MY latest vision is to redevelop the Penny Royal as the new tourist gateway to the Gorge, by my 85th birthday in December 2015.
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The Cataract Gorge is recognised as the most iconic tourist attraction in Northern Tasmania. Despite this, visitor numbers in the North have plateaued and our economy has been in recession.
Launceston clearly needs a major new tourist attraction to draw thousands of extra visitors to Northern Tasmania. I believe that my vision for the Penny Royal will do just that and stimulate our Northern economy much like MONA has done for the South.
To realise my visions, I always set challenging but achievable goals and then work step by step to get there. My team has been working on some exciting plans for the Penny Royal that will be released over the coming months.
The centrepiece of this proposal is a chairlift starting from the southern end of the Penny Royal. It would then run south-west along the unused road reserve between West Launceston and the Zig Zig reserve, eventually leading into the Gorge near the inclinator.
The views of Launceston and the Gorge from the chairlift will need to be spectacular. There must be minimal impact on views from inside the Gorge.
The chairlift will also need to be screened off from houses in West Launceston by native trees.
I would hope that the people of Launceston share my vision and support a new world-class tourist attraction being developed in the city with a chairlift that runs into the Cataract Gorge.
If I don't get that support, then clearly it won't happen. At 83 years of age, I don't have too much time to debate the merits of the proposal.
The Penny Royal as the new tourist gateway to the Gorge is not my only vision. I have realised several over the past 60 years. They have all involved producing and selling world-class products and experiences in the food, wine, property, tourism and hospitality industries.
The latest CommSec and Deloitte reports place Tasmania last on almost every economic measure. Tasmania is also well behind the other states in many social areas.
I am saddened to see so many hardworking young Tasmanians and their families leave our state to find work.
It is also sad to hear that Tasmanians listed for elective surgery are waiting four times longer for operations than interstate patients.
I believe that our community needs to be much more investment and development- friendly if we are to afford the standard of health, education and welfare that we deserve.
Private sector businesses and their employees are wealth- generating taxpayers who are not first paid by government. They effectively fund the government.
Only one-third of Tasmanians work in the private sector. That is simply not sustainable. The figure should be two-thirds.
A flourishing private sector that generates wealth for government to tax is the only sustainable way to fund our society.
My latest proposal to redevelop the Penny Royal and Errol Stewart's proposal for North Bank are examples of local development projects that will create hundreds of construction jobs. They will also create employment in tourism and hospitality while generating much needed taxes.
Industry also has the potential to generate wealth by exporting to the world. It can employ tens of thousands more Tasmanians. It can generate profits that will provide government with hundreds of millions in extra taxes and royalties. We need this extra tax revenue to pay for government services, welfare and infrastructure.
Too many of our industries have been decimated unnecessarily. Let's encourage, welcome and work together with all old and new industries to make them sustainable.
New tourism proposals that leverage off our iconic areas should also be encouraged. Simon Currant's visionary Pump House Point development in the Lake St Clair National Park and my own Penny Royal project near the Cataract Gorge, all need your support.
We must improve our social and economic situation.
To do this we must encourage more private investment and development on a much larger scale, while protecting the best of our natural and built environment.
I believe that my vision for the Penny Royal will help to achieve that goal. The question is: do I have your support?