WAG tales hit myths for six

HAVE you ever wanted an insight into the life of a cricket WAG?

Being married to an Australian cricketer has its perks, including plenty of travel and invitations to exclusive red-carpet events.

But there are downsides, such as being away from loved ones for months and missing family birthdays and weddings because of tour schedules.

Life as a cricket wife or girlfriend is never dull, which is why Virginia Lette, wife of Tasmanian cricketer Ed Cowan, has started a Girls on Tour blog to give cricket fans an insight into what life is like on tour with the team.

Ms Lette is in the UK with her husband for six months. Cowan has been playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire for the past three, but will this weekend join the Australian Test team in preparation for the Ashes series.

Travelling with the couple is 10-month-old daughter Romy, who was born in England last August so Cowan, who was captaining the Australia A side, didn't miss the birth.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone said 'So, you're a WAG?' when they find out I'm married to a professional cricketer, I would be a very rich woman," Ms Lette, a TV and radio presenter, said.

"I'm bemused by people's fascination with 'the women behind the men' and the common perception that we're all a cross between Desperate Housewives and Victoria Beckham."

But Lette spent most of the past year at home in Tranmere in her polar-fleece onesie looking after Romy alone while her husband travelled.

The blog has already attracted over 3000 views.

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Tassie beckons for Mary

HOPES are high Crown Princess Mary and Prince Frederik will visit Tasmania this year.

The Danish royals will lend their star power to the 40th birthday celebrations of the Sydney Opera House in October and there is a chance they could extend their visit to Mary's home state.

By then it will have been nearly two years since Princess Mary, now 41, visited her home city, Hobart.

The Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and Mary and Frederik are expected to promote Danish design while taking part in celebrations from October 20-28.

Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said mother-of-four Mary was "absolutely loved by the Australian public" and the pair embodied the enduring links between Australia and Denmark.

The royal couple's love bloomed during the 2000 Sydney Olympics after they met in a pub.

In Tasmania, Mary's sister Jane Stephens was politely mum on any details.

"We don't know their travel plans at this stage," she said.

The couple and children Christian, Isabella and twins Vincent and Josephine visited in December 2011 on a private holiday.

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Health costs beyond many

TASMANIA is one of 32 areas in Australia where at least one in 10 people has put off seeing a doctor, filling a prescription, or both because of the cost.

The state was also among 14 locations listed in a National Health Performance Authority report in which at least 25 per cent of residents had delayed or avoided seeing a dentist because they could not afford it.

A NHPA report, released today, is the first national attempt to examine how well access to health services aligns with local needs.

The report, for 2011-12, found that where people lived made a big difference to their access to, and use of, medical and dental services.

It also showed the areas where people had poorest average health were not receiving a larger share of health-care services, shorter waiting times for specialist attention or lower cost barriers to visiting a GP, dentist or specialist.

More than half of Tasmanians (52 per cent) were reported to have long-term health conditions in 2011-12.

The report found 27 per cent of Tasmanian adults referred to a specialist in the preceding 12 months felt they had waited longer than acceptable for an appointment. Elsewhere the proportion of people who felt they waited too long ranged from 19 to 35 per cent.

In Tasmania, the number of GP attendances per person was 5.1 a year.

This compared with only 2.4 in the remote Kimberly-Pilbara region of Western Australia or 7.4 in southwestern Sydney.

The average amount spent over those visits in Tasmania was $210.83.

The report is based on Medicare statistics as well as survey data from almost 27,000 Australian adults.

Authority chief executive Diane Watson said the NHPA's website, which allows comparisons to be made between Medicare catchments, was a good starting point to inform the public and make it easier for health leaders to see where improvements could be made.

helen.kempton@news.com.au

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Skywhale to take to skies

CITY COMMUTERS were in for an unexpected treat this morning when a change of plan saw Dark MOFO's latest exhibit launched high over the Hobart Regatta Ground during peak-hour traffic.

Motorists were given an excellent view of the $300,000, 34m-long Skywhale as it lifted off just before 9am.

The artwork created by Patricia Piccinini to celebrate Canberra's centenary was meant to be launched from Parliament Lawns in Salamanca at 8am.

But slight winds and the proximity of tall trees prompted the specialist crew tasked with getting the awe-inspiring hot-air balloon airborne to move the controversial artwork to a more suitable site.

Piccinini was on hand this morning to witness the Skywhale's maiden Tasmanian voyage and said she hoped people would embrace the work.

"It's about nature and our own interpretation of what it is," she said.

"It's not a whale but it's giving people something recognisable and that's important."

Flights aboard the artwork are dependent on the weather and times are subject to change.

On Saturday the sky sculpture is scheduled to move to Long Beach, Sandy Bay, from 8am, and it will venture north to Royal Park in Launceston on Sunday, again hitting the sky at 8am.

For more details visit www.darkmofo.net.au/program/the-skywhale

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Wake-up call on homeless

HOMELESSNESS not only makes life hard, it can also cut life expectancy.

Bethlehem House chief executive Patrick Carlisle says the average age of death of former residents of Bethlehem House over the past decade was only 47.49 years old.

Exposure to the elements, an inadequate, ad-hoc diet, stress and a lack of basic health care were all contributing factors.

Mr Carlisle will be one of about 50 Tasmanian business people who will sleep rough at Launceston's Aurora Stadium tomorrow night as part of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout to raise money for essential homeless services.

"The forecast is for -1C overnight, so we will certainly know we are sleeping out," Mr Carlisle said yesterday.

He has been writing to Tasmanian businesses asking them to donate $47.49 as he strives to raise $4749 to pass on to St Vincent de Paul Society.

At the last Census, more than 100,000 Australians were counted as experiencing homelessness.

Of those, 58 per cent were under 35 years of age. Twelve per cent were children under 12.

To support his campaign and make a contribution to his sleepout, please visit www.ceosleepout.org, click on CEOs, then TAS CEOs, where you will find his listing.

Business leaders from around Australia will be taking part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout.

Participants are given a beanie, a sheet of cardboard to sleep on and a cup of soup before they bed down.

helen.kempton@news.com.au

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Hoteliers raise drink age fears

RAISING the legal drinking age would see widespread closures of venues and almost destroy the Tasmanian hospitality industry, the state's leading hospitality association said yesterday.

With more than 70 per cent of alcohol consumed away from licensed premises, the age lift would do nothing to change the culture of binge drinking, Tasmanian Hospitality Association general manager Steve Old said.

The response follows a survey by the Federal Government that revealed public support for raising the drinking age had risen from 40 per cent to 50 per cent over the past decade.

However, Mr Old said the proposal would have far-reaching consequences.

"It would make many venues go bust because a lot of them are frequented by 18 to 21-year olds," he said.

"And they don't go there just to drink but also to eat and socialise more generally. They wouldn't be able to go into a licensed venue without a consenting adult so it's not only going to deal with the drinking side but could stop people that age from going out altogether.

"We want people drinking in licensed venues where they can drink safely because venues have a responsibility to patrons. The problem is people drinking at home where it is unrestricted, which would only get worse if the legal age is raised."

Mr Old said raising the drinking age would also mean staff in pubs and clubs would also need to be at least 21 years of age, which could impact on youth unemployment.

Tasmania has the highest rate of youth unemployment, with more than 22 per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds not working or enrolled in study.

Holyoake chief executive Sarah Charlton said the drug and alcohol counselling agency supported the move, but found the best way of tackling alcohol issues with young people was through education.

"Science has proven a young person's brain is still developing into their mid-20s so if we can delay any detrimental effect of alcohol on those vulnerable brains then let's do it," she said.

Ms Charlton said she understood why the hospitality and other industries would object, but changing societal attitudes to drinking had to be a priority due to Tasmania's high alcohol consumption rate.

"If you go down to Salamanca on a Friday or Saturday night you see a lot of young people in that age group who are drunk," she said.

"The majority of crimes committed against another person are by a young male when they are drunk. Anything we can do to change this is a plus."

jessica.howard@news.com.au

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