Empty promises on pooey problem

PROMISES, promises and still no action. Another summer, another influx of tourists and still not enough toilets or rubbish bins for visitor waste on Bruny Island. Yes, it costs money to install permanent toilets but, in the meantime, we need serviced portaloos in tourism hot spots. Alternatively, we face another long holiday season and Easter with human faeces and toilet paper, used nappies and rubbish on roadsides, boat ramps, campsites and in residents’ driveways and front yards.

Yesterday, piles of human faeces and toilet paper appeared at a boat ramp on South Bruny. Our council rates are set to increase by 8 per cent or more next financial year, but what do Bruny Islanders get in return? In the 2016-17 year, 147,807 international and interstate tourists were scheduled to visit Bruny, not including Tasmanian visitors. This is beyond the island’s capacity.

Tourists bring more than dollars. Recent media highlights the risks to biosecurity and public health of diseases such as gastroenteritis and hepatitis A. The Department of Health and Human Services’ public health website states, “The impact of a gastro illness, for example, may not be limited to the health of those affected but can extend to the tourism operation, the local economy, and the tourism industry as a whole”. Kingborough Council, if you don’t want a visitor tax or levy, how are we going to keep Tasmanians safe? Portaloos and bins are a lot cheaper than gastro for our health system which cannot cope with existing needs, let alone imported diseases. A reputation as a disease-risk destination would not help our Brand Tasmania image or agricultural exporters.