Brand Tasmania Newsletter, March, 2010, Issue 103

Cricket glory for Tassie Tigers

Tasmania won its fourth 50-overs cricket title in February, producing an almost flawless display to beat Victoria comfortably in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Tasmanian Tigers smashed 103 in the final 10 overs of their innings to reach 6-304. Wicket-keeper and opening batsman Tim Payne won man-of-the-match honours for his innings of 100, but veteran pace bowler Gerard Denton was equally impressive, taking five Victorian wickets for 45. The Tigers have now won three of the past six Ford Ranger Cup finals.

Tigers captain, George Bailey, said Paine and Michael Dighton’s 132-run opening stand had set the tone for an outstanding team performance. “We certainly had a good day today, no doubt about it,” he said. “That’s as close to the perfect game as we’ve played all year ... I can’t ask for any more from my boys, to play our best game of the season in a final.”

The Tigers secured their title without batsmen Ricky Ponting and Travis Birt, who were with the Australian squad in New Zealand, and without pace bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus and Brett Geeves who are injured.

North-west devils in fine fettle

The discovery of a thriving, disease-free population of Tasmanian devils at Woolnorth, in the State’s far north-west, has buoyed the spirits of Save the Tasmanian Devil Program biologists. A seven-day trapping expedition on the property caught 107 devils, 64 of which had not been captured before. Expedition head, Dr Samantha Fox, said she had been surprised by the age, health and vitality of the devils, compared with the remnant populations in disease-affected areas. “Some of the animals observed were nearly seven years old, compared to the average life expectancy of five to six years in the wild,” she said.

Dr Fox said the program was now identifying and surveying areas where fences could be built to protect the Woolnorth devils from the risk of contact with animals carrying the deadly facial tumour disease. The protected population would then add significantly to the numbers caught in the wild and bred in captivity over the past four years in efforts to set up an “insurance population” in zoos and wildlife parks. The Woolnorth group could bolster the insurance population by more than 40 per cent.

Intensive monitoring by the program’s six wildlife biologists during September and October 2009 had found pockets of the facial tumour disease as far west as the Murchison Highway, while some devil territories east of the highway remained unaffected. Disease-free populations, particularly north of Savage River, continued to thrive. “It’s important to see that it is not all doom and gloom for this species,” Dr Fox said.

The Source recruits Leban

Philippe Jacques Leban, 45, has been appointed Executive Chef at Moorilla Estate’s The Source Restaurant. Born in Paris and raised in Sydney, Leban has worked in some of the best-regarded kitchens in Paris and Sydney and was Head Chef at the award-winning Hamilton House, on the Bund in Shanghai, from 2007 to 2009. He said in February: “David Walsh’s vision for MONA [the Museum of New and Old Art that will open in 2011] is what drew me here … I want to be able to offer a food experience that matches his cultural challenge. I want not only to create new dishes with our local produce but to look at the traditional French dishes, to give them my touch with a MONA twist.”

During his time at Hamilton House, the restaurant won a place on Conde Nast Traveler’s 100 Hot List Tables and was judged best new restaurant in Shanghai in 2009. Leban won an American Academy of Hospitality Sciences Five Star Diamond Award for being one of Asia’s best chefs in 2009.

Sales to China almost double

China has become the single largest importer of Tasmanian goods, even without the inclusion of trade through its Hong Kong gateway. China bought 17.7 per cent of all the State’s exports in the year to December 2009, data released in February shows. When Hong Kong is included the share of Tasmania’s trade rises to 26.7 per cent of all exports. China’s growing economic power was reflected in a near-doubling of exports from $276 million to $540 million in a year. Elsewhere in Asia, the global financial crisis severely curtailed trade. Trade with the Republic of Korea was down 58 per cent, Japan, once our biggest trading partner, was down 46 per cent and Taiwan was down 26.3 per cent. Overall, the value of overseas exports from Tasmania was $3.05 billion in the year to December 2009, a decline of 16 per cent.

The Wall in the Wilderness turns five

The Wall in the Wilderness at Derwent Bridge turned five on 1 March and celebrated by offering members of the public an opportunity to carve their names on a section of the huge Huon pine panels that make up the extraordinary gallery of Greg Duncan’s work. The sculptor set out in 2005 to carve a tribute to Tasmania in 100 massive and amazingly realistic Huon pine panels. Aside from Duncan’s grand, carved images depicting the Australian bush, its wildlife and its pioneers, the gallery at the unpretentious highland road-stop between Hobart and Queenstown, also features carvings of everyday subjects, such as gloves and coats, that are so realistic it’s difficult to resist touching them to satisfy oneself they are actually wood. Duncan has an international reputation and his sculptures in timber, bronze and stone are in many private collections around the world.

Gehl takes on Hobart CBD challenge

Noted Danish architect Jan Gehl has been hired by the Hobart City Council to draw up a sweeping new vision for Hobart. Professor Gehl is credited with the transformation of Melbourne’s CBD into a social hub and has also had significant input into urban planning in New York, London, Copenhagen and Sydney. The council unanimously chose Jan Gehl Architects after a tender process and has given the firm a December deadline for the development of a strategy to make the CBD a magnet for the people of greater Hobart and the city’s 600,000-plus visitors a year.

Renewable energy urged for islands

A $21.2 million plan to boost renewable energy on the Bass Strait islands has been recommended to the State Government by the Renewable Energy Industry Development Board. Funding over four years would support solar, wind and biodiesel energy generation and world-leading solutions for energy storage and demand management. In November 2009, the Federal Government provided a $15.28 million grant to Hydro Tasmania to undertake a renewable-energy demonstration project on King Island. Under the recommendations King and Flinders islands could halve diesel fuel use, while King Islanders could operate on 100 per cent renewable energy when wind and solar conditions are suitable.

Building activity powers on

The number of dwelling approvals in Tasmania increased by 2.3 per cent in December 2009 (in trend terms) to be 28 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. The Nation Building - Economic Stimulus Plan pushed public sector dwelling approvals up by 165.6 per cent in the 12 months to December 2009. The value of residential approvals increased 3.9 per cent (or $29.2 million) in 2009, while the value of non-residential building approvals increased by 43.6 per cent (or $223.2 million).

Car sales jump 17.8pc

New motor vehicle sales increased 17.8 per cent in Tasmania in December 2009, the biggest rise in any State or territory. The 1,777 new vehicle sales were 31.9 per cent above the number sold in December 2008 and the highest monthly total since the global recession began. The surge coincided with the last month of an Australian Government stimulus package that allowed eligible businesses to claim an increased tax deduction on new motor vehicles. Nationally, there was a 3.3 per cent increase in sales.

Access shows optimism

Access Economics reported in its latest Business Outlook that it expects Tasmania to continue economic expansion in 2010 and to benefit from a significant rise in exports. The reports said: “Tasmania has slowed, but it has not stalled. In part that is because the State hit this downturn when it was running. Indeed, by the standards of past Tasmanian growth, it was downright sprinting. That momentum helped bear the brunt of the downturn, leaving Tasmania’s economy currently weak, but still growing.”

Hydro appoints new Director

Chloe Munro, the independent non-executive chairman of AquaSure, a consortium building Victoria’s desalination plant, has been appointed to the Hydro Tasmania board. Ms Munro, who is also a member of the National Water Commission, has both public policy and corporate finance experience, drawing on public and private sector roles in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. She will serve as a Director for three years replacing Michael Cavell who retired from the Board in November 2009.

Chickenfeed flies coop

Tasmanian retail chain Chickenfeed will close its office and warehouse at Cambridge in mid-2010 and move its headquarters operations interstate. Entrepreneur Jan Cameron, who distributes all the group’s profit to charity, offered employees alternative work in Chickenfeed stores or interstate where the group plans to establish 400 new stores. Ms Cameron has given Foodbank, a charity that distributes donated food, a free 10-year lease of the warehouse building.

Gunns plans major restructure

Forestry business Gunns Ltd announced plans for a major restructure in February after posting a half-yearly profit of $400,000 – down from $33.6 million at the same time last year. Gunns’ earnings in the first half of the year fell 88 per cent because of a downturn in Asian woodchip markets, a rising Australian dollar and a decline in managed investment scheme sales. The company plans to create a separate investment vehicle to facilitate direct investment into its plantation estate and proposed Bell Bay pulp mill.

Cellist’s career takes off

Tasmanian cellist William Hewer, 20, is the youngest of nine young Australian musicians chosen to join the elite Sydney Symphony Fellowship in 2010. Hewer, who attended the Hutchins School and the UTAS Conservatorium of Music, has been playing the cello since he was seven. He will be mentored and tutored by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and international guest artists. He performed with the other new fellows in the first of many concerts in Sydney in early March.

Telstra adds 120 jobs

Telstra is to expand its Hobart contact centre, creating an extra 120 permanent jobs and bringing permanent employment up to 200. More than 5,000 people are now employed in the State’s call centre industry.

Big year for retailers

Tasmanians spent at record levels in 2009, boosting retail trade 6.5 per cent to $5.3 million. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that retail trade increased by 0.1 per cent (in trend terms) and was valued at $444.7 million for the month.