Hobart needs to speak with one voice, says Regional Development Australia’s Tasmanian chief executive Craig Perkins

How is Canberra supposed to make sense of a cloudy conflicted vision, asks CRAIG PERKINS

Craig Perkins of Regional Development Tasmania at Daci and Daci. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

AT what point is it politic to hide our dirty linen rather than air it in the national capital? Craig Perkins says it’s a question worth asking if we want to secure maximum available federal funding for projects and programs in the state.

When we meet at Daci & Daci Bakers near Salamanca, Craig is fresh from the inaugural Regions Rising National Summit held in Canberra, a multi-day conference on the future of regional Australia.

As chief executive of the Tasmanian branch of the Regional Development Australia network, Craig spends a lot of time thinking about the delivery of policy and funding into Tasmania.

“The challenges we have in Tasmania are not that different to other regions in Australia,” says the former Meander Valley mayor, who lives in Launceston.

“Data on economic growth, population changes, education and skill levels tell the same stories.”

What differs, he says, is regional responses to them. “While issues are similar, the way local communities respond is different, and it is often reflective of how well connected and socialised a community might be.”

Tasmanians tend to be highly connected and very good at organising, he says, but this connectivity has a tendency to funnel into pro and anti camps on issues.

“You get the connections developing around strong views one way or the other.

“The challenge for Hobart and other centres is they don‘t use their connections to the best ability.”

Craig says it is blatant infighting that’s our downfall when it comes to pitching projects and solutions to the Federal Government and private enterprise interstate.

We are all too often those notoriously entrenched Tasmanians who take their swirl of squabbles — rather than a hard-fought but united vision — all the way to the top.

The onus is on us to nut it out at home first then take clear, solutions-based requests to Canberra, says Craig.

Divisiveness blurs the vision and makes it harder for governments to shape and deliver successful policy.

“Articulating a vision and organising into one voice is the essence of what regional community development is about,” he says.

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“We have to [present] challenging local issues as [having] simple solutions to get the financial help or policy change we need.”

Craig backs the reform call of the summit host, the Regional Australia Institute, for greater flexibility in project and program design and delivery to different regions. He understands it is challenging for the Federal Government to customise, but he says its involvement right through the planning phase would address that.

“Governments don’t like place-based localised solutions because they are hard to manage from a distance, but if they invested in the planning stage and tied funding to good planning work it would overcome that issue and it would help the Government better target its resources.”

Such a partnership would also help communities to better navigate the often tricky pathway towards change that requires buy-in from a swag of administrative silos, he says.

Without it, positive change often withers on the vine as communities grow tired and frustrated by bureaucracy and delays.

Living as far as we do from resource-allocation means clear communication is vital, says Craig. We’re a bit spoiled locally with such easy access to local and state politicians.

While a good council understands local need, its response is often hamstrung by a lack of resources.

“The capacity to think and adapt is strong, but the ability to be the brunt of the solution is weak,” says Craig.

The Commonwealth categorises all of Tasmania as regional Australia.

“There will come a time when Hobart loses that tag, but however we are categorised, [Greater] Hobart needs to speak with one voice,” says Craig.

“It’s about everyone understanding where the problems are and working through them methodically.”

Many of our challenges will take longer than one electoral term of government or local council to fully resolve, he says, urging long-game planning.

It’s the antithesis of the pork-barrelling approach we see at election time, though for better or worse Tasmania’s marginal electorates do receive a wad of that politically expedient largesse.

“I’ve seen some really good election project outcomes, but really more should be moved out of election cycles,” says Craig.

He thinks the 10-year targets and frameworks of the new City Deal partnerships, which bind levels of government and the community to agreed key focus areas, provide a sturdy framework for longer-range thinking.

Nationally, seven city deals have been brokered to date.

Implementation of a five-year Launceston City Deal was under way before the recent signing of Hobart’s City Deal, a 10-year vision shared between the Federal and State governments, and the Hobart, Clarence, Glenorchy and Kingborough councils.

While many Hobartians feel dudded by its inclusion of previous funding commitments, it remains a clarion call for direct action to address the city’s growing pains, including a dire shortage of affordable housing as winter looms.

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