From the Mayor
Welcome to the February edition of Your News, the City of Launceston's monthly newsletter.
With the Council's second meeting for 2023 next week, there's no doubt it's already shaping up to be a great year for our municipality and its people.
Incredibly significant was this week's announcement of the State Government's $65 million redevelopment and expansion of University of Tasmania Stadium, which will improve the the amenity of the ground and boost seating capacity.
The delivery of important infrastructure such as this is crucial to our community's growth and prosperity, and we remain hopeful the Federal Government will add its support to the project in due course.
Also announced this week was the State Government's extension of the Hawthorn Football Club's contract to play four matches in Launceston through to the end of the 2025 season.
The impact AFL football has had on our city's economy over the past two decades had been profound - the games bring vitality and vibrancy to our CBD and inject upwards of $30 million into our economy every year at a time when the tourism sector is traditionally slower due to the cooler weather.
In addition to the four contracted matches this season, the AFL has confirmed UTAS Stadium will host a pre-season contest between Hawthorn and Collingwood on March 2, and entry will be free.
Given the Magpies haven't played in Launceston since 2015, it's guaranteed to be a great game attracting thousands of enthusiastic supporters from far and wide.
Speaking of top-notch events, I'm sure many of you are as excited as I am about the return of Festivale from tonight through to Sunday in our iconic City Park.
The City of Launceston is a long-standing and proud sponsor of Festivale, which so perfectly showcases our status as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy to an expected 30,000 people over the course of this weekend.
It takes an enormous amount of effort to put on an event on this scale, and I want to thank the event committee, volunteers, stallholders, City of Launceston staff and all those who attend who make Festivale what it is - I look forward to seeing you all there.
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Council's strategic agenda for 2023
CEO Michael Stretton
The City of Launceston's strategic agenda for 2023 is jam-packed with initiatives that will significantly benefit our municipality.
Some of the key priorities include moving forward with a major redevelopment in the CBD, working with private developers and other tiers of government to unlock new residential housing opportunities on the outskirts of the city, new recreation facilities and assets, and continuing to leverage opportunities from the Launceston City Deal.
Last week I had the opportunity to tour a significant rehabilitation project we are undertaking at Newnham Creek, designed to improve the amenity of the area, protect environmental assets, prevent future erosion, and improve stormwater efficiency.
The project has involved the realignment of the creek and the installation of a reinforced concrete retaining wall along a 300m section of the creek. When complete, the area will be replanted and seeded, creating a new recreational space with much higher amenity than previously.
It's a great example of a project delivered by our organisation that has significant benefits on a number of fronts for local residents.
Plans are also well-progressed on an exciting new land development south of the city which has been many years in the making, and we expect to be in a position to release more information on this in the near future.
Meanwhile we're continuing to move forward with the implementation of our Sustainability Strategy to further reduce our carbon footprint as an organisation, and I'm pleased to report this will soon see the addition of the first-ever electric truck to the Council's electric vehicle fleet.
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Cheers all round after Boags decision
City of Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson has expressed his delight with the news that brewery giant Lion has reversed its decision to close the Boag's visitor centre and brewery tours.
Lion had previously said the Boag's visitor centre, brewery tours, bar and function hire would cease from the end of the January, blaming the ongoing challenges arising from the COVID pandemic.
Following that announcement, Mayor Gibson and Premier Rockliff met with Lion management to better understand its decision and to explore opportunities to reconsider the closures.
"This is a wonderful outcome for staff and the broader community," Mayor Gibson said.
"The decision by Lion to not only keep the visitor centre open and the tours operating, but to actually further enhance both of those experiences is incredibly exciting for Launceston."
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Recognising excellence in our community
A community volunteer for more than 20 years and the national veterans cricket championships have been recognised by the City of Launceston at the 2023 Community Recognition Awards, which were presented at Town Hall last week.
City of Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson said the awards recognised the outstanding contribution made by members of our community who worked to help make Launceston a more welcoming, more beautiful and more accepting place to live.
City of Launceston Community Recognition Awards 2022 recipients:
• Citizen Award - Jill Dearing
Over many decades, Jill's willing contribution of expertise, hard work, energy and passion has been instrumental in supporting a wide range of community, educational, cultural and sporting organisations and activities in Launceston.
• Community Event of the Year Award - Veterans Cricket Australia Over 70s National Championships
The very successful event was postponed three times due to COVID, making the event greatly anticipated. As a result, the city and region benefitted greatly; economically and socially with more than 500 people attending from all over Australia and New Zealand, including 320 active participants.
Mayor Gibson congratulated the award recipients, praising their commitment to their community, their kindness, generosity, spirit of goodwill and acceptance.
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Have your say: A well-designed city
We want to create a well-designed city for our community, residents, businesses and visitors, and to do this we need your feedback on specific projects including:
• Launceston Place Brand
• Tourism Plan
• Events Strategy
• Transport Strategy
• E-scooters
• Sustainability Action Plan
• Emergency Management
• Corporate Strategic Plan
• Open data
Complete our online survey to go in the draw for some fantastic prizes including AFL & theatre tickets - consultation closes February 26.
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Welcoming 139 new Australian citizens
City of Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson officially welcomed 139 new Australian citizens to the community at ceremonies held at the Tramsheds Function Centre last week.
Our newest citizens have come to Launceston from many different countries, including the Philippines, France, Bhutan, Nepal, the United States, Fiji, Singapore, Eritrea, Sudan, Oman, Iraq, Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.
“We are privileged to live in a city that has such a rich cultural fabric and our new citizens will add to the diversity of our community," Mayor Gibson said.
“While some of the conferees have already been contributing to our community for some time, it gives me great pleasure to be able to officially welcome all of them as new citizens."
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Upcoming hard waste collection service
Registrations are now open for the City of Launceston's upcoming Hard Waste Collection Service - get rid of those awkward items that don't fit in your wheelie bin for just $10.
- Registrations close February 28
- Collections will be undertaken between March 20 & March 31
Watch our short video below or visit our website to find out what items are eligible for collection.
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Invermay residents invited to share
Invermay community members are invited to come along to the City of Launceston's upcoming ABCDE Learning Site event to share your thoughts and experience relating to preparing for emergency events such as floods.
Special guests from the City of Launceston will be attending to better understand how you perceive your risks and responsibilities, what's important to you, and how we can work together moving forward.
When: Tuesday, February 21 | 5.30pm - 7pm
Where: Invermay Bowls & Community Club (Forster St, Invermay)
Please RSVP by February 16 via email
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Grants & sponsorship opportunities
Applications for the City of Launceston's Community Grants & Event Sponsorship are now open.
• Event Sponsorship
The City of Launceston Event Sponsorship Program provides funding support to events that deliver a range of community, social, cultural, tourism and economic benefits to the Launceston community. Online applications are now open for events to be held between August 1 and December 31, 2023. Applications close March 15.
• Community Grants for Organisations
The City of Launceston Community Grants Program provides assistance to organisations delivering projects/activities held in the Launceston municipality which result in social, cultural and environment benefits for the community. Online applications are now open for projects commencing after May 31. Applications close March 31.
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QVMAG: Southern Sky Astrophotography
Showcasing the top entries from the 2022 David Malin Awards astrophotography competition, QVMAG's latest exhibition explores a series of awe-inspiring astrophotography from across Australia.
The David Malin Awards are held annually by the Central West Astronomical Society and open to Australian astronomers and photographers.
This exhibition is exclusively on display at QVMAG Inveresk from February 1 to April 30, supported by Celestron Australia, CSIRO Space & Astronomy and Sunstudios.
Image: Aurora in the East Fjords, Jarrod Andrews (Courtesy QVMAG)
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Next meeting: February 9 | Launceston Town Hall | 1pm
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Current Development Applications
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