On 19th July 2025, Independent Peter George was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in electorate of Franklin.
Thanks to an exuberant campaign that attracted over 600 volunteers, Peter won the seat convincingly on first preference votes - the only candidate in Franklin to do so.
As a Community Independent Peter is accountable only to the people of Franklin, not to lobbyists, political parties or their corporate donors.
Peter is your Independent voice in Parliament. He wants to hear from you!
Hobart, Tues Oct 27:
One more (tentative) step towards the protection of Macquarie Harbour and our natural heritage.
Tasmania’s high Scientific Advisory Committee has recommended formally declaring the waterway a Critical Habitat for the endangered Maugean skate.
What does it mean?
@environmenttasmania and the Environmental Defender’s Office have requested for some time now that there needs to be proper intervention using State level protection so that the threat to the endangered Maugean skate can be managed - including managing the salmon industry’s impact on the waterway.
The downside?
This now goes into the hands of the bureaucracy and the minister - expect a good deal of pussyfooting around the salmon industry.
The attack on @helenhainesindi has shaken many of us.
Sadly, it was symptomatic of an insidious problem facing women in Australia and around the world.
In my adjournment speech tonight, I asked my parliamentary colleagues to reflect on how our words can have real consequences, and paid tribute to Helen’s leadership.
What a terrible shock to hear that Helen Haines, a good, decent, hard-working Independent MP has been critically injured in what first reports indicate is likely a politically motivated attack outside her Indi electorate office in Victoria.
Helen is a model for all of us who work in public office - Independent or otherwise.
Like most MPs, she’s a target of on-line vitriol and I’m echoing our political leaders in calling on everyone to dial down the vilification that can provoke acts of violence.
Hobart, Thurs Oct 15: Stop Press! Good news for Neil the Seal.
Like so many of his species, the Tasmanian global superstar, is very vulnerable to bird flu which has devastated colonies of his species around the world.
Well, plans are afoot to see whether it might be possible to make Neil the first of his species to be protected from this plague.
Tuesday, Oct 13: At last Tasmanians have an opportunity to have their say about salmon industry plans to expand into Bass Strait.
But there’s only a two-week window.
Communities and environmental organisations, along with commercial and recreational fishers, were already concerned about experimental open-net fish pens installed by the industry and the Blue Economy CRC 12k north of Burnie.
Now plans to expand to full commercial-scale production have triggered an assessment by commonwealth scientists of the likely impact on marine life and the environment.
Use the QR code to have your say.
Neighbours of Fish Farming has a full analysis of the projet here: https://789af306f1.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/a287324ebfdd94cfa825836efe1d8036/200000797-1eed41eed6/NOFF%20Submission%20on%20BECRC%20Bass%20Strait%20proposal.pdf?ph=789af306f1
Sunday, Oct 11: It’s abundantly clear Rockliff and Abetz neither value nor respect the essential roles scientists like David Hocking play in recording our island’s natural history and tracking today’s threats to a huge diversity of Tasmanian animal species.
Have they even stopped to think about the impact of losing someone like David Hocking, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology and Palaeontology at TMAG?
Another job on the line …. to help fill the debt black hole the government’s created and to pay for the Mac Point stadium.
There’s an online petition from Friends of TMAG you may like to sign:
https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESggEB6zswFZL3p0YMELd1zRhmO-BzKcUKG4WvN_7EQHGSE61rOwfsRvTRf_P789wal0ShpshuHX3SCzO1tHXtFv2BUlFo5CJS-6Nuq-2bJOhdVVWeEtpAJwlKvO7vtUpgsU—d3PLUIeODD4H0qnOtzAUvls0QLGhmitEvouuwTFGCCSl
Friday 9th October:
It’s our own Tasmanian Hunger Games.
Harrowing stories were shared on the steps of the Executive Building today, as Community and Public Sector Union members called out the Government’s brutal and baffling treatment of Building Tasmania and Department of Premier and Cabinet staff.
Imagine being one of 1700 employees whose job has been earmarked as expendable, and being given only two weeks to justify why you should stay and another person should go? No wonder these workers voted “no confidence” in their employer, Premier Rockliff, who has created this budget black hole of his own making.
We are gearing up to fight these cuts to Tasmania’s Museum and Art Gallery with everything we’ve got. We’ve had emails pouring in from all over the world praising the work of TMAG, and the work done to preserve the cultural and natural history of our island state. The Tasmanian government has a hell of a fight on its hands.
