The News Review:
- Tasmanian organics industry says bigger than projected
- Adventurer facing rough journey to NZ
- Author Snapshot: Gordon Aalborg
- Call to keep Margate childcare centre open
Tasmanian organics industry says bigger than projected
ABC nline
Biological Farmers of Australia director Dr. Andrew Monk says the first Australian organic market report produced by independent researchers at UNE in 2008 was conservative by design. But he says the reported statistics for Tasmanian organic horticulture and livestock were significantly lower than the actual figures. “There was an under-shooting in areas such as horticulture and meat production in particular” he says.
Adventurer facing rough journey to NZ
Stuff.co.nz
The MetService issued a storm warning last night predicting 35 to 40-knot (64-74kmh) northeasterly gales today for the “Forties” region of ocean where liver Hicks is currently rowing. Hicks who left Tasmania 84 days ago in his 200000 (NZ$504000) state-of-the-art rowboat had planned to to circumnavigate Antarctica as a solo oarsman. Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said the authority had already prevented Hicks from launching in New Zealand deeming his vessel unseaworthy for the type of journey he proposed. MNZ was monitoring Hicks via GPS updates on his website information from his sponsors and whenever he contacted it directly Ms Hazelhurst said. Stewart Island Fishermen’s Radio operator Maureen Jones said she had not heard from Mr Hicks nor did she know his exact position. His proposed journey was quite dangerous for this time of year with shorter daylight hours and more ice beginning to drift north.
Author Snapshot: Gordon Aalborg
January magazine
Though Aalborg is back to writing under his own name Victoria Gordon survives 20 books in. The most recent novel to be published under that name 2004?s Finding Bess was co-written by Aalborg and the author who is now his wife Denise Dietz (Strangle A Loaf of Italian Bread) before they married. Aalborg and Dietz wrote the book via e-mail when he was still living in Tasmania and she was living in Colorado. ?What a hoot — she kept wanting to kill people off and I kept wanting to get them into bed together. ?While Aalborg became what may have been the first man to write serious category romance I would suspect that the Victoria Gordon novels were not the books of his heart romance or no. Aalborg?s own passion seems closer to the surface in books like the newly published.
Call to keep Margate childcare centre open
ABC nline
The court-appointed receivers of ABC Learning could not find a buyer for the Margate centre which is facing closure. The pposition Leader Will Hodgman says it is vital for Tasmania that childcare centres stay open. “Tasmania still suffers a net migration loss of people aged between 25 and 40 years of age” Mr Hodgman said. “And one of the reasons in my view is that we don’t have adequate sufficient childcare service available to us. Parliamentary Secretary Heather Butler says the government would like to see the centre remain open. But she says the conditions of sale are for the court-appointed receivers to determine not the government.
Related from Greenjolly: Eurovision legends come to Margate