What a cracker of an egg

Samuel Boonstra with the 214g egg found in his family's chook house. Pictures: KIM EISZELE

YOUNG Samuel Boonstra was pretty excited when the freshly laid egg he collected wouldn't fit into an egg carton.

Now his mother Kelly reckons the egg could be the biggest in the world.

The gigantic cackleberry weighs a whopping 214 grams and was delivered by a courageous mother hen at the Boonstra's Crabtree home, 25km south west of Hobart, on Monday.

Samuel, 7, yelled at his mum that the egg was so big it would not fit in the egg carton

"I just thought it was another double yolker, until I saw it," Mrs Boonstra said.

The excited mother contacted the Guinness Book of Records but has to wait six weeks for the record to be verified.

Large eggs sold in supermarkets weigh between 57-64g. The Crabtree egg has easily beaten the Australian record, a 160g effort from a WA hen. The world record is a Chinese hen that laid a 201g egg.

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Metro's fat ban not fair

METRO'S move to ban drivers who are obese may be discriminatory, says Tasmanian anti-discrimination commissioner Robin Banks.

Bus drivers have lashed out at Metro after being told employees who weigh more than 130kg will be banned from driving, put on other duties and placed on a weight-loss program.

Ms Banks said obesity had been classified as a disability in successful anti-discrimination cases in other states.

"As I understand it, there's certainly the potential for it to be unlawful under the Anti-Discrimination Act," she said.

"It will depend on whether or not Metro is able to show that a person of 130kg or more couldn't perform the inherent requirement of their job."

Overweight employees of the Government-owned bus company have six months to lose weight.

Ms Banks said employers were only allowed to discriminate on the basis of disability if the employee could not fulfil the requirements of the job, or the cost of modifying the equipment created an unjustifiable hardship for the employer.

Rail, Tram and Bus union branch secretary Samantha Simonetis said the cost of installing new sturdier seats into the Metro fleet was going to cost $750,000.

Ms Simonetis said while the union had campaigned for years for a health program, the office had been inundated with calls from upset Metro drivers.

"Drivers not even affected by the new obesity rule say that people are getting on the bus and looking at them wondering how much they weigh," she said.

"They feel like they are being publicly humiliated and they are."

Metro advertisements for casual bus drivers on the weekend said people over 130kg need not apply because of bus seat design limits.

Metro CEO Heather Haselgrove said the obesity law was designed to ensure employees' health and safety and the seats were rated only to 130kg.

Ms Haselgrove said weight should not get in the way of employees performing their duties and using equipment.

Australian Psychological Society chairman Darren Stops said it was positive if Metro was looking after employees' health and it was an unfortunate spin-off if it meant drivers were subjected to public scrutiny.

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Man accused of video heist

HOBART detectives have charged a 24-year-old man over the armed robbery of a video store in September.

Video Ezy, in Main Rd, New Town, was robbed on September 5. Police allege a man entered the store armed with a crowbar and demanded cash from an attendant.

Detective Inspector Peter Powell said a Huonville man had today been charged over the incident.

The accused is due to appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court on December 7.

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Roofer in critical condition

The Costas Logistics coolstore at Spreyton.

A DEVONPORT man who fell 6m from a roof at Spreyton remains in a critical condition at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

The 47-year-old was working on the Costas Logistics cool store when the accident happened early yesterday.

Workplace Standards is about to begin an investigation into the incident, which is the second such workplace accident in Tasmania in the past three months.

The man, who was employed by contractor SERS Roofing Services, is in an induced coma in the RHH and listed as critical.

There were five other workers at the site at the time of the fall and all have received counselling.

In August, a young apprentice from Launceston died after falling from the roof of the Homemaker Centre in Devonport.

Workplace Standards chief executive Roy Ormerod said it was important authorities uncovered what was going wrong with safety procedures in the construction industry.

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No plea from rape accused

A 24-YEAR-OLD Huonville man accused of raping a two-year-old child has made a brief appearance in a Hobart Court.

The man, who cannot be named, was charged with rape on Friday and appeared in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Saturday.

In a brief hearing in the Magistrates Court today he did not enter a plea and did not apply for bail.

He was remanded to reappear in the same court via videolink on December 7.

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Push to start Square pjoject

Deputy Premier Bryan Green and Premier Lara Giddings with plans for the redevelopment of Parliament Square, which includes the demolition of 10 Murray St, which is in the background. Picture: KIM EISZELE

WORK on the $100 million Parliament Square project could begin by Christmas, with the State Government determined to push the development through to stimulate the economy.

The Government will table legislation today with the aim of getting the Bill through both houses of Parliament during the next two weeks.

Premier Lara Giddings said the project was critical for Tasmania, because it would create 400 jobs and inject $40 million in wages into the local economy. The project, which has been subject to many heritage-based appeals since first being unveiled in 1988, will incorporate a new building on the Supreme Court side of the square, the upgrade of significant heritage buildings on the site and the demolition of 10 Murray St.

Proposed legislation will allow the planning permit, authorised by the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority, to take effect the moment the legislation is ticked off by the Governor.

With a number of challenges to the demolition of 10 Murray St resolved, the only hurdles facing the Parliament Square project are appeals focused on stopping the demolition of 2-4 Salamanca Place.

But the new legislation will ensure all current appeals in relation to the planning permit are extinguished and there can be no further appeals in relation to the permit.

Ms Giddings said the exciting project needed to be pushed along.

"We need jobs in the construction industry and this is a project that has been around for a number of years now," she said.

"It has approval from all relevant planning authorities and it has got caught in this never-ending cycle of this technicality."

The technicality in question, section 41 of the Historic Cultural Heritage Act, is an open-ended clause that puts the onus back on to developers "that there is no prudent and feasible alternative to carrying out the works".

Ms Giddings said the project was "shovel ready".

"We should see this starting in a couple of weeks should it get through the Tasmanian Parliament," she said.

Deputy Premier Bryan Green will introduce the Bill to the Lower House of Parliament today.

He said the current legislation was also holding back the refurbishment of a number of significant heritage buildings, including the former St Mary's Hospital, built in 1847, at 36 Davey St.

He said while today's legislation will be project-specific, the State Government will look at ways to improve the Historic Cultural Heritage Act.

matthew.smith@news.net.au

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Stallholders put council on notice

SALAMANCA Market stallholders have threatened to take legal action against the Hobart City Council over an "onerous" new licence agreement that would dictate which goods can be sold.

Council managers believe the new stallholders licence is essential as the weekly event faces growing competition from local design and farmers markets.

Aldermen will vote on the wording of the licence, which has been more than three years in the making, at tonight's council meeting.

Salamanca Market Stallholders Association president Kerry Rourke would not comment ahead of tonight's decision, but has written to the council saying the association "reserved the right" to take legal action, injunctive proceedings or class actions if its views were not heeded.

The association wants the existing licence amended rather than the proposed new agreement, which includes an "Optimal Product Line Mix" to dictate which new items are approved for sale.

At a council committee meeting last week, stallholder Helen Timms told aldermen the lengthy process had been a waste of money that would have been better spent on improving infrastructure for the market, such as additional public toilets.

But an EMRS poll in 2007 found the market's image was suffering from a "growing proportion of cheap and poor-quality imported product".

Council deputy general manager Heather Salisbury said the market faced "increasing competition from high-quality and boutique markets in the Hobart area", including the privately run Farm Gate Market, which attracts around 3000 customers each Sunday.

A Saturday Farm Gate Market, also dedicated to local produce, will start at Bellerive next month.

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Township faces bushfire threat

A planned controlled burn at a Forcett property sent smoke billowing across the Arthur Highway yesterday. Picture: LIBBY SUTHERLAND

A PLANNED burn on private land grew into a large bushfire that threatened homes in the West Coast town of Zeehan yesterday.

The 1600ha fire was still burning out of control last night but the township did not have to be evacuated, as had earlier been feared.

Late yesterday afternoon the blaze came within 200m of Mulcahy St, putting about 15 houses at risk.

But two water-bombing helicopters helped more than a dozen fire crews from around the West Coast direct the front away from homes.

Parks and Wildlife Service incident controller Chris Arthur said the fire was lit on private land on Saturday and spread rapidly into surrounding button grass and forest when the weather changed yesterday morning.

Firefighters, including volunteers from Zeehan, Strahan, Rosebery, Queenstown and Ridgley, were on the ground by 11am yesterday and soon afterwards the Tasmania Fire Service issued a warning for residents to prepare to activate their bushfire plans.

Local resident Cheryl Smith nervously watched the smoke and embers from her home all day, but by early evening said the threat appeared to have eased.

"It seems to be under control. The choppers were dumping water all afternoon and the fire brigades from everywhere on the West Coast were there to help out," Ms Smith said.

"The firefighters did a marvellous job, they kept us well informed."

West Coast Mayor Darryl Gerrity also praised the volunteers, who were battling unpredictable winds. He said there appeared to be a lot of misinformation spreading about the fire via Facebook.

"A lot of it is not true and it's scaring people, people need to always rely on the authorised information," Mr Gerrity said.

More than two dozen permits were issued for registered burns around the state yesterday, including one on a private property at Forcett, which sent smoke billowing across the Arthur Highway.

sally.glaetzer@news.com.au

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Libs push for locals first

FUTURE PROJECT: An Opposition spokesman says redevelopment of the Hobart railyards and the state's rail network must result in contracts for as many local firms as possible.

THE Opposition will this week challenge the Labor-Green State Government to back new legislation it says will shore up local construction firms and tradesmen and prevent tens of millions of contract dollars flowing out of the state.

In a move to give local business priority over interstate firms, the Liberals will on Wednesday bring on debate of proposed their Local Benefits Test Bill, under which contracts will need to meet a range of regulations that will favour local tenderers.

This could include a 10-15 per cent buffer in cases where it is considered it would be of more value to give the job to locals than interstate firms and a need to split large contracts into smaller parcels to give local firms a better opportunity to tender.

Opposition Leader Will Hodgman said there was an urgent need for more government tenders to go to local firms to stimulate the state's struggling economy by keeping people in jobs and ensuring the money was circulated locally, especially in regional areas.

Mr Hodgman believed a local benefits test would also create hundreds of local jobs.

The Bill, which has already been tabled, proposes that a local benefits test be applied to all government tenders, with consideration given to the benefits that would flow if a tender was awarded to a Tasmanian firm rather than a business from outside the state.

Mr Hodgman said Tasmanian businesses were missing out on tens of millions worth of government contracts each year.

"Tasmania needs a local benefits test to make sure we're not just getting value for money but value for the community from government contracts,'' he said.

"The Government is the biggest purchaser in dhTasmania and we need a local benefits test to harness that power to grow the economy and create jobs.''

It is understood that the Liberals would apply a discount to the overall tender for a Tasmanian business that applied, meaning a local company could still win a contract in the event that an interstate business was offering to do the work at a slightly lower cost.

The Bill also defines "local business'' as a company that is substantially based in Tasmania and has most of its workers based in Tasmania.

"[The Government] counts companies like Telstra and Corporate Express and even multi-nationals like KPMG as Tasmanian businesses simply because they have a presence in Tasmania,'' Mr Hodgman said.

"Other states already have local benefits tests. It won't restrict the Government from getting the best deal possible.

"A local benefits test will ensure that the Government will take into account the cost of sending business offshore.''

A spokesman for the Opposition said projects such as the redevelopment of the Hobart railyards and the state's rail network must result in contracts for as many local firms as possible.

blair.richards@news.com.au

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Rebels under fire

TASMANIA Police is cutting a swathe through one of the country's most infamous outlaw motorcycle clubs, arresting more than a dozen members locally as part of a nationwide crackdown.

The Rebels Motorcycle Club is being targeted across Australia as part of an until-now secret operation endorsed by the Australian Crime Commission.

Revealing the details of the operation this week, the crime commission said the Attero National taskforce aimed to target, disrupt, disable, dismantle and investigate the "criminal activity of the Rebels in Australia".

Tasmania's representative on the committee overseeing the operation, southern drug squad boss John Arnold, said the Rebels in Tasmania had strong links with some of the major players interstate.

"These people market themselves as an outlaw motorcycle club, the '1 per centers', so frankly it's difficult for anyone associated with such a club to distance themselves from the criminal activity that goes on," Det-Insp Arnold said.

"The Rebels are involved in organised crime."

Yesterday national Rebels president Alex Vella held a press conference in Sydney, telling reporters there was no organised criminal element in the club.

Mr Vella reportedly said Attero taskforce arrest figures were exaggerated, and most of the charges laid were for minor traffic violations.

The Rebels is the largest motorcycle club gang in Australia with chapters in every state and territory as well as overseas.

There are eight chapters in Tasmania comprising 50 members.

Since late last year when the operation began, Tasmania Police has arrested and charged 14 members with a variety of crimes and offences from drug trafficking down to assault and public disorder.

Before that, northern police charged more than a dozen Rebels and associates over the state's largest amphetamine trafficking operation mid-last year, temporarily disabling the club's northern operation.

The Attero taskforce comprises police from every state and territory as well as the Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs and Border Protection, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

Chairman of the ACC's Serious and Organised Crime Co-ordination Centre David Hudson said the taskforce was focused on breaking the business model of the Rebels.

"There is a cost and risk of being a member of, or associated with, an OMCG and this risk becomes greater," Mr Hudson said.

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