The News Review:
- Qld loses grip on Tasmania
- Tasmanian farmers back delay to phone switch
- Rural report for Northern Tasmania 21/01/08
- Native seeds to be preserved ‘for centuries’ in seed bank
- Devils may be developing disease resistance
- Australians urged to play greater role in community
Qld loses grip on Tasmania
NEWS.com.au – Jan 21, 2008
article-tools –>January 20 2008 11:00pmCENTURIES by Dan Marsh and George Bailey helped Tasmania pull off the great escape on day one of their bottom of the table Pura Cup clash against Queensland. At one stage reeling at 3-39 after losing both openers for ducks at Bellerive val Tasmania cruised to 5-333 at stumps with skipper Marsh unbeaten on 132. The Bulls roared in the first session as Tasmania crawled to 3-53 at lunch.
Tasmanian farmers back delay to phone switch
abc.net.au – Jan 21, 2008
The CDMA service was scheduled to be switched off at the end of this month and replaced by the new Next G service. But after a string of complaints about the new coverage in rural areas the federal government has intervened to delay the switch off of CDMA. The changeover date has now been delayed by three months and Telstra has agreed to replace mobile phones that are not working well in rural areas. Roger Swain president of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) says it’s the right approach.
Rural report for Northern Tasmania 21/01/08
abc.net.au – Jan 21, 2008
The Federal Communication’s Minister Stephen Conroy says Telstra has three months to replace any handsets that aren’t working properly. The announcement comes after widespread criticism of Next G by farmers across Australia. National Farmers Federation vice-president Charles Burke says the deferral is a good decision. “We can only say that there is substantive evidence that the network is not quite right yet and I think that it would have been a bit premature just to flick the switch while we had so many people experiencing what are still logistical difficulties in accessing the network” he said.
Native seeds to be preserved ‘for centuries’ in seed bank
abc.net.au – Jan 21, 2008
The Millennium Seed Bank Project is trying to collect seeds from 10 per cent of the world’s plants – that’s 24000 species – by 2010. James Wood coordinates the Tasmanian contribution to the Millennium Seed Bank. “Basically we see ourselves as a backup an insurance policy for vegetation of Tasmania” he said. “We know that we’re experiencing global climate change; that’s going to have an impact on climate; that is going to affect vegetation types – some habitats are going to decline and shrink. “If we can get these collections into the Seed Bank we can hold them long-term maybe for hundreds of years – some stuff for thousands of years. Micah Visoiv works for the Tasmanian Government and collects most of the seeds that are sent to the United Kingdom.
Devils may be developing disease resistance
abc.net.au – Jan 21, 2008
In parts of Tasmania up to 90 per cent of the devil population has been wiped out by a contagious cancer-like facial tumour disease. The devils at Alpine Field Monitoring Programme has found a 6 per cent reduction in the number of disease-affected devils sighted at Cradle Mountain in the state’s north-west. Project director Chris Copeland says the drop could be due to some gene-pools developing immunity. He says further research is needed to determine which groups of devils have developed resistance… In parts of Tasmania up to 90 per cent of the devil population has been wiped out by a contagious cancer-like facial tumour disease. The devils at Alpine Field Monitoring Programme has found a 6 per cent reduction in the number of disease-affected devils sighted at Cradle Mountain in the state’s north-west. Project director Chris Copeland says the drop could be due to some gene-pools developing immunity. He says further research is needed to determine which groups of devils have developed resistance. “There’s an eastern group of tasmanian devils and a western genetic group of tasmanian devils and Cradle Mountain would be right on the interface between the two populations” he said.
Australians urged to play greater role in community
The Age – Jan 21, 2008
Photo: AAP rietta GuerreraJanuary 22 2008 AUSTRALIANS are being asked to lift their weight in the community by being more caring and taking on voluntary work. Speaking at a dawn ceremony at Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain yesterday to mark the start of week-long Australia Day celebrations Governor-General Michael Jeffery challenged the public to volunteer and consider activities such as Rotary the Scouts and Meals on Wheels. Mounting what he described as a campaign for a more caring community Major-General Jeffery said last year’s Australian of the Year winners had set the right example.