Alderman’s plea to Premier to save Taste of Tasmania

With the Hobart City Council voting to no longer operate the Taste of Tasmania, a surprising new location has been pitched so the festival can be saved in time for summer. HAVE YOUR SAY >>

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THE Taste of Tasmania could be held in New Norfolk, according to proponents of a $500m development in the region.

Noble Ventures is behind The Mills residential development and its director Daniel Noble called on Tasmania’s business sector to come together to ensure the Taste goes ahead this summer.

“The Taste is an iconic event for Hobart and Tasmania, and as we saw last year, its absence left a great hole in the summer schedule for locals, tourists and businesses alike when it couldn’t go ahead,” Mr Noble said.

Taste Day 5: New Years Day Taste of Tasmania crowd. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“With the Hobart City Council voting to no longer operate the Taste, we see an opportunity for local business groups to come together and do what they can to make sure the festival can continue its rich history, and continue to benefit the local businesses and community that gain so much from it.

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HOBART City Council Alderman Marti Zucco has called on Premier Peter Gutwein to save this year’s Taste of Tasmania.

“I’m of the firm belief that if the Premier takes the leadership role and moves swiftly with an interim authority ... there is enough time to deliver an event in 2021,” he said.

Mr Zucco said action would need to be taken by June and that the council and state government should provide $500,000 each to deliver a five-day Taste festival.

Mr Gutwein said he was determined to see an event on the waterfront this year.

“The Taste of Tasmania was an iconic part of the Hobart calendar for many years, and while the festival is no longer supported by the Hobart City Council, I do not want to see locals and businesses miss out on an event two years in a row,” Mr Gutwein said.

“The Department of State Growth has arranged to meet with the council shortly to discuss how to activate the waterfront during this year’s holiday period.”

Hobart City Council Alderman Marti Zucco. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

The comments came after business leaders implored the council to open up the process to run the Taste sooner rather than later.

Last week, City of Hobart decided to divest the local authority of the festival, on which it spends $1.6m annually, and also decided there would be no Taste this summer.

But Jarrod Nation, from Pinpoint Group, said he thought it was completely plausible for the iconic event to be organised this year if the council were to just open up the process.

Ald Zucco said the festival had to get “back to basics”.

“The Premier was scathing in 2020 when the council had decided to abandon the 2020-21 Taste without firstly discussing it with government,” he said.

Taste of Tasmania. Crowd in Princes Wharf shed. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the Council was keen to activate the waterfront in summer but couldn’t rush the next phase of the Taste.

“We need to ensure the future model is good for stallholders, producers, the public and the future managers of the Taste,” she said.

“But that doesn’t mean there’s not room for others to explore ideas for this year. These may be pop-up ideas just for this year that Council can provide some assistance to.”

‘Bring back Taste of Tassie in time for summer’

TASTE of Tasmania could go ahead this year if Hobart City Council was to give organisations the opportunity to make a bid for it sooner rather than later.

Jarrod Nation from Pinpoint Group said he thought it was completely plausible for the iconic event to be organised in time for summer.

“Tasmania’s appeal during summer has been built on the foundations of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Taste of Tasmania,” Mr Nation said.

“We need to ensure those foundations are intact in a post-COVID world.

“We’ve since seen examples with cricket and football where big crowds have been managed, so from that perspective, we see no reason why we shouldn’t have our own summer festival back.”

Jarrod Nation. Picture: Alastair Bett.

Last week, the council decided to divest the local authority of the festival, on which it spends $1.6m annually, and also decided there would be no event this summer.

Last year, the council ran a process to try to get an end-of-year food and drink event but decided not to proceed. Pinpoint Group expressed an interest in running an event last year.

Mr Nation said his team was involved in the events industry and that COVID had impacted the visitor economy as well as stripping out many fun things that people in Tasmania looked forward to.

“The City of Hobart has done a good job for a long time but given their decision to step out of this space, it’s inevitable that the Taste, or an event like it, will need to be underpinned by a different model,’’ he said.

“We’ve developed a sound understanding of the elements and however this moves forward, plenty of thought will need to be given to the most efficient model, how various risks are addressed and how stallholders and the public can remain at the centre of a sustainable event.”

Aaron Brazendale. Picture: PATRICK GEE

Hobart restaurateur Aaron Brazendale said he wanted to see the event proceed this year as it made the whole city busier.

“It puts money back into Hobart’s economy and gets people out and about. It’s such a boost for everything. We’ve been a stallholder as well as running our restaurants outside the event,” Mr Brazendale said.

Fred Peacock of Bream Creek Wines has been involved in Taste since its inception.

He said he believed the council would still be keen to help with logistics and co-operate with any new model so that the event could flourish.

“It needs to be taken away from politics though,” Mr Peacock said.

“Once that happens it will help with sponsorship.”