Challenges on home front

WHAT is happening on Bruny Island as a result of the tourism boom is a microcosm of issues statewide.

Aerial, Bruny Island Isthmus

WHAT is happening on Bruny Island as a result of the tourism boom is a microcosm of issues statewide that are arriving as surely as the planes and the ferries full of visitors to Tasmania.

The essence of the matter is that the boom has taken some parts of our island by surprise, and we need to quickly catch up to the new reality and properly prepare for more visitation.

That means better facilities, more toilets, more assistance, more signs, more accommodation and, well, more of all those things that holiday-makers require to make their stay enjoyable and civilised.

Essentially, it means more forethought and more prudent planning.

The residents of Bruny, as is so often the case, have been the first to voice their concerns and first to attempt to try to address the issues, but they will not be the last. These problems are relatively widespread.

There are many places, particularly in regional Tasmania, that are starting to struggle to cope with their new-found popularity with overseas and interstate arrivals.

In dealing with these matters it is important we avoid pointing the finger and apportioning blame, and simply face the challenges front on and deal with them as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

What is potentially at stake here is not only the much-needed injection of cash and investment that tourism promises, and that is at risk if tourists leave disappointed or disgruntled, but the way of life to which we Tasmanians have grown accustomed.

Generations of us have enjoyed clean beaches, beautiful hideaway campsites in the coastal heath, glorious bushwalks and spectacular scenic drives. We are familiar with grumbling, grunting possums, shrieking devils, squawking wattlebirds, busy potoroos, wandering wombats, grazing wallabies and bashful echidnas.

Most of us cherish our fresh, clean, cool, crisp air — so much so that you can pick the Tasmanians disembarking from a plane at Hobart airport by the way they suck in the air with gusto after they land back on the island after trips away.

As Tasmanians we regard our favourite fishing holes, community playgrounds and secret getaways with deep affection. For some the connection with these places goes back generations to memories of family, shacks, holidays and laughter.

For the Tasmanian Aborigines the links with this land go back millennia and can be found in the midden-rimmed rivermouths and sandstone caves carpeted in shells, bones and stone flakes.

With more people coming to visit and arriving to stay, we must protect these essential Tasmanian values because they are what make our home unique, liveable and loveable. They are integral to who we are and why we are here.

Bruny residents are moving toward a levy system. Other communities will choose other methods to protect their special places. But all will have to deal with the surge of feet on the island.

The sooner the better.