Rowing in Tasmania: Does Propaganda & Reiteration Really Work?

On Friday the 7th September, a blog appeared here in response to a puff piece and editorial  printed in Fairfax’s The Examiner. Within 24 hours a committee member at the North Esk Rowing Club, received an email from a high ranked official within Rowing Tasmania, attempting to bring this blogger to heel.

The committee member declined (thank you!). As this blogger and possibly many within the Tasmanian Rowing Community know, this is not the first time Rowing Tasmania have attempted to quickly cull any (public or private) dissent from clubs and / or individuals within the Tasmanian Rowing community.

Yesterday, 5 days after the blog post, The Examiner (Launceston) printed another puff piece, which featured in their online edition only.   

The timing and content of this latest propaganda  published in the online Examiner yesterday, again raises more questions than are answered. Simply reiterating the same mantra does not address any questions raised in Friday’s blog, nor make any of the propaganda truer. So again I ask, where are all these new rowers going to come from? What arrangements have been made in regards to NERC’s pontoon: costs incurred by NERC to date and the fact that this 128tonne pontoon is already running at capacity ?!

Looking at Rowing Tasmania’s own Annual Report (2018), further questions arise. Such as, why are Rowing Tasmania sitting on half a million dollars in investments? Surely $150,000 to $200,000 would be sufficient and why isn’t there a dividend being paid back to the member clubs?

Why are Rowing Tasmania sitting on this money and still borrowing boats from member clubs for state selection, training camps and for Tasmanian teams / crews to compete in at National level?

Why are the University of Tasmania (UTAS) still borrowing equipment from clubs such as NERC for events such as the annual varsity challenge (Vice Chancellor's Challenge) – when obviously UTAS are  flush enough to establish and equip their own new club?

The fact that clubs such as NERC are constantly (and have been for years) been requested to stump up boats and other equipment for Rowing Tasmania’s training camps, selections and crews to compete at National level, has not been lost on NERC members, nor the larger Tasmanian Rowing community. Yet all the while Rowing Tasmania are sitting on $500,000 in investments; and to add insult to injury the Tasmanian State Government continue to fund Rowing Tasmania. 

Unfortunately Rowing Tasmania’s Financial Report, year ending 30^th June 2018, does not provide adequate information on the actual costs of running and maintaining Lake Barrington, however, one must assume, the cost is significant. Why then, does Rowing Tasmania wish to add further burden on the Tasmanian Rowing Community by taking on the Inveresk Rowing Precinct and associated costs of additional premises and administration? Another ploy to leach from the Launceston clubs and rowing fraternity?

All things considered, perhaps it is time for the Tasmanian Government to intervene with:

1.   The immediate re-establishment of the Northern Tasmanian Regatta Association.

2.   A full forensic audit of Rowing Tasmania going back as far as possible – perhaps into the far distant reaches of the 1990's RT restructure?

3.   A full audit of Rowing Tasmanian governance and all business practices, including, but not limited to process of filling employee vacancies and job creation.

4.   In addition a mechanism for confidential submissions from Rowing Clubs and Individuals state wide.

5.  The rowing precinct at Inveresk to be run by a consortium of clubs within the precinct itself – autonomy, not a Rowing Tasmania dictatorship. This is not reinventing the wheel; such an arrangement already exists in the South.

Again, we must ask, with a Launceston Municipal Election looming at the end of this year and Federal Gov. election due early next year – are fingers starting to look a little sticky? ….. whose fingers are they and in which pies..... ?

Lets not forget - Rowing Tasmania are sitting on $500,000 investments and STILL appear to be leaching from the rowing community they are supposed to be supporting and advocating for.   

AND why are The Examiner simply publishing these puff pieces instead of doing some actual investigation of their own? 

Previous Blog: The State of Rowing in Tasmania (Inveresk Rowing Precinct)

Blogs by Concerned Citizen Advocacy Groups (Launceston):

• Basil Filtch.
• Tasmanian Rate Payers.
• Tasmanian Open Letters. 
• Heritage Protection Society (Tasmania)
• Launceston Accountability
• Launceston Concerned Citizens Group