The News Review:
- Housing industry impressed with Tasmanian resilience
- Canberra man appointed to Liberals in Tasmania
- Call for Tassie action as water scientist backs northern agriculture…
- Prime time for poppy growers
- National drought bus visits Tassie rainbelt
Housing industry impressed with Tasmanian resilience
abc.net.au – Apr 22, 2008
The Association’s senior national economist Harley Dale is in Tasmania today to speak to industry members in Hobart and Launceston. Mr Dale says rising interest rates have not hit Tasmania’s housing industry as hard as the rest of the country. “The housing market in Tasmania looks considerably stronger at the present point in time than applies for Australia as a whole” said Mr Dale. “We’re continuing to see some good growth in both the new residential building and the renovation centre.
Canberra man appointed to Liberals in Tasmania
abc.net.au – Apr 22, 2008
Jonathan Hawkes was today announced to replace Damien Mantach who quit the Director’s role last month. Mr Hawkes is presently based in Canberra as an adviser to the ACT pposition Leader and also worked for the former Federal Coalition Government. He says he is looking forward to returning to Tasmania where he spent much of his childhood. “My sort of role I think is to provide support for Will Hodgman and the Tasmanian Liberal Party parliamentary team” he said. “We’re undertaking preparations right now for the 2010 state election and also the federal election probably soon after that.
Call for Tassie action as water scientist backs northern agriculture…
abc.net.au – Apr 22, 2008
Surely its time to impose some environmental planning on forestry. “While the push to boost farming in Australia’s tropics is supported in Tasmania local farmer and campaigner Richard Bovill says the national debate needs to include investments in the south. He says there is also enough water in Tasmania to ease pressure on the Murray Darling Basin. “You can’t have a dairy industry in northern Australia (but) you can have a dairy industry in Tasmania you can’t grow stonefruit in northern Australia because its a cool climate crop (but) you can grow it in Tasmania. “We have a great deal of energy in Tasmania for this debate but we do need some national champions we do need to find some of our state politicians from both parties who get out there like a Bill Heffernan and actually bang the drum for the necessity for Tasmania to be seen as an equal partner. ” In this report: Don Blackmore chair CSIR Water for a Healthy Country Program; Bill Heffernan New South Wales Liberal Senator Latest Country Hour Stories… He says there is also enough water in Tasmania to ease pressure on the Murray Darling Basin. “You can’t have a dairy industry in northern Australia (but) you can have a dairy industry in Tasmania you can’t grow stonefruit in northern Australia because its a cool climate crop (but) you can grow it in Tasmania. “We have a great deal of energy in Tasmania for this debate but we do need some national champions we do need to find some of our state politicians from both parties who get out there like a Bill Heffernan and actually bang the drum for the necessity for Tasmania to be seen as an equal partner. ” In this report: Don Blackmore chair CSIR Water for a Healthy Country Program; Bill Heffernan New South Wales Liberal Senator Latest Country Hour Stories.
Prime time for poppy growers
abc.net.au – Apr 22, 2008
The drug company GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay farmers between 25 to 35 percent more for poppies or about $4000 a hectare for an average crop. Last week from another poppy processor Tasmanian Alkaloids promised to pay 25 per cent more for crops that produce morphine. The chief executive of the Tasmanian Poppy Growers Association Keith Rice says the increase means for the first time in four years poppies seem more profitable than other crops. “There’s been enormous pressure on the poppy industry over the last four years” he said… The drug company GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay farmers between 25 to 35 percent more for poppies or about $4000 a hectare for an average crop. Last week from another poppy processor Tasmanian Alkaloids promised to pay 25 per cent more for crops that produce morphine. The chief executive of the Tasmanian Poppy Growers Association Keith Rice says the increase means for the first time in four years poppies seem more profitable than other crops. “There’s been enormous pressure on the poppy industry over the last four years” he said. “And that was growers were starting to look at the viability of the poppy crop and whether they would take their chance with poppies and given the number of very good alternatives that they have at the present time they were weighing up all of those alternatives. Mr Rice hopes the higher poppy prices will also push up the prices of farmers’ other crops.
National drought bus visits Tassie rainbelt
abc.net.au – Apr 22, 2008
Tasmania’s north-west is a prime region for agriculture but today Australia’s mobile drought office is in the town of Wynyard. Centrelink’s Denise Pappin says even high rainfall areas are now feeling the effects of the dry. “I think it’s a case of ‘you know in Tasmania we’re pretty safe from drought’ but that’s not the case’ he said. “It’s Mother Nature at her worst I guess and nobody is immune. “When I’ve been going around talking to people and by telephone request we’ve had people saying ‘look we didn’t get the Drought Bus here last time can you get it here so we can just come and see what other services you have available?’. National Rural News.