Wightman

The Property Council of Australia is proud of the role that our members play in delivering prosperity and strong communities through private investment which both creates jobs and builds the cities, suburbs and regions which we call home. Our industry has a significant role to play in the continued economic growth of the state, and that’s why we are dismayed the Labor Party and the Tasmanian Greens are supportive of a review of mainland-style property taxes including Foreign Investor and Vacancy taxes. And now, the Liberal Party plans to implement a foreign investor surcharge on stamp duty should they be re-elected on 3 March, a populist approach, not a measure that will assist housing affordability at all. In the lead-up to the State Election, all political parties should commit to growth and development policies. Tasmania simply cannot afford anti-business initiatives. In our view, there is not much point in reviewing interstate regressive taxes unless you plan to implement t...

Yesterday I was stung by a bee. Nothing particularly unusual about that I suppose. But wait there’s more… It was further complicated by the fact that I was gathering the washing from the line after work, when the bee in question failed to give way and flew straight into my eye. A quick swot directed the sting just below, leaving what could be best described as a shiner. And while I can’t remember a great deal about what happened next, I can remember what I was thinking about at the time. The twins are going back to school. And of course, Katie would be disappointed because I failed to finish the task… As a family, we had an amazing summer, full of holiday adventures; travel, sun, surf, bouts of laughter, a few terse moments thrown in for good measure, and ultimately a wonderful expression of a quartet in love. However, and throughout, my attention was never far from our children’s education. If I am totally honest, the most rewarding job that I have ever experienced is ...