TIME TO DEFINE OUR ISLAND’S PATH

OUR island home is an incredible place. Our norm is what visitors see as unique. Our ways of doing things are so entrenched we can forget how special they are.

I am one of the growing number of Tassie returnees who has made the move back after too many years in the concrete jungle. In New York City, farm-to-table is a trend. In Tassie it is a way of life.

We have a wonderfully vibrant community, an attribute amplified by our artists, creatives and people in service to others; we have a thriving science and academic community; and we have lived connection to our island home of lutrawita for more than 40,000 years.

The connectedness of our community coupled with the passion of Tasmanians means that when we come together to take action we are capable of enormous change.

To me this is the heart of the Tasmanian way.

A growing number of Tasmanians face increasing hardships. Too many Tasmanians

do not have a safe place to live or access to a good education.

As I write this, a familiar haze of bushfire smoke fills the air on an unexpectedly warm afternoon, an early reminder that fire season is again upon us. A drought or flood could be just around the corner.

What is certain is that the frequency and severity of disasters will rise dramatically and unpredictably because of climate change.

This poses a huge risk to our way of life.

We have a choice. We can focus on divisions and shortterm gains or we can focus on what we have in common.

We all want – and need – clean air, fresh water, access to food and energy security. We all want a safe place to call home.

We have a responsibility to make sure that future generations have access to what we often take for granted. We have too much at risk to lose.

What if we focus on identifying prioritising our common needs? What if we got clarity about what needs to be maintained, what needs to be urgently fixed and what needs to be improved that is critical to our way of life – now and into the future.

I want to see ambitious and measurable 2030 targets that are the responsibility of not only government but businesses, industry, schools and communities to take climate action. We need to put our creative minds and experience around the table to put in place a whole-of-Tasmania approach to shaping a resilient, vibrant and connected future.

This is the opportunity that I see and why I initiated the Tasmanian Way — an emerging partnership to inspire commitment, collaboration and action to shape our future and actualise Tasmania’s local response to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

You can learn more about it on the website at www.tasmanianway.org