Since 2004, Future Tasmania has held an annual conference. Our conferences explore options to preserve Tasmania’s unique natural resources and rural heritage, while at the same time creating a thriving, locally-based economy. Conferences culminate in a goal-setting session that fosters critical thinking, fresh ideas and vision-sharing, and practical solutions toward a better future.

Speakers included:
o Professor Ian Lowe, President, Australian Conservation Foundation: “Bio-diversity, climate change and the scientist”
o Dr. Michael Towsey, Prout Institute of Australia: 
“Two Visions of the Future of Agriculture”
o Charles Arnold, Mayor, King Island:  “The Implications of the PAL Policy for Tasmanian Agriculture”
o Dr. Jim Markos, Launceston Respiratory Physician:
“The Tamar Valley Wood Smoke Story”
o Kim Eastman and Phil Tattersall, Facilitators, Tasmanian Community Resource Auditors:  “What is Community-based Auditing, and How Does it Work?”
o Jon Bryan, Marine Naturalist: on Marine Ecology in the Northeast.
Professional Facilitators:
o Steve Gould and Patricia Kelly, Futures Facilitators.

1.1 Our collective experience (TCRA inc.) saw CBA as answering a call from citizens to be heard and at the same time enabling them to play a meaningful role in natural resource planning and management in the Tasmanian context. (political, cultural and historical). These were the initial ‘problems’ CBA set out to solve. We see CBA as a tool for assisting the emergence of a critical community, i.e. supporting the building of community capacity;
1.2 In my 25 years experience in community activism I have worked as a scientist-activist assisting citizens in need. This enabled me to see first hand how citizens seemed to be ‘left on the outside’ of issues, while ‘experts’ and vested interests did the ‘telling’. In 2001 a meeting of like minds led to the establishment of Tasmanian Community Resource Auditors Inc. We have a Board of 5 people and a membership of around 30.

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Can air pollution harm you? YES, without any doubt!
• Death - lung & heart disease
• Flare-up of lung disease:  - asthma, bronchitis, emphysema
• Breathing problems: - cough, wheeze, short of breath
• Lung cancer
Great London Smog 1952
• Thick fog + PM10 + SO2
• 4,700 people died over next 1 week (double the usual death rate)

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