BREAKING NEWS ...WATCH THIS SPACE ... NOW WITH UPDATE

Watch this space for further developments

BASIL FITCH'S UPDATE

UTAS BACK TO NEWNHAM! It is now been established that the building of Utas will be completed by 2022. This will be SEVEN years after signing the memorandum of understanding and STILL NOT A SPADE has been put into the Inveresk site. ................. All the spruikers of this con job wanted to commence building in 2015/16, stating how it was going to be the best thing ever for Launceston. Peter Gutwein said 3000 new jobs – WHERE are they? ................. LCC said it was going to open up all the closed shops in the CBD and create inner city living – WHERE are they Mayor and aldermen? ................. Businesses have said that they are HURTING right now! .................The Mayor said that university parking would be available at the Show Society and Market grounds – so WHERE is it? (bearing in mind we need 2000 spaces according to the Planning Scheme and Code!)................. The traffic management plan is now released and in Saturday’s Examiner. This is just the beginning. WHERE is state growth’s traffic count from the Kmart to Bunnings? If Utas goes ahead it will bring 1500 cars from Newnham. WHERE are all of these cars going to go? ................. With comments from the general manager “these improvements won’t solve all the problems” what will it really look like when the new campus opens? ................. And with traffic in the area which “doesn’t function well now” or “has seen traffic flow impacted for several years” and needs “safer, dedicated pedestrian points” - could we really believe any LCC promises anyway if their traffic flow impact assessment wasn’t accurate for the existing developments in the area at the time council approved all of them? They MUST BE DREAMIN’.................. I call on all interested parties who travel the Charles/Tamar (Victoria) St bridges to take interest in the Council’s movements who are trying to dumb things down to hide what is really going on. .................It is now clear to me why Utas are prolonging any building movements here in Launceston as the Hobart Utas accommodation block of 400 units is going to be built and then all the major courses out at Newnham will be transferred bit by bit to Hobart campus (which you will note has already commenced).................. When the transfers are made, Launceston Utas will become a VOCATIONAL facility ONLY which is designed to create a greater financial flow to Utas. Universities are now run as a business (unfortunately) and that is why the fees are becoming so high to the point where I feel sorry for the students of tomorrow from low income families struggling to make ends meet by being forced to travel and stay in Hobart. ................. The Utas accommodation units in Launceston are $192 per week! ................. Unfortunately the LCC have become politicised in this whole affair. I know because I have witnessed this over the last 3.5 years while observing the current council. I have on numerous occasions warned them that this will happen and that the state government would essentially control aspects of the LCC.

Yes – a BIG CLEAN OUT please! If you have not voted already, IT IS NOT TOO LATE. 

To make sure it arrives by the deadline, please post your ballot by this Thursday. 

Please give me your number 1 vote and I promise to work to resolve this mess. You will receive true value for money as I will not be taking up the alderman salary of $36k. Best regards, Basil.