NEW NEW NEW

Shop, eat and sip your way into summer with plenty of new things happening around Hobart. The Cat & Fiddle Arcade is playing musical shops with Lorna Jane opening upstairs while Dejcuba is moving to the old Witchery site. We say goodbye to The Living Room, but welcome Freedom Furniture (174 Eliza­beth St Hobart) back to midtown instead. Saigon Express is opening their fourth restaurant, with their latest expansion at Glebe Hill Village on the Eastern Shore. You can get your Banjo’s Bakery (98 Augusta Rd, Lenah Valley) fix at Lenah Valley now at their brand new location. There has been more expansion for Pep Pizza (201 Main Street, Huonville), down into the Huon Valley recently. Keep your eyes on more pasta and salad pop-ups by Hobart chef Jamie Yates at Rosie In My Midnight Dreams (Brooke Street Pier). Those with an eye for detail will welcome Becker Minty (91a Salamanca Place, Ho­bart) to Hobart – an outpost of their high end Sydney retail space. They’ve nabbed a storefront on Salamanca, combining swanky art, home and dining. La Sardina Loca (100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart) recently opened their Hayloft space above their restaurant for private dining groups – think of a cozy pitched roof with lots of terracotta accents.

VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Vinnies has recently announced their 2022 Christmas Appeal, with a goal of raising $250,000. Between the rising cost of living, Christmas, New Year and back to school expenses, some Tasmanians need help to tackle this expensive time of year. Head to www.vinniestas.org.au or instore to donate.

SKATING ON ICE IMPACTS

In April, Tasmania lost its only ice rink when the Glenorchy Ice Rink property sold to a private investor. Subsequent impact analysis has found that around 200 athletes have been affected, including some who have suffered negative physical and mental health impacts. The Tasma­nian Government is now funding a full feasibility study to establish the viability of a new ice rink for Tasmania. $95,000 will go towards the study, which will identify potential site location options, cost estimates and potential funding models for a multi-use facility. Watch this space.

LOAVES AND FISHES AND TRUCKS

Loaves and Fishes Tasmania have re­ceived two new trucks with refrigeration – one in the north of the state and one in Hobart – to help them continue to provide food relief to thousands of Tasmanians in need. Through generous support from its many sponsors and supporters, Loaves and Fishes raised $90,000 in donations and the Tasmanian Government has pro­vided the additional $190,000 to complete the purchase. These trucks will enable Loaves and Fishes to expand its emergen­cy food relief reach to more Tasmanians in need.

$2M GRANT TO SAVE THE GREAT SOUTHERN REEF

Last month we spoke with Great Southern Designs about the effects of climate change on the Great Southern Reef that surrounds more than half of Australia’s coastline, a reef often overshadowed by its northern relatives. The IMAS Coastal Ecosystem Team have been recording the human and environmental impacts across its 6000km span and have recently received a $2m grant from The Ian Potter Foundation to create one giant collabo­rative project to coordinate research and communicate scientific findings to help protect the reef from further damage.

The team will coordinate all the re­search and existing collaborations across Australia’s universities and management authorities for the next five years. “Our vision is to create a shared understand­ing of the threats and management options needed to protect and restore the reef’s temperate marine life, and we are exceptionally grateful for The Ian Potter Foundation’s support to make this vision a reality,” said IMAS marine ecologist, Professor Graham Edgar, who will lead the initiative. “They [all collaborators] know firsthand the scale of the problems affecting the Great Southern Reef and saw the project’s critical role in protecting this essential environment for our chil­dren.” The Great Southern Reef is home to the leafy sea dragon, blue groper, black cowry and many other iconic species that only call this stretch of reef home. The Ian Potter Foundation is one of Australia’s major philanthropic foundations that aims to support the community and promote a fair, healthy, sustainable and vibrant Australia.

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS CHEER

Sometimes you need a little extra Christ­mas cheer assistance. We’ve compiled a bunch of community Christmas celebra­tions across Hobart so that everyone can enjoy the day. Colony 47 host their tradi­tional community Christmas Lunch at the Hellenic Hall (67 Federal Street, North Hobart) on Christmas Day. You can reg­ister online to attend or to volunteer. On the Eastern Shore, the Salvation Army has combined forces with Clarence City Council, community and local service providers for a free community Clarence Christmas brunch in Howrah, (11 Howrah Road, Howrah). Transport is available and seats must be reserved. You can give Sarah a call on 0491477623 or email clarencechristmasbrunch@outlook.com. Hobart City Mission are operat­ing their toy and food drive again this silly season. Toys and/or non perishable goods can be dropped off at 50 Barrack Street. Make sure you mention it’s for Christmas! Unable to get into town or toy stores not your jam? Hobart City Mission have also started an fantastic online store where you can buy a toy or two that will be delivered to a family in need. Head to www.hobartcitymission.org.au.

HOBART’S SUPERSTAR OF STEM

Congrats to local science legend Mars Buttfield-Addison who has been named a Superstar of STEM in a national program with Science & Technology Australia that trains STEM experts to become sought-after media commentators as ex­perts in their fields. Mars, a University of Tasmania PhD Candidate, is a computer scientist and software engineer working on adapting astronomical radio telescopes to track space junk. Her work was also recently showcased at the Falling Walls conference in Berlin. Mars said she was thrilled to have been chosen from a highly competitive national field. “I am honoured to be selected and very excited to take part in the program. Especially in the age of ubiquitous technology, it is so important for there to be effective, diverse, and expert communicators around computer science and technology impacts.” she said.

WOMEN’S DAY GRANTS UP FOR GRABS! GOT AN IDEA FOR CELE­BRATING WOMEN? Applications are open now for grants for International Women’s Day, held on 8 March, 2023. It’s a day of global celebration of the econom­ic, political and social achievements of women. Tasmanian organisations, schools and community groups can apply for up to $2000 each. Applications close on 23 December. For more info call 1800 204 224 or email grants@dpac.tas.gov.au.

TEEN TO TEEN ABUSE SKYROCKETS

In research undertaken by Anglicare, led by researcher Dr Carmel Hobbs, it was revealed that among Tasmania’s teen pop­ulation a disturbing 40% of 18-19 year olds may have experienced violence in their relationships in the past 12 months. This is higher than the national rate of 28.5%. “Up till now, very little research has been done in Australia, and particu­larly in Tasmania, into domestic violence and abuse by partners of teens,” the Commissioner for Children and Young People Leanne McLean said. “It’s hard to tackle a problem if you don’t know it exists or you don’t know the extent or nature of it. Ms McLean said it was also imperative, as recommended in the report, that governments review and, if neces­sary, reform legislation to ensure children and young people are protected from violence and abuse in their intimate part­ner relationships. “I commend the young people who so generously and bravely shared their stories with the research team to bring about this understanding and help bring about change. The commissioner is fully supporting recommendations by Dr Hobbs to include mandatory education on respectful relations and trauma-informed specialist teen domestic violence services to better support those experiencing vio­lence and abuse.

CASH FOR FERRY EXPANSION

The Derwent Ferry Service is set to expand thanks to $20 million in federal funding. The Mayors of Greater Hobart have welcomed the news of the extra cash, which will add on-water terminals at new locations. The sites are yet to be confirmed but Sandy Bay, Lindisfarne and Wilkinsons Point are all in the running. Brendan Blomeley, Mayor of Clar­ence, said “The initial service between Bellerive and Hobart has been a great success. With over 140,000 passengers using the service since the trial began in August 2021, the community has clearly embraced ferry travel. Helen Burnet, Deputy Lord Mayor of Hobart, added: “It’s been terrific to see the public respond so enthusiastically to the current ferry service, including the Summer Saturday service which carried over 6000 passen­gers last summer, and is now a permanent addition to the service.” There will also be upgrades to the Bellerive Pier. The Tasmanian Government also pledged a $19 million investment in the Derwent Ferry service in the 2022-23 State Budget.

HAVE YOUR SAY ON SALMON

If you have opinions about Tasmania’s salmon industry you might like to view the draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan 2023 and have your say. Feedback from the previous Towards a 10-Year Salmon Plan Discussion Paper has informed this new draft plan. The final plan will end up being an enduring long-term plan providing strategic direction for the industry and the com­munity. Keep an eye out for community briefing sessions, which will be held around the State to provide more infor­mation. Feedback can also be provided online. Public consultation on the draft plan will close on 20 January. For more information, visit www.nre.tas.gov.au/salmonplan.

LONG COVID WORRIES

New modelling from Tasmanian researchers suggests at least 160,000 Australians will be experiencing long COVID in early December, over 35,000 of whom will find their daily lives significantly impacted by illness. Unfortunately it’s very likely that over 500,000 people will have Long COVID symptoms, and that more than 110,000 of them will suffer significant impacts from their symptoms. Researchers from the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research and Deakin University’s Institute for Health Transformation put together a report based on their findings. The report’s lead author, Professor Martin Hensh­er, said it was time for the Australian Government to listen to health profes­sionals and act on the recommendations given. “It is likely that several tens of thousands of Australian adults will be unable to work in December due to Long COVID,” he said. “This will not only have a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of our country, but many flow-on effects to the economy. Professor Henscher said Australia had failed to prepare for this. “Australia is an outlier among similar countries in not having instituted large-scale na­tional surveys and surveillance of Long COVID,” he said. “As a result, Austra­lia lacks strong data on which to base its Long COVID policy response; this information deficit risks becoming an increasingly significant policy failure.”

SLOW DOWN FOR DEVILS

We’re in the thick of the roadkill season – November to March – and motorists are asked to slow down and take extra care as juvenile Tasmanian devils begin dispersing from their dens. It’s also road-trip season, with Tasmanians and visitors criss-crossing the state for Christmas and summer holidays. Devils are often hard to see, especially at dusk and dawn. Slowing down from 100km/h to 80km/h can reduce the number of an­imals killed on our roads by 50 percent. This is especially important in identified devil roadkill hotspot areas, including:

• The Channel Highway, especially between Huonville and Cygnet,
• Nichols Rivulet Road,
• Woolnorth,
• The Forestier and Tasman Penin­sulas,
• The West Tamar Highway between Legana and Exeter.

NEW FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM

Despite the wet lead-up, we’re officially in the bushfire season and we’ve got a new fire danger rating to pay attention to. The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) has implemented a new, nationally consistent Australian Fire Danger Rating System to provide clear and accurate info about bushfire risk.The AFDRS has four rating levels: Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic, with simple actions for the community to take at each level:

• Moderate (Green) – Plan and prepare
• High (Yellow) – Be ready to act
• Extreme (Orange) – Take action now to protect life and property and
• Catastrophic (Red) – For your sur­vival, leave bushfire risk areas.

This is the most significant change to the fire danger rating system in more than 50 years and was a recommendation from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Report. Head to www.fire.tas.gov.au for further informa­tion and to keep up-to-date.

PRONGED COLLARS OUT

Pronged collars for dogs are on the way out with the recent passing of the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill 2022 through the Legislative Council without amend­ment. Key changes introduced by the Bill include banning the use of pronged collars (which have spikes facing inwards and can push into an animal’s neck when they pull away), expanding the powers of authorised officers, and strengthening pro­visions for the enforcement and prosecu­tion of offences. The Bill was developed following advice from the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, and has also been informed by feedback from stakeholders and the community through the public consultation process.

AFL MUSEUM TO COME

Not only is Tassie working on getting a state AFL team but we’re also getting a state Australian Rules History and Heritage Museum to house and preserve Tassie football memorabilia. Whilst the finer details of the museum – such as where it might be located – are being worked out, pop up displays are begin­ning to emerge. The first pop-up display is now on show to the public at the State Library in Hobart and features a 1960 Tasmanian State Blazer worn by Max Kelleher; a 1947 Tasmanian Football Guide written by Jack Donnelly; a T W Sherrin Football signed by Tasmania Cap­tains and AFL TAS Hall Of Fame Leg­ends Graham “Gypsy” Lee, Bob Withers, Trevor Leo and Peter Hudson and more. AFL Tasmania has recommended possible sites to house more permanent museum displays, including York Park in Launces­ton and the proposed new arts, cultural and sporting precinct in Hobart, and these options are being explored. There will be other pop-up displays in libraries in Laun­ceston, Huonville, Queenstown, St Helens and Burnie in 2023.

POSTIE POSTS PHONE

If you’ve ever mislaid a vital everyday item and wondered where on earth you’d popped it down (perhaps you’ve put your keys in the freezer whilst putting grocer­ies away?), you will sympathise with a West Hobart postie who recently lost his phone on a mail run. Believing the phone had possibly been posted into a letterbox by mistake, the call went out on the won­derful West Hobart Good Karma Network on Facebook for locals to check their letterboxes for an unexpected delivery. Lo and behold, the phone was found and delivered back to its owner. How great is the Hobart community!

OPINIONS PLEASE! SOUTH HOBART OVAL AND PARK MASTERPLAN

The City of Hobart is currently preparing a masterplan to shape the future of the South Hobart Oval and Park, bounded by Darcy, Wentworth and Washington Streets. The oval is used by local football clubs and the South Hobart Primary School for games and training, and also operates as a dog park outside the times the oval is booked. Over the past few years there has been much debate over the space (even played out via letters in our INBOX pages in past editions!) – should it be for sport, should it be for dogs, or can both exist in the same space? From what we’ve been told there’s a high level of angst and aggression up there right now between dog owners and people who use the park without dogs – and it’s building. We wonder if the council is fully aware of the situation? You can get involved and have your say – City of Hobart have opened a survey at www.yoursay.hobart­city.com.au/south-hobart-oval, which is open for comment until 11 December, 2022.

TASSIE BREW NEWS

Tasmania’s brewing and distilling industry continues to bubble away, with locals now able to acquire internationally recognised learning and accreditation. A new partnership between the Uni­versity of Tasmania, the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) and FermenTasmania will bring skills sharing and accreditation to the next level. Kim Seagram AM, the chair and co-founder of FermenTasmania said the partnership would build knowledge and scientific understanding. “Much like our wine industry, with its rich history of excellence in education and training – from un­derstanding the science behind fermentation to the actual hands-on making skills – we want to provide a platform to help build this for the Australian brewing sector,” Ms Seagram said. The first big step in the partnership was a short course in the science of brewing operations in November, with further industry-rele­vant learning opportunities available in 2023.

SUSAN LESTER’S BIRDS OF TASMANIA

In 1987, talented Tasmanian artist Susan Lester was commis­sioned to paint 200 of the state’s birds for a book. Her beautiful and intricate paintings were created over four years in water­colour but the book was never published and the paintings went missing. In 1999, 199 of the 200 watercolours were discovered in a safe at Hobart’s WIN Television studio and donated to TMAG. The 200th painting, of a swift parrot, remains missing. Susan passed away at the beginning of this year, and to honour her memory her family have produced a bespoke publication, Birds of Tasmania. TMAG will display a selection of Susan’s watercolour birds in the Salon Gallery until February.

HOBART LOOKING YOUNGER, MORE DIVERSE

Hobart City Council has recently launched two new reports looking at the future of the city: the State of the City and the Invest Hobart reports. City of Hobart CEO Kelly Grigsby said the State of the City reporting would play an important role in helping Hobart navigate challenges and grab onto opportunities in the future. “It is critical that our future planning is informed by complete, accurate, and timely data,” Ms Grigsby said. “In our current set of data, for example, we can see that Hobart’s population with a bachelor or higher degree qualification has grown by 10 per cent in the past five years, which highlights the importance of our knowledge economy and attracting more jobs focused on science, research, innovation and sustainability.”

The report also noted a continued increase in Hobart’s diversity, with 28 percent of our residents born overseas and 21 percent speaking a language other than English at home, and that the city is getting younger – the 25-34-year age group rose from 15 per cent in 2016 to nearly 20 per cent in 2021, and Hobart’s median age reducing from 39 in 2016 to 37 in 2021. The Invest Hobart report provides potential investors with an understanding of Ho­bart’s strengths and identifies opportunities to partner with and leverage Hobart’s position as a vibrant, liveable and connected global city. More info can be found at www.hobartcity.com.au.

PHARMACISTS TO HELP GP LOAD

The Tasmanian Government is considering extending the role of pharmacists in an attempt to ease the pressure on our overloaded GPs and hospitals. This includes expanding the list of medica­tions that can be dispensed by pharmacists for a month after a patient’s prescription runs out if they’ve been unable to access a GP. This is already in place for medications for high blood pres­sure and high cholesterol and could include a broader group of medicines like oral contraceptives, medications for the treatment of migraine, eczema, asthma and emphysema, as well as patients who are stabilised on antidepressant medications. It won’t mean pharmacists could initiate or prescribe these medications. A Pharmacy Scope of Practice Review is underway to consider what other services and supports pharmacists could provide to Tasmanians.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE REPORT OUT

Following on from our story last month about local electric vehicle company The Good Car Co securing a $10 million in­vestment from philanthropic and investment venture Boundless, the latest Electric Vehicle Council’s State of the Market report is out and has noted a 65% increase in year on year EV sales and a 23% increase on public charging this year compared to last year. The report also found that demand for EVs is not being met due to a lack of supply of new EV models to the Australian market and that this was in large part due to the absence of a fuel efficiency standard.

LOCAL FOODIE AWARDS

The Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania’s annual Royal Tasmanian Fine Food Awards have been handed out to some de­serving (and delicious) Tassie food producers. Congratulations to local winners, including Daly Potato Co who won the Minister’s Encouragement Award for their Potato and Gravy; Hazelbrae, whose hazelnut oil won a trophy for Best Exhibit; and Mark Brew for winning the Tasmania Award for an individual who has given outstanding service to the Tasmanian wine industry.

UNI WITHDRAWS PLANS

The University of Tasmania has withdrawn their current plan­ning scheme amendment for the Sandy Bay campus after the recent Hobart elector poll result. Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said they were listening to the public. “We have clearly heard the perspective of those who voted in the Hobart City Council elector poll, and we recognise that councillors have been elected in part to address the issue of the University’s plans for the CBD and Sandy Bay,” he said. “A clear message is that the future of the Sandy Bay campus is important for Hobart as well as the University, so we will work with the City of Hobart as the planning authority on the best way forward. To allow for this, we are withdrawing our current planning scheme amend­ment for Sandy Bay.”

Students Spring To Action After Rivulet Platypus Death

4.3 kilograms of rubbish is a lot to pick up in the space of only 200 metres! Nat­urally we wanted to talk to these three awesome wildlife advocates about their motivation for the clean up and plans for the future. Here is our conversation.

Why does cleaning up the rivulet matter to you? This matters to us because we love animals. Because the wildlife of our beautiful rivulet does not deserve to be injured or even killed from litter that’s not in the bin. Things people drop in the street can get washed into the rivulet and cause all kinds of harm to fish, ducks and even sometimes to platypus! If the litter that we collected flowed down to the ocean the conse­quences could be catastrophic to the animals down there as well.

During your clean up, what sort of rubbish did you find? We mainly found soft plastics, styrofoam and a few bottles and cans as well. We found a whole roll of dog bags under a bridge that hadn’t even begun to compost. We also found some shards of glass, which made us really sad. There are many things that can hurt the wildlife in the rivulet. Things which have loops are particularly dangerous – we found masks and elastic bands and the rings from the top of milk bottles. What hurt the platypus was actually just a small loop of twine! Something as tiny as that killed a platypus!

Do you have any ideas of extra things the City of Hobart could do to help other platypus and animals in the rivulet in the future? They probably could try a little harder to reduce the amount of plastic people use and make. The rubbish from the tip can also blow into the rivulet so the council could try to keep most, or even all, the rubbish in the tip where it’s meant to be. They can also encourage people to not put their bins out on the very windy weather days so it does not blow over, that way the litter can stay out of the rivulet.

Are you planning on doing more clean ups or activities to help the local wildlife? We are most probably going to do more of these litter runs. We have also been doing them at school most days. Often when we are doing it at school, people ask us,

‘Why are you doing that?

‘At playtime?’

‘But surely that’s not fun?’

But actually it can be fun to work to­gether, and make a difference to wildlife. It felt like a great success when we got 4.3kg of rubbish out of the rivulet. We really enjoyed it and we will probably do the next one in another part of the rivulet.

What can our readers do to help local wildlife? To help our local wildlife you can put your rubbish in the bin and if you find some on the ground, just pick it up. You should also make sure you cut any loops so they can’t trap wildlife. If you see a hurt animal, report it to an organisation like Bonorong Wildlife Rescue Service, on 0447 264 625 (0447 Animal).