Cost cuts hit bins

HOBART city streets and parks are set to lose 100 public rubbish bins in a bid to save money.

Hobart City Council's infrastructure committee has recommended their removal in a six-month trial to reduce rubbish-collection costs.

Many of the bins will disappear from bus stops.

Acting Lord Mayor Ron Christie said bins placed on bus routes for the disposal of tickets were now redundant.

The changeover from paper to electronic ticketing meant the bins remained empty, Alderman Christie said.

Bins clustered around the city were also on the council's hit list.

"There are six bins on the corner of Argyle and Collins streets and eight bins in Cornelian Bay Park," Ald Christie said.

"We don't need that many bins in the one spot."

The review also recommended a six-month trial of halving weekend waste collection from city bins to one day.

Ald Christie said council staff would monitor the amount of rubbish left during the six-month trial.

He said the council would save $300,000 by reducing its kerbside rubbish collection from weekly to fortnightly but that move was described as a "highly emotive issue" and too costly to implement.

Under that arrangement, all 120-litre bins would be upgraded to 240-litre if a fortnightly collection went ahead, Ald Christie said.

"The council would not even entertain it because it would cost us $1.2 billion," he said.

As well, larger families had concerns about the fortnightly collections.

"You leave rubbish out for two weeks it tends to go off a bit," he said.

The recommendations will go before the council for consideration at its meeting on Monday, April 15.

Public litter bin and weekly kerbside collection costs the council $2.4 million a year.

Meanwhile, Hobart City Council is monitoring neighbouring Glenorchy City Council's fortnightly rubbish collections.

jennifer.crawley@news.com.au

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Lowndes happy with 90

CRAIG Lowndes is on the verge of a record-equalling 90th V8 supercar win today but he has something bigger on his mind at Symmons Plains today - don't stuff up the start.

After setting the fastest time in official practice yesterday, Lowndes is the man to beat going into qualifying for the opening race of round two of the Australian V8 Supercar championship today and tomorrow.

Lowndes lapped Symmons in 51.3794sec yesterday, with Red Bull Racing teammate Jamie Whincup's Commodore and Fabian Coulthard's Lockwood Commodore a blink of an eye behind.

If Lowndes continues his sizzling pace and grabs pole today, he believes the rolling start the first in V8 supercar history will be a challenge in itself.

"It could easily be stuffed up," he said yesterday.

"We had a practice at Eastern Creek and that was a bit of a calamity.

"And that was with only 16 cars, because some teams didn't want to take part."

Race one today is a 25-lap sprint race, with only a 15-minute break before race two, which will get away under a rolling start.

The RBR drivers have been studying the rules and running through the scenario given they are two contenders for pole.

"The rules are unbelievably clear, so if someone stuffs it up they should get a penalty," Whincup said.

The top 10 in practice were all Holdens, except for Mark Winterbottom's Ford Falcon in seventh place.

Only two Fords were faster than the best of the newcomers Mercedes-Benz and Nissan - Lee Holdsworth's Mercedes E63 AMG in 15th.

The other Mercedes and Nissans struggled on the time sheets because they could not match the Commodores and Falcons down the long main straight.

Should Lowndes win this weekend he will join his former Bathurst-winning teammate Mark Skaife on 90 race victories.

"I'm more excited about it than nervous," he said.

"But everyone's been talking about it, so it would be nice to get it over and done with and get on with it.

"It would be fantastic to do it here, but if it doesn't happen this weekend I'll look toward New Zealand next weekend."

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Accused pleads not guilty

NOT guilty pleas have been entered on behalf of a man charged with two murders at Hamilton in December.

Patrick Stanley Daley, 59, is accused of the murders of Meagan Wilton, 31, and Benjamin Samuel Eyles, 34, in their Hamilton home in December.

Daley was conscious but did not speak and was unable to enter a plea during a bedside court hearing at the Royal Hobart Hospital this morning.

Not guilty pleas were recorded on his behalf.

Magistrate Chris Webster has ordered a report into Daley's fitness to plead to the charges.

The case will return to the Magistrates' Court on June 17.

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Push for new island abattoir

KING Island's beef producers are speaking to financial experts about setting up a new "green" abattoir on the island which will allow them to finally own the whole meat chain from paddock to plate.

The island's 140 beef farmers were rocked last year when the world's biggest meat producer JBS Swift closed its Currie abattoir leaving thousands of cattle stuck on the island with no other processing option.

Almost 100 workers also lost their jobs.

Ken Fleming, head of research at investment bank Willard Greening, went to King Island recently with Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Tasmanian Greens MHA Paul O'Halloran.

Mr Fleming said every producer he spoke to was willing to put their hand in their pockets to invest in a new independently owned abattoir.

"The farmers on the island produce great cattle but have been poor at owning their brand and garnering a premium from that," he said.

He said the proposal stacked up financially.

"People have been looking at what producers could do to re-establish an abattoir but the idea involved government funds," Mr Fleming said.

"We see it more as a commercial venture with private investors and the numbers appear to stack up."

A State Government feasibility study into re-establishing a meat plant on King Island as a locally run operation is expected to be finalised by the end of May.

But JBS Swift has already made it clear it will not sell or lease its old meat plant to new processors.

Under the JBS Swift system, 180 head of cattle a day were processed locally.

Producers received 40 per cent of the return and the abattoir pocketed 10 per cent.

The other 50 per cent was picked up at the retail end of the food chain.

Having to ship their cattle off the island since October last year has also hurt farmers both financially and in terms of good agricultural practice.

Mr Fleming said farmers acknowledged live shipment was not the best animal husbandry and saw off-shore processing as a short-term solution only.

He said a new meat plant could involve new technology such as bio-digesters, making fertiliser from blood and bone and even bio-fuel for tallow.

"It is easy to build an abattoir, a killing station, but this idea will add exclusivity of the King Island brand and is a marketable on the clean and green front," Mr Fleming said.

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LegCo reform push goes cute

A GROUP pushing for Upper House reform is using kittens to change the public's mind about the powerful house of review.

The Transform Tasmania Alliance has launched an online campaign "A Compelling Case for The Reform of Tasmania's Legislative Council brought to you by Kittens" on Facebook.

The web booklet features pictures of kittens with a range of issues being raised about the Upper House.

"Kittens are the most popular thing on the internet so we figured if you can't beat them, join them," Transform Tasmania Alliance spokesperson Brian Mitchell said.

"Reforming the Legislative Council is an important issue, but there's no reason you can't read all about it while looking at pictures of kittens."

Mr Mitchell said the campaign urges voters to support candidates who promise to reform the Legislative Council so it is more attuned to Tasmania in the 21st century, promise to be full-time MLCs and promise to open an office in their electorate.

"It beggars belief that many MLCs do not have local offices," Mr Mitchell said.

"Last year the Legislative Council sat just 50 days, and with all that spare time on their hands, many MLCs choose not to work full-time, instead doing other things like practising law.

"The TTA urges voters in those electorates to support candidates who will reform the Legislative Council so it stops being a 19th century drag on the state."

The call comes as candidates for the seat of Nelson are set to face off in the first public debate of the campaign next Wednesday at the Dr Syntax hotel on Sandy Bay Road in Sandy Bay at 7pm.

Sitting member Jim Wilkinson will debate Greens candidate Tom Baxter and independent candidate Helen Richardson.

matthew.smith@news.com.au

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Woman goes missing again

A LAUNCESTON woman who went missing for four days before being found on a busy roadside dazed and confused in late 2011 has disappeared again, leaving police with grave concerns for her welfare.

Kathy Barbara Lindner was reported missing on Monday but police fear she may have been missing for up to a week before anyone realised.

She is described as short and slim with a fair complexion and short, light brown hair.

She usually wears prescription glasses.

Police do not know what she may have been wearing at the time she disappeared.

"Ms Lindner may be in a poor physical condition and may need medical attention," Const Duffy said.

The 55-year-old from Newnham sparked a large-scale search in September 2011 before being found on a city roadside minutes before a police press conference was to be held.

Information can be given to Launceston police on 6336 3945 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Gas main ruptures

FIREFIGHTERS are on site at Patrick St, North Hobart, after the smell of gas was detected shortly after 11.30am.

Senior station officer Andrew McGuinness said crews had located a broken gas main and were working to determine what had caused the rupture.

There is no immediate threat to surrounding homes or businesses but people are advised to stay clear of the area until the situation is resolved.

Workplace Standards is investigating.

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Man dies in farewell surf

A Hobart man died while surfing at Greens Beach yesterday afternoon, the day before he was due to leave for a job in Western Australia.

A HOBART surfer who took a farewell surf with a local mate yesterday failed to make it out of the water.

The 30-year-old had been staying with a friend in Smithton and was due to leave Tasmania for Western Australia today.

Tasmania Police said the man got into difficulty while surfing off Greens Beach at Marrawah about 5pm.

A Greens Beach resident said he had spotted the man floating face down in the water.

He and his son got the surfer out of the water and tried to revive him but to no avail.

"We live right on the beach," said the resident, who did not want to be named.

"We saw the guy face down and got him to shore to try and revive him.

"We did all we could -- what anyone would do in the situation -- but sadly it was too late."

Tasmania Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious and a report was being prepared for the Coroner.

Marrawah is renowned for its wild surf but Greens Beach is regarded as one of the safest spots to surf in the area.

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Boost for state's police force

TASMANIA Police is reopening its doors to new recruits with Police Minister David O'Byrne today confirming the Government will pay to boost frontline numbers.

The surprising move comes just a fortnight after the police union staged an event at the Rokeby police academy to mark two years since the last recruitment course graduated.

Now Commissioner Darren Hine has confirmed police expect to have at least 20 to 25 new recruits in the academy before Christmas.

"It's good news," Commissioner Darren Hine said.

Mr O'Byrne said after examining the Budget, the State Government could afford to boost numbers to 1120, with the current total workforce sitting just below 1100.

Budget suts imposed two years ago resulted in a 9 per cent reduction of police officers.

But Mr O'Byrne was unable to rule out cutting numbers again if Labor wins next year's State election.

"If there's another significant reduction in GST receipts, we'd have to have another look at the Budget," he said.

Both he and Mr Hine denied the announcement was prompted by the union condemning the Government and personally targeting Mr O'Byrne.

"It's something we've been looking at for about six months," Mr O'Byrne said.

Mr Hine said he was unaware of the budget boost until now.

The police union said it found out about the new intake of recruits via the Mercury.

The State Government would not say how much the recruit course would cost and said the details still need to be worked out with police management, but Mr O'Byrne confirmed the bonus would likely be in the millions.

A recruitment website will be set up soon.

zara.dawtrey@news.com.au

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Tigers name their new coach

Dan Marsh, seen here in action for the Tasmanian Tigers in 2009, has been named the new coach of the team, replacing Tim Coyle.

SON of a gun Dan Marsh has been appointed coach of the Tasmanian Tigers for the next three years.

The son of Australian cricket legend and Test selector Rod Marsh, 39-year-old Dan will steer the Tigers until 2015-16.

Marsh replaces Tim Coyle, who walked away as the state's most successful coach and one of the best in the country over the past seven years

Cricket Tasmania had 25 applications for the job, with applicants from Australia and New Zealand as well as India and South Africa.

"We made this decision following a very thorough process," said CT chairman Tony Harrison.

"We advertised the position throughout the cricket network and we received applications from around Australia and overseas.

"We believe the appointment we have made is the right appointment to continue the great culture of Tasmanian cricket which has rewarded us substantially over the past six years.

"Dan is the man that will continue the job Tim Coyle has done here.

"We are very pleased about that and we congratulate Dan on his appointment."

Under Coyle's tenure, Tasmania won three Shield titles and triumphed in two one-day cup deciders, while also reaching another two coloured clothing finals and last year's Shield loss to Queensland at the Gabba.

"Dan has been part of that success, firstly as a player and captain of the Tigers, and latterly on our coaching staff," Harrison said.

"But it was never a foregone conclusion.

"We were very confident we had quality coaches in our system, like Allister de Winter and Michael Di Venuto who are now coaching in the national system, and before them Troy Cooley.

"So we are developing very professional and competent coaches.

"We were confident we had the right coach in the system but we wanted to be sure and the board wanted to go through a proper due diligence process.

"Dan came out on top and that's fantastic."

Marsh started his new job immediately after today's announcement at Blundstone Arena.

"I'm very excited and honoured to be given the role and I can't wait to get started," he said.

The Hurricanes coaching role is still vacant, and Marsh will also be considered for that job.

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