FROM THE EXAMINER
SAT MAY 2 2020
As rain falls on Wednesday morning, a man walks down a footpath in Waverley before stopping at a nook in a fence where more than 150 loaves of bread and rolls are sheltered.
He carefully places four loaves into a shopping bag and walks away, not eager to stop and chat.
In the next half an hour, a further five cars pull up to take more bread and to browse the seed collection and other fresh produce. One carload from Ravenswood chats about the pear crumble they made from their last visit to the small food co-op and how they were enjoying using different vegetables in cooking.
The co-op set up in front of the house of volunteer Danielle Watkins is the only place in Waverley - shop included - where bread is available during COVID-19. Normally, the local school would offer food relief to families, but restrictions mean fewer are able to access this. The excess food is passed on to Ms Watkins to prevent it going to waste.
She lines the small shelves with bread on Wednesday and Friday, but it rarely lasts more than two days.
The small co-op is the only place where Waverley residents can access fresh food. Picture: Paul Scambler
"The bread is the biggest thing people are looking for. Normally on Sunday we'll have people asking when the next load is coming," Ms Watkins said.
"It started with veggies from the garden and a few shelves on the fence. I never expected to get as big as it has so quickly."
She started the Waverley Community Co-op at the end of March in response to the lack of infrastructure in the area to support households. The Facebook page has given a sense of community, while her shelves have expanded to include books, movies and more fresh food.
"But it's starting to get beyond what I can do. It's just a fence and a Facebook page," Ms Watkins said.
Waverley is one of Tasmania's poorest locations. Houses that were once accommodation for workers at the woolen mills were converted to low-cost housing, but in the decades since, only a school has been added. There is just one shop that offers limited food, with milk the only staple available.
The majority of households have at least five people, some have as many as 12. The last Census showed there were 1500 people in the area - a high number for a township with almost no shops.
Waverley is effectively an island on the edge of Launceston, where there are no services, no fresh food options and limited public transport. Picture: Paul Scambler
Car ownership is also low, meaning the bus is often the only lifeline. The route goes via Ravenswood then down to K-mart, but a connecting bus must be caught to access health and other important services.
And Ms Watkins said coronavirus had amplified Waverley's issues.
"The logistics of families trying to get food is ridiculous. They might have young children at home, but they can't take everyone with them on the bus. Yet they still need two people to go because of the amount of food they need," she said.
"People say things like, 'well don't have so many kids'. But it's not the kids' fault. Why let them starve for something that wasn't their fault?"
Nutrition has been a major problem for local children. A recent survey of the school found that more than 80 per cent had at least four packaged foods in their lunchbox. Only two students had some form of salad.
Jacinta Sturdy has been helping to co-ordinate food relief for Waverley families for eight years. She said there were many doing it even tougher because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"They're really struggling at the moment. Can you imagine trying to make enough food when you can only get a few packets of pasta from the supermarket?" she said.
MORE ON DISADVANTAGE DURING CORONAVIRUS:
"We were having the same conversation eight years ago. People don't want to go to Ravenswood to get assistance, we're a different community.
"We want to be included."
Ms Watkins has started another push with the City of Launceston to improve community infrastructure in Waverley. At the last two council meetings, she has requested that a shed or storage facility be built on council land to improve food storage and to have a space where information about counselling services could be provided.
In its response, the council largely deferred responsibility to the state government. It also highlighted its ABCDE process which "help the community focus on what's strong, not what's wrong within a community". The process resulted in Ravenswood getting a big welcome sign.
Ms Watkins said the Waverley community needed real support as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, with the council, we say that we have a need for services up here, but they say people aren't telling them that. The problem is that a lot of people are unable or unwilling to speak with the council, whether it's because they can't read or write well enough, they don't know the process," she said.
"We already know what's good about our community, we just need help. For many, it's a big step to seek out help.
"The council is great at saying we can just ask agencies for help, but they're all full or struggling to get enough food."
Above all, there was the overwhelming sense that Waverley had been forgotten about for decades.
Ravenswood Neighbourhood House manager Nettie Burr says the pandemic has exacerbated hardship in the area, but relief is still available. Picture: Paul Scambler
But watching Ravenswood households accessing the Waverley Community Co-op on Wednesday was an indication that issues facing residents in Launceston's outer suburbs were even more widespread at the moment.
Ravenswood Neighbourhood House manager Nettie Burr has seen a significant increase in people seeking food assistance in the past few months.
"Some of the new people coming in are very different to who we usually get. They're different ages, and probably more of the working people," she said.
"If you don't have transport, you lose your job, there's the gap between getting onto JobSeeker. People are holding onto a bit of money as much as they can.
"It's probably word-of-mouth too, that people know they can get food assistance here."
On Monday, the Neighbourhood House gets excess food from Coles via Loaves and Fishes. Due to coronavirus, the food is packed into individual care packages and supplemented with produce from the community garden to reduce contact with those seeking support.
Peta Bricknell greets visitors to the neighbourhood house with loaves of bread. Picture: Paul Scambler
Homelessness remained an issue. The heavy rain on Wednesday was an indication of a tough winter ahead.
"Our homeless have been coming a lot more than they would have been too," Ms Burr said.
"Some of them have got tents, some have got swags, some do couch surfing. We had a fella this morning pull up, he's sleeping on the tables outside."
Coronavirus had made it more difficult to refer the homeless - and those with drug, alcohol and mental health issues - to other services. Most are now run over-the-phone, a further barrier to access.
"You're not seeing a person anymore. That makes it hard," Ms Burr said.
Julie Moy and Rick Mansfield finish off the freezer fillers in Ravenswood. On Wednesday, they prepared chicken fettuccine. Picture: Paul Scambler
"They can use a phone here, but sometimes their mental health doesn't allow them to see that as a useful tool."
While the pandemic may have made things tougher than ever, there was one positive to emerge for Ravenswood and Waverley. The communities have been able to connect on Facebook.
Ms Watkins runs video cooking demonstrations on the co-op page using the ingredients on offer in front of her house, while the Ravenswood Neighbourhood House broadcasts exercise classes for what Ms Burr describes as "advanced, intermediate and my level".
"One of the main things to come out of this is to help people know that it's OK to ask for help," Ms Watkins said.
City of Launceston approves
audit of innovation grants after
business concern at process
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| THIS IMAGE DID NOT APPEAR IN THE EXAMINER |
City of Launceston councillors have approved an independent audit of the community care and recovery grants program in response to concern from some parts of the business community.
The audit could cost the council up to $40,000 however, raising concern from some councillors.
Councillor Tim Walker moved a motion at Thursday's council meeting for the audit to review the rationale and objections of the grants program, the process for receipt, assessment and awarding of grants, and to review the rigour in determining "genuine need" of successful organisations.
MORE ON THE COUNCIL'S GRANTS:
Councillor Danny Gibson successfully moved an amendment for the audit to also assess the "on-the-ground impact" of the grants and whether the objectives of the program were achieved.
Councillor Karina Stojansek excused herself from the vote with a declaration of interest, however this was not further detailed. She voted in favour of the grants package at the April 2 meeting of council.
Businesses have raised concerns about the $550,000 Level 2 grants, which appeared to be exhausted within three working days of opening with claims that a marketing company had quickly signed up businesses to increase its client base, and that some recipients may not have been in "genuine need".
The council has promised to release a full list of successful organisations, but this would need to wait until the entire grants program was complete, including the Level 1 grants.
Cr Walker said the audit would provide transparency to the process.
"It's our job to look after our community, it's our job to do that equitably, and if we're not doing it right, we need to know. And the community needs to know," he said.
Councillor Hugh McKenzie first raised the prospect that the audit could cost the council between $30,000 and $40,000, funds that he said "anecdotally" could be used for other projects, but he voted in favour of the audit.
He said a lot of the criticism from the community was based on "innuendo and hearsay".
Councillor Rob Soward had a similar view, believing the council had been subject to unfair criticism on social media.
"Other instances where I've been really disappointed is where there have been people who have wanted to prosecute a case of what we've done on social media with no evidence, just run commentary on what we've done," he said.
"My disappointment comes from the fact that, whilst of course we need to be transparent and we need to be open, those who criticise us for wasting money will have a crack at us I'm sure about the cost of whatever this will be, which is further money which we could have put into a package to support those in need."
Councillor Andrea Dawkins was keen to ensure that the auditor came from a "neutral standpoint" with "no existing connections to council" to ensure maximum transparency and accountability, a view supported by Councillor Paul Spencer.
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