I will happily admit I do. It’s a great way to start the day with a mini-mental workout. If you haven’t played Wordle, it’s all about five-letter words. When you type in your guess, you pause hit enter and wait with bated breath as the squares around your letter change colour, hoping that you’ve found the right word and all the squares turn green. This may or may not be followed by a brief episode of happy dancing.

And the five-letter word GREEN is becoming more important by the day. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, our nights in January were the warmest on record and our days were the third warmest on record. In the same report, Launceston had the warmest days on average at 27 degrees. We need to cool our city and region down; this is why the Chamber has such a passion for Urban Greening. There is a huge amount of evidence that Urban Greening has a triple-bottom-line benefit:

Environmental: Urban Greening will help cool our city and suburbs, and increase our biodiversity.

Economic: Increased property values, increased foot traffic and the time people spend in the city will lead to increased sales.

Social: Improved physical and mental health and improved community connectedness.

At yesterday’s Tamar Valley Leaders Lunch (LUNCH is another great five letter word), it was fantastic to hear that the University of Tasmania is contributing to a greener Launceston with sustainable, environmentally friendly developments as part of the Northern Transformation project.

Another five-letter word is LOCAL. Last year we encouraged everyone to Buy, Support and Eat locally. Supporting our local businesses is still extremely important as we navigate our way through the current health and social situation. Buying local is the best form of stimulus. Revisit this blog post for more details and suggestions.

Our next five-letter word is YOUTH. To quote Austrian novelist Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach “in youth we learn; in age we understand.”  If there is a young person within your organisation that’s learning their profession and could use some more business connections, why not bring them along to a Chamber event? Attending a Chamber event will allow them to make valuable new connections and gain insights from the keynote speaker.

Our final five-letter word is ISSUE. If there are any issues your business is facing that you need assistance with or need advocacy for, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

During a recent conversation with a group of members it was revealed that potential staff intending to relocate to the region to take up positions, after successfully navigating the recruitment process and accepting the role, were unable to as they couldn’t find somewhere to live or stay on a long-term basis. The members in this conversation were primarily from the Health and Community sector, which just happens to be the largest industry in the region* and also the sector that’s experiencing a significant labour shortage.

In an article in today’s Examiner, the private rental market has been described as near impenetrable [with a] vacancy rate that’s basically 1% and according to a table published with the report, 51% of houses sold in the last quarter were to 2+ Home Buyers.

While the Tasmanian Government has a plan to increase housing supply, which will increase housing affordability, what can be done to house skilled migrants who are needed in our region?

• It’s been suggested that more student accommodation in the CBD could free up housing in the northern suburbs.
   
• Inner City Living or Infill projects like those underway by Chamber members such as Tas City Building, and S. Group could be a path forward. (Stay tuned for future Infill-related news).
   
• Is there potential for hostel-style accommodation for incoming skilled migrants? Keeping in mind the construction industry in Tasmania is currently at capacity (something it is hoped the TasTafe reforms will address) any construction will need to ‘join the queue’.

While there isn’t a clear solution at the moment, it is paramount that housing and accommodation isn’t an obstacle in the relocation of staff and skilled migrants to the region.

What are your thoughts on this issue?
Do you have any ideas you’d like to share to solve the problem?
Please let us know…

In our weekly eNewsletter dated the 21^st of October, we encouraged members to embrace a new mantra for modern times: Buy Local, Eat Local, Stay Local, Event Local and Support Local.

Today we’d like to focus on Support Local.

With one week and one month until Christmas (gasp!) our calendars are filling up, our ‘to do’ lists are getting longer and we’re all looking forward to a festive break. During this busy time it can be easy to overlook the less fortunate in our community. Thankfully we have some wonderful organisations in our community and amongst our membership that are there to assist the vulnerable people in our community.

Would you or your business like to support local at this time of year? There are a number of ways we can suggest:

• St. Vincent de Paul Society are running their annual Christmas Appeal, where for as little as $40 you can help deliver hope and the Christmas Spirit in the form of nourishing meals, hot drinks and snacks via their Soup Vans.
   
• City Mission are also running their annual Christmas Appeal, where your donation will help provide meals, grocery supplies, food vouchers, clothing and household goods to those in need. It also assists with purchasing Christmas gifts for families.
   
• The Examiner has launched their 113^th Empty Stocking Appeal to raise funds for those in need via their charity partners – the Benevolent Society, the Salvation Army, City Mission and St Vincent de Paul. All funds raised are passed on to these organisations and as it says in the launch article; …every cent makes a difference to someone’s life. It can be the difference between a smile or a tear for someone this December.
   
• The Launceston City Community Christmas, a city-wide Christmas lunch event hosted by a number of community organisations in partnership with the City of Launceston are seeking donations and volunteers. The Launceston City Community Christmas provides families and individuals with the opportunity to connect, provide encouragement and build community at Christmas. Last year saw approximately 250 seats filled with people who may have had a much lonelier Christmas.
   
• Another opportunity to support local, that’s very close to our hearts, would be to support the David Peach Fund. The David Peach Fund is part of the Men’s Table charity, a charity that creates a unique environment for men to share openly about their lives, their challenges, their highs and lows with a group of men who they learn to trust and accept.

Please consider supporting local this festive season.

It’s official. After a mammoth effort by Launceston Gastronomy and the Creative Cities Steering Group, Launceston has successfully bid to be designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. Launceston will be one of 49 cities joining the global network. This is a pivotal moment for Launceston and a significant step up to the plate as one of the great regional cities of the world!

In the official media release issued by Launceston Gastronomy yesterday, Mayor Albert van Zetten said the project would cement Launceston’s identity as an internationally recognised region for food and beverage production. “The UNESCO brand is recognised worldwide and is a marker of the very highest quality,” Mayor van Zetten said.

Over many years, Northern Tasmanian has consistently demonstrated expertise in the development of agriculture, food processing, wine and beverage production, tourism and agritourism. Now that we have been recognised and listed as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, it will contribute positively to our regional economy and create new jobs in food-related industries and activities over the coming years. In addition, it formalises Launceston’s identity as one of the world’s great regional food cities.

The media release also stated that The City of Launceston will contribute $25,000 towards the implementation of Creative Cities related projects. Six other Northern councils have also collectively committed more than $28,000, including Break O’Day, Dorset, George Town, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and West Tamar.

The Chamber is and has been a strong supporter of the UNESCO Creative Cities bid for a number of reasons:

• It helps connect Northern Tasmania to the world via food.
• It places Launceston as one of the great regional food cities of the world.
• It provides a platform for food sustainability in a mixed agricultural and urban context.
• It creates an interplay between local agriculture in our Tamar Valley backyard; Agriscience that combines the best of agriculture teamed up with start-up and established technologists, hospitality that thrives with the abundance of local produce and destination tourism that underpins a vibrant visitor economy – all hallmarks of a growing and thriving city.

Launceston Gastronomy Chair (and Chamber President), Andrew Pitt, said of the announcement; City of Gastronomy status will become what Launceston and Northern Tasmania is recognised for nationally and globally. For some time, we have been lacking a cohesive, accessible and intuitive identity for our city. Now we have one. The activities and projects that underpin the bid will de-silo our food system from paddock to plate, adding value, providing jobs and careers, improving social outcomes, and helping to implement the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It’s all about local action with global collaboration.

We at the Chamber wish to congratulate Launceston Gastronomy and the Creative Cities Steering Group and we can’t wait to see what happens next. Depending on when you’re reading this, please raise your glass (or other drinking vessel) and join us as we toast Launceston, international city of Gastronomy!