Bob Irwin's leaving fee - $1m and a pension


BOB IRWIN, the founder of Australia Zoo and father of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, will receive an annual pension of nearly $100,000 plus a $1 million package after splitting from the popular tourist attraction.
Mr Irwin, 68, recently ended his role with Australia Zoo, which he founded on Queensland's Sunshine Coast 36 years ago and which his son made into an international drawcard before Steve's death in 2006.
Mr Irwin and his wife, Judy, plan to continue their conservation work on a property near Kingaroy, north of Brisbane.
Mr Irwin told the ABC's Australian Story program this week he had become a disruptive influence at the zoo.
However, there has been speculation he was upset with the career of his granddaughter, nine-year-old Bindi, and the commercial direction of the zoo.
Steve's widow, Terri, plans to turn it into an international tourist mecca comparable to Disneyland. In a statement released today, Australia Zoo said Bob Irwin would receive a retirement package worth more than $1 million and a pension.
"Australia Zoo, under instruction from Terri Irwin, will continue to provide financial assistance to Bob with a retirement package worth over $1 million, plus an ongoing annual pension of $99,840 per year," the statement said.
The $1 million package includes the purchase of Bob Irwin's 632-hectare property near Kingaroy, and the construction of a new home, a car each for him and his wife Judy plus a bulldozer and other equipment.
The retirement package was agreed in January, the zoo said.
Steve and Terri Irwin were unable to afford the $300,000 price Bob and his first wife, Lyn, offered them for ownership of the zoo in 1992, so an agreement was reached to pay Bob and Lyn a lifelong wage.