DPP still recovering from crash

DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions Tim Ellis, SC, will not return to work for several months until a police investigation into a fatal road crash is finalised, says Attorney-General Brian Wightman.

Mr Ellis was seriously injured in a road accident on the Midland Highway near Oatlands on March 24 in which a Launceston woman was killed.

He was released from hospital last week.

Mr Wightman said Victorian Coroner Judge Ian Gray had been appointed to conduct the inquest into the death of 27-year-old Natalia Pearn in the crash.

"I have recommended the Governor make this appointment on the advice of the Chief Coroner of Tasmania," Mr Wightman said in a statement.

He said Mr Ellis would not be back at work until he had recovered from his injuries and the police investigation was complete.

"The Director of Public Prosecutions ... has advised that he will not be fit to return to work for several months due to injuries sustained in a recent motor vehicle accident.

"I am advised that while he is hopeful that the police investigation into this accident will be completed within that time, he has indicated that it is his intention not to return to his office until such time as the investigation has been finalised and the outcome is known."

A police spokeswoman said investigations into the crash were continuing.

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Meat pie off menu, says Rudd

Former PM Kevin Rudd had plenty of advice for Tasmanian tourism chiefs today on the burgeoning Chinese market. Picture: LEIGH WINBURN

LEARN Chinese and take the meat pies off the menu -- that's the message from Sinophile Labor MP Kevin Rudd to Tasmania's tourism chiefs.

Addressing the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania meeting in Hobart today, Mr Rudd gave his perspective on ways the industry might cash in as the burgeoning Chinese middle class catches the travel bug.

Mr Rudd said he had never worked in the tourism industry and his advice was in the form of friendly observations to boost the industry in Tasmania.

Unspoiled nature, seafood and high-standard accommodation were key strengths Tasmania must use to its advantage he said.

"Tasmania is potentially a very good and great brand in China," he said.

"When they think of a place like this, what are its three essential assets? It's clean, it's green and it's blue -- there's a blue ocean out there and the skies are also blue.

"If you're living in downtown Beijing, you might have seen the news in the last 12 months that it hasn't been the cleanest of environmental experiences.

"In fact, that can be said of most if not all of China's major cities.

"Therefore the intrinsic appeal of being able to get out and experience a clean environment with decent first-class accommodation and being able to experience something of the natural environment is frankly up there at the top of the pops."

But some of the attractions that appealed to domestic tourists would not be a Chinese tourist's cup of tea.

"I wouldn't seek to advertise Tasmania's colonial architectural heritage. People like us would enjoy that (but) I don't think the Chinese would give a bugger about it to be honest," the former prime minister said.

"If you think mum's home-baked meat pie is the way through, think again. It does not translate, it does not compute."

He said lashings of Tasmania's famous seafood, access to fast broadband and improving language skills among hospitality workers were further keys to success in the Chinese market.

david.killick@news.com.au

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Who's carrying the can?

A young Audrey Williams with her bike and her trusty Bucky can. Picture: LIFE MAGAZINE

HAVE you seen this bucket?

Otherwise known as a "Buckby can", these brightly painted pails were used as water buckets, wash basins and for a variety of other uses on board British canal boats.

Now the hunt is on to find the Buckby can once owned by Hobart resident Audrey Williams.

Mrs Williams used to be a river boat steerer during World War II, ferrying supplies to and from British factories at a time when most able-bodied men were away fighting.

She now lives in Hobart but prior to moving in to the Vaucluse Gardens retirement village in 2000 she held a garage sale and one of the items sold was her Buckby can.

The 91-year-old is the subject of an upcoming book by British writer Tim Coghlan and he hopes to find and buy the can so it can be placed in a museum.

The can and dipper (similar to a ladle) were sold at a garage sale in Lachlan Drive, Mt Nelson, in 2000 to an unknown woman.

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Plastic bags to get the boot

Legislation will be tabled in State Parliament today to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags by November this year.

THE State Government is forging ahead with plans to ban non-biodegradable plastic shopping bags in Tasmania.

Legislation will be tabled in Parliament tomorrow morning in a bid to have a ban in place by November this year.

Environment Minister Brian Wightman today said the timing was right for a ban on the non-biodegradable bags mostly commonly used in supermarkets.

"We need a ban that keeps our communities and waterways clean, and our wildlife protected," he said.

"We've worked very closely with environmental campaigners, and with businesses, to develop a ban that's effective, fair on business, and safe for consumers.

Tasmanian shoppers will still be able to use biodegradable plastic bags, heavier "boutique-style" plastic bags that can be re-used, and re-usable "green" bags.

The Tasmanian Greens, who first called for the ban in 2010 with tripartisan support, have welcomed the legislation.

Information on the proposed ban can be found at www.plasticbags.tas.gov.au

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Rev up for life in fast lane

Jason and John White will be aiming to defend their Targa Tasmania crown this year.

IT is one of motorsport's great challenges.

Each year professionals, weekend racers and car enthusiasts come from far and wide to test themselves and their machines on Tasmania's roads, and they leave saying Targa Tasmania, the state's beauty and our road system are a remarkable combination.

Held every year since 1992, Targa Tasmania took up where the European tours of yesteryear left off Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, Coup des Alpes and Tour de Course.

Targa Tasmania is now the world's premier touring tarmac rally, and this year about 210 cars, each with a driver and navigator, will tackle the 42 stages from one end of the state to the other.

This year's event is the 22nd instalment of the five-day, 600km rally that starts in Launceston on Wednesday and finishes in Hobart on Sunday.

The field will gather at Symmons Plains tomorrow for final scrutineering, then converge on George Town on Tuesday for the traditional Prologue, a 5km blast through the streets to seed the field from slowest to fastest.

After the Prologue, the first-day action on Wednesday will be in the North, with stages at Sheffield, Mt Roland, Nook, Paloona, Moriarty and Merseylea.

Day two takes the field to the East Coast and North-East, starting at Rossarden and heading through stages at Elephant Pass, Pyengana, Weldborough Pass, Moorina, Legerwood and The Sideling, before finishing with the traditional Longford street stage.

The field on day three heads for Strahan on the West Coast via stages at Mole Creek, Cethana, a new stage south of Penguin named Isandula, Castra, Oldina, Hellyer Gorge, Plimsoll and Rinadeena.

The day four course is a loop that includes Burnie and the testing Reece Dam, Pieman and Murchison (Hellyer Gorge in reverse), Mt Black and Rosebery stages.

Day five is the charge from Queenstown to Hobart, and includes the Mt Arrowsmith stage, winding Tarraleah stage, with a lunch-stop at Bothwell where the public can view the cars, before stages at Woodsdale and Grasstree Hill, and the gala finish at Wrest Point Casino from 3pm.

Where to see Targa

ROAD closures for Targa Tasmania (first car expected one hour after road closure time)

PROLOGUE

Tuesday: Kayena 10.29am; Prologue 11am.

LEG ONE

Wednesday: Deloraine 7.40; High Plains 8.02; Sheffield 8.51; Nook 9.13; Moriarty 9.34; Merseylea 9.52; Railton lunch; Paloona 11.04; Mt Roland 11.42.

LEG TWO

Thursday: Rossarden 7.18; Elephant Pass 8.17; St Helens lunch; Pyengana 10.19; Weldborough 10.30; Moorina 10.45; Ledgerwood 11.16; The Sideling 11.58; Longford 1.06pm.

LEG THREE

Friday: Mole Creek 7.30am; Cethana 7.57; Castra 8.32; Ulverstone lunch; Isandula 10.01; Oldina 11.01; Hellyer Gorge 11.26; Plimsoll 12.24pm; Rinnadeena 1.06.

LEG FOUR

Saturday: Reece Dam 7.40am; Pieman 8.10; Murchison 8.55; Burnie lunch; Natone 10.35; Gunns Plains 11.27; Riana 12.11pm; Mt Black 12.46; Rosebery 1.13.

LEG FIVE

Sunday: Strahan 6.43am; Queenstown 7.17; Mt Arrowsmith 7.39; Tarraleah 8.54; Bothwell lunch; Woodsdale noon; Grasstree Hill 12.59pm.

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Rail property price boost

A LIGHT rail link for Hobart's northern suburbs could increase local property values between 10 per cent and 20 per cent, research suggests.

Research led by Curtin University's James McIntosh analyses the effect of passenger rail on other cities, using Perth and Melbourne as case studies.

A survey of academic work on property values in rail catchment areas indicates that proximity to rail services generally increases property values across residential and commercial sales.

It also increases leases between 5 and 25 per cent.

Hobart-based Mr McIntosh found the case study of Perth provided compelling evidence of the well-established link between rail access and increased land value.

A link between Hobart and Glenorchy using the existing railway line has support from all sides of politics, however, funding for the $100 million project has not been committed.

Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Adrian Kelly said the northern suburbs were one of Hobart's biggest growth areas.

Mr Kelly said public transport was a big consideration for the increasing number of city professionals buying homes in the northern suburbs.

"I have no doubt that light rail would improve property values. It certainly would make those suburbs more attractive for people to buy in, it would make them far more desirable places to live," Mr Kelly said.

While Sustainable Transport Minister Nick McKim is advocating a Hobart-Glenorchy link, a light rail lobby group wants it to go all the way to Brighton.

A report on Hobart's urban growth corridor through the northern suburbs by Hobart architects Paul Johnston and Wesley Hindmarch also predicts the benefits that come with light rail.

The researchers from transFORM urban design say the light rail project would increase the number of potential sites for affordable housing development and create a string of high-value communities and economic activity along the length of the rail corridor.

Hobart Northern Suburbs Rail Action Group president Ben Johnston said the new research added to the mounting body of expert opinion in support of light rail.

Independent Denison MP Andrew Wilkie said the research showing the potential benefits of light rail was exciting and further strengthened the case for light rail link to be funded.

"Around the world vibrant commercial and urban hubs have sprung up in rail catchment areas with all the jobs and economic opportunities that increased commercial and social activity brings," Mr Wilkie said.

"Hobart could experience real urban renewal as a result of the light rail project."

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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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