New Openings
Spirited Tasmania by McHenry Distillery has opened at Salamanca Arts Centre (77 Salamanca Pl, Battery Point), under the stairs in the store that previously housed Bruny Island Cheese. They stock a huge range of Tasmanian spirits. Popular Imago Bakery and Patisserie (114 Elizabeth Street, Hobart) has reopened its doors under new management after an extended lockdown closure. Sorell residents will love the news that Uncle Alby’s (4 Gordon St, Sorell) is now open for coffee and treats. Co-owner Chels (who runs the cafe with her partner Hamish) shared: “We’re be serving up Zimmah coffee with Daci & Daci pastries alongside some homemade goodies. As well as egg and bacon buns for brekkie. My Nan’s apple cakes will be available on Fridays, which aren’t to be missed!” The former chef and owner of Ruckus Fried Chicken is now rattling the pans as head chef at Shambles Brewery’s (222 Elizabeth St, North Hobart) kitchen. You’ll find CBD favourite The Stagg (20 Francis St, Battery Point) have popped up in Battery Point serving coffees and home-made treats – watch this space for news of when they will expand from just a window. If you lust over the fine wares at Luc, then you will love their new kids store Cluck (127 Macquarie Street, Hobart), across the road, a curation of furniture, homewares and iconic design items. South Australia’s award-winning Bird in Hand is set to expand into Tasmania, having acquired a pristine stretch of coastline at Seymour on the east coast. One-hundred-and-fifty acres of the land will be planted under vine, with chardonnay and pinot noir to be the focus. Chin chin.

Starfish Clean Up at Nutgrove
A new group of volunteers are working hard to remove huge numbers of the invasive Northern Pacific Seastar from Hobart’s waters. The starfish, originally from Japan, were introduced via ship ballast water, and they’re so thrilled to be here that their population numbers are soaring and they’re crowding out endemic species. So far the group – divers, snorkelers and helpers on land – have collected 583kg of the creatures. And we know what you’re wondering…what do they do with all of the starfish, afterwards? They get taken to the South Hobart Tip and added to the huge compost system there! The next few meet ups are 14 March, 9.30am at Nutgrove Beach, 28 March and 18 April with the locations to be advised. For more info join their Facebook group: Invasive Starfish Clean Up, TASMANIA.

You’re Never Too Old to Start!
When Gwen Edwards retired from her career working in the children’s section of the State Library here in Hobart, there was another profession brewing. “My dream was to have some books published and available in the State Library of Tasmania for the children to enjoy,” Gwen said.n“I have just turned 80 years young and in the last three years I have had two books published for juvenile readers.”

Published by Austin Macauley, Dragon Tears is a fantasy story set on kunanyi/Mount Wellington along the Pipeline Track near the old Neika schoolhouse, while Henry is about a mouse heading out on adventures inspired by a dream Gwen had about a very clever little mouse. “I had always thought there was a gap in books available for young readers,” she said. “The ideas for my books I’ve had for many years, however until I retired didn’t really have the time.” You can order the books at Dymocks, or via Gwen’s website.

Glenorchy Gets a Glow Up
The northern suburbs are set to transform with impressive plans for the city endorsed at a council meeting last month. The Greater Glenorchy Plan includes dozens of development plans to the precincts of Glenorchy, Moonah and Claremont to the year 2040. Mayor Kristie Johnston said with an investment pipeline of $1.8 billion over the next 10 years, it was imperative Council created a map for sustainable development.

“We want to make sure we are growing and evolving our cities with our communities at the forefront of mind,” she said. “That our built form captures and highlights the unique characteristics of the northern suburbs so that it’s a place that is recognisably ours and where people feel like they belong.

“What is imperative in this process, however, is light rail. This vision simply does not work without the critical transport element light rail brings to the table.”

Dark Mofo Back to Brighten Winter
Winter solstice festival and drawcard Hobart event Dark Mofo will be back in 2021. Mona owner David Walsh said: “Dark’s back, which, in the immortal words of Mark Spitz, who was also making a comeback, ‘could be good, could be great, could be terrible’. Mark didn’t mention that there is another possibility: it could be cancelled. But it wouldn’t be worth doing if there was no risk. There’s lots of risk, so it must really be worth doing.”

Event director Leigh Carmichael said, with some trepidation, the event would run for a smaller one-week timeframe. “Like everyone else, we’ve been soul searching for almost a year, trying to understand our place in a changed world,” he said. “Last year we lost our sense of purpose overnight, and it appears that experience is having a resounding impact on this year’s festival program.

“Our patrons will be pleased to know they can expect a typically grim and gloomy affair in June.” The full program will be announced in April, with the festival running from 16 – 22 June.

Norther ‘Burbs BMX Riders Receive a Pump Up
Riders will have some new tracks to explore with Glenorchy City Council receiving a government grant of $250,000 to fund a $750,000 BMX track at Tolosa Park. The BMX facilities at Berriedale are currently restricted to members only. According to the Minister for Sport and Recreation Jane Howlett the new track would “help to encourage more Tasmanians to take up the Olympic sport while providing young people a safe community space to be active.”

The project is expected to be completed by January next year.

Government Leaves Tassie Pokie Concerns Unanswered
The state’s gambling reform is causing a stir, according to Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb who called on the Government to respond to questions left unanswered from its proposed Future Gaming Market (FGM) legislation. The aim of the policy is to create a sustainable gaming industry, ensure the profits of gaming were shared appropriately, and continue to minimise harm caused by problem gaming, but after the recent public consultation period in January and February, Meg said submissions showed “near-universal criticism of the Government’s implementation framework” for the policy.

“Numerous submissions are concerned that the proposed future gaming market regulatory model is weighted too heavily to benefit industry at the expense of community,” she said. “But submissions from hotel operators express dissatisfaction and demand even more favourable and lucrative license conditions and profit-promoting features that put players at higher risk.

“This is an industry that has happily taken super-profits for more than 20 years from Tasmanian families and communities experiencing addiction.” Meg said there were expert-advised consumer projections that could be readily introduced such as capping jackpots at $1000 and introducing a 90 per cent ‘return to player’ rate. The policy was opened for public comment last year, and the submissions made public in February.

Ten Days Gets Experimenta, a National Touring Exhibition
Blurring the lines of science and art, an exhibition exploring peoples’ changing relations and definitions of life forms will be on display in Hobart’s Plimsoll Gallery (37 Hunter Street) as part of the Ten Days on the Island festival. Experimenta Life Forms: Triennial of Media Art showcases robotics, bio-art, screen-based works, installations, participatory and generative art. Curators Jonathan Parsons and Lubia Thomas wanted to portray how philosophers have wrestled with defining life for thousands of years, and through this exhibition reveal how contemporary artists are approaching this question.

“I’m delighted we will launch our three-year national touring exhibition, Experimenta Life Forms, as part of the Ten Days on the Island Festival,” said Jonathan. “It is singularly appropriate that an exhibition that examines life in all its diversity should begin in Tasmania renowned for its unique ecosystems.”

You can catch the exhibition from 20 March to 19 May.

Roll up Your Sleeve Tassie, the Covid Jab Here
The Covid-19 vaccination program extends across the state this month. Minister for Health Sarah Courtney said “while the vaccine will not be the silver bullet, it will be our strongest shield to keeping our community and loved ones safe”.

The first phase of the vaccination program targets people who are at heightened risk of getting COVID or getting very sick from it such as quarantine and border staff, and specific groups of front-line healthcare workers. Aged and disability care residents and staff will also be vaccinated in the coming weeks through the Commonwealth Government vaccination program. The first phase of the vaccination program, Phase 1A, expects to see both doses of the vaccine in April. Once the early phases of the rollout are completed, the vaccination program will be expanded to include other groups of the community, as per the Common- wealth’s guidelines, Sarah said. You can check which phase you might be in here.

Tassie Police Officers Under Pressure
Police officers are experiencing significant workplace wellbeing issues, according to the Tasmanian Police Association (TPA). TPA president Colin Riley said at the end of December 2020, there were “very concerning indicators” for officers, including six police officers who have attempted to take their own lives and five who had completed suicide in the last four-and-a-half years.

“We need to ensure members are not strained to the point of breaking,” Mr Riley said. At the TPA biannual conference held last month, Premier Peter Gutwein announced an additional $1.5 million per year to support the health and wellbeing of police officers.

“Funding will commence from April this year and will allow a much greater level of support and faster access to psychological services across Tasmania,” Peter said. Mr Riley said efforts also needed to be made to remove unnecessary stress in the workplace, and when members were on workers compensation, “they need to be shown genuine care in the dealings with them by the apparatus that manages workers compensation and “not just initiatives to ‘tick boxes’,”

Lifeline 13 11 14.

Goal for A-League in Tassie
A-League games will return to Tasmania this year after an agreement between the Tasmanian Government, Victorian club Western United Football Club and Football Tasmania was reached recently. Premier Peter Gutwein said the agreement would see Western United host two games a year at UTAS Stadium in Launceston across the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Calder United, a women’s team affiliated with Western United, will also play a match against a Tasmanian women’s select team in 2021, with a W-League game to be played in 2022.

“The return of A-League games to Launceston is a great win for our state and once again confirms Tasmania’s ability to host elite level sport,” the Premier said.

AFL who?