Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to share with the Senate the story of this year's Tasmanian of the Year and to highlight the benefits of ecotourism, one of Tasmania's most important and succe­ssful industries. In the days after Christmas last year, I had the chance to join Rob Pennicott on a trip with his ecotourism busi­ness based at Bruny Island. Rob's business has grown from a small start-up base on the Tasman Peninsula to being a flagship for Tasmanian ecotourism and the state's beautiful wilderness. Pennicott Wilderness Journeys now operates around Tasman and Bruny Islands, taking tourists to the cusp of the Southern Ocean and around the rugged cliffs of the coastline of Tasmania.

Along the way, Rob's company has employed local workers, told the stories of the birds, seals and other wildlife that call the state's coast their home, and promoted to the world some of the most remarkable land­scapes in one of the most remarkable places in the world—Tasmania

I had the privilege of joining Rob Pennicott on his Bruny Island cruise down to the tip of Bruny Island in the Southern Ocean, seeing for myself the incredible array of seals and birdlife along the way and how they inhabit our beautiful island. On that trip I saw caves and other parts of Bruny Island that I had never seen before. I have frequent­ed Bruny Island on many occasions, but Rob's tour was a unique way for me to experience the rugged coast of Bruny Island and Tasmania. It was an incredible experi­ence. All those on board, despite the unpredictable weather on the day, had an incredible time. For me, the feeling I had there of being very much alive will stay with me forever.

Rob's commitment to Tasmania and to protecting the unique natural environment that it houses has been a driving force behind a business that takes its impact on the enviro­nment as seriously as it does its striking marketing strategy. Impressively, Pennicott Wilderness Journeys offset all their carbon emissions through Greening Australia and with a particular focus on local planting projects. They measure their energy, waste and water usage using the EC3 system and achieve above best practice for all their scores.

Rob established the Pennicott Foundation with his wife, Michaye Boulter, in order to actively support the conservation and rehabilitation of the natural environment. In 2007 they founded the Tasmanian Coast Conservation Fund in partnership with Wildcare. Since that time, their landmark coastal conservation effort has been to rid Tasman Island of the feral cats there, intro­duced in years past by lighthouse keepers unconcerned by or ignorant of the island's incredible seabird ecosystem. Since that time, Rob has made a personal contribution of $100,000 toward the TCCF—a figure that would be impressive enough were it not dwarfed by the amount Rob raised with his Follow the Yellow Boat Road initiative.

The Yellow Boat about which I speak is no more than a simple, outboard driven, inflatable dinghy skippered by Rob and his colleague and friend Mick Souter. Along with cameraman Zorro Gamarnik, they followed the 'road' around Australia, attempt­ing to circumnavigate the country over the course of months. Why? More than just for Rob's passion for adventure and the water, the Yellow Boat was raising money for the global effort to eradicate the scourge of polio. By October 2011, five months after the trip began, they had raised $280,000. Recent reports out of India suggest that polio has all but disappeared there.

With a sustained effort from organisations like Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as by our own federal government, it might quickly be brought to the edge of defeat in countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rob's story is one that connects the local communities of Tasmania—the landscapes, the families, the heritage and the country—with the hundreds of thousands who will be benefit from the eradication of the deadly and debilitating polio. The efforts of this marine enthusiast cum entrepreneur and fisherman cum philanthropist make him wholly deserving of his title of 2012 Tasmanian of the Year.

I would also like to talk tonight about the NBN Co Discovery Truck. In January I was able to host a group of residents from the Glenorchy municipality on a tour of the Discovery Truck, which has been touring Tasmania since November last year and doing a fantastic job educating people on what the NBN will mean to them. I wanted to ensure the older members of our commu­nity understood how the NBN could impact their lives in a positive way, and what better way to do this than through the interactive tour offered by members of the NBN Co Discovery Truck.

I was joined by staff, residents and board members from the Lady Clark Centre in Claremont and by a number of members of the Glenorchy Bowls Club. We arrived at the truck and were greeted by the enthusiastic NBN Co demonstration team—Amy, Tom and Graeme—who will travel across Austra­lia over the coming 11 months, educating Australians about the NBN.

After boarding the 23-tonne truck, we were seated and the presentation began. The team explained that 93 per cent of Australian homes would have fibre-optic cables connecting them to the NBN. The remaining seven per cent will have access to either satellite or fixed wireless internet service. Whichever the option, Australia's new broadband network is going to be seriously fast. For example, people will be able to download an entire movie in just under two minutes—something that can presently take up to two days, and that is if that connection does not time out. The speed of our internet that will result from the NBN is difficult to fathom. You may be interested to know that Australia is currently rated as 42nd on the list of network speeds in the developed world. Simply put, the Gillard Labor govern­ment do not think this is good enough, which is why we are taking action in this area.

We also learnt that over the course of the NBN rollout it will employ more than 15,000 people over 10 years. This is a fairly big milestone. Over recent years, data download­ed on the internet has increased by some 19,000 per cent. If this trend continues, the NBN is the only answer to ensuring we have the infrastructure in place to handle such downloads. We must have an extensive, reliable network that will enable us to interact on a global scale. We cannot continue as No. 42 on the list of network speeds in the developed world.

The group I hosted on the tour were particularly interested in how the NBN will benefit their health, how it will enable them to have, for example, a medical consultation from the comfort of their own home via videoconference. We were also able to expl­ore the ways they will be able to undertake rehabilitation and exercise progra­ms in their own homes. Members of the group were able to trial a fall prevention proram developed by Neuroscience Research Australia. This is a technology that, thanks to the NBN, will be able to detect and respond to human move­ment. Sessions will be recorded and progress charts will be downloadable for health professionals, who can then monitor their patient's progress. This technology will benefit those recovering from a stroke, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease and potentially benefit those with dementia or brain damage. This will dramatically impro­ve the quality of life for so many in our community. There are so many benefits, and we touched on but a few during our tour. Education, health care, business, entertai­nment—all will be improved, thanks to the NBN.

I found that hosting a tour of the NBN Co Discovery Truck was a great experience for all those who came along. I would encourage all parliamentarians to do likewise when the team on the truck visits their electorates over the course of this year.