EXPO FOR TINY TOTS A BIG IDEA
A NEW expo catering to little ones and their families is coming to life this weekend.
After realising there were few expos exclusively catering to pregnant women and newborn babies in Tasmania, Abby Eaton took matters into her own hands.
Now the inaugural Belly to Babe Expo is set to be a onestop-shop for expectant mothers and young families.
“I make baby items myself, so I know finding somewhere that’s got a captive audience is really difficult,” Ms Eaton said.
“It’s good to go to handmade markets, but at something like this you have parents, grandparents, or people coming along who know people who are having kids.”
Ms Eaton’s business, also called Belly to Babe, specialises in baby essentials with a fun twist.
“I make baby bibs, burp cloths … I try to make essential and practical items that mums can use that have a fun, quirky print.”
About 16 stallholders will be involved, with some stalls featuring newborn photography, maternity wear, pilates and massage.
She said a major drawcard was the expo’s lucky door prize, worth $1500.
Patrons will receive an entry just by coming along and signing in on the door.
The Belly to Babe Expo will take place at the Kingborough Community Hub on Saturday and Sunday.
For information, visit the expo’s Facebook page. kasey.wilkins@news.com.au
THE Bob Brown Foundation says new science has identified a previously unknown food source for the critically endangered swift parrot in Tasmania’s Eastern Tiers, arguing current forest practices plans are now outdated and should be torn up and reviewed.
The foundation has written to the Forest Practices Authority arguing that the discovery is ignored in current logging plans and that they should be torn up and replaced.
The conservation group said eucalyptus brookeriana trees had been found to be a food source for the swift parrot, citing affidavits by swift parrot expert Dr Matthew Webb of the Australian National University.
In one of the affidavits, Dr Webb said the species had not traditionally been recognised as an important foraging habitat for the swift parrot.
“This season (20/21) I have observed swift parrots foraging on the flowers of E. brookeriana in the Eastern Tiers and discovered that many observations from previous years were in E. brookeriana,’’ he wrote.
“When I visited the Eastern
Tiers swift parrot monitoring sites in the week beginning December 6, 2020, I observed swift parrots feeding at locations where I could only identify the presence of E. brookeriana.”
Dr Webb wrote that, in his opinion, the protection of the tree species from logging was important for the protection of the swift parrot.
The foundation has called on the FPA to revoke forest practices plans in 31 areas of forests in Tasmania’s Eastern Tiers.
“Dr Webb has recently identified Eucalyptus brookeriana as an important food source for the critically endangered species. This is new science,’’ the foundation’s
Jenny Weber said. “None of the Forest Practices Plans for 31 coupes in the Eastern Tiers recognise this new finding and therefore there is a monumental failure to protect important habitat of a species that is on the brink of extinction.
“Tasmania has a critical role to play in securely protecting swift parrot habitat.
“To our knowledge this is the first time the Forest Practices Authority has been asked to revoke a series of forest practices plans. Logging cannot go ahead without these plans.”
Forest Practices Authority board chairman John Ramsay said the correspondence from the Bob Brown Foundation
would be considered at the board’s next scheduled meeting on February 19.
Tasmanian Forest Products Association chief executive Nick Steel said the industry operated to high environmental standards.
“Tasmania’s forest industry is the ultimate renewable and operates to incredibly high environmental standards,’’ he said.
“The causes for the decline of the swift parrot are complex, with a major factor being predation from the sugar-glider.”
Last month, Bob Brown was arrested twice within 48 hours during protests at a forestry site in the Eastern Tiers.
FACEBOOK’S “outrageous” decision to strip vital medical information from its platform risks a rise in anti-vaxxer sentiment just as the COVID-19 jab is due to rollout.
The warning came from federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, who described the social media giant’s move to block pages run by government and charities as an “unacceptable” abuse of power. “We expect that Facebook will fix these actions immediately and never repeat them again,” he said.
The Kids’ Cancer Project, Bowel Cancer Australia, Dementia Australia as well as the ACT, Queensland and South Australian health departments were all suddenly wiped of content yesterday. “It is an assault on people’s freedom and, in particular, it is an utter abuse of big technologies’ market power and control over technology,” Mr (inset) said.
Asked if he was concerned about a rise in vaccine misinformation if news sites were unable to publish on Facebook Mr Hunt replied: “Yes there is. There is a risk that if you cannot have accurate information, that those who wish to promulgate falsehoods and fictions can do so without a response.”
Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said he was concerned “legitimate sites of information” about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which is due to start on Monday, had been blocked. He also warned people not to get their vaccination information from Facebook.
“We encourage the population to go to trusted sites,” he said. “So health.gov.au is the most important site for you to get COVID-19 vaccine information.”
University of Sydney Professor Julie Leask said Facebook’s shutdown timing couldn’t be worse. “This is the very time we rely on people accessing vaccine information easily, from their preferred platform,” she said.