Wightman

I don’t have anything against four-wheel drive vehicles nor those who traverse the beaten track. In fact, we own a car capable of such adventures. However, my relationship with the four-wheel-driving community was once, best described as, strained. During 2012, thousands of enthusiasts escorted me on a drive to Smithton to discuss the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area. It’s fair to say that there was no one on my side of the decision-making matrix, but they were quite respectful. Thus, it was with a sense of irony that we began our journey, with dear friends, from Bridport to Bellingham last weekend on a track known as St Albans Bay, described in 4WD parlance as hard. Following completion…the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife website told me that the classification of hard means: “These tracks are for experienced four-wheel drive or trail bike users only. Deep bogs, steep slopes, and soft sand will test your driving skills. Travelling in company is the only way to traverse these tracks sa...

When I was a young bloke, fortunate to be travelling overseas, a family member said to me on mentioning Tasmania, “Tanzania you mean!” The assembled crowd laughed heartily in unison. It was in jest, but a common jibe that made me retract into my young shell. As a result, I would often lower my eyes and place my chin on my chest when asked where I was from. The United Republic of Tanzania is situated in East Africa. The country is famous for Mt. Kilimanjaro, a volcano which is the highest point in Africa – 5895 metres above sea level. Tanzania has very little similar with Tasmania apart from a capital T and British colonial rule, which ended in 1962 yet continues with gusto in Australia. You don’t need to cast your mind too far back to remember when our state was considered a backwater, both economically and socially. The endless taunts from mainlanders aimed at dismissing Tasmania from any important discussion regarding the fabric of Australian life and rarely, if ever, the positive im...

It’s a long flight From Launceston, Tasmania to Perth, Western Australia; two flights for those travelling from the northern capital. Not lengthy by international standards where the LAX -Melbourne flight reigns supreme in terms of testing emotional strength, but a long internal flight from the bottom of the earth to a point just slightly above. Business travel presents significant opportunities for catch-up; reading meeting papers or making time for professional reading. However, I am predictable and, although with the best of intentions, a movie will take my fancy, and the in-depth component of work tasks will have to wait. Western Australia is, by landmass, Australia’s largest state - 2,527,013 square kilometres (32.9% of Australia’s total) compared to Tasmania’s 68,401 (0.9%). It is rich in natural assets, particularly minerals, and rugged coastline, which attracts workers and tourists alike. In some ways, West Australians are like Tasmanians; isolated from the east coast and prou...

Tasmania can, at times, be considered an isolated place. It doesn’t take much thought to understand why Van Diemen’s land was chosen as a penal colony – a small island at the bottom of the world surrounded by rugged coastline with harsh winters on barren lands; just perfect to discourage escape. More than 73,000 prisoners made their way to our shores from 1803-1853 with many of their ancestors still calling Tasmania home. And whilst once a secretive harbour of shame like many distant pasts, it’s now trendy or hipster to have convict heritage. Acknowledging that Port Arthur was still operating in Tasmania just 166 years ago is important when considering our modern-day activism, behaviour and leadership. By contrast the palawa had, until that point, happily roamed the lands for 50,000 years, and the Europeans had been colonising the world for 500. “We punch above our weight” is an overused yet popular phrase, which is currently employed to describe Tasmania’s performance from the e...

Last year, I wrote an article that appeared in Talking Point about some clear warning signs in Hobart’s housing market. Following Hobart City Council’s homelessness summit, I thought it an ideal time to reflect on what was happening then, where we are at now, and how as a community we can work together to respond to the housing crisis. During 2018, Hobart had the hottest housing market in the country. Growth rates for housing prices were in double digits. Everyone lucky enough to have bought a house by late last century, when it wasn’t uncommon to buy a tidy three-bedroom residence in a good suburb and get change from $250,000, was sitting pretty on a rapidly appreciating nest egg. Last year, I highlighted that the boom in prices was beginning to squeeze out many Hobartians who had previously never struggled to find a good house at a reasonable price to either rent or buy, in an area where they wanted to live. The homelessness crisis is something that we, as citizens of one o...

Modern management practice ensures that the overused metaphor, “You’re either on the bus or off the bus,” continues to be offered to wavering employees. Following consultation, the co-construction of a strategic plan and investment in employee professional learning, the bus may stop for some with hopping-off the only plausible solution. That had me thinking this week, but not metaphorically, more in a literal sense about the number of students on buses to primary schools, which appears to be in decline. This hypothesis is easily evidenced by morning traffic jams at drop-off points, a variety of new and used cars engaged in dodgem and jostling for limited spaces, very few kids walking to school and even fewer catching the bus. The reasons for this change in behaviour are numerous including concerns about safety, parents dropping children at childcare or school en route to work, convenience, or consumer demand insisted by youngsters! However, the consequences are significant with...

I have written about this before - most punters don’t care too much for politics unless the conflict is captivating, or parliament is debating an issue that resonates personally or with the community. No confidence motions, warring politicians, rogue back-benchers or a rogue speaker make for interesting reading, tweeting and watching, but they rarely lead to positive outcomes. This is not to gloss over important issues being raised, given more prominence, immediate fixes being considered and reported on the front page of newspapers as a result, rather, under the Westminster system of government, the decision-makers (cabinet) provide the leadership required to improve situations for individuals and the community as a whole. The trouble with going rogue is that cabinet may move to appease instead of remaining committed to solving long-term problems. That being the case, the issue will never be fully addressed; with a short-term ‘throw money at the problem’ fix the most likely resul...

Last week I strolled through the Launceston mall. I wasn’t stopping to shop; I was headed somewhere else. There weren’t too many people to speak with, the central business district was sparse, devoid of those who should give it life. Granted, it is winter, and it wasn’t lunchtime or after school when workers and students help fill the space, it was just a moment in the day. Yet, businesses remained open – the lights on, stock stacked or hanging - waiting to be sold. At these times, running a small business or a national chain store in a regional area must be tough. One of the solutions to avoid downturn or quiet periods is ongoing population growth, which is essential for small cities like Launceston. Tasmania has seen decade population highs driven by interstate migration, mainly to Hobart. 1.15 per cent may not seem like a huge year on year increase, but positive population growth bucks the norm and trends. In a couple of weeks, I will again head to Melbourne for work. Victor...

With thoughtfulness, I watched Dreamtime at the ‘G at home with my son last Saturday evening. Michael Long, a proud man and an AFL great who brings our country together, led “We Walk Together” from Federation Square to the MCG, remembering his inaugural Long Walk to Canberra, placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples squarely on the political agenda since 2004. Like many Australians I was concerned, perhaps even scared, that there may be boos or a lack of respect greeting the magnificent Welcome to Country ritual and indigenous pre-game war cries which rang out across the hallowed lands of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Fortunately, it didn’t eventuate, and my faith was somewhat restored. As families of migrants, we have taken huge steps to overcome our ignorance, but we still have a long way to go. The Sir Doug Nicholls Round, much like our attitudes, has matured as a celebration of indigenous culture and history. The acceptance and thoughtfulness that AFL clubs bring...

News that a regional high school, in Southern Tasmania, would offer a Subway option for lunch each Wednesday was met with a healthy serving of nutritional skepticism. Comments ranged from outrage - due to a concerning increase in eating disorders and obesity - to jovial banter on Twitter, including: “A kid I went to school with had a sausage roll and a chocolate Big M for lunch every day for 18 consecutive terms.” “Literally used to eat hot cheese rolls with tomato sauce twice a day from the canteen along with 400 other teenage boys. There were blokes who used to top this off with a 600ml, wait for it, custard.” “We had a coke machine, $1 for a cup of premix. Savs in white bread, pies, pasties, snag rolls and every lolly under the sun.” “I loved ‘Chips Friday’ ... they were so soggy and had enough sauce to fill an Olympic pool.” The Tasmania School Canteen Association was also vocal in response with Julie Dunbabin offering in an ABC interview: "We advise schools, and...

In the Hobart City Council Elector Poll regarding proposed building heights, the Property Council is unequivocal in its message: vote “No”, “No” and “No” to the three questions. On 11 November 1947, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered this view to the House of Commons: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.” Quoting Churchill is challenging due to his role, as First Lord of the Admiralty, in the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign, and his “cannon-fodder” view of Australian soldiers during World War 2, yet there is no doubt his influence on politics across the globe is synonymous with leadership and strength. The Westminster system of Government, the foundation of our democracy, was inherited on 1 January 1901 when six British States became the Commonwealth of Australia. The Constitution provided the foundation document f...