Sally Glaetzer Mercury
INTERNATIONAL best-selling author Bryce Courtenay has delivered a scathing attack on Tasmania’s forestry industry, calling for a $5 visitor tax to halt the “graffiti of physical destruction.” Speaking at the launch of a new environmental and education grant scheme in Hobart, Mr Courtenay shook with emotion as he described his love for the Tasmanian environment. “We must understand that beauty is something that can be destroyed and that life is something that can be destroyed,” Mr Courtenay said to the audience at the Bookend Trust launch. He called on the representatives of each Tasmanian political party who were in the crowd to legislate a new tax. “Every single person who visits the island has to pay five dollars,” Mr Courtenay said. He said that would raise $30 million a year to manage the state’s environment. “Who would resent it? It would be the happiest tax we ever paid,” he said. Read more here
Dr Niall Doran: All about the BookEnd Trust …
BACKGROUND
The BookEnd Trust is a new initiative designed to boost inspiration for upcoming generations in regard to careers and good environmental management.
The BookEnd program is an independent group working in partnership with the University of Tasmania. It is composed of an overseeing group of ‘guiding patrons’ and a project team that drives the overall program under that guidance. The guiding patrons include high profile personalities and professionals, including international best-selling author Bryce Courtenay, national economic commentator Saul Eslake, television and radio personality Andy Muirhead, Tasmanian wildlife expert Nick Mooney and major Australian pastoralist/landowner Henry Foster. The project team runs with the donation of professional time and expertise from several people, but the core operational group consists of Dr Niall Doran, Dr Alastair Richardson, and Craig Wellington. The BookEnd program has established a new scholarship Trust Fund within the UTAS Foundation, to which the group provides (and sources) donations and sponsorship. The UTAS Vice Chancellor (Professor Daryl Le Grew) has endorsed the program as a whole-of-University opportunity and partnership.
The BookEnd program is designed to tackle two very important issues: (1) that education retention rates and standards in Tasmania are the lowest of all Australian States, and we need to better inspire students throughout the State’s education system with the possibilities and options that lie ahead of them; and (2) that we also have dramatic environmental issues that need to be solved, and our students are the lifeblood of achieving positive environmental solutions for their future. The aims of the BookEnd program are therefore focussed on (i) developing good, positive and co-operative environmental solutions; (ii) providing educational opportunities that may otherwise not be available; and (iii) promoting this work within the broader community. Scholarships and projects can be established in any discipline (whether science, media, economics, etc) provided there is an environmental angle and the above aims are met.
The program is building national and international links with other institutions for potential partnerships and exchanges, as well as links throughout the school community within Tasmania. The intention is to directly involve schools throughout the education system (from primary schools to high schools to colleges) to expose their students to the opportunities and type of work that they might be doing in future. Our scholarship students will act in a mentoring role: not simply presenting a single final glossy product for schools to look at, but engaging school students throughout the process, warts and all.
The first three scholarships are already in place, and State Premier David Bartlett is encouraging the involvement of Tasmanian schools, as well as business support for the BookEnd program to help the State’s young. We also have the support of the Liberal and Green parties to ensure the initiative remains apolitical and positive.
Dr Niall Doran
Coordinator – BookEnd Trust
Honorary Research Associate – University of Tasmania
www.bookendtrust.com
