Fears Tasmanian building boom will worsen traffic congestion unless planning laws change
ThuThursday 18
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ThuThursday 18
FebFebruary 2021 at 10:01pm
Kali Bean s daily commute has slowed down now traffic congestion has returned to pre-COVID levels.
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Last year s COVID lockdown provided a welcome respite from traffic congestion for Blackman s Bay resident Kali Bean.
Key points:
Tasmania is in the midst of a housing construction boom, with dwelling approvals almost doubling in 2020
Planning experts fear housing developments on urban fringes will leave residents car-dependent
Local councils say planning laws could be amended to encourage new transport solutions
But as restrictions eased and traffic congestion returned to pre-COVID levels in Tasmanian cities, she once again faced a slow daily commute to drop her kids off at school and get to work in the Hobart CBD.
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Mooroopna to host all State Championships on consecutive weekends next March
For the first time in their history, all CFA / VFBV State Championship events are scheduled for the same venue on consecutive weekends in March 2021.
Planning is already well underway for Mooroopna 2021 to ensure the events are run in a COVID safe and child safe manner.
The Junior Urban Championships, which were to be held in Horsham, are now scheduled to be held at the Mooroopna Recreation Reserve in Mooroopna on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March.
The Senior Urban, and Senior and Junior Rural Championships will take place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March 2021 at the same venue.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg were publicly campaigning for one. Restaurant and cafe owners were desperate, as were people who’d been cut off from friends and family for two months.
Thompson was a member of a Melbourne University research team, led by epidemiologist Tony Blakely, asked to provide scientific modelling to help inform the government’s exit strategy. The modelling didn’t tell the government what it should do but provided a series of projections about the risk of a further epidemic before Christmas.
The most important variable in the modelling – essentially a political one – was how far the government was willing to push case numbers down before it allowed things to reopen. Although Andrews didn’t say it out loud at his press conference, it was clear to Thompson as he drove from his Castlemaine home to Bendigo that the government had decided to go all-in; it planned to eliminate the virus.