Government must step in on uni move

The state government must intervene and support the Sandy Bay UTAS campus in its hour of need, writes Alex Graeme-Evans

TASMANIA’S World War heroes of World War I, such as those of my grandfather’s era, who fought and were prepared to die for their country who founded the Anzac tradition will rattle in their graves.

If the current government does not stand up to what is expected of them, and properly supports UTAS in keeping the Sandy Bay campus whole it is highly likely its world standing grade will dramatically fall even lower, which in turn will adversely affect the recruitment of future overseas students in the fields of Arts, Law and the Sciences.

I am concerned its reputation will veritably fall further if this very beautiful and iconic UTAS head campus at Sandy Bay, is broken up into villas, which only the very rich can afford. Then in amazement and deep depression, Tasmania’s increasing homeless can just look at the expensive villas placed there as they shuffle by. What a complete abomination that would be.

It’s time our politicians got smart and showed for once their true mettle and demonstrate their leadership capabilities. UTAS’s Sandy Bay campus needs now to be seriously re-energised and supported, remaining where it is and the brain drain from it somehow halted. Furthermore, faith must be extended to those talented people who remain – so that its worldwide rating can be buoyed higher in the future, so that with Covid over it can start to recruit more students as before – being in direct competition with other interstate universities and elsewhere so that its worldwide academic reputation can be somehow repaired overseas.

So if our current batch of politicians have any skills in forward planning their main focus at this time must be to shore up the UTAS Sandy Bay campus, so that it can once more secure an acceptable balance of both local and overseas students.

This utter mess (fair comment and justified) which university management created is now finally over.

So it is imperative for the Tasmanian government, to show its true mettle, and move on without further delay and directly support the continuance of the Sandy Bay UTAS campus in its hour of need. Specifically, I believe, most certainly the quite wonderful Law School should remain on campus in its current position at the Sandy Bay site.

The reality is of course that the whole Sandy Bay campus does not need to move, since it is already part of the Hobart CBD. Why congest vehicular traffic even further in the Hobart CBD?

Hobart is unique already and is so, because unlike other lemmings elsewhere it has chosen to minimise highrise buildings to retain its historic attraction and should continue to do so.

The time for prevarication is over and our current Tasmanian government must now show leadership for the sake of lifting the low morale currently existing among UTAS staff today. This state of affairs today is simply shocking. Any further dalliance by our state government will be historically considered as inexcusable.