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Forestry

  • It is appalling to think that our native forests are still continuing to be logged. I believe that these forest giants in this precious ecosystem should be left forever. This is an investment not only for us, but more importantly, our future generations. 

Fisheries

  • The stealth by which the salmon industry has grown in Tasmania is now at a point that our beautiful waterways have been turned into industrial scaled apocalyptic scene of destruction. Make no mistake, the international companies that are syphoning the money out of Tasmania will drop local employees the minute they switch to onland farming, as has been the case elsewhere. 

Fresh water

  • Into recently upgraded Bryn Estyn water treatment plant, opened with great fanfare after the expenditure of some $250 million, flows a toxic soup of fertiliser, pesticides, nutrients, sewage and more from intensive agriculture, farming, vineyards and waste disposal areas. I believe Tasmanians deserve clean and safe drinking water. The foundation of, and most basic element in our life - drinking water - is at risk.  We urgently need a Water Catchment Management Authority to take control of ensuring that our water is safe for us and our children to drink.

Financials

  • Ten years ago, Tasmania's finances were in surplus. We are now staring down the barrel of a six billion blowout. This is debt equates to $15,000 for Tasmanian every voter. Once again, we owe to our future generations, sensible investment in infrastructure, while not creating generational debt. 

Traffic Gridlock

  • The last passenger train departed Hobart Railway Station in 1978. At this time, Hobart had a greater passenger carrying capacity in and out of the City than it does today some 55 years later. The major infrastructure that was bravely put in during the 1950s and 1960s - the Brooker Highway, the Tasman Bridge and the Southern Outlet - are the last major transport infrastructure that Hobart has invested in and we are now paying the price with total traffic chaos and gridlock. The bus system is falling apart with poor reliability and with Metro turning the Hobart heritage CBD into a gigantic bus mall, as diesel engines idle, choking our city. Hobart needs a duplication above the existing Brooker Highway out to Elwick to be built, and a public transport system in the currently dormant rail corridor.  As long as buses remain idling on our roads, the congestion problem will not be reduced. 

Stadium 

  • How can anyone make an informed decision as to whether a stadium is appropriate at Macquarie Point without detail? First, show me the detailed plans, the financials, the associated transport strategy and myriad of other details that relate to such an enormous investment. Only then can I provide an intelligent and responsible response. I am a life member of a local football club, have coached junior football, and am a card-carrying member of the Tasmania Devils Football Club, however until I have the details, I cannot provide an informed decision.

Housing

  • I believe that every human being has a basic right to health services and housing. It is my opinion that these areas have been neglected in recent years and that we are now paying for this lack of investment.  At the same time, we all have a personal responsibility to eat well and exercise and we are fortunate enough to have an abundance of parks, reserves, sporting grounds and recreational area. I believe that one of the main reasons for our housing shortage has been the lack of public transport investment. Had the rail corridor been maintained, access to areas along the rail corridor and beyond to areas to large tracks of flat, sunny land would have been accessible. 

Health

  • I don't pretend to have all the information or all the answers to our health crisis, but I believe that Tasmanians must have access to high quality, reliable healthcare where and when they need it. The network of urgent care clinics must be expanded, and Tasmanians need increased access to bulk-billing GPs. The time has come for our health professionals to be paid the same as our mainland counterparts. To attract and retain our healthcare workforce, we must have pay parity.

UTAS Relocation

  • The UTAS march into the Hobart CBD was done with incredible stealth. The original concept of the STEM faculties, followed by the performing arts and the Con in the Hobart city was a nice fit.  However, in a typical Tasmanian way, (think dams, forestry & salmon) a good thing went WAY TOO FAR. Bottom line is it did not pass the "pub test" and without the community backing it was always going to be another divide the community event. Cracks are emerging and the reverse gear has been engaged on the UTAS juggernaut. For sale signs are now up on two big city properties and we await further moves.

Cable Car

  • The cable car proposal looms large in the minds of voters this election. Many people ask me what my stand is on this issue and having closely followed the application I have based my opinion on the following. An assessment by independent planning experts listed 21 key points for non-compliance. There have been many proposals for a cable car to the pinnacle that have left the ratepayers picking up the tab to process. The latest proposal has cost over a million dollars and counting. An inordinate amount of time is taken to process the application by Council's officers and to be debated by the elected members, let alone the recent tribunal hearing (TASCAT). Each proposal continues to divide the community and is highly contentious.  My experience overseas is that these attractions come attached with the less desirable fixtures: take aways, function centres, fluffy toy shops etc. The very essence of what makes these locations special is lost and a national park becomes a theme park. There is already a road to the top. I'm concerned that this would ultimately be closed once an alternative option becomes available. The number of days a year it is closed is negligible. I have no problems with businesses building quality structures that make money for the investors on privately owned land. When it is public land that is a nature reserve, I do. The argument that ‘there are already man-made structures on the pinnacle,’ will be irrelevant once the existing structures are made redundant by advances in technology and subsequently removed. I had an open mind to the cable car proposal however it is my opinion (and I do respect other opinions) based on the above that I think enough is enough and time to move on.

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