May 3, 2021

State election 2021 – Part 2

Being a support candidate for this election has been considerably more time-consuming than it was in 2014, and I will now view all those template emails various organisations encourage their members/supporters to send off to all candidates with rather more jaundiced eyes – and considerably more understanding for the recipients of these missives – as well as respect for those who actually bother to reply. Few do in my experience.

For the weeks leading up to 1st May my inbox bulged with these template missives – and they all needed a response. It’s the Greens way after all, but it’s also my natural reaction to reply to those who contact me – unless they’re obvious cranks of course, so these individuals are all receiving a reply but I’ve been advised by more than one person Liberal and Labor candidates are nowhere near as thorough . . .

In the election aftermath I freely admit to extreme disappointment the result isn’t exactly the one many of us hoped it would be, although counting continues and the final tally may not be known for another week. It may also defy the pundits’ predictions. On a personal level though I’m overwhelmed by the number of 1st preference votes I received. In truth, I’m completely gobsmacked, and totally humbled at the idea there are so many people in Bass who felt confident enough in my abilities and/or my character to give me their number one vote.

As indicated earlier, the decision to stand at all on the Greens ticket was down to having my arm twisted a little by our persuasive, surfing senator Peter Whish-Wilson. I agreed only on the condition I was number five on the ticket. This pretty much was the same deal as the last time I stood as a support candidate, back in 2014 to ensure Kim Booth was re-elected. Back then we were dubbed the ‘A’ team – as our first names coincidentally all began with an ‘A’.

In 2014 I received 334 votes, and I thought that was both spectacular and surprising. I could appreciate that a degree of name recognition came into it given the pulp mill campaign was still limping along to its unlamented conclusion. But this time?

I continue to hold on to the possibility of a win for Jack Davenport, based on the anxious days of waiting to confirm Kim had made it across the finish line. I so well remember hearing the news Kim had won by around 160 votes in the 2006 election, several days after election day and while on the way home from work, and doing a swift turn around to head back into town and the Greens then-office on Charles Street to join the ecstatic celebrations. And Kim’s laconic comment that he ‘always knew there was a quota in there somewhere!’ Such insouciance!

The peculiarities of Hare Clark means there is unlikely to be a final election result until next week, since preference votes still have to be distributed once the initial count is completed, so there’s reason to hope. My fingers are firmly crossed that Jack will receive enough preference votes from all quarters to see him also fall over the line, so Bass will once again have the Greens state MP we need and deserve.

 

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Finding a publisher could be getting closer

By Anne Layton-Bennett • July 22, 2026
Attracting the interest of a publisher for this story of a community’s campaign to stop what would have been ‘the world’s fourth largest pulp mill’ being built was never going to be easy, but hoping the first of two 3-minute Literary Speed Dating pitch sessions will prompt at least one of the two publishers to request the full MSS. And preferably both of them. These twice-yearly Perfect Pitch sessions are offered to members of the Australian Society of Authors, and this is the first time I’ve taken advantage of them – mainly because of the need to have a completed MSS before doing so. Three minutes isn’t long to excite the interest of a publisher who is after stories in very specific genres, and who therefore needs to believe your MSS is worth investing the time needed to read it in full. I’m pretty certain I’ve excited the necessary interest, but given Jane will hear the pitches of many more optimistic and talented writers after my morning session today, there are no guarantees. That initial interest might well wane as the day goes on if other writers have written stories that sound far more intriguing – and marketable. One can never forget that aspect of publishing these days: will the book sell. I believe my story will – certainly in Tasmania it definitely will – but a wider Australian readership? That’s an unknown even if my mentor is convinced of the story’s universal appeal.  I’d certainly like to think I’ve caught the zeitgeist wave given the current widespread community unrest over AI data centres, that’s already prompting similar serious opposition, and for many of the same reasons the Tamar Valley’s community opposed the pulp mill. Environmental degradation, threats to public health, water usage – and water shortages in an era of escalating climate extremes – and the constant, relentless noise factor that’s associated with data centres, and AI data centres in particular. I’m crossing my fingers that the second pitch session will be equally positive, and that I could strike it lucky with both publishers requesting to see the full MSS. But I won’t get ahead of myself. I’ll just be keeping all fingers and toes firmly crossed for the next seven days.
Magni

Fiona's gift

By Anne Layton-Bennett • June 14, 2026
It’s taken far too many months for this marvellous model to grace the dedicated desk space in my office. When Fiona comes to visit next she will be very surprised, and hopefully gratified, that her amazing creative talent is finally on display. We’ve known each other for a very long time, and during the insanely busy time when I was helping to run the flower farm, working part-time in a school library, doing a spot of journalism on the side, and fighting the proposed pulp mill that is the subject of the manuscript I’m hoping to get published, Fiona cleaned my house each week. There’s only so much a person can do after all, and it has to be said cleaning our house during those manic years was fairly low down on the list of my priorities. But Fiona is a woman of many talents and she certainly possesses one that I so don’t have: sewing and dressmaking. So over the years she’s also made a few garments based on the pattern of a favourite garment that I was particularly fond of, and she’s also done some clothing alterations for both of us. My skills with needles and thread are limited to sewing on buttons, and taking up hems on John’s too-long pairs of jeans. Anything else is beyond me. But this fabulous model is the pièce de résistance – along with the beautiful crocheted knee warmer she gave me last year. This was when winter was approaching and so determined was I to finish writing the book, I decided to get out of bed at the insane hour of 5am and get in a solid hour’s writing in before dog walking and the demands of the day took over. Fiona was also one of many Tasmanians who needed to be circumspect about her opinion of the pulp mill. It was a project that polarised people, including families and friendships. She was one of several who passed on snippets of useful information, but on the basis of anonymity so it couldn’t be sheeted home to her.  Needless to say Fiona will be one of those whose contribution will be acknowledged – when this book is finally accepted by a publisher.

Signs of spring - when winter's only just arrived

By Anne Layton-Bennett • June 8, 2026
Early lambing season a sign of changing seasons? Or economic reality?

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