Background

Launceston is located at the confluence of two rivers and an estuary in northern Tasmania that come together to drain almost 20% of Tasmania. The city's human histories, geographies and eco-environments likewise come together in ways that gives the city, and the region, a cultural landscape that is shaped by all these things in convergence.

The distinctions between northern and southern Tasmania is often said to be "politically determined". Yet there is an equally compelling argument that says the politics comes about because of the region's inherent and inherited geographies and histories. It is these things more than politics that define the region's cultural realities and its distinctiveness.

In various ways Launceston's Aboriginal histories and heritage; the histories that came together via the region's colonisation; the region's postcolonial histories; together with histories present and evolving, lend a richness to the place that endows it with distinctive attributes.

Against this background the city, as a connected regional town/city, has transitioned from a colonial outpost to an industrial centre and is currently transitioning to a service centre that is becoming increasingly open to the world.

Currently the status of the city's university campus is in a state of flux. The underlying tensions to do with regional alliances that, if left unchecked, could well diminish the city's, indeed the region's, sense of wellbeing and prosperity.

The Tamar/Esk region offers 'come to' attractors in regard to cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary training, higher education and research. Likewise there are complementary opportunities for interfacing enterprise and business endeavours originating in the region that reach beyond Tasmania.

This letter is an initiative of a network of concerned citizen living in the region, all of whom themselves have Tasmanian, national and international networks.