Tasmanian News: 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

Tasmanian Tourism Short On Funding. Why?

TASMANIA'S key tourism body has slammed the State Government for failing to provide adequate funding to promote the industry.

Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chairman Simon Currant said more needed to be done to stop the decline in visitor numbers.

Mr Currant was speaking to more than 350 tourism operators at the seventh annual Tasmanian Tourism Conference, being held at the Country Club in Launceston today.

Tourism Minister Scott Bacon officially opened the conference this morning and said the State Government had "quarantined" Tourism Tasmania's marketing funding from recent budget cuts. Mr Currant said it wasn't enough.

"The forward estimates are reducing the expenditure of Tourism Tasmania this year and next year," he said.

"This has to be arrested; the Government has to invest in this industry."

Mr Currant said unless the State Government increased funding for the state's peak tourism marketing body, there would be job losses in the industry.

He said this was despite the fact that Tasmania had a strong tourism product, as shown by five wins at the Australian Tourism Awards earlier this year.

"(The tourism industry) offers the answer for our state," he said.

"We've got a natural asset here that everyone wants. We've got to tell people about it."

But the state's share of the national domestic tourism market was slipping.

Mr Currant said the number of visitors from Melbourne -- traditionally Tasmania's core visitor market -- was dropping drastically.

Despite this, Mr Currant said operators should be "optimistic" about the future and invest in ways to improve the state's tourism product.

Business futurist Morris Miselowski was the keynote speaker at the conference this morning.

He urged operators to harness the benefits of social media for their businesses.

Mr Miselowski said it was not enough for operators to rely solely on the marketing initiatives of Tourism Tasmania.

He said operators need to embrace new technologies and have a presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Pintrest and Tumblr.

TICT chief executive Luke Martin said the sites offered "unique and creative marketing options" for operators constrained by small advertising budgets.

"People have to be responsible for their own business and look at it as part of their own marketing activities," Mr Martin said.

"It's no different from the past where you look at buying an advertisement or paying for marketing information in a booklet."

He said workshops at the conference aimed to lift the skills of operators across the industry.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Police Shooting In Tasmania 'Lawful And Justified'

Tasmania Police (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Tasmania Police Professional Standards investigation into a non-fatal shooting at Beechford in March last year has cleared the male officer who fired the shot - saying his actions were both lawful and justified.

According to police, Daniel Sowden, who was armed with a knife and a builder's gun, was shot by the officer when he arrived at a Beechford property in the early hours of March 14 last year. When police were called, Sowden threatened them with a knife. Sowden, of Westbury, later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was jailed for 12 months.

Deputy Commissioner Scott Tilyard said officers attempted to negotiate with Sowden for almost an hour.

"In that time, Mr Sowden spat at police, threatened he had a gun, menaced police with the knife and endeavoured to incite police into shooting him by threatening them and lunging at officers with his knife," Mr Tilyard said.

Sowden was shot in the stomach by an officer after he advanced on him with the knife and ignored warnings not to come closer, Mr Tilyard said.

"The officer had retreated until he was against a high fence; he fired a signle shot at Mr Sowden as he advanced to within two to three metres. "Police had an obligation to contain Mr Sowden due to the threat he presented to residents in the area.

"It is clear the officer believed Mr Sowden was intent on stabbing him and he acted in self defense."

Mr Tilyard said that he wanted to acknowledge the judgement, sound decision making and professionalism displayed by the officers in dealing with a "high-risk incident" over a protracted period.

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tasmanian iPad Gamer Beats Tourette's

By launching a game for the iPad, Tasmanian Tourette's sufferer Paul Wilkinson has done what he thought the disease would never allow him to.

In September 2010, Mr Wilkinson had electrodes inserted into his brain to control the debilitating and potentially dangerous tics that Tourette's triggered.

Since the treatment, the 29-year-old has started Subspark Entertainment, which launched its first game on Apple's App Store in March.

AstroPlasma is a digital version of air-hockey that gives the player a first-person, rather than top-down view, of proceedings.

"This game is the first to utilise so many of the iPad's features and it truly redefines our genre," Mr Wilkinson said.

"Multiplayer allows people across the world to challenge one another."

The game took nine people six months to make and since its launch it has received five-star ratings in Australian, American and Polish App Stores.

Mr Wilkinson said Tasmania was a great place to do business and

hopes to establish a full studio in Hobart.

He has co-ordinated with staff in and out of the state to create the game.

He said the only challenge was to find people with the right expertise in Tasmania and he hoped to work with the education facilities in Tasmania to tailor a course to suit.

"There isn't a fully integrated course to produce the kinds of skill needed," he said.

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Liberals To Block Forestry Tasmania Funds

THE Liberal Party will refuse to authorise a "blank cheque'' for Forestry Tasmania in a move designed to drive a wedge between minority government partners Labor and the Greens.

The Liberals will this week try to amend the 2012-13 budget to block the $35 million set aside for the struggling government business.

The state government has described the money as a contingency fund which may or may not be needed depending on the outcome of a strategic review of Forestry Tasmania.

Opposition Leader Will Hodgman said he would not support the allocation without knowing exactly what it was for. "Why can the Premier get away with being so deceptive when it comes to such a significant amount of money?'' Mr Hodgman said yesterday.

He suspected the fund was a "back door method'' of shutting down Forestry Tasmania, as the Greens want. "This is a very clear attempt by us to get some honesty in the debate and also to find out exactly where both parties stand on that issue.''

The Greens quickly ruled out supporting the Opposition's amendment.

Lyons Greens MHA Tim Morris said it was irresponsible to suggest altering or blocking supply which would put teachers, nurses and police officers' wages in jeopardy.

Mr Morris said the money was not a hand out to Forestry Tasmania. "Until we see the URS report and what's recommended then we won't know how much of a hole there is in Forestry Tasmania and given the changes that almost certainly will need to be made, as to whether there's going to be public funds required,'' Mr Morris said.

Deputy Premier Bryan Green said the stunt showed the Liberal party was more interested in promoting division than supporting Forestry Tasmania. Mr Green said the contingency fund would help the organisation survive the market downturn. "It's about supporting Forestry Tasmania and its workers, not shutting them down,'' Mr Green said.

Mr Green said the government had not yet received the final report into Forestry Tasmania from URS. "We expect to receive this report in the near future, and we have committed to releasing it publicly, along with our response,'' he said.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Former Greens Senator Bob Brown Tells of Hendrix Death

Former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has sought to clarify, once and for all, his role in the death of rock legend Jimi Hendrix in London in September 1970.

He was then a resident doctor at St Mary Abbot's hospital when Hendrix's body was brought in, he told the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday.

"He had been dead for some hours," Senator Brown said.

"He'd had a bit too much to drink and whatever else and had inhaled vomitus."

He said another Australian doctor signed the musician's death certificate while he

went off to look after a patient who'd fallen under a train but was still alive.

Senator Brown said his resignation from the Senate would take effect from June 15.

A joint sitting of the Tasmanian Parliament then will decide whether to endorse Greens candidate Peter Whish-Wilson to fill the Senate casual vacancy.

Senator Brown said if all went to plan, he expected Mr Whish-Wilson to take his Senate seat on June 21.

The outgoing federal Greens leader said he would be setting up a foundation to foster environmental causes and was in the process of writing two books.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Savings From Tasmanian Health Moves

The state government says its decision to stop searching for a new Mental Health boss will save taxpayers money.

The Examiner revealed yesterday that the Health Department dumped its search to replace John Crawshaw, who resigned as chief executive of Statewide and Mental Health Services in October last year. Advertisements were printed for a new chief executive, but Department of Health and Human Services deputy secretary Alice Burchill confirmed at the weekend that the recruitment process had since been abandoned.

She repeated yesterday that the decision had been made in light of national health reforms, which were signed up to in August and begin on July 1.

"Statewide and Mental Health Services will progressively transition during 2012-13 to the new Tasmanian Health Organisations,'' Ms Burchill said.

"As stated previously, because of this significant and fundamental structural change, the recruitment process . . . has ceased to allow the structural changes to be finalised before any future leadership decisions are made.

"This is prudent and cost effective for taxpayers and means every available resource can be put towards front-line services.''

She rejected claims from the Health and Community Services Union that the state was hiding behind national reforms, and had failed to adequately inform the sector of changes.

"This (national reform) has been clearly conveyed to staff, unions and the public for many months, and has been communicated through the media,'' Ms Burchill said.

"It is not true to say that it is unclear how THOs will operate post July 1, 2012. In fact, the Tasmanian Parliament passed the Tasmanian Health Organisation Act 2011 on November 24, which clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities of the new THOs. "Reforms are being implemented as per the legislation.''

Nick Goddard will remain acting chief executive.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

More Gun-Related Crimes In Tasmania

Robbery not allowed (Photo credit: Arenamontanus)

Police are under intense pressure at both ends of the state as a series of armed robberies and drive-by shootings leave Tasmania in the grip of a crimewave.

While Hobart recorded four shootings last week and three further gun-related incidents in the past three months, Launceston has been under siege as armed robbers target inner-city, busy businesses armed with deadly weapons.

The North has recorded six high-end armed robberies in the past month.

Two involved a sawn-off shotgun, one offender was carrying what appeared to be a handgun, and two armed robbers used a knife to threaten their victims.

A woman was accosted by a male in a public car park at Scottsdale in the early evening on Thursday as she made her way to her vehicle.

The man was wearing a balaclava and produced a knife and demanded money as she tried to get into her car.

On Friday, the Commonwealth Bank in the busy Newstead shopping precinct was targeted.

Police arrested a 24-year-old Burnie man in Launceston's CBD on Saturday.

He appeared before the Launceston Magistrates Court yesterday.

But the majority of these crimes remain unsolved, leaving residents wondering what will come next.

The Police Association of Tasmania says the explosion in gun crime has "deeply troubled its officers, who face great danger" when attempting to apprehend those responsible.

"This is critically serious," acting president Robbie Dunn said.

"We're seeing threats to people's lives, and serious injuries."

Sergeant Dunn rejected Police Minister David O'Byrne's recent comment that "it's not Underbelly".

"Tasmania's underbelly is armed, it's prepared to use [the weapons], and the rate of shootings and crime is going through the roof," he said.

"But while the under-resourced police service is out there chasing these gun-toting maniacs, we have a government dismissing the issue."

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tasmania Leads Cancer Surgery

South Hobart/Sandy Bay Cricket Club (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A new national directory of cancer surgery waiting times shows Tasmanian hospitals are delivering faster services than many of the biggest hospitals in the country.

The online database, released yesterday, allows Tasmanian cancer patients to compare their hospital's performance with any other hospital in Australia.

The list shows the average wait for breast cancer surgery at the Royal Hobart Hospital is only eight days.

That compared with 12 days at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, 13 days at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital and 16 days at Royal Brisbane Hospital.

The average wait for prostate cancer surgery at the RHH is 28 days, compared with 30 days at Sydney's Prince of Wales, 63 days at Sydney's Royal North Shore and 44 days at Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Senior Hobart oncology physician Professor Ray Lowenthal said the data confirmed that, despite the ongoing concerns about budget cuts in the health system, important procedures were still being carried out within acceptable timeframes.

"The cancer area has been a bit protected because it is such a crucial area, and rightly so," said Prof Lowenthal, clinical professor of oncology at the University of Tasmania.

"The cancer area is not in crisis and people can get treatment in a timely fashion."

The average elective surgery waiting times for various cancers were added to the Federal Government's MyHospitals website yesterday.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said: "Waiting times on MyHospitals enables patients to find out more about local services and helps to drive improvements in hospital performance."

Using data from 2010-11, the website lists the number of days within which half of all patients received their surgery for bladder, bowel, breast, gynaecological, kidney, lung, melanoma and prostate cancer.

Other cancer surgery wait times at the RHH are: bladder, 25 days; bowel, 24 days; gynaecological, 16 days; lung, 11 days; melanoma, 13 days.

Cancer surgery wait times at the Launceston General Hospital are: bladder, 15 days; bowel, 19 days; breast, 11 days; gynaecological, 14 days; kidney, 29 days; melanoma, 11 days; prostate, 76 days.

State president of the Australian Medical Association John Davis said the data was a credit to the staff in Tasmanian hospitals, despite the fact the system was "falling apart".

Mr Davis, however, said the figures did not show the areas of health that were suffering severely because of the budget cuts to the system.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Learning The Hard Way With Autism In Tasmania

The Tasmanian coat of arms features thylacines as supporters. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A Kempton mother says her autistic son will not be able to attend his school full-time next year because it cannot afford to employ a full-time teacher's aide to care for him.

Valda Watkins said she had been told by staff at Kempton Primary that five-year-old Ethan would be able to attend Grade 1 only three days a week unless she acted as his teacher aide on the other school days.

This was because the school could not afford a teacher's aide to support him in the classroom on those days, she said.

The Education Department has not denied Mrs Watkins' account of what she says she was told.

Under its Social Inclusion Policy and the disability standards for education, the State Government is obligated to provide appropriate support for all school-age children in Tasmania.

Education Department deputy secretary Liz Banks would not comment on specific details of

the case or confirm if staff at the school had told Ms Watkins to keep her son at home next year.

However, she said schools did not recommend part-time enrolments for students on the basis of funding, and parents were not asked to undertake the role of a teacher aide (Read the Education Department's full response, right).

Disability service advocates and the state's education union said many more parents of disabled children were facing a range of new problems as schools struggled to make ends meet after cutbacks in their discretionary funding budgets.

Next year, Ethan will be eligible for only three days of teacher aide support funded by the Special Disability Register. Any additional aide time would have to be funded by his school.

Ms Watkins said it was "hurtful" that her son might not get adequate support next year.

"I think every single child is entitled to an education," she said.

"Why should my son stay at home when everyone else's kid gets to go to school?

"I honestly don't know what we'll do. It's just not fair.

"At the moment, he goes to prep five days a week and has a teacher aide full-time."

Ms Watkins said Ethan had severe autism and was non-verbal.

"He's come such a long way at school. He didn't like going to school at the start of the year but

now he loves it," she said.

"To pull him out of school ... I'm really worried about what's going to happen to him."

Autism Tasmania spokeswoman Kristen Desmond was concerned the school felt it had no option to but to tell Ms Watkins to keep Ethan at home.

"How many kids at other schools under financial pressure are going to end up in a similar situation?" she said.

"It's obviously concerning that this is the state we're getting to in terms of the funding for children both on the disability register and not on the register.

"One of the things we think may be impacting on this situation is the cuts to discretionary funding [which schools rely on to pay for additional teacher aide support]."

Ms Desmond said many parents of autistic children were already receiving calls from their children's schools, asking them to collect their child if they didn't have enough aides to support them.

Association for Children with Disability executive officer Caroline Pegg said the school had an obligation to meet Ethan's needs.

"If the school is saying that he actually needs the support [for an additional three days a week] then the school actually has a legal obligation against the disability standards for education to provide that support," she said.

"The school should have looked at what other resources were available for them before the parent was even consulted."

Ms Pegg said it was unfortunate if some teachers and principals were not aware of the legal obligation to meet standards of education for all students.

Australian Education Union state president Terry Polglase said public school teachers

had welcomed the State Government's Social Inclusion Policy when it was introduced more than a decade ago because it came with the guarantee of sufficient funding to support the educational needs of every child.

"With the recent withdrawal of funding to keep class sizes at optimal levels, enforced belt-tightening and moves that could see responsibility for decision making move from systems to school principals, there is a need for a guarantee that funding to address disadvantage is restored," he said.

Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson said Ethan's case was the "terrible legacy" of budget cuts.

"Instead of listening to schools about the terrible impact of his cuts, Education Minister Nick McKim has slashed the education budget by a further $58 million in 2012-13," he said.

"Mr McKim has caused this funding crisis in schools, so he must take responsibility for resulting outcomes."

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Cost Of Tasmanian Work Stress

stress head (Photo credit: ian boyd)

Workplace stress and mental health issues in the state's public service are costing Tasmanian taxpayers millions of dollars.

The cost has risen to more than $100,000 a week as work pressure takes its toll on public servants.

The total workers' compensation bill for public servants was $30 million last financial year, up from $25 million in 2009-2010.

Statistics from WorkCover Tasmania show there were 181 mental health claims in the public sector last year at an average cost of $31,524, a total of about $5.5 million.

The figures come as the State Government cuts jobs from the public sector to plug a massive Budget black hole, prompting fears stress-related claims will grow as the cuts take effect.

Last week, the Menzies Research Institute and the Department of Health and Human

Services presented public lectures on Workers' Compensation and Stress in the Tasmanian State Service.

The workers' compo bill for stress at the DHHS alone is about $7.5 million for the past three years.

Until March this year, $1.6 million of the $4.9 million workers' compensation claims were for stress-related issues.

Workplace stress experts said yesterday that job insecurity was one of the main workplace-related risks to mental health and unions fear workplace stress is going to be an increasing problem as the workloads for public sector workers become more intense.

Senior lecturer in management from the University of Tasmania Dr Angela Martin said work groups that experienced increased threats to job security "can have an almost palpable level of anxiety".

"The majority of people don't cope well with uncertainty," she said.

Honorary secretary of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists

Dr John Chalk said stress-related claims were particularly common in the key services of health, education and police.

Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Neroli Ellis said Budget cuts in health were already being felt by patients and nurses.

"The recent ANF survey indicated that 96 per cent of nurses believed there is more stress in the workplace as a result of the Budget cuts," Ms Ellis said.

"Losing valued colleagues, supporting patients and families who cannot get a bed or being told their surgery is cancelled, low morale and increasing stressful environments ... are common themes affecting nurses."

CPSU secretary Tom Lynch said workplace stress would become an increasing problem in the next four years with sweeping Budget cuts.

"I have seen a significant increase in the past twelve months," Mr Lynch said.

"I don't see any relief in the future. Statistics around the public service are embarrassing."

Liberal spokesman for police and emergency management Elise Archer said yesterday police had been asked to make cuts to the workforce for a number of years.

"We are now seeing additional cuts and we will see additional levels of stress," she said.

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

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