Kids' advocate hits power limit

TASMANIA'S Commissioner for Children, Aileen Ashford, has left her post, calling for more support for Tasmania's young people.

Repeating the concerns of past commissioners, Ms Ashford called for her role to have greater powers.

She said yesterday she would leave in June, five months short of her three-year contract, to take a role as the chief executive of the Child Protection Society in Victoria.

"There is a misconception that the Commissioner for Children is powerful," Ms Ashford said.

"But the powers of the role are very limited. There is no inquiry without permission from the minister."

Ms Ashford is the latest high-profile government-appointed leader to leave the state.

Risdon Prison boss Barry Greenberry resigned earlier this month little over a year into his five-year contract.

Labor was rocked late last month when the head of the Treasury Department, Martin Wallace, announced he would step down from the role after the State Budget in May.

Ms Ashford called for the State Government to establish a youth portfolio and give future commissioners five-year terms.

"The Government does not have a youth policy," she said.

"We have a lot of emphasis on the early years but we seem to have missed kids eight years and up.

"Three years is not a very long time to enact change."

Ms Ashford said a new model for the Ashley Detention Centre also needed to be established.

"I'd like to see a different Ashley," she said, referring to the state's only youth detention centre, based in northern Tasmania.

"There will always be a place for detention.

"But when you talk to the kids it is too far away to have families and friends visit.

"The state needs a bail support system for the very small percentage of Tasmanian youth who end up in trouble with the law."

Ms Ashford thanked her staff and said the best part of the job was being able to talk to young people.

She said education and having jobs to go to were major concerns for youth.

She said education was the key to helping kids escape a cycle of poverty.

Children's Minister Michelle O'Byrne thanked Ms Ashford for her time in the role.

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Hold-up at Sandy Bay servo

TWO people held up a service station in Sandy Bay last night, one of them a male armed with a shotgun.

Police said the pair entered the Caltex Service Station on Regent St about 7.30pm.

The offenders fled the area with cash and cigarettes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hobart Criminal Investigation Branch or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Information may be left anonymously and people may be entitled to a reward.

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Milne marks milestone

CHRISTINE Milne intends to lead the Greens well beyond the September election after notching up her first year in the job.

Tomorrow marks 12 months since the Tasmanian senator took over from party icon Bob Brown amid suggestions she would only be warming the seat before a generational change.

Senator Brown steps down

But Senator Milne, whose seat will not be contested at the September 14 federal election, says she plans to stay in the job long term, regardless of how the party performs at its first poll without Dr Brown at the helm.

"We're a democratic party and all of our positions are thrown open after an election," she told reporters in Hobart today.

"I would like to stay in the leadership of the Greens into the future because we've got big things to deliver."

Senator Milne nominated solar energy plants, high-speed rail and the positioning of Hobart as China's gateway to Antarctica as items still on her agenda.

"There are so many big-ticket items, and the only way they're going to be secured for this country is with the Greens," she said.

"We will actually stand firm.

"We've got the courage to stand up and I've got a lot of things to deliver."

Flanked by her 41-year-old deputy Adam Bandt, Senator Milne said the leadership handover from Dr Brown, who she described as the party's first "wise elder", had been seamless.

"We have been almost textbook perfect in terms of a leadership transition," she said.

Her 12 months in the job had delivered the Federal Government's clean energy legislation, the banning of a controversial super-trawler, an increasingly successful fight against coal seam gas and a social justice focus, she said.

Woodside Petroleum's announcement today that it was reconsidering a proposed gas plant in the environmentally sensitive Kimberley coastal region of Western Australia was icing on the one-year birthday cake.

"Of course, it has been a challenge to drive the biggest social, environmental and economic reform in decades in terms of addressing global warming," Senator Milne said.

"There's nothing (we) could be more proud of in terms of setting the country up for where we need to be in a global economy which is recognising innovation, new technology, low carbon is the future."

Polling slipped for the Greens after Dr Brown's departure but has since stabilised.

Senator Milne blamed the Federal Opposition for the challenge facing progressive parties across Australia.

"A lot can be attributed to the hugely negative campaign Tony Abbott has run … it's way over the top," she said.

"He's been exposed as having told a pack of lies (on the carbon tax)."

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Retrial over WA killing

AN 83-year-old man found guilty of manslaughter will face a retrial after winning an appeal against his conviction over the death of a Perth woman more than 20 years ago.

Ronald Leslie Pennington was extradited from Tasmania to stand trial for the death of 41-year-old Cariad Anderson Slater who disappeared in July 1992.

Kill accused drops bail bid

Her skeletal remains were found in 2011 in a backyard where Pennington used to live.

A Supreme Court jury found the 83-year-old guilty last year of manslaughter and he was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

But the Court of Appeal today ruled that the trial judge had erred in his directions to the jury.

Pennington's conviction was quashed and a retrial was ordered.

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Bridge divers' work piles up

Dive crews on the floating platform used as a base for their cleaning operation. Pictures: KIM EISZELE

AN underwater project on a scale not seen in Tasmania is under way to protect one of the state's most valuable assets – the 48-year-old Tasman Bridge.

A team of professional divers is working under difficult conditions to wrap protective jackets around the steel piles that support the bridge in a $2 million, three-year project designed to prolong the bridge's life.

Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources Infrastructure Services manager Shane Gregory said the project was a first for Tasmania.

"As a state we haven't done this before. It's been done in other places in the world, but not here," Mr Gregory said.

"The Tasman Bridge is the most valuable asset on Tasmanian roads and would be a significant cost to replace," he said.

"Maintenance is everything. You have to look after it. Just like a weatherboard house, you have to paint it regularly."

The project was part of ongoing maintenance work that would ensure the bridge achieved its designated lifespan of 100 years and beyond, he said.

"I have every expectation that it would survive longer than that."

The pile jackets, made in Victoria, are impregnated with a heavy-duty marine grease on the inside of rubber material that is tightened to each pile with steel fasteners.

A specialist team of seven experienced, qualified divers have been in the water for up to 10 hours a day blasting 50 years of barnacles, grime and seaweed off the piles before the jackets can be attached.

Tasmanian commercial diving company Subsea Access is doing the work.

Owner Adam Stephens said his crew of seven divers included former army men who had served in Afghanistan and divers who work on oil rigs.

"They are a very, very good crew," Mr Stephens said.

Divers climb down a steep ladder off the rolling barge deck into the water attached to a thick umbilical cord, which contains audio, video, air and light cabling.

A fully rigged rescue or standby diver is always on deck in case there are problems.

Divers wear a harness clipped to a rope around the pile to keep them from being washed away by the strong currents under the bridge.

They are in constant audio and visual contact with dive supervisor Luke Martin, who never takes his eyes off the computer screen inside the barge office.

The divers' helmets have lights to help them see in the murky swirling water.

The high-pressure 8000psi water blaster they use to get the barnacles off the pile creates its own share of muck underwater.

jennifer.crawley@news.com.au

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Water forces college closure

ROSNY College will be closed again tomorrow because of a burst water main.

The College was also closed today.

The Education Department said repair work on the pipe would require excavation and the College will be without water.

Rosny College students who have classes at the Tasmanian Polytechnic should attend as normal.

Teachers will be able to work and are being advised to attend.

The department expects the College will reopen on Monday.

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O'Byrne hit over 'criminal' tag

LIBERAL senator Eric Abetz has slammed Tasmanian Labor minister David O'Byrne for calling former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher a "war criminal" on Twitter.

Mr O'Byrne, whose portfolios include police and workplace relations, tweeted on Monday: "she was a war criminal, let's never forget the Belgrano".

The comment was a reference to the Argentine Navy ship the General Belgrano, which was sunk by the British during the Falklands War in 1982, killing more than 300 sailors.

Senator Abetz has described Mr O'Byrne as an "embarrassment" and accused him of flirting with Marxism.

"This kind of vile commentary, following the passing of one of the world's strongest leaders, is to be condemned in the strongest terms," Senator Abetz said in a statement.

"It is a national embarrassment to have this minister labelling a genuinely democratically elected leader from one of the world's oldest democracies a war criminal."

Senator Abetz lauded Lady Thatcher's achievements as British prime minister, which he said included "taking a tough stand against communism and socialism".

"By contrast David O'Byrne has worked to bring radical and socialist policies to Tasmania, even inviting the Marxist president of Venezuela (the late) Hugo Chavez to Australia," Senator Abetz said.

Mr O'Byrne stood by his Twitter comments, but added: "Her death is a tragic thing for her family & loved ones but does not erase her deeds."

Former Greens leader Bob Brown said on Tuesday his overriding memory of Lady Thatcher would be the "massacre" of the Belgrano sailors.

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Star scholar off to Cambridge

TASMANIAN Sarah Lynn Rees is among just four people to win a 2013 Charles Perkins Scholarship for indigenous Australians.

Sarah will start post-graduate studies in architecture and urban design at Cambridge University later this year.

A descendant of Dolly Dalrymple and the Plangermaireener people in Tasmania, she grew up in Hobart before achieving first-class honours in a Bachelor of Environments, majoring in architecture, at the University of Melbourne.

The 23-year-old now works for Melbourne's Jackson Clements Burrows Architects and was thrilled to be named a recipient.

"My research proposal was on the concept of nomadic housing and indigenous culture," Sarah said.

"It's still four more years of study and experience to become a registered architect, but I'd become the eighth indigenous person to be an architect in Australia. There are only seven."

Sarah attended MacKillop College at Mornington and Rosny College.

British High Commissioner Paul Madden announced the scholarships in Canberra today. Worth $50,000 a year, they are designed to assist post-graduate studies at Oxford and Cambridge.

In 1966, Dr Perkins became the first indigenous Australian man to graduate from university.

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Podiatrist denies sex assault

A PODIATRIST pulled a patient's underpants down before sexually assaulting her during a consultation for a foot problem in 2011, the Supreme Court in Launceston has heard.

Terence Williams has pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting the woman by touching her breasts and one count of aggravated sexual assault.

The offences allegedly occurred at a clinic in suburban Kings Meadows on November 15, 2011.

The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said it was the second time she had seen Mr Williams about a problem with her right foot.

The 30-year-old woman sobbed as she told a jury that Mr Williams said "I am going inside now " before putting his fingers into her bottom.

The woman said Mr Williams had not said anything else to her.

"I asked him if I was out of line," she said.

"He said 'I thought you were'."

She said she was shocked he had not used a glove or washed his hands.

The woman said Mr Williams had earlier undone her bra and moved his hands up and down her sides before cupping her breasts.

The trial, before Justice Peter Evans, is continuing.

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Churches blast reform 'tsunami'

TASMANIA'S church leaders have united to try to stop the "tsunami" of social changes being pushed by the State Government.

Anglican Bishop John Harrower and Catholic Archbishop Adrian Doyle were among those today calling for the Government not to ignore Christian values as it pushed for legislative reform on euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Presbyterian moderator David Jones, the Baptist Union's John Smith, Australian Christian Churches Pastor Peter Shurley, and Salvation Army division commander Ritchie Watson were among the others to sign the "Salamanca Declaration".

The group said it affirmed the values of "life, liberty and legacy".

Bishop Harrower said the "appalling" abortion laws cemented social and economic factors that could include gender selection as reasons for justifying terminations up to full term.

"Are we moving to infanticide?" he asked.

He said it was wrong to expect proper responses to the "tsunami of legislation" and a few weeks were not enough to allow full consideration of the issues.

"This is not the same as Victorian legislation."

Legana Christian Church pastor Andrew Corbett said the termination law was more dramatic than the most liberalised in the world.

He said Christian views were specifically excluded in the legislation.

"Enough's enough," he said.

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C-cell proponent seeks funds

Southern Waste Solutions chief Christine Bell at the site of the company's proposed C-cell development.

SOUTHERN Waste Solutions will lodge its application for federal funds this week to help it build a C-cell dump at Copping.

The company is understood to be seeking about $5 million and hopes to start the project by the end of this year.

Last year, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie called for no federal funds for the controversial contaminated-waste dump.

Tasmania is the only state without a Category C waste disposal cell.

The proposal has already been approved by the Environment Protection Authority.

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Accused killer faces court

A MAN accused of the hammer murders of two academics at Mountain River last December has appeared via video-link in Hobart's Supreme Court.

Nicolau Francisco Soares, 27, of Western Australia, is accused of killing his mother Delys Weston, 62, and health economist Gavin Mooney, 69, at their property on December 20.

Mr Soares spoke only once -- to confirm his identity -- during today's proceedings.

Justice Helen Wood ordered him to appear again on July 22.

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Tassie shucks oyster slight

TASMANIA'S reputation for seafood has taken a hit after the oyster contamination but can survive an isolated case, say industry leaders.

A gastroenteritis outbreak struck more than 200 people in Tasmania and Victoria after a sewerage line leaked near an oyster lease at Dunalley.

On Thursday night, viewers of The Footy Show heard remarks about Collingwood player Heath Shaw's gastro, which stopped him playing in last Sunday's match.

Panellists said he had eaten Tasmanian oysters.

Oyster pioneer Barilla Bay Seafoods recalled stock and destroyed harvested oysters.

Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council chief executive officer Neil Stump said action had been swift.

"The industry when alerted has acted promptly and put in the proper protocols and measures so, hopefully, consumers will be understanding this is not caused by the farmers," Dr Stump said.

"We're hoping for a bit of understanding."

Oyster-related gastro outbreaks interstate are not uncommon, but it was a first for Tasmania's commercial oyster industry, public health director Roscoe Taylor said.

Dr Taylor praised Barilla Bay's voluntary recall as a good example to business.

Oysters Tasmania executive officer Tom Lewis said public health bosses acted conservatively and everything had been done correctly.

Tourism Minister Scott Bacon said the case showed why water and sewerage reform was so important for health and environment.

"I think there's no question there's been some negative media around this," Mr Bacon said.

"We put in a lot of work to establish Tasmania's clean reputation for quality food right across the different types of produce and we want to see that continue."

Primary Industries and Water Minister Bryan Green said he was saddened.

"We fight so hard to make sure our seafood, our aquaculture industry, is sold around the world and it's disappointing we have affected oysters making people sick here and on the mainland," Mr Green said.

"The good thing is that we've been able to isolate the problem so people understand it's not a wider problem. This was an isolated incident, one we're now on top of, but it highlights how important it is we have water and sewerage reform. That will ensure our waters are and can remain pristine to provide for this fantastic industry."

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Keeping the V8 roar on track

WINNER: Fabian Coulthard crosses the line first - ahead of Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom. Picture: ROSS MARSDEN

V8 SUPERCARS Australia and the State Government are negotiating a new deal to keep the V8s coming to Tasmania until at least 2017.

Talks include a multi-million-dollar upgrade of Symmons Plains raceway and creating new local jobs around the state's biggest sporting event.

Round two of the Australian V8 Supercar championships at Symmons this weekend, which Premier Lara Giddings will attend today, is the second instalment of a three-year contract between the Supercars and Government for the V8s to race in Tasmania.

Even though 2014 is locked in, talks started behind closed doors on Friday on a new three to five-year deal.

As well as an event guarantee, talks have centred on millions being spent on the track and its facilities in the next few years, with money coming from the State Government and V8 Supercars Australia.

Tasmanian Mark Perry, V8 Supercars Australia's new director of promoted events, is in the thick of negotiations.

The former boss of Targa Tasmania has just moved from Hobart to the Gold Coast to take up the post.

"Tasmania is definitely part of our future plans and we've started talking about a new three to five-year arrangement," Mr Perry said.

"The Government, us, and all the stakeholders would love to see more money spent at Symmons Plains to make the facilities better for the fans, drivers and everyone.

"That is definitely a key to our discussions right now putting a bit more into the track and also the local community and into getting more employment involved around the round and the economy.

"The Government is very much onside with that and we'll spend more money here as well and form some partnerships that will make this track better."

The investment in infrastructure would be a joint effort.

"No one expects the Government to be constantly dipping into its pocket," Perry said.

"It's unreasonable in the current world, and our sport and the fans get the benefit at the end of the day."

Upgrades may eventually include altering the track layout for the Supercars, which lap at an average 170km/h and reach 280km/h.

"This track was never built for cars that go as fast as they do these days, so we need to consider all of that for the long term," Perry said.

"Nothing happens overnight so you've got to start planning now so budgeting can be done and signed off."

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