? Can we spend less can we be more efficient, so when things are kept purchasing, and the third was can we get someone else to pay for it, and we'll probably the most successful in that third. So working really hard to try and get corporate sponsorships and whether that's blowing custom mushrooms, if I can get mushrooms provided, and we provide a sponsorship benefit, then that's an expenditure we don't need to incur so literally looking through every expenditure line in China and that included you know, recruitment services, legal services, we've got an amazing range of contra and cash sponsorships from a lot of local businesses, and that helped reduce expenditure. We didn't go the route that so often is done as far as looking at redundancies of staff and that was simply because we didn't have cash and if you were to pay out and so we really had to look just at smarter rostering and as people with people left we looked at how we might reshape the workforce and then it was about driving revenue. So how do we how do we diversify our revenue how do we get more people in so putting, you know extra school holiday programs so that people don't think that coming to this is always something you do once and then don't do again for three years? a really strong focus on on membership so we've more than doubled our annual members because that gives us a bit of certainty every avenue but it also gets people more engaged with us they then getting the fortnightly news they hear about our conservation work so it's not just a day visit they become part of our family. So there was a number of different things

Daniel Franco:

yeah, great and we'll go into some of the big stuff that's happening yeah surely I am. You have been quoted to say and this is on the website right? So I'm not it's not a scoop or anything like that. Your role as CEO has provided you in our quote with a lot of opportunities for wow moments that no other job can provide. I'm really interested in that quote, what's a what's a wow moment with likes you and Adelaide zoo.

Elaine Bensted:

I've had so many, so it might be just recently we had as easy little male giraffe who was being Miss mothered at manado and we brought him down to Adelaide. So to see an eight week old giraffe coming out of a trailer and then see our staff bottle feeding you know those sort of things. Scott's Miss mother while my mom just decided not to feed I don't know why. So our staff stepped in and Lizzie's now down to any three bottles a day but they're like five liter bottles. You know, going into the animal health center when a lion is getting a health check and being able to go in there and sort of touch lines Paul, you know, hearing the stories of orange belly parrots being released to the world and we know that we've bred them, you know, those, there's just so many of those stories I you know, I get them all the time. And to me, they were well, and then there's the simple ones of, you know, when we were closed last year for three months, the day we opened, it was It was end of June it was freezing cold, it was wet. And there was people at the gate half an hour before I had the joy of chopping that sign off to say we shot and there was people walking through the gates with tears just because they hadn't been able to come here for three months that like it displays means a lot to a lot of South Australians. And so seeing that is really gets me teary.

Daniel Franco:

My my daughter was telling me about she's doing this assignment at school at the moment, and it's on a muse is what she's decided. And she's telling me about this an emu that was found on the side of the road. Is that correct?

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, so we've got sessile. So so that's the one she did say that this was a bit of a star. Yeah, the SSL is gorgeous. And he was when he was hand raised here, because his mom had been killed in a bad car. So he was hand raised from when he was quite young, and he really interacts with people. So when we were closed, and then my keeping staff were doing all sorts of things to make sure that animal welfare didn't go backwards during that period, because a lot of animals really get some enrichment from a variety of visitors. And sessile was one of those because he is used to interacting with with people so he had mirrors hang up so that he could see himself all sorts of stuff. He's a bit of a superstar.

Daniel Franco:

I love it. Should be happy to know about that. So congratulations are in order with them for the movement of the the visitor center manado. That's exciting.

Elaine Bensted:

Very, very exciting. I was on site just on Friday during the site visit. That's why I've got my hat hat and close by Yeah, but it's so good to see it coming out of the ground. It's a stunning design, we really we went to an architectural competition went to five different architects. And the one that intro who were local architects came up with we just fell in love with it's, it's it speaks to whom annatto is it's very easy. It's very environmentally focused. But it's quite a well designed with the rammed earth and corten steel, so it can't wait for it to be open.

Daniel Franco:

So well, Dan. So you've obviously turned the corner from a financial perspective to be able to build this, which is great. The I understand is one of the biggest outside of Africa, Safari Park is

Elaine Bensted:

the whole Safari experience. So that the new visitor center, which we were we were fortunate with, we've got both Commonwealth and state government funding support to help us do it. That sounds easy. But it was about four years worth of grant applications before we got to that funding. But that then gave the confidence to Jerry Ryan, who's our private partner who's building the accommodation on site met with Jerry just last week, he's in Victoria. So we haven't been I've seen face to face for 14 months, but we finally got a meeting with him. So when he opens the glamping, and the safari hotel, we will then run the animal experiences and it will be the largest Safari experience in the world outside of Africa. So that's that and it's choosing from a tourism perspective will just be absolutely fabulous. And whether it's when international tourism opens, and it will eventually come back. But for South Australians and for Australians, it will be the closest people can get to an African like a Kruger experience.

Daniel Franco:

That's so good. It feels like South Australia's moving in the right direction at the moment,

Elaine Bensted:

and certainly in the merrylands there's a lot of developments happening. It was always part we we launched our master plan back in 2015 20 years it was 20 year plan. And at the time we launched it we would say that could either be 10 years, or it could be 30. It just depended on money has a lot of things in our world. Global pandemics have it for manado, the new visitor center and accommodation was number one that we wanted because and for us it's it's not we won't be running the accommodation, we will run the animal experiences. But for us it was for two reasons. One, it will allow us to connect with a different group of people and therefore get our conservation messaging but to is a will raise revenue for us. And that revenue will go into our conservation work, but also allow us to upgrade some of the facilities in Adelaide that aren't of the standard that we want them to be, you know, this is the second oldest zoo in Australia. So there's some beautiful areas and there's some areas that are old and just not either for our animals or our visitors what we want them to be. But we can never find that out of our current operations like zoos don't make money. We've sort of struggled to just break even every year. So to invest to fund $10 million to build a new line facility. We needed some other way of getting most of the government grants need matching funding. So the accommodation and the safari experience will allow us to increase our revenue and then we can reinvest that back into things that we want to do. Because we've always got a long list of things we want to do as you I just spent half my life chasing

Daniel Franco:

for the longevity of the animals. Absolutely. Obviously with the rise of engaging species and everything k almost feels like a Going up exponentially at the moment?

Elaine Bensted:

Well, it is about I mean, the latest is in the International Union of conservation report that came out shows that of the species that have been assessed and not all species have been assessed more than a quarter either endangered or critically endangered, vulnerable to extinction. I mean, it's so a quarter of the cause of the animals on the way and that that's that mirrors the species that we hold and Adelaide and manado Safari pack, I think we're I think we're about 23% of the species we hold are vulnerable to extinction, some are already extinct in the wild. So it's it's a very, very scary things in the world at the moment. So if you look at our Scimitar horned Oryx monarto there are none left in the wild. Well, if you look at think edexcel last count, I think there was three, you know, we're doing things work with the Kangaroo Island Dannatt, little, tiny little thing that there was estimated to be about 500 left, and that was before the fires that went through at the start of last year. So yeah, a lot of the work Western swamp tortoises probably most endangered in ppm in the world. So yeah, a lot of the work we do with animals that are in serious, serious trouble in the wild, and that's either Australian species or internationally. And it's not getting any better.

Daniel Franco:

Sadly. Yeah, that's that's not that's not

Elaine Bensted:

estimated, there's more Sumatran tigers in private ownership in fairly horrific circumstances than there are in the world. This made about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world. Yeah, that's no good, no, good. No. And you could just keep giving so many examples like that. Which is why the work that good zoos do is so important. Because not only does it we get involved in breeding programs and fundraising programs for animals in the wild. But it also just brings that information to an audience of people. When people come to the zoo to have a fun day out with their family, or with their girlfriend or boyfriend we're finding it's as this one of our second biggest markets a very safe place to come. But when they're here, they hear about conservation. And if they become a member, they hear more about conservation and and then we try and talk about just what are some of the little things that you can do in your private life, the use of plastics? Yeah, I think that last thing I read was, they've estimated about 90% of seabirds that they found have got plastics in their stomach. Just think we can all change that.

Daniel Franco:

It's not good, when it must be frustrating. It's probably the word that comes to mind. When you've got people, especially in power, who just don't believe in climate change, or don't believe in conservation, what, where are we? When do we wake up as a world?

Elaine Bensted:

As you know, I don't know. I've read just recently, David Attenborough, his latest book, The Living Planet, and it's almost like I just loved mandated is mandated for everybody, correct? Because it chose and because he's 94. And he tells the first half of the book is his view of his life. And he opens every chapter with just some simple statistics about what the human popular global population is, what percentage of wilderness is left, what the co2 particles in the atmosphere. And he just progresses that over 6070 years. And it's he just says, We're on this exponential, every graph you look at is just going up, whether it's pollution, whether it's climate, whether its GDP, everything, post war, has really just been growing. And he said we are now at that point where it needs to stop. He uses a really simple analogy, which I'm going to borrow of a petri dish where you put bacteria in it. And if the bacteria realizes it's in a perfect environment for growth, it just has this exponential growth. That's very much what humans were doing. But you keep growing and growing and a petri dish has gets to the point where it can't cope. And once you get past that point, bacteria starts fighting for proteins, and then they start killing each other, and then they die off. And he said, the Earth is finite. So he's very much saying that we are at that point, we're the last generation that can address this, but we need to start making changes quickly. And then the second half of the book goes on to some of his suggestions of how you can change it

Daniel Franco:

right? So it's a must read for David Attenborough's new book. Yeah. Living Planet

Unknown:

Living Planet. Absolutely. And I'd love

Daniel Franco:

to actually mentioned that book. Yeah, it's

Unknown:

and he talks you know, we're very again, talk about well, moments. Growing up. Jane Goodall was one of my all time heroes. I've now had the opportunity to meet her on a number of occasions and always absolutely amazed when I do know that we're staying Fossey she she was said, chimpanzee Yeah. And you know, when she was here in 2019, and we just had a little chimpanzee born. And so we asked Jane to name our chimpanzee. And she named it hope. Because she said you cannot, you always have to have hope for the future. And that is good things happening. Even though there's a lot of bad things happening, she always puts her focus on the positive.

Daniel Franco:

So it's a pretty powerful, very powerful, I can see a little bit emotion in your face. Yeah. So yes, it is a very, very powerful. I think it it really, if you don't know much for the people who are listening, if you don't know much about the conservation of the world know, what's happening with the animals, I do empower you to go and read up and research and you can

Elaine Bensted:

do and then and then it's really an as part of our messaging is it's, it is caring enough about and that's part of where good zoos help. Because if you if you love animals, if you see a smokin tiger and fall in love with them, and they are just majestic, beautiful creatures. You then think what can you do to give them a better future? And is that through the choices you make when you buy products that you don't use unsustainable palm oil in your products, that is a decision you can make that we will help Sumatran tigers in the wild. So it's about creating that love of nature because people won't change their behavior unless there's a reason to. And I think a lot of that reason is creating love getting children inspired by nature. Absolutely. And children are often the ones who drive change at home. That's how things like recycling usually takes off. Because apparently kids get you know, they get the lessons at school, they then tell mom and dad Hey, don't do that.

Daniel Franco:

Yeah, look, then that's the thing. A lot of it is it's not that people are bad if that's the right word, but it's more about they're just you don't know what you don't know. Right. And the education isn't out there. So people like David Attenborough and businesses, like you know, zoos there say, it's very, very powerful for you guys to be pushing that message out and educating the world

Elaine Bensted:

and in Australia. So he's visited, I think the last statistics and these are a couple of years old, but the major zoos have about 22 million visits a year. So a lot of people so we are in a very powerful and privileged position to influence them. Just because of that sheer volume of people that we get,

Daniel Franco:

yeah, people walking through the door, being educated as they will throw around the wazoo. Yeah, brilliant. You mentioned earlier that Elijah is one of the second oldest 174 years, combined with

Elaine Bensted:

the manassa. We open to Adelaide, the society was formed in 1878. first opened its gates to the public in 1883 1893. And when and when we close last year with COVID, there had only ever been one day in the history of that whole time that we've been close to the public. That was when somebody tried to blow up a team with some nasty chemicals. So to close the gates and say we don't know when we're going to reopen was incredibly challenging when the zoo had been open three world wars that had been open through the Spanish flu pandemic. So it was it. Yeah. Nobody could have seen it coming. No, I don't think no, if you'd

Daniel Franco:

asked yourself through, you know, three months earlier, would you ever close the doors I can almost guarantee you to said no, we did

Elaine Bensted:

in our risk register. I went back and looked at our research register, we did have global pandemic in there. Oh, really. I'm but that's because we work with zoonotic diseases, which is diseases spread from from animals to humans. And so there was always that potential, but we just never thought it would be like 12 and I still find it hard to believe that it's 12 months on and the swamp monster this way isn't it's the gateway closed. In fact, we had a staff barbecue because we'd had to cancel our Christmas party because we had no money. But we managed to have a staff barbecue. We had one Thursday night, that leg one Friday at manado. And that was to mark the 12 month anniversary of our closing. And I did say to the staff and I can't believe that what did I do last night I rewrote a COVID management plan that was still in it. I would have thought it would be maybe for a month we close and then things pick up but it's not going away. It's on our

Daniel Franco:

last conversation. Previously this podcast obviously we you mentioned to me and it's something that I've never thought of. And again it's it goes back to the you don't know what you don't know, right? You mentioned to me that you know, the yes every other business in the world can move to technology and we can send our people home but Adelaide Zoo and manado Zoo you just can't do that because people still need to come in they're still animals and they'd be fed and cared for and looked after and therefore you're you know you still need the revenue to be able to do this but when the doors are closed, it

Elaine Bensted:

was a few fairly horrific people. In the weeks months, because yes, we sit down half our staff on no pay and a whole pile of others on reduced hours and reduced pay. And they read visitor facing staff. So as you put the front gate and retail, etc. But yeah, animal carers and vets need to still come to work and they still need to care for the animals and the animals eat just as much.

Daniel Franco:

I better take it easy.

Elaine Bensted:

Say it was I mean, we were we were lucky in Australia that the government supports meant we could survive. So we were eligible for job keeper. So when we've had to den our staff, which was not a fun couple of days, but then job keeper was announced a week later. And so at least for the staff that were stood down, they were able to get access to some funding. And then there was a funding package developed with austrade, which covered the animal food and veterinary drugs that are necessary. So at least all zoos main animal welfare was going to be looked after. And I know because I sit on a number of global Zoo committees, that hasn't been the case in other countries. So whenever I think it's really challenging and not having sleepless nights, I just think about my counterparts in Europe, and they're back in third wave, and really still trying to work out I think we'll see a lot of good zoos that close down sadly. Yeah, that's

Daniel Franco:

not good, especially when we're trying to conserve you did mention to me which some way I think I walked away feeling a little bit sick from this was when you said that the zoos internationally not naming any, but we're feeding their animals with

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, there was certainly some Europeans those that said if they didn't get financial support, they would need to think about euthanizing some of their animals to feed to their their critically endangered species. I think it was a very emotive and real plea for financial support and talking to my counterparts, at least, probably not from government support, but from their communities. They've got support. So they didn't have to take that step. Because that would just be a horrific thing to even think about.

Daniel Franco:

I remember walking away from that on on that. Yeah.

Elaine Bensted:

And because we had the government support here that was never ever met. Not at all, we always knew that animal food and veterinary care could continue. So

Daniel Franco:

so the past eight years, since you came on as CEO, and all the hard work that you've been trying to get you financial management sorted. Did that go back under through COVID? Or was the supports there?

Elaine Bensted:

And look, we've certainly gone a bit backwards. So we had, we've been on an accelerated debt repayment strategy to try and clear the depths that we had when I started, we've had to reduce our debt payments back to the bare minimum. That's life. Yeah. At least we didn't have to borrow more money, which many of the zoos need around the world needed to do to survive, we had an emergency overdraft set up so that we could make sure we could continue to pay our animal care staff. But luckily, as I said, with the job keeper support, we didn't have to draw on that, I must say, doing our budgets for next year, which we are in the thick of this, there's a gap. We haven't quite found out how we're going to fill that yet. Because we don't have the government. We're no longer eligible for any of the government sports, and most of them have stopped now. But we do still have a big revenue gap. We are still on number restrictions. So we're only on 50% capacity at both sites. But it's all the extras we do a lot of weddings and events. So the money we get from catering. Yeah, all of that just is a lot. There's a lot of uncertainty. I think if you look forward the next 15 months, we normally could say that our caterers have got a really full schedule of conferences, weddings, etc. And it's a pretty thin looking book at the moment just because there's so much uncertainty. So it will still be a challenging 15 months, but we've got through 12 we will get through the next 15 the staff have been amazingly creative about just how we can try and drive revenue. We never own ghost tours of the zoo. Not something I would have thought we would be doing.

Daniel Franco:

So goes to a meeting, again is

Elaine Bensted:

a local Adelaide company called haunted horizon. We've been running ghosts, paranormal tours through glenside Hospital in Adelaide jail. I've been to the remand. Yeah, they've been going for many many years. And they were always the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Well, if you come to the zoo at night, it's because Mansion House. This is meant to be you too. I'm so lucky to have my office in here and that women to be haunted. in this building, okay, and so they take people for walks around the zoo at night and there's a history walks that just talks about some of the tales of the past. And then there's a paranormal. So

Daniel Franco:

tell me about this before you book this

Elaine Bensted:

I'm usually the one in the dig I do get a little radio call from security to show me It's time to go home because it's it's not a very scary thing to see the boss sitting at a computer trying to do budgets while he tried to do a ghost tour. So I have to leave a little bit earlier than normal just to uh, yeah, that's it. But it's it's just things that we're trying to bring in some diversity. We've been doing not zoos. So being innovative?

Daniel Franco:

Yes. So like, 50% throws me because we're told to go outside. The zoos off, obviously offer an outside facility. Why are we at 50%

Elaine Bensted:

I just the way the emergency directions are written. And those.

Daniel Franco:

So this is America,

Elaine Bensted:

you have to be careful. When, when the roadmap we always do, you have to laugh at some things. When the roadmap to recovery, I think it was called first came out from the commonwealth. And it had the sort of four steps of way different, organized way, way different industry types would reopen. And zoos were first of all listed with brothels and strip clubs, which we just sort of had a bit of a chat. Not quite sure. Which brothels are which zoos, the politicians were comparing. And then we had a lot of discussions I would really liked to have seen as listed with national parks or Botanic Gardens, because I think that's more aligned to what we are. But at the moment, we listed in public entertainment with galleries and libraries. And so it's just the way the directions were written. So at the moment, we're still on 50%. And we're hoping to get to 75% very soon. If we could get to 100 we're certainly help the forward budgets because it's not just for our daily visitors. It's also we ran behind the scene experiences like lions 360 natto, which is incredibly fed right from

Daniel Franco:

the crunch of the bones that when you just think of

Elaine Bensted:

lions that stuck with you.

Daniel Franco:

I mean seriously, they are

Elaine Bensted:

incredible predators, they absolutely phenomenal. And but that's a really popular and does drive revenue. For us. That's also got capacity constraints as well. So we I think we run 36 different behind the scenes, some were not able to run at the moment. And that's just because we take people into smaller areas. So we can't do the social distancing summons for animal management. We're not running them with our primates, because primates have been known to get COVID. So we're just being careful. And others, it's just because we're on capacity restrictions. So hopefully they'll get east. I'd really prefer not to have to read another COVID management plan. No, but I'm sure I will over the next 12 months. Well,

Daniel Franco:

this is the word these words are the new normal, I guess. Hopefully we move out of that soon.

Elaine Bensted:

Hopefully, the new normal of the world gives a better respect for the interface with nature, animals and humans. Because, you know, there was a zoo scientific paper written about six years ago that basically talked about a pandemic caused by zoonotic diseases, and less behaviors change, like the weight markets and things like that. So there's, you know, it's not something that was a surprise to scientists. Will we learn from it? And change? Because otherwise, it'll happen again?

Daniel Franco:

Yeah, that's a no, it's a whole nother rabbit hole. Going through COVID. You've mentioned to me previously, that you had four aims of getting through that, what were they?

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, and I reflected on those four aims just last week at our staff barbecues. So that one was simply the long term survival of the society and said we were formed in 1978 was not going to let a pandemic kill us off. So one was survival. One was making sure that animal welfare and our focus on conservation continued and that we didn't have to make decisions that poor animal well reduced animal welfare. One was making sure that we retained staff jobs, even though for a period people weren't getting paid, but we wanted to keep everyone's job. And one was making sure our master plan dreams, were still able to continue. So things like our new visitor center and wild African Development, really pleased to say we've we've achieved those four. And if I said, what's next 12 months, those four are still the same. Yeah, yeah.

Daniel Franco:

Yeah. The humans and the animals really is what we're looking at, which

Elaine Bensted:

is what our core purpose is. It is.

Daniel Franco:

Tell me about this is a out there question, different question, but I think you'll know where I'm going with it. Can you tell me about the African painted dog

Elaine Bensted:

they've ever they're gorgeous creatures. And they example is a German Shepherd. So I think I have this slight affinity towards the African wild dogs just because they've got the years just like shapes. But they are an amazing Carnival that really looks after their week, or they're vulnerable. So I've heard Tales from Peter Clarke as a director and monarto Safari pack on his trips to Africa. But if there's an injured, wild dog, the other members of the pack will make sure they bring food to them, they'll only go as fast as the slowest in their pack can go. And it's just such unusual behavior of predators and carnivores who normally if there's a weak link, they're out there ostracized? Absolutely. And that's not the way a pack of wild dogs operate. I think there's a lot of learnings humans could take from that.

Daniel Franco:

Correct, which is why I asked you the question, I thought you'd go down that path, which is great. How did you as a leader, manage COVID. And the disruption of COVID and dealing with with putting people on job keeper should say, and looking after the weakest link, how do you how did you fare through that time? How did you feel personally,

Elaine Bensted:

I think and I've openly said this to staff, I've cried more and swore more in the last 12 months than in my working career. It was we gave a commitment to inflammation. And so we were always transparent with with inflammation we were doing daily. And I think for a period it was twice daily. Where, luckily, we've got big outdoor spaces, so I could stand outside and sort of yell at people. And we used to say they could hear me if they were being socially distant. And then we use workplace as a tool, which like a Facebook for work, which we have so that if I was in Adelaide during the sort of chat staff seminar show staff could could see it was taped. So for people who are at home or who were not rostered, they could always say, so we're always working, keeping information up, even if we didn't actually have a lot of new information. They felt that they were getting regular updates, and certainly any of their posts surveys, they've said it was for the honesty and the transparency that gave people confidence that we would do what we could. I've got an amazing leadership team. So it was a collective we started doing morning COVID meetings that I can't believe we're still having, we thought it wasn't going to take very long.

Daniel Franco:

So can I just jump in there? what, when, when it was all going down March, April last year? What did those meetings look like? What? Because I remember back to my time, I was sitting around scratching my head, just thinking, what what do I do? Where were you? At that point? Yeah,

Elaine Bensted:

I was scratching my head. I think I was probably operating on about two hours sleep a night for about six weeks. We just kept re cutting the budget numbers to see how long could How long would the cash survive? Because we didn't know about government supports in place. I was in obviously really close conversation with government so that I could try and secure some funding support. And yeah, there was a lot of a lot of uncertainty. But at the same time, I mean, I've spent the last eight years trying to build strong relationships. Because we're not a government zoo, we're private. But I have put a lot of focus on creating relationships. So I didn't always think in my heart of hearts, there's no way the government is going to let us just die. We know they are going to step in with some form of support. I just didn't know what that would look like. So it was Yeah, it was it was it was pretty challenging. most mornings, we'd have our leadership meeting first and we'd work out what are our key messages and I'd scribble a few dot points on a post it note because it's been all we had time to do. And then I'd go down the front orientation zone and sort of get have a chat, answer questions and then we'll do the same thing the next day and really kept on going. And I do remember vividly and I'll try not to cry until the story because every time I've told it I do because I can I can vividly remember the emotion of the morning when we did announce that we were closing was the 25th of March and I actually left the desk 15 minutes before not two minutes before because I wanted to just walk around and gather my thoughts and be really clear with the messaging with staff. And it was a beautiful match morning and there was the the zoo in the morning is just lovely. So we had we walked into this morning. It's gorgeous. All the sounds and it's normally the sound of leaf blowers because we're getting ready to open to the public. But to be honest, two weeks before we close, there weren't many people coming in because I think that's when the uncertainty was really ramping up. So I was trying to get my thoughts. My phone rang was actually the medic alert was the ambulance, my mum had triggered her alert, they said, ambulances rushing teams, can you come around and meet them, and it's no sorry, can't so quickly find my husband interrupted his breakfast, say he was managing that. So all in all, when I stood on the platform, when I did joke to my staff, but you know, 12 months on, some things haven't changed because she triggered her alert. She's in hospital again at the moment. And I was rewriting a COVID plan. So some things don't change. So I literally stood, my head was a bit spinning because I didn't actually know what what had happened was mom, and the staff were all standing there. And I think we all knew what the announcement was going to be they think it had been coming, we knew that I was going to be saying we are going to have to close the door. At that stage. We didn't have job capers, so it was going to be telling people that they were being stood down on no pay. And then the leadership team came and stood behind me and we hadn't scripted any of this. Of course, no, it was just like they were showing this is solidarity. And it's not just you giving this message. And then the staff started cheering me, then definitely started crying. And then I was getting all these beautiful messages, people dropping the chocolates in and then Deborah and my staff, I think came in and just said, I think you need a qualquer. So I got a little Crocker just to have a quiet moments before we then went into the one on ones with all the staff who were being stripped down. And that was really hard.

Daniel Franco:

So what did you say?

Elaine Bensted:

I said that we were closing the door that night and that this would be how we would be managing the staffing. And that we would have one on one discussions with everybody over the next 48 hours that weren't how we would manage their pay for the next seven days. But after that it was on no pay. I gave him an update on the negotiations that I was having with the government and then I was very confident that we would get and then I outlined those four key aims said that's really what and then it was more about encouraging people to look after each other. For a lot of our staff we already stood down volunteers and we've got a really passionate volunteer base for a lot of our staff and they were all thanking the keeping staff were encouraged to you know, take photos and videos so that they could we could put that on workplace so that those staff who couldn't come into work were able to feel that they were still part of the place and still getting connected. So there's a really strong comadre among our team of people and a lot of personal supports and you know down to people set up on workplace almost like a marketplace if if you need toilet paper, which was one of the other funny things because I actually did my husband normally does all the shopping I don't do any shopping and I got a note in the middle of the toilet paper pen rash which I still can't get my head around. And some friends have that do friends of ours live in Thailand and I got a note saying can you drop some toilet paper intimate and her parents were 94 and had been walking the streets of Adelaide trying to buy toilet paper and couldn't find any so of course I said yes sure we'll drop it in because we didn't really had two rolls gave them away and then sort of so but I next came in leaves and stuff with bringing in stuff to help each other. So I did get international

Daniel Franco:

Yeah, getting up in front of everyone and delivering that would have been I can almost feel the sick feeling in my stomach that you would have you would have felt getting in front of them. How I think what is sort of left on the table for a lot of people that aren't realize is how confronting and how vulnerable people can be especially leaders can be in that situation. Can you tell me your thought process leading into that? What what Where were you at mentally? And to that address?

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, it is it is really, really challenging and because you do feel the weight of responsibility and I think I feel that most critically on that morning and for the next two days as we had those discussions because you and especially some of our staff it says that husband and wife both work at the zoo and so you know that there's real financial challenge which is to face all of that so yes you do feel and I guess for me I'm you know I'm stubborn, some people call it resilience. I think I just I think I'm just stubborn. And we were going to get through this. I knew we were going to get through this. And so it was it's that fine line between all I'm always telling the truth and being transparent. But at the same time giving a sense of confidence for the future. And that's hard to do in some of these times when I don't have that clear picture of the future. But I had to give enough of a sense of certainty that the government is not going to let us fail. Yes, I don't yet have what the details of the funding support packages, but we will get her back, I'm not. And they all knew that they knew that we would find a way because I think at the court, they do trust me. And so they it was trying to be open about how challenging it is. And not I didn't want people to be in rose colored and think it's all gonna sway. But at the same time, I don't want people being totally full of despair. So that was challenging that Goldilocks. So it's that sort of balance. And I think the staff could see because I was emotional. They knew which I get, especially when I'm tired, I haven't eaten properly, all those things, who else. So they, they knew that we had their backs. And we as a as a total leadership team and support of our board, we would, we would try our very, very best to support and keep everybody's job. And then I think it was the next tough one was in May, when we were trying to get reopened and trying to get the approval to open. And things were starting to open up. I think pubs and restaurants were all opening up. And I'm still thinking, we've got an outdoor venue, I can't get open. And the frustration was pretty strong. So there was a few of those moments that Yeah, testing patience a little bit.

Daniel Franco:

So we talked about having a relationship with Stephen Marshall and in the lives. You and I have talked offline how you have built that relationship over many years. authentically, right. And I think obviously untoward but you authentically build a great friendship and relationship with Steven in the team. Did that pay off for you that relationship in the years of giving payoff for you over the time?

Elaine Bensted:

You look, I think, definitely. And we're in a political organization. It's one of our intense. So we work really closely with government, we work with all parties. But I think the fact that we've been working closely with the government for the last number of years, you know, I could pick up the phone and talk to the chief executive of the Department of Treasury, who was fabulous could noise Give me the answers that I wanted. But at least I always had a contact point. And he was always willing to take the call and give me updates could do the same with Department of premier and cabinet towards Nicholas Spurrier and her team in health. Even for the last 12 months, I do a monthly update to the chief executive of Department of Environment and Treasury just saying this is how this is going. Good, bad, indifferent, they get to hear just where we're at. And that goes to the Minister as well. So the intention is, I guess I could leverage the fact that they knew what we were doing. And otherwise, given the commitment that we would not draw a cent more than we needed from government support. I mean, we actually, we've had some funny discussions with our leadership team over over the last year, because there's a number of strategies when you tried to work out the whole job Keeper and austrade funding ended up at one stage, we probably would have been financially better off to sit back and just take it easy and not chase revenue, because then you're more likely to be eligible to get job keeper for the next three months, because you can make the same percent reductions. And that was never there. We just said now our model was go for broke, we're going to chase every single cent of revenue that we can, and we're going to trim every form of expenditure that we can, if we still have a gap and need government support, we will ask for it. But I can do that. feeling really honest to the taxpayers and the government does absolutely everything. And I'm not kidding, literally everything as far as expenditure and revenue to make sure that we're asking for the least amount possible, because I am going to have to ask them for more money for future developments in the future. And so I'm thinking that long term and I can be really confident in saying that to

Daniel Franco:

prove it. You mentioned other zoos around the world. Where are they all that now? They

Elaine Bensted:

look other zoos around. In fact even around Australia, there's still some that are challenged. Those that are more reliant on international tourists obviously is still failing to get Northern Queensland very reliant generally on international tourism. And then turanga in Sydney has a lot of international tourism now the New South Wales got the floods to deal with, let's say at least we've got good government support. zoos in the UK. Doing it really tough because they've and I know this one daughter lives in London so know just how long the restrictions have been going and there hasn't been a lot of success with those Getting a lot of government support. So, and I think that's the same through Europe. America has there's been some really, really strong, well established world resources like Singapore, San Diego, London, who had been doing amazing conservation work for years and years and years that have been really severely hit and reading a lot of good staff go, because they have to. They're stopping some of the International conservation projects because they have to. So it's Yeah, we feel lucky with the support we've had in Australia. But I think there's going to be impacts that we see for the next couple of years as some zoos come out of this. And I think sadly, some might not.

Daniel Franco:

So what I was where I was going with this question is that some unfortunately, may not see the future. What does that mean for the animals and where do they go?

Elaine Bensted:

zoos operate especially for our endangered animals, we have a studbooks. So it's, it's a quite a controlled managed process. And so if another if we had to close there would be a review of their species and who might be able to hold them who's got capacity to hold them. How we do the transfers would be really challenging. So at the moment, we there's a lot of animals we can't bring into Australia. So we're involved in in a big project to bring about 30 Southern white rhinos from Africa to form an insurance population in Australia. At the moment, we can't bring rhinos from Africa, they need to go to New Zealand do 12 months quarantine in New Zealand and then they come to their quarantine. reason for that. rhinos can carry bovine tuberculosis and the Australian Government doesn't want bovine TB to get into the the person New Zealand's around with that. There have been cases of bovine TB in New Zealand already as a country. Now the reality is, we would never want bovine TB in our animal collection. And it's unlikely that a rhino would ever mix with a cow, because we're pretty good at keeping them in. But that's just the rules say we can't bring birds into Australia can't bring giraffes in covering hippos in. We've got very, very strict quarantine rules in Australia. So even without COVID it's challenging, but add COVID into the mix of you know, if we wanted to bring rhinos from Africa. Normally, we would send a keeper innovate, to test them and then accompany them. But at the moment, you can't bring anybody back from Africa people was so

Daniel Franco:

rare even in two weeks currently, no,

Elaine Bensted:

no. So yes, it does make some of those conservation projects even more challenging. We had some lemurs that were due to come from

Daniel Franco:

America last year. So Meanwhile, what happens to these animals, when they're in limbo, at the

Elaine Bensted:

moment, they're still being held, we've got partners in Africa, and they're doing fine, they're quite remote in Africa is good. Center, they just, they're very desperate to have the rhinos in a safe home, because there's still a lot of poaching happening in Africa. So we're not giving up on the project. It's just, it was always challenging, it's just got a little bit more challenging.

Daniel Franco:

So you're very passionate about the environment, which is amazing, and very refreshing to listen to. And you're active in your discussions about how we can create a better world for all for all of us, and you know, that future generations? Can you tell us? What is what's to be one of your biggest concerns for us where we're going right now?

Elaine Bensted:

Look, I have got a few. And maybe as you get older, you get more, and I get quite concerned. And if you look in Australia, but I think it's happening around the globe, the gap between those who are doing well, and those who aren't. In an equitable world should be narrowing. But I think I've actually seen that increasing. And trying to think about what does that mean, if you try to envisage the community in 10 2030 years time, when, you know, it seems to be such a big determinant of whether you're going to do well, and that can be from a health reason, or from a whole range of reasons, can come down to the simple as what's the baby born in, what school you parents are able to send you to, and that then has lifelong implications. And that just really, really worries me that we've we've created a community that allows that to happen, and drives that even more. So how, how do we try and change that and the other thing that worries me is is the almost a lack of a community that encourages personal accountability and ownership of issues. It's almost like people just if you look at you know, nine We've seen a sea birds have got plastic in them. Well, why is that? And it's because humans are disposing of plastics. Well, we can change that behavior really quickly. So why aren't we? So what is it, it's almost like it's a selfish approach to life, rather than thinking about our place in the planet, and what we can do to make it better. So who's who's mentoring the younger people who's encouraging that? I guess accountability but also creativity, innovation to go forward and make the world a better place for humans and in my mind and thinking for animals in the environment. But

Daniel Franco:

so what is the I mean, I say obviously, and that's probably a naive term, or ignorant we can ban plastics in general, can we?

Elaine Bensted:

We can get rid of an awful lot of them. So single use plastics and South Australia's great leading the way in this and it's it's fabulous to see again, and then we

Daniel Franco:

don't like the wooden spoon.

Elaine Bensted:

No, but again, you can see the second paper straw throws, if you think and that's almost, if anyone talks to someone who grew up in their 40s like they didn't have past experiencing, what did you do? How did how did you know the idea of going to the shops and everybody has to have a plastic bag you used to take your own or you had a cardboard box and you picked up your fruit in the cardboard box and then you use it again the following week. You know, you can have a cutlery that you take with you. You don't need to have throw away plastic, everything, you know, plastics, when it came out was seen as something that was going to revolutionize the world. And it has sadly and there will always be some need, you know, it does create and you know, our Vet Center will use plastics, but then it's thinking about how do you dispose of those plastics? And putting a bit of pressure on I mean, consumers, zoos can we made a difference with zoos, we'd some of our plush toys that gets sold in the retail shop got sent to us and packaged in is really heavy. Plastic that wasn't recyclable. And we just said we're not buying anymore unless you change. But we actually worked with our partners in other zoos to go to the same supplier because we always buy pretty much from the same place. And we all gave them the same message while they were gonna lose all the zoo. Yeah, all of a sudden that consumer voice mean they change their packaging, so that we can drive behavior. Yeah. If we, if we can see that it's important enough,

Daniel Franco:

and that there is living to your values, right there. Absolutely.

Elaine Bensted:

Absolutely. It is.

Daniel Franco:

So plastics is one thing that you would do. Yeah. What's next?

Elaine Bensted:

I think if you look, humans are taking too much space on the planet. We need to have more area for rewilding, we call it so for bringing species back. And that's in the seas as well. A lot of people don't quite see the devastation has been caused in the ocean through the mess catchments and all of that sort of stuff. So I think humans encroaching a little less would make a difference. I think energy and how we I mean, the whole climate change debate and, you know, you can get into a whole lot of what I think are really pointless arguments, because to me, it's a bit of a distractor. Does humans cause climate change? Personally, I think very clearly, but whether or not they did or didn't, it's sort of irrelevant now. Yeah, like the climate is changing. You just look at the maths and the science and climate is changing all around the world. The cause is almost as I said, it almost distracts the issue, rather than it's changing. So what do we do about

Daniel Franco:

it? So what is causing a change? And how do we minimize the effect

Elaine Bensted:

on it? Absolutely. And those sort of, in some ways that I mean, they become serious policy debates. And the political cycle doesn't, perhaps politicians will do what they think will get them elected. That's why they go into politics. So if they, if the community, let the politicians know that this is important, then it will become a policy. So it's how do we generate them? Because that groundswell from the community I mean, we're seeing it now with, you know, the treatment of women, it's starting to get that level of focus that people are taking action might have been 30 years to lay, but at least now it's got to that point where there is some action being taken. Hopefully,

Daniel Franco:

I will Yeah, I think you just continue to see more and more cases arise, especially if you can pull up cases that have been 20 years ago, we're gonna see a few Yes, a few white men, particularly in trouble and

Elaine Bensted:

I started working a banking and finance industry, which was very male dominated. Luckily, I grew up with three brothers. So you know, I'm not going to cop too much, but there was shocking behavior. And he just I find it horrific to think that it's still happening. I think it just, it boggles my mind really. And some of it's not. It's sometimes very overt, and just not appropriate to treat anyone in the workplace that way. But some is more just that underlying discrimination behavior. My daughter gave the story she moved to London, six, seven years ago. And she said, when she was in this sort of kitchen area, and someone sores, Young Australian, you're the novelty, or did you move here was with your husband was the question. And she just sort of reflected and said, if she was a young male, would that question ever have been asked. And yet, it's just as likely time, I think we've got quite a long way to go. I agree. She was polite. And

Daniel Franco:

I think that's it's not only just from a male female perspective, it's from a diversity point of view. I had this conversation, I won't name his name. He's a guy I catch up with quite regularly. And I think was the first time that we caught caught up. And this is an own personal story, right? So first time we caught up we got chatting, and chatting, chatting, chatting. And I think generally a common question I ask, Well, I used to ask was, you know, where you from? You know, what's your background, all that sort of stuff. It was just a general way of understanding, right? Which is a common South Australian thing I've learned. So I asked this gentleman, you know, what's your background? And he said, I'm Australian. And I said, No, no, like, your cultural heritage, you know, all that sort of stuff. Like Where's your family from? Second when we moved here from Nigeria 20 years ago. So but we're Australian. And then I said, Okay, so I kind of knew where he was going. And then he said, he was like, I'm stuffing around with you. Like, I'm just, I'm trying to get into your head, but he gets but if I was white, you wouldn't have asked that question. And I thought, that is such It was such a relevant revelation for me in the sense that you're right, I wouldn't have and I don't. And so that is a question that I've stopped. And that was couple years ago now. But, but,

Elaine Bensted:

but that's good, that he, he challenged you absolutely messing with you. But he's created that awakening in a way. And I think that's what's needed, just simply to create the awareness. And you don't need to make a really big deal of it. I always remember years and years ago, when I was in the bank, and one particular manager used to always call me, sweetie, you know, just drive me up the wall. So I just started calling him darling, every time he calls me sweetie. And he sort of looked at me, oddly, the first time I did it. And then, because he just he honestly didn't notice it didn't mean anything. Bad by it. It was just a habit that he had for many, many years. And it just needed awareness raising in a fairly light hearted way. And he stopped. So but you're right, I think it's gender. It's broader diversity age, you know, making sure that we've gotten I was just a joke in the public sector, that there weren't many young executives in the public sector. And you've got young, smart people running multi billion dollar companies in the private sector. The public sector is full of really smart people. But it was almost like the recruitment process, forced you to go step by step by step. So you had to be a certain age, and that sort of thing. You just think there's all that untapped potential? That could make some amazing difference? Absolutely.

Daniel Franco:

Yeah. Yes. So now that we got that podcast, we're talking about, you have been quoted as saying, despite all the obvious change in this scene, it seems to, it seems to me that we're still not listening to the science. What what are those signs that you're talking about?

Elaine Bensted:

Well, I think any No, it's been really fascinating, listening to the community discussion with COVID. And everybody, particularly politicians in the media, saying, we listen to the scientists, and we're making and that we're listening to the health experts. And you know, I think Australia's done that pretty well. And he says, so what's different about climate change or biodiversity, you know, extinction, challenges, when the science is presenting all of this same scientific, and yet the political decisions are made at appears to be the distance to them. So why has it been different? Why has it been different? And how can we learn from that and try and encourage the politicians to listen to the scientists always I don't know the answer to that. I think they listen to the scientists this time, maybe because they thought there was personal threat or risk. But climate change has got the same level of risk, it's got the same economic impact. But I think it's not as immediate, I think that's part of it is it's, it's seen as being something that is not going to impact maybe in this electoral cycle, and so it can be put off. But I don't know if people read David Attenborough's book, it can't be put off it was this

Daniel Franco:

is a thing that from a marketing perspective, you know, people, and I don't really ever want to bring him up. But people bank Donald Trump, right. But he was a really good marketer, he found his niche market. And he went after that. So I think the millennials coming through, you know, we got people born in 2021, this year, right? So this is a scary thing to actually think about the millennials coming through, I grew up with David Attenborough on the screen, right. So they're going to be big followers and annoying him, but they grew up, they growing up, and they're more environmentally conscious based on what they've been taught at schools. So obviously, the programs that you run all the above.

Elaine Bensted:

And impact, that's also the blending of policies. And, you know, I've sometimes looked at environmental policies, and they don't have the economic argument that goes with it. And I think if you're presenting anything to the community, it has to have the social, the economic and the environmental, looking at them, I think sometimes the environmental movement hasn't done itself any favors, because it will present, this is what we need for the environment. But everybody then says, but that's going to be too expensive, or that's going to have this impact. I think it's it needs to be a much more holistic argument. Because, yeah, environmental policies, if they're implemented correctly, can be economically viable. Without a doubt, and we see that in energy use or water, yes, etc.

Daniel Franco:

So that being said, What is your advice to leaders of this, you know, your co, your co leaders in the same level CEOs in the like C C suite? What can we do from an environmental perspective?

Elaine Bensted:

I think having is I mean, we it is so we tend to use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the 17 SDGs. And I think we're starting to see some large businesses using those, but I think every business operator should look at those and say, in my area of operations, how can I impact on them? So wherever the 1717 Sustainable Development Goals, so they were put out by the United Nations developed in a holistic way with governments, but with industry, etc. And they'll have things like no poverty. And that might seem like a really big goal. But I know when we did this from a zoo perspective, what can we do to assist with that, and even simple things, so if we're sending funds to Africa, to some of our conservation partners, we try and design the programs in a way that is going to reduce poverty in Africa, because if we reduce poverty in Africa, people are less likely to feel the need to poach animals so that they can feed their family. So our focus is about getting a better conservation outcome for animals. But there's a number of ways of doing that. And I think the SDGs give the Sustainable Development Goals give a really nice framework that any business can think about, and start somewhere that doesn't have to be all 17 and changing your business model completely. But if every single business made one change, then collectively that can be quite significant. Well, I

Daniel Franco:

love your example of the palm oil, for example, that was one of the first ones and then the fluffy animals in the packaging. Yep, you just, it's about cooling it out. And if your suppliers are doing things that don't align with the values, it's having that conversation with them if they don't,

Elaine Bensted:

I'm being realistic with them. So you know, we've talked to our catering partners, and particularly during COVID you know, they do have food safety responsibilities. So you know, the source bottle doesn't meet the COVID plan. So we go they go back to the little horrible plastic source containers, which we hate, they hate. But we accept that we are in different difficult times. But I think if you partner so we're partnering with our caterers and we're not expecting them to change everything, you know, straightaway. But we want to say no, that we need to keep improving, because otherwise we will work with other partners to help us achieve that.

Daniel Franco:

We're putting a plan in action that we will see this.

Elaine Bensted:

And occasion founders have been fabulous. They really personally committed to driving, what change they can. So

Daniel Franco:

we're empowering other leaders to look at those 17 sustainability items on the UN. Is it something that they Should this is when there's obviously big business, right? And making drastic changes straightaway could definitely affect the shareholders and the return on investment and all that sort of stuff. So what how do we go about it we start small, or do we go big straightaway,

Elaine Bensted:

I've Look, I encourage everybody just to start. That's the most important thing, just

Daniel Franco:

thinking about introducing into into your meetings and

Elaine Bensted:

also about an employment strategy. And the thing you mentioned, Daniel, younger people are generally more environmentally focused. And they will make decisions about who they want to work with, based on does it fit with their value set. And I think we'll see that more and more so you know, talking to big business, it's about thinking about the value of your brand and no matter what business you're in new branch equity is really critically important to shareholder value. Good employers so can haven't have Can you attract the very best and brightest in the field is part of that. So and I think that goes across every industry sector. And so again, thinking longer term about shareholder value, and it's not the shareholder value necessarily for tomorrow, but what's the shareholder value going to be in a year, five years 10 years, and the more you can build your brand equity and value, the better off your shareholder return is going to be. And then of course, we can always encourage every business to be a corporate partner as you say, and helps us achieve what we want to do. You know, we've got some great corporate partners and they love when we tell stories to their staffs at the moment for example, I've got beach energy supporting our southern white rhino project. And so naming the little young Rhino baby we put suggestions to their staff to come up with names I mean, they we pick the winner and those staff came up and they were there for the big unveiling. And that was a huge engagement for those people so

Daniel Franco:

that is that is definitely a reason for I want to because

Elaine Bensted:

everyone my name baby animals

Daniel Franco:

it's funny because we talk about the the millennials coming through and being very environmentally conscious. I think about the younger generation, my children have mentioned to them and nine and seven. And you see the lot of young children at that age. Yes, they love the animals. But they're very they're also into technology. Sometimes too much. Now. Does that too? Are you concerned that with the rise of PlayStations, iPads all these gaming and tech that is at the moment that children are going to be less exposed to

Elaine Bensted:

Sydney I used to sit on a board nature play essay, which was sort of weird that you had to have an organization that was encouraging children to go outside but it was it is a form of global movement of nature play because there's been some really interesting stats if you go back over a couple of generations of what they call it the roam distance you know for a nine or a seven year old at your children if you think when you were nine, how far Were you able to roam from your home without parents there and then if you go back to your parents, how far were they able to and that Rome distance has shrunk dramatically I mean, I was lucky we grew up in athelstone we had black hill behind us away for a weekend we would just be out and come back I

Daniel Franco:

remember playing a game with my mate across the road we would go out and our bikes down by the creek and try to get lost like as in like in just try to figure out why back home and that was the most fun you were

Elaine Bensted:

learning apart from physical activity, which is you know, we know it's good for people's hills you're also learning problem solving because if you got lost you get to the end he didn't have a mobile phone to do all that sort of stuff. So I mean there's a whole lot of statistics about the benefit of kids being out in nature and learning just to appreciate nature but also it builds resilience and health etc etc. So it is concerning but I don't think we could ignore the fact that technology can also do wonderful things. So we try and and one of my staff actually had won a Churchill fellowship to travel last year around the world and look at how cultural organizations like museums and zoos etc using technology to better connect people with their purpose and their mission. Sadly, of course, was COVID can't travel anyway. But it's how do you how do you blend the two but yes, I think getting people out in nature is a really and it's it's it's proven. It's got health benefits. It's got a whole range of benefits. And at least as a start point, if it's coming to a zoo, which is in nature, but it's got a gate a fence around it so the child doesn't get lost. That might be the first step for some parents. At least the backyard. Yeah, the backyard the local. Yeah, softly, softly try and encourage a wider movement.

Daniel Franco:

So we're coming up to the close. Shortly what's in store for zoos, say, for the next five years?

Elaine Bensted:

Look, there's a number of things in store and some might get a little bit dented. Depending on our recovery from COVID. From annatto. Obviously, it's opening the new visitor center. And that's probably in the form of contract with the builder is for handover in February. So they all know that I've wanted by the beginning of December, and I say they're doing muscle so they're on site at like 4:30 in the morning, pouring concrete under lights, so they are working really hard. So that will open at least at the latest by February, hopefully earlier than the accommodation hopefully opening about October in 22. So that building break ground on that next month. So that's the really big ones for manado for Adelaide with and hopefully the rhinos arriving. So it's a project has been a long time Serrano's. Yeah, we'll need to bring them in some groups of 10. So the first batch of 10, the plan is that two would stay in New Zealand to be part of the breeding program, then he would come to us. But three of those would into that up in western plains Zoo at dubbo. And then the next group of 10 would come over, they'd all come to Minnesota, and then the next group of 10, because they do weigh a bit to put on a friend on a plane two times each year. Wow. Yeah. It's an expensive logistical. It's challenging. So that's, that's sort of the key[inaudible audio] show. But we're also [inaudible audio] involved in some native animals. So we're doing breeding of small Australian animals so that we can reward the southern Europe Peninsula, which is head of a fence put across, you know, if you know the geography of your Peninsula, or the fences going across the beach, and then we'll eventually get to the ankle and then up to the knee. And we will start introducing animals that we've been breeding back into that.

Daniel Franco:

I didn't know that. So Marion Bay, and like

Elaine Bensted:

I said, it's been a project, there's a number of partners involved, the government that in our own lead landscape, beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I mean, people will still be able to drive through, it's not trying to tear the whole thing international Park, but it will significantly reduced the number of feral animals and therefore allow the native animals just to repopulate that areas that

Daniel Franco:

removing all the housing, let's say

Elaine Bensted:

no, no, that will stay. So the intent is not at all to interrupt farming or tourism. In fact, it's actually to grow tourism, because it will be even more beautiful than it already is. Once you've got it regenerated. So we're involved in breeding programs at manado. for that project for Adelaide, the next major project subject to getting funding support. We built a new children's Zoo at the end of 2019, with a variety as a partnership that's freed up an area of the back of the zoo. Children's the new children's Zoo was in partnership with variety, the children's charity. So now we've had a pat down near the playground area. Yeah. Okay, so that opened up a few months before we closed. So that then freed up the land that the old children's zoo is in. And our plan is to move all of our really critically important operations. So our food store, hay shed, assets, workshops, etc. They're currently on the area behind the giraffe house, which backs on to the river. So if you walk along the riverbank and look into the zoo at the moment, it's not the best look, you really just see old sheds because it is our old works area. So the aim is to build a new facility for our food store, and then free up that whole riverbank area from frame road right the way around TIFF significantly expanded giraffe and African animal area. So we're finalizing plans for that I should get the final plans this week and costings, we don't have any money for that project yet, but you've got to have the plans. And then I'll be starting to chase for funding for that one. So that's the next one. But as always, we've got to redo the koala area, there's always things.

Daniel Franco:

There's always the general upgrades and operate Yes, yeah.

Elaine Bensted:

And then eventually redo our line facility here. But that's a bit more expensive.

Daniel Franco:

We'll get to that. Yeah.

Elaine Bensted:

As you know, and then I'll retire and sit on a beach somewhere. Why not? When we can travel again, when we can travel again? Yes, where would you retire? And the current thinking is either Spain or France, because if I stayed in Adelaide, I'd just keep working. That's very true. And we don't want to lose you daughter lives in London, and I hate that long flight. So at least it might not be for retirement, but at least 10 years worth of Travel. Yeah, so I'm trying to learn Spanish, my husband's trying to learn French. And wherever we end up one of us might be able to muddle through with a little bit of language. But she thinks sort of finish off on the list here before that happens.

Daniel Franco:

Yes, please don't retire anytime soon. As I say that selfishly, right, you can do whatever you want. For the people of South Australia, we've got

Elaine Bensted:

a little bit more. That's right. As long as it's not too many more global pandemics are sent to the team last week because we've gone I don't know if I can do another 12 months of this is another one, I think we're all quitting. And of course, we're not you didn't have a day where you feel like that, and then you just, yourself often think, okay, we'll manage this.

Daniel Franco:

Yeah. There was a whole host of questions we've we've gone way over, there was a whole host of questions that I was gonna ask you about the afternoon bad ladies. But what might might be left to get you back again, I mentioned that a few times, we'll say, look, as part of the podcast would be great as in big learners here at creating CG we read and we we talk about books a lot. You've mentioned that David Attenborough book is definitely one that we should read. Is there any other book that you believe would be influential to us in learning about some of the environmental and sustainability aspects of

Elaine Bensted:

David Attenborough is definitely I think it's the most succinct summary of the challenges of the world at the moment. But not just challenges, but also actions that can be taken that instead it's almost split in two halves. The first half when you get through it is pretty depressing. But the second half is more action focused. I'm always a big believer in anything Jane Goodall does, both podcasts and her books, they're just amazing. And then I go back into really, really early ones, you know, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I think it still really stands true. One, whenever I mentor people, I always encourage them to read, and then one that is a very old one is by Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning. Yeah, which, you know, when you talk about responsibility, and the ability to choose how you respond, you know, if you can respond in such a humane, dignified way, when you're in that sort of circumstance, then there's absolutely no excuse for anyone not responding with dignity and respect in any circumstance. So yeah, that's a long time. Deep.

Daniel Franco:

My favorite book I've written 100 templates on absolutely love. It's very, very powerful. What's one on a mother moving to Spain in France? And what's one item on your bucket list?

Elaine Bensted:

Oh, I've got lots from a zoo point of view. Doesn't have to be just okay, because I do have my retirement hitlist on, which is a bit of a den because paying off the debt was always

Daniel Franco:

was one of the interesting items. Personally, personally, the bucket list,

Elaine Bensted:

um, it probably is the travel, there's so many cultures that I have, we feel we haven't really been to, you know, I've, we've traveled fairly extensively, but being able to really immerse in a different culture. So you know, People sometimes ask what regrets I've had in my career. And I used to think it was that I didn't get into zoos earlier. But I don't think that's true, because I couldn't have done the job if I hadn't done the other jobs that I had done. But I think one of them is that I've never worked overseas, because I think that would just give a very different perspective. Whereas when you're on holiday, you see things quite differently. So the chance to really immerse and learn deeply about other cultures is probably the key thing that I want to do in the future. Yeah,

Daniel Franco:

yes, I'm with your net. If you had access to a time machine, and you had a one way trip, or a two way street, not one way. I keep saying one way to get a two way trip folder back. Where would you go?

Elaine Bensted:

God, that's a really challenging question. Personally, I would probably not go back very far. I'd like to have another day. It was my day.

Daniel Franco:

Okay, how long you go to the park? Maybe 10 nights. Sorry, go back earlier or go back?

Elaine Bensted:

I know. Just so yeah, just just spend another day. Have a conversation.

Daniel Franco:

Yeah, like

Elaine Bensted:

if you had Oh, I'd go back and see King Alexander's horse. bucephalus. Oh, okay. You know, that would be pretty cool. That would be Yeah, just because he was a beautiful horse. Yes, yeah. I'll sit and have a chat with will Shakespeare. Oh, god, there's so many Yeah, there is. That's really how

Daniel Franco:

you wouldn't go for everyone would go back. Everyone goes back, would you go forward. I kind of bummed it out. No seat would see what's gonna happen like, you know, You know this conversation stuff he was interested I didn't tell him Yeah,

Elaine Bensted:

I I'm not sure I have. A Nesbit said so but I don't know if I've got enough confidence in the world that I'd like to see it.

Daniel Franco:

Oh, that's heavy. Yeah, I know what you're coming from. Yes, money in power can do strange. Yeah. Do you think actually going back? This is not part of the rapid fire questions Did you ever think? Do you ever honestly believe that we'll see a world where back kangaroo doesn't exist? Or we see animals that aren't around?

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah cuz sadly it's happening today there are animals going extinct

Daniel Franco:

will we go? Will we let it get to the extreme? extreme Yeah, I should say will we let it get to

Elaine Bensted:

where we let it get worse will we let it continue really because if you say that you're wanting for and I'm really talking mammals, but then you look at insects and they're in a more trouble. It's happening now and it's accelerating. So unless something changes quickly, then I think there will continue to be a lot more species going extinct. I mean, Australia could make a really big difference. South Australia could make a really big difference very quickly by getting feral cats under control. And that's starting to happen, but not you know, if you look at that, when I grew up, dogs used to sort of pet dogs used to roll up my my dog used to wander down the street, when we went to primary school, he would just walk down with us. And then he'd find his way home and stop and have his favorite places that he'd stopping on the way and get fed. And that's what happened most places in South Australia then there weren't a lot of fencing, you know that. That's now would be seen as totally unacceptable. If you own a pet dog. It's registered, and it's controlled, and it's seen as fence. And you sort of think why haven't we moved forward to cat ownership with the same thing with registration and the need not to have it roam? Because cats kill a neighbor? You know, people will say their cat doesn't. All of the science again will show that your cat does if you if you put a tracking collar on it, it will travel quite widely. I had

Daniel Franco:

one it used to bring me home presence on my back. doormat. Yeah, what are you doing? And

Elaine Bensted:

they're the ones that I guess people see with a bird. But they're also killing a lot of reptiles. So how can we move? And I think we will see it, I think we're starting to see some councils making the move to cat registrations and things like that, making sure that they at least stay inside at night. So how do we change that head set about what being a responsible cat owner looks like? The same as you would be seen as a really dreadful dog owner if you allow that to happen to her. But at the moment, people sort of think the opposite with cat ownership. But that simple change would make an enormous difference to wildlife in Australia. And to me, that's a really easy one to achieve. Keep your cat in at night. Yeah, that's that's pretty simple with the cat safer, less likely to be hit by a car or you know, that's better for wildlife better for cats,

Daniel Franco:

you sleep better because they're all fighting outside. I don't have a cat anymore. But the amount of times I've had one.

Elaine Bensted:

And I say that as a cat. I do have a dog and a cat. But the cat is never out at night. So

Daniel Franco:

yeah, my Well, my. So this was probably three years ago, my cat ran off. Never get back.

Elaine Bensted:

Yeah, that's the thing. It's and so that's the that's what we're trying to stop. Yeah, so we tried to stop. As I said, it's, it's safer for people a beta more responsible cat owners, if they keep their caffeine, it's better for the cat unlikely to run off or being hit by a car or whatever. But it's much better for wildlife. So you know, there are some changes that we could make really quickly. Others are much more challenging because that you know, things like poaching, it's tied up in a whole lot of social and economic issues that are harder and more entrenched. So some is a long term game, and some can be quick wins.

Daniel Franco:

Brilliant. I can end it there. Thank you very much. It's been an amazing chat, learning more about you and your journey, and especially over the past 12 months. So thank you very much for your time today. Where can we find you? LinkedIn

Elaine Bensted:

is the best contact. If we use LinkedIn very regularly as a communication tool, both personally and for the zoo. If you have a blog or anything that you write for I do occasionally write articles in my LinkedIn. So we've got to do this. I've got a LinkedIn but I've got a private personal one as well. I'm not sure if that's been sent to you, but we can make sure absolutely you can share that because I think I've now got more followers in the zoo. This is a really interesting dynamic. People are people follow people on LinkedIn and our fabulous PR manager actually ran a training upskilling for all US oldies on how to use our own LinkedIn to create personal profiles to do Suzy say work because people follow people. So we're all trying to learn that. Beautiful. So thank you for your learning.

Daniel Franco:

It is

Elaine Bensted:

technology.

Daniel Franco:

I think we're going through the same thing at the moment. I feel like everyone's following us and not that.

Elaine Bensted:

It's true. So yeah, Amy's trying to get us all to create their own persona. So Peters, the manado. African man some gaps. Yeah, it's interesting to say, but you can use it for good. I've been calling for donations for our online auction. And you can put that out to the community and get all sorts of auctions auction items that we don't get when we put it under the ctsa better. Really interesting.

Daniel Franco:

So if you're listening connect with Elaine on LinkedIn, Elaine benstead, CEO of Zoos SA, thank you very much or your time. Thank you. heers. Good to chat.

Synergy IQ:

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