Chill on Antarctic cuts

CHINA'S long-term involvement with Hobart's Antarctic gateway could be jeopardised if Australia's program on the icy continent is not adequately funded, supporters fear.

The Australian Antarctic Division's operating budget was cut this year by 8 per cent, according to a report last week in The Conversation by Matt King, an Antarctic scientist at the University of Tasmania.

Cuts and administrative barriers were throttling Antarctic exploration, Prof King said.

Tasmanian Polar Network chairman John Brennan said pre-election announcements, such as the Federal Government's call for tenders to replace the resupply ship Aurora Australis and the Coalition's promise to extend Hobart's airport runway so it can accommodate flights from countries such as China, were seen as a welcome start.

But Mr Brennan said the network, a group of Tasmanian businesses and scientific organisations that serve Antarctic programs, was alarmed by the Antarctic division program cuts.

"If funding for Australian Antarctic programs is not expanded in the federal Budget, with separate capital expenditure to build modern Antarctic stations and to improve access, we could jeopardise those fantastic opportunities that exist for Tasmanian business, scientific research and career opportunities," he said.

Mr Brennan, who returned last week from a trade mission to Chinese Antarctic institutes, said if Antarctic collaborations with countries such as China, South Korea, the US, Italy and France could be strengthened the opportunities for Hobart could be enormous.

Mr Brennan said Hobart, with its proximity to eastern Antarctica and its world-class ocean, atmospheric and Antarctic science cluster was viewed favourably by China, but the Federal Government needed to make sure it met Australia's side of the bargain.

Mr Brennan said his meetings with the Chinese were positive and the mission advanced Chinese thinking on collaboration with Tasmania.

He said the polar network's vision included Chinese scientists flying direct to Hobart via an upgraded airport to team up with Tasmanian scientists at the CSIRO and University of Tasmania's Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies.

Mr Brennan said an Antarctic-specific storage area at Hobart airport could accept heavy equipment and supplies from China and other nations.

Tasmania's Antarctic and Southern Ocean sector employs more than 1100 and contributes $187 million (0.7 per cent) to the gross state product.

bruce.mounster@news.com.au

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Sandy Bay markets proposed

TWO different markets have been proposed for the Long Beach Reserve area at Sandy Bay.

A monthly beachside market and a night market have been put forward by separate proponents, who envisage 40 to 50 stalls and entertainment.

Hobart City Council aldermen will consider the plans this evening.

A finance committee has recommended they be deferred, with the possibility they would be put to tender if it was decided they were appropriate for the area.

Ald Philip Cocker said the redevelopment of Long Beach Reserve area had made it more attractive.

He said the recommendation was for a temporary refusal rather than a straight-out rejection.

"This is an area where the council has spent a large amount of money and they're very popular. If we are going to put this sort of event into recreational areas we need to have a discussion about it," Ald Cocker said.

He said he expected markets would have to put out to tender.

Rose Hansen has proposed a Nutgrove beachside market for the first Sunday of each month, year round, at the grassed area at Sandown Park.

Mrs Hansen said she wanted a focus on Tasmanian artists, writers and entertainment.

"I come from an arts background and I'm looking to create a family-friendly event with a festive atmosphere," Mrs Hansen said.

"It would promote local arts and include performance, musicians, maybe puppet shows and poetry readings."

Food stalls would be limited to local traders.

She said the council had been good to work with and she hoped she could find a suitable venue for about 50 stalls in the long term.

For the afternoon-night market idea, Justin Davies wrote to the council about a market that would run November to February, Fridays or every second Friday, from 4-8.30pm, with 15 to 20 operators at first and the potential for about 40.

Mr Davies said the focus would be on locally made product and young designers.

The preferred location would be next to the playground.

"The idea is to give an opportunity for locals who are time poor over the weekend to attend a market," Mr Davies said.

michelle.paine@news.com.au

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Workers leave a lasting trail

Three Capes Track construction supervisor Albert Thompson with the view over Arthurs Peak to the Tasman Peninsula. Pictures: SAM ROSEWARNE

LOGAN Higgins reckons he has got the best job in the world.

The 27-year-old from West Hobart also says he has the world's best office -- the ocean-side bushland of the spectacular Tasman Peninsula where he is helping construct the Three Capes Track.

Billed as the new Overland Track, the six-day guided trek is expected to become a global eco-tourism attraction hosting up to 10,000 walkers a year when the last duckboards are put down in late 2015.

Until then, Mr Higgins will continue clearing the scrub and hauling gravel in work he described as "enjoyable but back-breaking".

"I've never really had to grow up," he said.

"I spent my childhood playing in the mud and stacking rocks and it's exactly what I do now."

Mr Higgins admitted his work roster with the Mt Trails company, which involves nine nights camping in a tent city with his colleagues before a five-day break, was not for everyone.

On the Three Capes Track

But he said the scenery and permanence of the track his team was building meant that the life of a track worker had pleasures city folk never know.

"And when you get to the top of the hill and look out over the ocean it is amazing.

"It's just exceptionally rewarding work, which is why I've stuck at it for so long.

"You get to the end of a day and think that part of the track is going to stay there for the next few hundred years.

"There's been a few times I've gone up to the lookout in the middle of the night, with a bright moon, and just sat with a hot chocolate watching the shooting stars and the Aurora [Australis]. Just an amazing spot to be."

Working alongside Mr Higgins on the Three Capes Track is experienced landscaper and part-time Port Arthur ghost tour guide Andrew Holmes.

The 53-year-old Boomer Bay resident was offered work with Mt Trails after last summer's Tasman Peninsula bushfires, in which his immediate neighbours lost their homes and his family was relocated because of asbestos fears.

"The fellows at Mt Trails gave me a go, and it's definitely hard, physical work," Mr Holmes said.

"But the good thing is that the work that we do here will be here in 100 years. So that means a lot to me.

"And it's fun to work out here. It's a beautiful part of the world."

Mr Holmes said being in the bush for long stretches took its toll, saying time away from his wife and children was difficult.

On his days off he looks after his kids and provides some "sanity time" for his spouse.

Opera singer Phillip Joughin, of South Hobart, traded a career on stage in Sydney for a return to Tasmania to pursue his other passion -- the great outdoors.

The 40-year-old father described track work as "good for the soul", saying as soon as he finished the track he wanted to bring his son to see it.

"I'd definitely like to bring the young fellas through to show him the walk, but also just show him the area," Mr Joughin said.

"I really enjoy this work. There are times when it is hard and it's obviously very physical. But the flip-side is that you can see real progress every day."

Mr Joughin said that working outside in Tasmania meant taking his jumper on and off 15 times a day, but to make up for the weather he and his workmates witness sea eagles and "wedgies" (wedge-tailed eagles) flying overhead.

He said that while he was yet to spot a whale off the coast, many of his colleagues had.

"The beautiful things about the weather here is that when it rains the smells come out of the wood, and when you get mottled cloud you get these wonderful bands of sun down over the ocean," Mr Joughin said.

Track boss Peter Guiver understands that despite the obvious upsides, working in the bush isolated for long periods with a small team in variable weather conditions presented unique challenges for his Mt Trails employees.

The company principal has developed a well-trained eye for signs of worker weariness, and had contingencies in place to lift sagging spirits.

"If you see someone's looking a bit down, you might let them head back home for a few days, or just take the next shift off. The problem is that it's pretty hard to get out of here quickly. It's a two-hour walk back to Fortescue then a car ride.

"But it's a lovely life. It's great just being outside."

Mr Guiver also has back-up plans for the inevitable inclement days working in the Tasmanian bush.

Particular work is left aside for wet days -- including clearing vegetation or rehabilitating track edges -- with difficult stonework given a wide berth.

Parks and Wildlife Service acting regional manager Shane Breen has helicoptered in to inspect progress on the track and said he was not only impressed by the product, but by the dedication and the work of the track crews.

"Their professionalism is ensuring the longevity of the track, and one that will require little maintenance."

duncan.abey@news.com.au

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Reggie still smiling

Reggie Sorensen, with children Lucas, 4, and Mia, 6, is trying to stay positive despite health problems. Picture: RICHARD GOSLING

HER positive nature on Big Brother made her much loved, and Reggie Sorensen (nee Bird) is using that same attitude to get through life every day.

Reggie has lost much of her vision over the past few years, suffering from an eye disease called retinal pigmentation.

"My eyes are deteriorating really badly," she said.

"There is nothing that can be done about it."

The former Cambridge fish and chip shop owner, now based on the Gold Coast, is also a single mother to Mia, 6, and Lucas, 4, who suffers from cystic fibrosis.

Lucas has been in and out of hospital for the past few years.

Despite all this, Reggie, 39, still can still laugh and crack a smile.

"I went through my stages of being really depressed from it all. I went through a really bad spell a couple of years ago.

"But now I'm feeling really good. I think I've just got to make the most of each day and that's exactly what I'm doing."

Two years ago this Christmas, she split from her husband Dale Sorensen .

He still has an active part in the children's lives.s

Reggie said if there ever was a Big Brother All Stars, she would jump at the opportunity.

The Tasmanian became a national celebrity when she won Big Brother in 2003 and Chrissie Swan was runner-up.

"People always ask me if I would do it again and of course I would," she said.

"It was really good fun."

luke.dennehy@news.com.au

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