MICHAEL
There’s definitely a bogan undercurrent in Tassie, but it’s been there for years. I left long ago to work overseas but recently relocated, so I don’t know whether it’s me or the State that has changed. When I went to uni here there was 18% youth unemployment and plenty of bogan-zones, so it’s not a new phenomenon.
Tasmania has changed though since I left. Some Tasmanians have become richer, but the low-income areas have stagnated and at the same time I sense resentment at the new rich from these people. There are many more Asians, Africans here studying, working, living, and they have become the focus for some of this resentment.
My wife is Asian and she has suffered abuse on the streets here. But let’s not blame the bogans exclusively. Many so-called “middle-class” Tasmanians snidely lampoon her accent and faulty English, and complain she doesn’t “speak Australian”. Ridiculous. I don’t see any of them trying to learn another language.
This should not be tolerated and it’s the government’s responsibility to issue a zero-tolerance statement. Will it happen? Unlikely, given the risk of alienating blue-collar voters and upsetting the apple-cart, something that rarely happens in this beautiful but flawed little place. I love it here, and I’ll stay, but I hope one day our welcome is as heart-warming as Tasmania’s natural beauty.
