NEW NEW NEW

Spring, sunshine adventures and outings – new places to visit, new adventures to go on. Hobartians love a wine bar, and finally we are able to welcome Molto (25 Melville Street, Hobart) to the city, walk-ins only and takeaways available. Head to the sunny Brook Street Pier for a cider tasting at Willie Smith’s new stall before hopping on the boat to Mona. Ja and Jon (221 Clarence Street, Howrah) have expanded over the bridge, opening up a shop in Howrah, in the old Clarence Bakehouse, for all your bahn mi cravings. Midtown’s offering is growing again – a big welcome to Poppy’s Cafe (100-102 Campbell Street, Hobart), just diagonally opposite Officeworks. Work up a Stationary storm and head over for a coffee and bite. Sandy Bay has a bunch of new faces on the way. The classic The Metz (217 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay) is due to reopen late November with two Hobart hospo stalwarts, Room for a Pony’s Drew Port and Mr Burger’s Alex Haros, behind the renovation and revival.

Longhorn Smokehouse (Wrest Point Casino, Sandy Bay) has opened for all grilled, slow-cooked and smoked goodies. After 30 years in their current residence, Lipscombe Larder (621 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay) is moving down the road to new digs. Keep an eye out for updates along the way but their kitchen is still operating in the meantime. Mr Good Guy (173 Macquarie Street Hobart) is back! South-East Asian hawker food is being served up for lunch and dinner in a bright, colourful space. Bloom Coffee and Bites (102 Collins Street, Hobart) is a new cafe to check out in the CBD, with 5 Senses Coffee and housemade sweet treats.

Stabla Cafe (4 Barrack Street, Hobart) now has their liquor license so you can head their way for a lunchtime tipple. If you have a visitor arriving soon and need a quick overnight stay in town, perhaps a capsule hotel sleep is all they need at Airone (152 Collins Street, Hobart). Biodynamic winery Torchbearer Wines (1015 Tea Tree Road, Tea Tree) have opened their cellar door after five years of stocking their cellar in the Coal River Valley. Drop in for a splash of natty wine next time you’re around. Espana Dining and Bar (302 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart) is dishing up paella and lots of South American plates in North Hobart. If you’re visiting the Huon Valley, head to Lost Captain Restaurant and Taphouse (2-4 Short Street, Huonville) for a cheeky cold one. Calling all fruit and veggie lovers, JuiceMate (60A Liverpool Street, Hobart) is opening their first location in the city, all Tasmanian ingredients and no nasties, no doubt a popular spot come summer. The former Dome Cafe is set to reopen soon, rebranding as Elizabeth Street Lounge (28 Elizabeth Street, Hobart) and headed by Eastern Shore business partners Nish Sewraj and Kush Bhattarai. Everest Eatery Dining & Takeaway (84 Harrington Street, Hobart) is open in the city serving Nepalese and Indian food. More coffee spots to try the better, so welcome to The Coffee Bearer (100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart), open from 6:30am six days a week. Danphe Nepalese (28a Wyndham Road, Claremont) is opening another location, a little north from the city this time. G.H. Mumm have launched Mumm Tasma- nia, a collaboration between Chef de Cave Laurent Fresnet and Australian wine maker, Trina Smith. Mumm Tasmania is produced using methode traditionnelle, the same process used by Maison Mumm. You can now buy it anywhere you buy bubbles.

Vintage and antique lovers can search for their treasure at the new home store Baxter and Green (9 Gordon Street, Sorell). Massage enthusiasts will find Face Massage Hobart now located in Acai Beauty Space (31 Murray Street, Hobart). If you are looking for a space to hold a meeting or small community gathering, Elise Archer MP’s new office (119 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay) has a space that you can book.

KNIT YOUR BITS PEOPLE’S PRIZE ANNOUNCED

In March as part of International Women’s Day, Women’s Health Tasmania took to the road with Knit Your Bits, a collection of 84 created, knitted, crochet and coloured women’s bits – a craft project to show positive understandings of the diversity of the female body. Almost 6000 people visited the travelling exhibition and voted on The People’s Prize which was won by Amy Rose (pictured). The piece titled Invitation Only was created by hand and machine sewing for the exhibition. “I have struggled through sexual abuse, which had left me for a very long time feeling that my body — in particular my vagina — was not my own,” says Amy. “Through hard work and a path of healing, I am proud to say I have reclaimed myself completely. I can now honestly say: This belongs to ME!” Women’s Health Tasmania’s Project Officer Margie Law was thrilled with the outcome of the event in its first year running. “There was incredible engagement with Women’s Health Tasmania, with women’s craft and women’s health issues,” she said. Bits included brains, hands, vulvas, stomachs, lungs and whole bodies while Artists’ statements described struggling with social isolation during the pandemic, about the impact of ill health and disability on their ability to live their lives the ways they want to, about surviving trauma, and about losses of health and of loved ones. Future Knit Your Bits work- shops and exhibitions are on the horizon for Women’s Health Tasmania so keep your eyes peeled. Make contact if you’d like to be part of the conversation to bring women together to chat and craft info@womenshealthtas.org.au. Go gals!

CALLS FOR BETTER MEDICAL CONNECTIVITY

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is calling for better digital connectivity for rural areas after finding poor digital connectivity is affecting the health of Australians relying on technology to connect them to doctors and healthcare. Now, with flooding and other climate disasters affecting rural communities more often than before, the AMA wants the government to im- prove mobile phone coverage, internet connectivity and enhance the resilience of telecommunications infrastructure to natural disasters. Dr Ian Kamerman, chair of the AMA’s Council of Rural Doctors and a GP practising in Tamworth said telehealth has been a real boon for medical care in rural areas, enabling easier access for patients to their doctors but the lack of infrastructure has meant the telehealth experience is far from seamless. “Regional, rural and remote Australians often struggle to access the health services that urban Australians see as a basic right. These inequalities have led to lower life expectancy, worse outcomes on leading health indicators, and poorer access to care compared to people in major cities,” said Dr Kamerman. “As mainstream healthcare becomes increasingly technology-based and requires more and faster broadband services to operate, there is a real risk that regional, rural and remote areas of Australia will be left further and further behind. A few of the key calls to government outlined in the AMA Position Statement include developing information and communication technologies via fibre, mobile phone, wireless and satellite technologies, ensure broadband is reliable and affordable, identify black spots and marginal areas and prioritise these areas when creating a universal unmetered online access to health service.

GET AHEAD OF YOUR ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES THIS SPRING

Sneeze no more! If you’re prone to asthma and hay fever, it might be a surprise that by treating hay fever, your asthma can also improve. While asthma is in the lungs, and hay fever is nose central, the anatomy shows us that sensitivities in these two separate areas can often link up. The new Asthma Hub by Asthma Australia has plenty of resources to learn how springtime might induce sneezing fits, and the best way to combat them. Smell more roses and less snot. Visit Asthma Australia’s new Allergy Hub www.asthma.org.au

LOCAL TASSIE HOST FAMILIES NEEDED IN 2023

Tasmanian families have always played a significant role in supporting international students during their stay here while studying. A call has gone out for host families from February to July 2023. A fantastic opportunity to learn about another culture, homestay involves helping an international student from Latin America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam by sharing a welcoming, safe home, food and culture. Hosts are provided with a weekly allowance to assist with expenses. Interested? Email homestay@geti.tas.gov.au call 6165 5727 or visit study. tas.gov.au/homestay.

INCOMING CASH FOR FRONTLINE HEALTH WORKERS

The state government’s $2000 payment to frontline health workers is one step closer to being delivered, having been registered with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission. Around 11,500 Health Service and Ambulance Tasmania front- line workers are expected to receive the one-off payment pro-rata. Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the payment was to ac- knowledge “the important and ongoing role that our frontline health workers have played in the State’s COVID-19 response and recovery, and the role that they continue to play as we transition to living with COVID in our community.” The Frontline Health COVID Allowance payment was offered on the basis that the Escalation Allowance was retired, and relevant industrial action was ceased. Eligible frontline health workers in the Department of Health can expect to receive payments on 2 November and 16 November, and Ambulance Tasmania frontline workers on 3 November and 17 November in line with their paydays.

NEW WEBSITE FOR SENIORS DISCOUNTS IN TASMANIA

The Tasmanian Seniors Card Program has a new website, aiming to make it easier for Seniors to find and access various discounts. More than 120,000 Tasmanians are already part of the free program and have access to discounts from more than 600 businesses. Businesses not yet part of the program can sign up to offer discounts via the web- site too. To apply for a Seniors Card, you need to be over 60 years of age, reside in Tasmania, and work less than 20 hours per week. Older Tasmanians can now apply online for a Seniors Card at Www.seniors.tas.gov.au or hard copy applications can be processed by Service Tasmania. For more information visit a Service Tasmania Centre, phone 1300 135 513 or go to www.seniors.tas.gov.au.

TWO-HEADED TASMANIANS AND THE NEED FOR IODINE

Do you know the truth behind the “two-headed Tasmanians” taunt? Dr Kristen Hynes, a Research Fellow with the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, has spent much of her career looking at iodine deficiency and the health implications it has had in the State… including the goitres that gave us the reputation of having two heads. “While mainlanders may tease that Tasmanians have two heads, the taunt has a serious side,” Dr Hynes said, explaining that a lack of the micronutrient during pregnancy can affect a child’s literacy skills and that during adulthood a deficiency can cause goitres.

“One explanation for the emergence of the two-headed Tasmanian myth is the widespread occurrence of goitres during the 19th and 20th centuries in the Tasmanian population that resulted from lack of iodine in the diet,” Dr Hynes said. “Left untreated, some of the goitres were so big that they did look like another head. Treatment involving surgical removal left people with a scar along their neck. Another bit of fiction about how you can tell that someone is from Tasmania. While we can laugh at this silly myth, it does point to a serious health issue that remains with us today.”

Tasmanian soil is iodine deficient, said to be caused by the combined effects of Tasmania’s mountainous terrain and weather patterns. Dr Hynes said there was no evidence that Aboriginal people, prior to European arrival, had iodine deficiency disorders. “It’s about 30 years after Europeans arrived that we Start seeing evidence of goitres appearing, in particular among younger people who had grown up in Tasmania and had been subjected to iodine deficiency for most of their lives. And there have been issues in Tasmania ever since,” she said.

“For most of the population, thanks to successful public health initiatives such as mandatory fortification of bread with iodised salt, iodine deficiency has been largely eliminated. There are still groups in the community, however, who remain at risk of iodine deficiency and its associated disorders. It is particularly important that pregnant and breastfeeding women, and those planning pregnancy, receive adequate iodine as part of their diet. Our research has shown that children born to mothers who were iodine deficient during their pregnancy had poorer outcomes in some NAPLAN tests,” Dr Hynes said.

“From the earliest tests in Year 3 through to Year 9 those children had lower results for literacy, particularly spelling, compared to children whose mothers were not iodine deficient during pregnancy. Despite these children having adequate iodine nutrition in childhood, there was no closing of the gap in education outcomes as they got older.”

HOBART RUNNER WINS WORLD FIRST AWARD

Congratulations to Hobart marathon runner (and past Local Person interviewee!) Bonnie Davies on her recent international running achievements. Bonnie has just returned from running two marathons as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and has been awarded the six star medal for completing all six. Abbott World Marathon Majors has also confirmed Bonnie is the first person to receive the award

in Tasmania. The last two marathons were run in Berlin and Chicago over the last month, and her first was in London in 2013. Bonnie started marathons as a way of supporting her own mental health battles, and donates money to Save the Rhino, based in London. You can find out more about the marathons at www.worldmarathonmajors.com. Congratulations Bonnie!

TOURISM AND HOSPO JOBS HUB NOW OPEN

A new campaign encouraging people to work in Tasmania’s tourism and hospitality sectors aims to boost the workforce as we head into the peak visitor season over summer. We had a quick look at the tourism and hospitality jobs portal at www.tastourismandhospitalityjobs.com.au and saw heaps of current positions advertised, many in big name hospitality and tourism businesses. You can specify which area of Tasmania you’re in and do some research on potential employers there too. If you’re an employer looking for staff you can also add jobs to the portal.

YOUNG HOBART 3D ARTIST WINS ADFAS COMPETITION

Quinn Kacic-Midson, a first year architecture student at UTAS, has won first prize in the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (ADFAS) competition for young aspiring photographers and creatives. Quinn’s entry, The Cube (above) was in response to the competition theme every exit is an entry to somewhere else, combining photography and digital art to create what he calls “digitally manipulated depictions of surreal, oneiric environments”. At 19 years, Quinn’s statement of his work detailed the structure as a hotel, “a metaphor for impermanence, a temporary space where people come and go just as negative thoughts do. Every choice we make and path we take may feel like a plunge into oblivion and is unbeknownst to those who face those decisions.” He decided to include himself in the image as the figure wearing earphones, “this is somewhat a self-portrait as music has always guided me through the challenges of life.

Judge, filmmaker Matt Scott, described the piece as “‘a captivating bright focal point, beautifully balanced contrast and wonderful sense of scale – all working so well together” while photographer judge Alice Bennett commended Quinn on his storytelling through the striking display of the three dimensional hotel, the falling rocks, the lights on in the top window, and the character tumbling to the ground. “Reading that you are a student of architecture made sense, and I look forward to seeing the buildings you will create in your future,” she stated.

ADFAS is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers with the Hobart branch being one of 38 societies in Australia. For the past two years, ADFAS Hobart has conducted a photographic competition for 17-24 year olds in Southern Tasmania designed to support and encourage emerging artists. Congratulations Quinn!

ARE YOU SUMMER-READY? BUSHFIRE PREP FROM OUR COUNCILS

The councils of greater Hobart have combined their efforts to build resilient communities better equipped to prepare for bushfires. Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action is an initiative that sees project officers working directly with 12 targeted neighbourhoods within Hobart, Kingborough, Glenorchy and Clarence to create bushfire risk demonstration sites and give free household bushfire risk assessments at a project cost of $1.7 million. The Federal Government provided funding for the initiative, with Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Tasmanian Senator Carol Brown saying, “Hobart is incredibly vulnerable to bushfires, with the enormous loss of life and property in 1967 within living memory for many Tasmanians. Natural disasters cost the Australian economy $18.2 billion per year, and the cost is forecast to rise to $39 billion per year by 2050. This increase is without consideration given to the rise in frequency and intensity of weather events we will see in coming years due to climate change.”

Research shows that in many cases simple steps can improve the chances of a house surviving a bushfire, including removing flammable material in direct contact with a house, removing flammable material that will generate radiant heat towards a property and by plugging gaps to stop fire embers entering roof spaces or confined areas and igniting a house from within.

YOGA FOR VETERANS, PARTY IN THE PARK

A local yoga class for war veterans is celebrating 30 years of support this month. In 1992, a group of Vietnam War veterans looking for some help with stress management found themselves in a yoga class and the group is still going strong! Over those

30 years some of the members have gone and new ones have joined. They even starred in a film called Heroes of Peace, which you can see at www.shyam.net.au! To celebrate the milestone, Mates4Mates Tasmania are shouting lunch at the Pod next to the veggie patch in the Royal Botanical Gardens on Tuesday 6 December. If you’ ve had anything to do with the group, come along to catch up, share memories and hear from a few of the yogis. To find out more about joining the yoga group, head to mates4mates.org/whom-we-are/our-locations/tasmania.

DOMESTIC CATS ON THE PROWL

A project conducted in North-West Tasmania a few years ago found that a domestic cat had an average home range of 1.4 hectares, approximately equal to 10 quarter-acre residential blocks. We’ve noticed a few extra four-legged furry friends getting around town at their own free will, so we delved deeper into cat and dog ownership and the responsibilities.

Cat owners

Cats are encouraged to stay contained to their owner’s property. Outdoor cats are at risk of car accidents, dog attacks, and injuries from cat fights. Cats pose a threat to native wildlife. In recent changes to legislation in March 2022, households can no longer keep more than four cats over the age of four months, unless an exemption is granted. There are a few reasons you can get an exemption, so check online for eligibility.

Cat neighbours

If you have a cat visitor you didn’t invite over, cats can legally be trapped, but only on private property, and must be returned to its owner or taken to a cat management facility within 24 hours. Traps must be checked at least once in a 24 hour period, and Under the Animal Welfare Act 1993, the person who sets a trap is responsible for the care and welfare of any animal that is caught and has a duty to take all reasonable measures to protect the welfare of the animal. Cat management facilities must also be notified prior to setting traps. It’s a good idea to tell your neighbours first too.

Microchips and desexing

As of 1 March, 2022, all cats over the age of four months must be micro- chipped and desexed. Exemptions to microchipping and desexing can only be given if a vet certifies that it may adversely affect the health and welfare of a cat. Cats owned by registered breeders for the purpose of breeding are exempt from desexing.

Cat has to move out?
Under the Cat Management Legislation, it’s an offence to abandon a cat. If you do need to rehome a cat, you can sell it or give it away if the cat is at least eight weeks old, microchipped, desexed, vaccinated, wormed, and has been checked by a vet. Alternatively, it can be taken to a cat management facility.

For more information, visit the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) website www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au.

$3.7m GRANTED FOR TASSIE ARTS

27 Tasmanian arts organisations have recently shared in grant funds of more than $3.7 million through Arts Tasmania to deliver high-quality activities across Tasmania throughout 2023. In Hobart, Archipelago Productions, were granted funds of $78,000 towards employing Tasmanian creatives to present new and challenging contemporary theatre works to Tasmanian audiences in 2023. Further south, The Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival will receive $39,000 to deliver targeted professional development opportunities for Tasmanian writers to develop skills, knowledge, and connections. Organisations with existing multi-year funding agreements in place for activities in 2023 include Assembly 197, Constance ARI and Terrapin Puppet Theatre Ltd. It looks like we’re in for some artsy treats next year.

TASSIE TOP ECONOMY IN AUSTRALIA AGAIN

Tasmania has returned to its rightful spot as the best performing economy in the nation, according to last week’s quarterly CommSec State of the States report. After slipping down to third position in the last report in July, Tassie has regained the top spot thanks to improved rankings on retail spending and housing finance. We’re followed by Queensland, the ACT, West- erm Australia, South Australia, Victoria, NSW and finally, the Northern Territory. CommSec Chief Economist Craig James said maintaining our spot at the top will depend largely on our resilience and reactions to interest rate hikes.

“Tasmania has quickly returned to the top of the economic leader board, courtesy of consistently high rankings for the eight economic indicators…in terms of future economic performance, much will depend on how economies respond to a period of rising interest rates.”

FISHING GEAR OVERBOARD

The amount of fishing gear lost at sea each year would be enough to wrap around Earth 18 times! Research by CSIRO and UTAS has found that nearly two per cent of commercial fishing gear is lost or discarded every year and becomes a major part of the global marine plastic pollution problem. Denise Hardesty from CSIRO said the research project was the most comprehensive of its kind. “We found that 14 billion longline hooks, 25 million pots and traps and almost 740,000 km of fishing long- lines end up in our oceans through global commercial fishing activities each year,” said Dr Hardesty. In general, more gear was lost from smaller fishing vessels, and bottom trawl fishers lost more net than midwater trawl fishers. The research paper is available at www.science.org/journal/sciadv.

NEW GOVERNMENT RADIO NETWORK TRIAL AT T20

Tasmania Police recently tested a new encrypted radio system at the T20 Cricket World Cup event in Hobart. The TasGRN is a collaborative project to transition our emergency services, land managers and electricity operators on to one unified, digital, secure and interoperable radio network. Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said the trial allowed police to test the TasGRN infrastructure and equipment in a full operational response be- fore transition late next year. “The TasGRN will strengthen our ability to keep Tasmanians safe, because the world class digitally encrypted radio communications network will significantly improve our voice communication and security,” he said. “It will also simplify and strengthen our ability to communicate with other emergency services and emergency management stake- holders. The Tasmanian Government signed a $567M contract with Telstra in partnership with Motorola Solutions back in 2020 to build and deliver the Tasmanian Government Radio Network (TasGRN).

DEMAND FOR FOOD RELIEF SKYROCKETS

Over half a million Australian households are struggling to put food on the table on any given day, according to the recent Food-bank Hunger Report 2022. More than 2 million households in Australia have run out of food at some point in the last year due to limited finances, sometimes skipping meals or going whole days without eating. This means that 1.3 million children lived in food insecure households. Foodbank Tasmania Board Director, Robert Higgins, has seen the rise in demand for food relief services over the past year, but was still shocked by the troubling picture of today’s Australia exposed in the recent report.

“We know how important it is for people to have access to nutritious food, yet the rising costs of energy, fuel, groceries, rent and mortgages have put this fundamental need beyond the reach of more and more people with no respite in sight,” said Mr Higgins.

“These results should make everyone stop in their tracks. The numbers being reported are massive and hard to process, but they represent the harsh reality of living week to week when the cost-of-living crisis collides with an income crisis and the household budget now lists food as a discretionary spend,” said Mr Higgins. The report signals that the problem is only set to get worse with half of all households experiencing difficulty saying that being unable to afford food is happening more often. The rising cost of living is the most common explanation for why people are failing to meet their household food requirements (64% of food insecure households). Unpacking this, the cost of food and groceries is the top cause (49%), followed closely by energy (42%) and housing (33%) costs.