Summer in Europe

Margot Giblin

It is about to sprinkle $11,000 on her. This is the cost, per person, of a Council funded trip to Brest, France, next month. It includes accommodation, expenses and business class air travel.

Hobart City Council

Summer in Europe

AT LAST week’s open Council meeting Helen Burnet referred to the cost of a couple of proposals as abominable. Council, she said, seems to be throwing money around, left, right and centre. ( HCC: Treading lightly )

It is about to sprinkle $11,000 on her.

This is the cost, per person, of a Council funded trip to Brest, France, next month. It includes accommodation, expenses and business class air travel.

Council is at pains to point out that it is Brest, not Hobart, pushing this one. The French port is interested in establishing a formal relationship and its mayor issued an invitation to visit their midsummer maritime festival.

Hobart City Council said yes, please, and is sending six people.

Rob Valentine, Margaret Laird Valentine, Jeff Briscoe, Ron Christie and Helen Burnet are going, supported by the Director of Community Development, Heather Salisbury, who will co-ordinate a Council display. They will be at the Brest Festival from the 13-15 July.

Councillors Sexton and Zucco will be visiting Brest in June, independently of Council.

Each councillor is allowed one overseas trip in a four year term, but this, as with any Council rule, can be changed if it is considered that circumstances warrant it.

It might be argued, for instance, that a significant anniversary of a sister-city relationship justified an extra trip, or two.

Should the French city of Brest become Hobart’s third sister, in addition to L’Aquila, Italy and Yaizu, Japan?

When the possibility was debated last year Councillor Philip Cocker asked if there was any limit to the number of sister cities Council can take on.

The answer was, “Only finances”.

Council is taking a promotional display of Hobart and Tasmania to the festival. This, it says, will promote the state and the links between the two cities. These devolve around Antarctic and maritime scientific links, the Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) and the history of French exploration of Tasmania.

Key partners in the display include the State government agencies of Antarctic Tasmania, Tourism Tasmanian and Department of Economic Development and the University of Tasmania, CSIRO, Tasmanian Polar Network, Tasmanian Maritime Network and the AWBF.

Council says that the economic links are very important to Hobart and Tasmania.

At the end of the Brest visit Briscoe, Christie and Salisbury will travel to L’Aquila, Hobart’s sister city in Italy. This Council funded add on is to celebrate L’Aquila- Hobart’s 10th anniversary.