So here we go again.
A spot of déjà vu after agreeing to be on the ticket supporting Tasmanian Greens lead candidate for the Bass electorate, Jack Davenport. A surprise phone call from our wonderful surfing senator Peter Whish-Wilson, when in Perth visiting friends and family recently, and the power of persuasion is the only reason I agreed – but only on the condition I was number five on the ticket. That’s a distant last for those unfamiliar with Tasmania’s Hare Clark system, with zero chance of being elected. Really, I’m just there so all those who want to vote Green all the way down the ticket can do so. In 2014 I had some small advantage of name recognition due to the pulp mill campaign. That’s not the case this time around so if I achieve a dozen votes I reckon I’ll be doing well! However, every vote counts.
I suspect this short sharp campaign will be a little different to the last time I put up my hand, back in 2014 when we still had the wonderful Kim Booth representing the Greens in Bass. Supporting a sitting MP is a vastly different prospect to getting our lead candidate over the line and into parliament so Bass has a Greens MP once again. Kim’s re-election was always a nail-biting time and this election is unlikely to be any different.
What a fantastic Greens team we have though, and really hoping Tasmanians will see through the undeniably cynical tactics of premier Peter Gutwein to go 12 months early, arguably hoping that by riding on the back of Covid, he can replicate the recent WA result that saw a landslide Labor victory. Too much of a landslide really as there’s now a completely ineffective Opposition which isn’t healthy for democracy at all. I hope that won’t be the case here.
Despite the carefully constructed spin Mr Gutwein has done very little, really, in respect of ‘keeping us all safe through Covid’ other than follow the advice of the state’s public health officer. Just as all the premiers have done. He and his government have done next to nothing to address the housing, homelessness, hospitals and health issues – all of which are a disgrace. The economy here, and throughout the country, is likely to tumble like a pack of cards when the loss of JobKeeper starts to kick in, bringing into question the economic credentials the Liberals like to pride themselves on, but which in fact have no basis in reality. Meanwhile the trashing of our environment, our forests, our rivers, lakes and oceans continues.
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A review of a very readable sci-fi thriller with a Doctor Who element.
An Animals Australia article that highlights the use of toxicity testing of chemicals on animals is still being done around the globe.
Attracting the interest of a publisher for this story of a community’s campaign to stop what would have been ‘the world’s fourth largest pulp mill’ being built was never going to be easy, but hoping the first of two 3-minute Literary Speed Dating pitch sessions will prompt at least one of the two publishers to request the full MSS. And preferably both of them. These twice-yearly Perfect Pitch sessions are offered to members of the Australian Society of Authors, and this is the first time I’ve taken advantage of them – mainly because of the need to have a completed MSS before doing so. Three minutes isn’t long to excite the interest of a publisher who is after stories in very specific genres, and who therefore needs to believe your MSS is worth investing the time needed to read it in full. I’m pretty certain I’ve excited the necessary interest, but given Jane will hear the pitches of many more optimistic and talented writers after my morning session today, there are no guarantees. That initial interest might well wane as the day goes on if other writers have written stories that sound far more intriguing – and marketable. One can never forget that aspect of publishing these days: will the book sell. I believe my story will – certainly in Tasmania it definitely will – but a wider Australian readership? That’s an unknown even if my mentor is convinced of the story’s universal appeal. I’d certainly like to think I’ve caught the zeitgeist wave given the current widespread community unrest over AI data centres, that’s already prompting similar serious opposition, and for many of the same reasons the Tamar Valley’s community opposed the pulp mill. Environmental degradation, threats to public health, water usage – and water shortages in an era of escalating climate extremes – and the constant, relentless noise factor that’s associated with data centres, and AI data centres in particular. I’m crossing my fingers that the second pitch session will be equally positive, and that I could strike it lucky with both publishers requesting to see the full MSS. But I won’t get ahead of myself. I’ll just be keeping all fingers and toes firmly crossed for the next seven days.