HEALTHY TASMANIA FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN – COMMUNITY CONSULTATION DRAFT

CITY OF HOBART FEEDBACK DOCUMENT

Contents

Recommended New Actions to be considered as part of the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan: ...... 3

Response to Questions: ...... 6

The City of Hobart Strategic Framework ...... 11

Recommended New Actions to be considered as part of the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan:

General Comment

The Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan would benefit from co-investment with local governments including developing partnership opportunities to provide infrastructure, parks, playgrounds and resources that support healthy activity.

Local government is positioned well to be involved in health and well being as it is the tier of government that has strong existing relationships with communities.

This strategy would benefit from closer partnerships, and resourcing and funding to increase the provision of health services on the ground.

New Actions

As defined by the World Health Organisation, a ‘Healthy City’ is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential.

Healthy Cities are arguably the best-known and largest of the settings approaches. The programme is a long-term international development initiative that aims to place health high on the agendas of decision makers and to promote comprehensive local strategies for health protection and sustainable development. Basic features include community participation and empowerment, intersectoral partnerships, and participant equity.

A Healthy City aims to:

• Create a health-supportive environment;

• Achieve a good quality of life;

• Provide basic sanitation and hygiene needs; and

• Supply access to health care.

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Evaluations of Healthy Cities programmes have proven them successful in increasing understanding of health and environment linkages and in the creation of intersectoral partnerships to ensure a sustainable, widespread programme. The most successful Healthy Cities programmes maintain momentum from:

• The commitment of local community members;

• A clear vision;

• The ownership of policies;

• A wide array of stakeholders; and

• A process for institutionalising the programme.

The Heart Foundation Healthy by Design Paper, Tasmania, has excellent ideas and ways to ensure that the built environment is increasing community health and wellbeing. These guidelines provide design considerations for walking and cycling routes, streets, local destinations, open spaces, public transport and strategies for fostering community spirit.

Healthy by Design website and Join the dots campaigns include information about hydration, energy and injury prevention; breakfast and mental health; stretching and injury prevention, provide interesting and fun ways to share information and educate.

In line with these internationally successful models, it is recommended that the Tasmanian Government consider the following actions:

• Increase health promotion and preventative health programs;

• Include Social Determinant of Health to improve healthy outcomes;

• Increase access to information and choices to move, including access to footpaths, playgrounds and cycle ways;

• Commit to support local government in developing infrastructure to encourage people to be active as part of commuting to work or study by providing end of trip facilities such as secure parking, lockers and showers;

• Allocate ongoing funding for the successful Ride2School program, expand and support the walking school bus program and implement other programs that discourage parents from driving their children to school;

• Establish a funding stream for health initiatives to support communities to take the lead on place-based, context-appropriate solutions.

• Address intergenerational cultural choices around movement and food choices;

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• Allocate a percentage of the roads budget to Local Government to build separated cycle-ways and improve pedestrian amenity; • Planning scheme changes be based on best practice urban design principles encouraging non vehicular access and movement and green recreational spaces;

• Students be discouraged from vehicular use to access educational facilities and be supported to use public transport and self transport with better facilities; and

• Increase information on food packaging, and increased education about nutritional value of the food product, and potential outcome of over use.

Any program or initiatives within the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan would need to be resourced to achieve the best outcomes. Partnership opportunities with existing services, for delivery of activities in local communities, would be important.

Potential activities include:

• Walk and ride to school / work programs;

• Supported peer programs in schools - for children and families;

• Nutrition awareness programs;

• Healthy shopping programs;

• Farm gate to plate - meet the producers programs;

• Farm gate to plate - learn to use fresh local produce programs;

• Community celebrations with healthy food options;

• Access to information across services - including educational services, community hub;

• Health promotion and civic activation for health promotion activities;

• Supporting local community, sporting and active groups to showcase their activities and grow their membership;

• Support local community connections

• Change the way information is shared about chronic disease, hereditary disease and lifestyle conditions;

• Increased infrastructure for parks and playgrounds; and

• Increase option to chose to walk, ride, play.

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Response to Questions:

1. Where do you think the current actions we are taking on prevention and promotion have proven effective in improving the health of Tasmanians?

Work undertaken in small communities engaging with non-government agencies and community groups to share information on preventative health and health promotion are addressing many important elements of Quality of Life / Health / Happiness which are consistent with the “Wellness approach to service delivery” that is driving aged care reforms in Australia.

The extension material and service information distributed by DHHS Public Health Services / Population Health have been a very useful resource. This has included: (i) Face-to-face support to service providers through the Community Nutrition Unit; (ii) Support to use the Appetite for life manual; (iii) Training and support to use the malnutrition Screening Tool with clients; (iv) Support from around Physical Activity; and (v) The Find Thirty extension material. Support and training from Health Promotion South around health literacy / writing easier-to-read material has been excellent. They have provided resources relating to writing easier-to-read material, which has changed the way programs engage with clients / customers across the organisation.

2. Where do you see that the most effective changes could be made in terms of overall population health benefit?

Addressing the health benefits in all policies and focusing on health promotion and information sharing. Health prevention targeting young families with information and resources to ensure generational changes to health and an intergenerational health shift.

Working with established networks, including local governments, rather than recreating a new system, to partner and work on the ground with existing community relationships, and building on these.

By increasing access to public play space, and ensuring choices around walking, riding or driving, this would improve physical activity.

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3. Are there any alternative governance principles, strategies or enablers that would better support the shift to a more cost-effective model for preventative health in Tasmania?

The Healthy Tasmania Committee (HTC) framework and principles identify key areas of focus, and priority areas to focus on. These would be supported by the City of Hobart. (i) Concentrate on the early years; (ii) Create health where people live, learn, work and play; (iii) Target health risk factors; and (iv) Focus on the health of vulnerable groups. Maintaining supports and access in local areas, with State-wide leadership and public access to information and working in health promoting ways are all fundamental to the success in changing the state health picture.

4. What evidence supports these alternatives as helping us achieve better health outcomes?

Issues that need to be considered in this area include the cost of living, food security, and access to healthy choices.

5. Do you think the targets will be effective in driving the change Tasmania needs to see in health outcomes?

These targets need to be delivered over a generation or two, in partnership with local governments and local communities.

6. What targets would you like to see the Government adopt to reduce health inequities in the target areas outlined above?

The City of Hobart is not in a position to comment on targets.

7. What indicators of health status provide the best picture of whether progress is being achieved and could be monitored on HealthStats?

The City of Hobart is not in a position to comment on HealthStats.

8. Are there ways we can better integrate the data on HealthStats into our work and use it to support the achievements of improved health outcomes?

This over 60 age bracket is far too broad in the proposed document. It would be really useful for ‘over 60’ year olds, to be broken down into more useful statistical data. This covers a potentially 40 year timeframe, and changing needs over this time would be good to collect, and refer to for services and needs. Statistics would be useful if they are regional, or by municipal area so as to reflect the community as it ages.

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9. What do you see as the benefits and opportunity costs of the Tasmanian Government pursuing a ‘best buys’ approach to preventative health?

Communities’ needs would need to be considered. One size fits all is not always the best solution. When addressing intergenerational changes, longitudinal funding, and specialised services are often best.

10. Are there preventative health commissioning models used in other jurisdictions that could be effectively adopted in the Tasmanian context?

‘Healthy Together Wyndham’ showcases a complex and integrated plan, working in partnership with the Victorian Government to change the health and wellbeing of its community. This includes looking at: • The environmental changes including the built environment, food access and active travel eg footpaths, pedestrian crossings near schools, bike paths etc. • Policy change strategies, including health and wellbeing and safety plan, community garden policy, municipal strategic statement, city plan. • Capacity building strategies: grants program, healthy living programs and strategies - health champions, community kitchens, sporting clubs healthy eating, active travel, partnerships. • Interventions Strategies: Social marketing campaigns - Give Peas a Chance, Live Lighter, Why I walk; Achievement Programs in workplaces and children settings. Another partnership driven initiative, between New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health and Local Government NSW, worked to improve the capacity of councils throughout NSW to promote health and wellbeing. Twenty NSW council initiatives aimed at improving the health of local communities were awarded funding to address key health issues - healthy weight, responsible drinking, tobacco control, and falls prevention - in communities experiencing health inequities. Through this partnership, the Healthy Communities Initiative was developed to provide details of the health issues and inequities that were to be targeted by each council.

11. What are the issues that we would need to address to effectively engage key stakeholders and community groups in the commissioning process?

Working with smaller communities, or municipal areas, would help to identify existing services, a gaps analysis, and how best to support a change in health and wellbeing in that community. An issue in one area may easily be addressed eg networking and communication, partnering and sharing resources whilst another municipal area may require more specific, specialised services, or a shift to address transport issues to access health services nearby.

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12. Do you see the value in pursuing a health-in-all-policies approach in Tasmania? What are the costs, benefits, opportunities and risks? Including health-in-all-policies would improve the health of Tasmanians. Social determinants of health need to be considered to help to overcome some of the inequities, and intergenerational issues faced by many Tasmanians.

Some of the Social determinants that impact on heath include: • How a person develops during the first few years of life; • How much education a person obtains; • Being able to get and keep a job and the type of work they have; • Having food or being able to get food (food security); • Having access to health services and the quality of those services; • Housing status; • How much money a person earns; and • Discrimination and social support (from Medicare Local Tasmania).

13. What other models for Health Impact Assessments could the Tasmanian Government consider?

The City of Hobart is not in a position to comment on Health Impact Assessments.

14. How would a shift to anticipatory care models improve outcomes for patents and the delivery of Health services?

City of Hobart is not in a position to comment on anticipatory care models.

15. What are the enablers and barriers that exist within the current structure of the health system in Tasmania that will need to be considered in supporting implementation of the new direction for preventative health outlined in the Consultation Draft?

To change the system from a system that is reactive to chronic disease, to a health and wellbeing framework, preventative health, health promotion, and access to choices needs to be in the forefront. A commitment to a plan, beyond five years, to ensure the message is shared, intergenerational patterns can be challenged, and a shift in the Tasmanian health culture can truly be challenged.

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16. Do you support increasing the minimum legal smoking age to 21? If so, do you support a phase-in arrangement with respect to those currently legally able to smoke in the 18 - 20 age cohorts?

The Council would consider in-principle support for the introduction of increasing the legal smoking age to 21 subject to clear evidence of the benefits of such an initiative. The Council would also be generally supportive of similar State Government tobacco control initiatives that ultimately contribute to healthier individual and community outcomes and improved environmental amenity. From a natural justice perspective the proposed phasing in arrangements for the current 18 - 20 age cohorts would be similarly supported.

17. What impact would there be on tourists and visitors to the State in increasing the minimum legal smoking age and how could this be alleviated?

The proposed legal minimum age for smoking must be extensively advertised and promoted and its introduction closely monitored otherwise there will likely be little impact on tourists and visitors to the state in the short term. Any considered exemption of tourists and visitors from Tasmanian laws would be fraught with logistic and legal problems and is considered to be both unworkable and discriminatory in nature. The State Government would need to implement an extensive, ongoing and nationwide public education, information and promotion campaign to address such a significant change to accepted cultural and social smoking norms. A sustained monitoring, compliance and information component of the public campaign would need to determine the local and broader social, health and economic impacts of the new no smoking law. A possible enforcement component of the campaign should also be considered for the longer term.

18. Do you support maintaining the status quo? If so, what are the reasons?

See questions 16/17.

19. What do you see as the potential benefits of the types of initiatives outlined in this consultation draft?

See questions 16/17.

20. What are some of the examples of other evidence-based initiatives the government could consider to effectively target key risk factors and chronic disease in the community?

The City of Hobart is not in a position to comment on evidence based initiative addressing chronic disease.

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The City of Hobart Strategic Framework

The City of Hobart has a large investment in infrastructure in the municipal area, and is focused on inclusion and health. Capital City Strategic Plan 2015 - 2025 Goal 4 - Strong, Safe and Healthy Communities The Council will continue to build a socially inclusive city by working in partnership with community members, groups, organisations and government agencies. It is important that the Council understands its community through engagement, participation and information sharing. We will continue to foster social connectedness and build participation by providing and supporting a diversity of social, recreational, cultural and educational opportunities. The Council will continue to protect, facilitate and improve health and wellbeing of the community as improve public health outcomes are linked to healthier lifestyles and safer communities. The Council’s role will also focus on creating an environment that allows for the correct supply of and demand for affordable housing. Strategic Objectives in this area include: 4.1 Community connectedness and participation realises the cultural and social potential of the community. 4.2 City facilities, infrastructure and open spaces support healthy lifestyles. 4.3 Build community resilience, public health and safety. 4.4 Community diversity is encouraged and celebrated. Social Inclusion Strategy 2014 - 2019 The City of Hobart Social Inclusion Strategy 2014 - 2019 includes the definition of Social Inclusion as: It is a fundamental right of every individual to have equal opportunity to participate socially, culturally, economically, physically, spiritually and politically in society. The exercise of these rights benefits everyone and is the fundamental building block for maintaining healthy and whole communities. At its core, social inclusion acknowledges that every person has strengths and skills and when these are contributed to a community they add value, enhance resilience and exponentially benefit everyone. It presupposes that a society is less than it could be when parts of the community are excluded. It also acknowledges that all communities have strengths and resources that can be identified and can contribute to solutions. Social exclusion occurs when disadvantages experienced by individuals, families and communities make it difficult for them to participate in community life - these can include unemployment, low income, intergenerational poverty, addiction, low literacy or numeracy, lack of access to services, homelessness, disability, poor health, mental health issues, discrimination and/or locational disadvantage.

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At its optimum, social inclusion is about having access to opportunities, options and choices in life and having the resources and appropriate supports as well as the personal capacity, self-confidence and individual resilience to make the most of them.

For an organisation, being socially inclusive is about the deliberate actions taken by that organisation to remove or reduce barriers to inclusion and to create opportunities that facilitate and encourage full participation.

A snapshot of the social inclusion barriers and issues in Hobart

While Hobart is the most advantaged municipal area in Tasmania according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Index for Areas, there are nonetheless clearly identified pockets of disadvantage, including specific areas in Hobart and specific groups of people, including some older people, people with a disability and culturally and linguistically diverse people.

The issues that have been identified are: (i) Social isolation; (ii) Lack of information; (iii) Crime and discrimination of a racist nature; (iv) Crime and discrimination based on sexuality, gender and/or unisex status; (v) Lack of accessibility; (vi) Housing stress; (vii) Inadequate public transport; (viii) Community safety; (ix) Alcohol and other drugs; and (x) Lack of employment opportunities.

City of Hobart Current Actions:

Local government is empowered in its role to support public health and wellbeing and the City of Hobart has a number of programs that support the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan.

These activities and programs are grouped in the areas of: (i) Parks and City Amenity; (ii) Environmental Health; and (iii) Community Development.

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Parks and City Amenity: The City of Hobart is actively involved in ensuring the community have access to ‘healthy parks’ programs in Council parks facilities for recreational purposes. These include:

(i) 42 Playgrounds - Two Regional - Long Beach Reserve and Cornelian Bay Reserve. 40 Neighbourhood / Local

(ii) 18 Sportsgrounds - Four State-wide senior competition - catering for AFL football, soccer and athletics. 14 senior / junior competitions - catering for AFL football. Soccer, hockey, athletics, cricket, ultimate Frisbee and canine obedience classes.

(iii) Two Healthy Parks Programs - ‘Simple Sweat’ classes - a bodyweight cardio and strength based program that suits beginners through to advance. Classes are run at St David’s Park on Tuesday evenings from January - March. Park Activation Programs - Kids in the Park. Invitation to families to celebrate Hobart’s Parks and Playgrounds and join in some fun filled weeks of activities. All activities are free and take place in a variety of our Hobart Parks. Program runs March - April.

(iv) Special Facilities Two skate bowls - North Hobart Cultural Park and John Doggett Park. Inner city cycleway - Regatta grounds to Hobart / Glenorchy boundary. Outdoor cycle track - New Town Oval.

(v) 12 Leased properties to community organisations for recreational purposes. Activities include: hockey, tennis, lawn bowls, croquet, netball, rugby union, soccer, badminton and indoor cricket.

(vi) The City also has two outdoor exercise equipment facilities in the city.

(vii) 51 recognised dog walking areas.

(viii) A number of beaches where activities are undertaken with facilities we supply (swimming pontoons, kayak launching, boat ramps.)

(ix) The Battery Point Sculpture trail encourages people to walk and explore.

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(x) The City of Hobart’s Bush Adventures program offer environmentally- focused activities and adventures in Hobart’s bushland reserves. Activities are designed for specific age groups from two years of age to adult and include a range of intriguing walks, creative activities, team games and specialised workshops. The Bush Adventures program specifically targets some activities to the early years audience. The program gets people actively involved and using Hobart's bushland - which can create lifelong healthy interests in the outdoors.

(xi) 60 per cent of the Hobart municipal area is bushland. The Bushland and Reserves unit manages 4,600ha of land that surrounds and infiltrates the city - in large parks, linear reserves along the rivulets of the foothills of kunyanyi / Mount Wellington, foreshore areas, beaches and neighbourhood parks. Hobart is a small city in a big landscape - inviting participation in outdoor recreation. Visitor services include 180km of recreational tracks and trails where people can walk, run, recreate, explore and mountain bike. The linear parks along rivulets enable people to commute to the city / school via walking or riding - integrating exercise into everyday life. The Bushcare program also creates an opportunity for people to get actively involved in looking after the bush and the recreational tracks and trails (Trackcare) near where they live.

(xii) The Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre offers family activities times in school holidays through the splash program, learn to swim, City of Hobart open days, which are free to Hobart residents.

(xiii) The physical location of the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre makes it ideal for people to access as it is walking distance from the city, on a direct bus route, has free parking for centre users and has accessible parking spaces. We obviously have close proximity to Hobart businesses.

(xiv) The Doone Kennedy Aquatic Centre increases physical activity levels by offering the following services: Swimming, Learn to swim for adults and children, rehabilitation programs, gym facilities, birthday party facilities, accessibility for people with differing special needs and access to different types of water facilities.

Environmental Health

Working more closely in partnerships to ensure engaging and healthy community outcomes for all community members and a more thorough approach to health and wellbeing.

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Local government is best placed to provide a broad range of community preventive health services and programs to local communities in support of any State Government strategies, initiatives and actions. Some of the services, programs and opportunities that the City of Hobart engages in and provides, in the public and environmental health setting, include: (i) National Food Safety Week; (ii) National Immunisation Week; and (iii) World Environmental Health Day.

Designating and monitoring smoke free public places including: The Hobart Bus Mall, Elizabeth Mall, Wellington Court, Mathers Place, Collins Court, Salamanca Market and all outdoor dining areas located on Council managed land.

The Public Health Act and Regulations have declared the following areas as being smoke free: (i) Salamanca Square; (ii) Within 20m of public seating at outdoor sports venues and competitor activity areas; (iii) Within 3m of an entrance/exit from public buildings; (iv) Within 10m of air intakes to public buildings; (v) Within 10m of children’s playgrounds; (vi) Between the swimming flags at public swimming beaches; (vii) Anywhere at a public swimming pool; (viii) All other pedestrian malls and bus malls; and (ix) Within 3m of bus shelters.

Monitoring smoke free public events. Council events are smoke free. These include the Taste of Tasmania, Salamanca Market and Carols by Candlelight. Recreational water quality monitoring. Public and school immunisation and catch up clinics. Domestic wood smoke air quality monitoring. Partnership with the state government funded Tas School Canteen Association (TSCA) re the provision of healthy food options. Food safety inspections and monitoring. Many of these preventive health activities seek to prevent illness and disease and to promote health through the provision of intervention programs and services to communities.

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Community Development

Although there is so much information in the community, it can be difficult to find. Engaging with communities, and targeting health promotion and access to information is vital for communities to have choices to make healthy decisions. Often access to information is when it is required, and when this relates to health, it may be too late. Engaging with services and the community through health promotion activities, heath and art, access through all touch points for community members.

The City of Hobart work at Mathers House and the Positive Ageing Program is a prime example of access to information for older community members. We know, from the COTA report Finding out: accessing the right information sat the right time, that older people access information from their peers, doctors, family and friends. Establishing a peer information sharing hub in Hobart has been beneficial to those in the community who access this service. Knowing your community, and the community needs is vital in knowing how to best share information to the targeted community group, either geographically based, cohort, or interest group.

Peer education and support is a vital part of this program. Engaging the expertise and wisdom of our community helps us to embrace them, value them in a real and meaningful way, and for older people to support their peers. Peers are utilised at Mathers House in our ‘Meet and Greet’ program; program delivery including arts and creativity, health and wellbeing, and lifelong learning; and the Hobart Older Persons’ Reference Group (HOPRG).

Mathers House has a focus of reducing social isolation. Knowing that isolation can have a major impact on health and wellbeing, especially as we age.

This over 60 age bracket is far too broad in the proposed document. It would be really useful for ‘over 60’ year olds, to be broken down into more useful statistical data. This covers a potentially 40 year timeframe, and changing needs over this time would be good to collect, and refer to for services and needs. Statistics would be useful if they are regional, or by municipality, so as to reflect the community as it ages.

The Still Gardening Program, auspiced by the City of Hobart, offers peer education talks, and peer support from volunteers to clients to help with garden care and maintenance. The social connection and relationships are a valued component of this program. The positive social and mental benefits are disguised as garden help.

This model gives us the chance to encourage the people that we assist to: (i) Be more active; (ii) Interact with other people; (iii) Maybe improve their nutrition; and (iv) Maybe improve their mental activity.

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This addresses many important elements of Quality of Life / Health / Happiness which is consistent with the “Wellness approach to service delivery” that is driving aged care reforms in Australia.

Still Gardening has found the extension material and service put out by DHHS Public Health Services / Population Health have been a very useful resource. This has included: (i) Face-to-face support to service providers through the Community Nutrition Unit; (ii) Support to use the Appetite for life manual; (iii) Training and support to use the malnutrition Screening Tool with clients; (iv) Support from around Physical Activity; and (v) The Find Thirty extension material.

Support and training from Health Promotion South around health literacy / writing easier-to-read material has been excellent. They have provided resources relating to writing easier-to-read material, which has changed the way the program engages with clients/customers across the organisation.

The City of Hobart’s Youth Arts and Recreation Centre has a preventive health role by: (i) Informing, educating and empowering young people about health issues; and (ii) Mobilising community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.

Programs delivered by the City of Hobart include: (i) Family Planning Tasmania has approached the youth team to assist in identifying youth health advocate officers to work participate in youth leadership training through Family Planning Tasmania in order to provide peer education on sexual and reproductive health, respectful relationships and other issues; (ii) Family Planning has also requested to work with the youth team on National Condom Day, as well as National Youth Week; (iii) The Headspace Team has attended and engaged with young people through open access sessions promoting services and encouraging young people to be aware of the health based services in the City of Hobart area; (iv) The Studio Workshop scheduled for May 2016 will promote healthy food choices and preparation;

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(v) Youth Arts and Recreation Centre has developed a relationship with Star Tasmania and the Parkside Foundation working with young people with disabilities, which has not only assisted in increasing social inclusion opportunities for these participants, but also provided an opportunity for young people without disabilities to engage with and learn about the alternative needs of these young people as they participate alongside one another in workshops and open access; and (vi) The Substation Gallery will have a “Pop Up Exhibition” event for one night only in partnership with Cornerstone Youth Services #switchitaround program which is an anti-drug/alcohol campaign - this exhibition will involve laser / light art work as well as printed art.

Although the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre is not a health service, there has always been a need for any youth based program to be engaged with the promotion of youth health services / issues. The nature of the relationships between our youth workers and youth participants involves ongoing nurturing and role modelling which often touches on health issues, which requires the youth team to have a broad enough knowledge of the youth health sector to appropriately refer a young person to services.

There are other programs and partnerships the centre and youth team have been involved with - these are just a few that sprang to mind. There are also other ways the youth centre could engage in the youth health space which would complement existing programs - and probably not increase costs, or demand on staff time.

Children and Families: The City of Hobart’s Children and Families Strategy provides a broad framework to: (i) Connect organisations within the children and families sector in Hobart; (ii) Support and promote opportunities for parents to connect with each other; (iii) Support and promote dynamic, vibrant and culturally expressive City of Hobart and community opportunities for families and children to participate fully in community life; (iv) Support children and families access to services through information provision; and (v) Increase opportunities for children to live in healthy, happy and safe environments.

Multicultural Strategic work: The key issues that were actioned in the most recent Multicultural Strategy (formerly named the Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) Strategy) have been reaffirmed through the community engagement process. The key issues have been identified as: (i) Language barriers resulting in a lack of knowledge of available services, facilities and programs; (ii) Lack of volunteering and employment opportunities;

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(iii) Racism and safety; and (iv) Lack of inter-community participation. These views are also consistent with the issues identified in the development of the State Government’s Tasmanian Multicultural Policy 2014 and in the community consultations for Hobart 2025.

These issues will be addressed in three priority areas for activity: (i) Perception; (ii) Communication; and (iii) Participation.

Homelessness:

A range of initiatives have been implemented by the City of Hobart including: (i) The installation of 26 lockers at the Hobart Housing Connect Office; (ii) The installation of eight lockers at The Link Youth Health Services; (iii) Working with St Vincent de Paul to develop and produce 550 survival packs that have been distributed to major providers of homelessness services in Hobart; (iv) Signage being affixed to poster frames in the City of Hobart’s highly frequented public toilets promoting the 24 hour Housing and Homelessness Support Service; (v) The provision of Metro bus cards through the survival packs; (vi) The provision of a limited number of housewarming packs to formerly homeless people moving into accommodation; and (vii) Homelessness awareness sessions presented to City Parks and Amenity Staff.

A new Housing and Homelessness strategy 2016 - 2019 is currently awaiting Council consideration.

Internal health programs:

The City of Hobart offers all staff access to a workplace gym in the city, and discounted membership to the Aquatic Centre. Internal health programs are coordinated through a ‘U Make the Team’, facilitated by a designated staff member. These include physical and social activity engaging and educating the Council staff.

The Council supports the North Hobart Football Club Community Camps, facilitating the football club engaging and role modelling with community groups.

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The Inner City Action Plan (ICAP) is a plan for Hobart now and in the future The ICAP contains a selection of key recommendations from the Gehl Architect's Report, Hobart 2010 Public Spaces and Public Life - a city with people in mind. It outlines 15 recommended projects designed to attract people and activity into Hobart and to create a vital, dynamic city centre. The projects will bring life and energy to our city. As they take shape, inner Hobart will become more people-focused, with well-designed public spaces, a pedestrian network that enables smooth movement between city destinations, and an urban environment that encourages cycling as a safe, alternative mode of transport. Traffic will flow more smoothly and our public transport system will become more usable, efficient and reliable.

Our inner city destinations will be rejuvenated and enhanced. Elizabeth Street will develop as a vibrant, active spine to the city, and Sullivans Cove will continue to grow as an accessible and welcoming destination. Hobart's shopping and nightlife will be invigorated, our educational precinct will be strengthened, and inner city living will emerge as an appealing and practical option.

The ICAP is the first stage of the Council's response to the Gehl Report and forms the basis for future planning and development for the inner city. As further recommendations from the Gehl Report are tested and approved, more projects will be introduced to continue to realise our community's exciting vision for Hobart.

All of these projects are making substantial improvements to civic space, and ensuring access to green space for all of the community, being aware of the importance of green space and nature for mental health and wellbeing for people working in the city, people studying, shopping and visitors.

Connections throughout the city have been a priority, increasing infrastructure for cycle ways including the South Hobart rivulet track, Morrison Street shared use, connection into Taroona, and bike lane development. The way finding project has increased information to access the city on foot. Priority walking areas and signage, and increased infrastructure for cycling is encouraging access to these amenities and physical activity.

The Council has an active role working with Cycling South, promoting bike access to events and storage facilities.

The City of Hobart has been heavily involved in partnership with the University of Tasmania in the medical precinct development and major building in the city. This is a long term strategic plan to grow the medical precinct and the diversity of the city. The research facilities, nursing school and associated requirements for student accommodation are all included in this plan.

The Royal Hobart Hospital is located in the City of Hobart municipal area, and also the location of the specialist clinics. Again this has been supported by the city with infrastructure, roads, parking, footpaths, and public toilets.

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