Bill Harvey

Bill was elected to Hobart City Council in 2007 and re-elected in 2011, and was returned to Council again in 2016 and 2018. He is a qualified and experienced teacher and taught English in China, Malaysia and UTas from 1994-2003.

Bill believes that any government, either in its own right or in coalition, needs to:

• Support the arts, culture and creative industries sector across the state. Arts and cultural activity is fundamental to a healthy and happy society and is now recognised as a significant economic driver.
• Ensure that parents and students value education highly and that all students complete year 12 and that the concept and practice of environmental sustainability is an essential thread that runs through primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
• Address the health crisis of obesity, diabetes and heart disease by encouraging a healthy lifestyle of good diet and exercise. This can be achieved by making it easier to walk and ride bikes on safe separated bike paths, stopping junk food advertising and collaborating with the community and local government to encourage local food production.
• Work with small businesses and the business sector to drive innovation, collaboration and employment opportunities in environmentally sustainable industries, including environmental and cultural tourism.
• Ensure that the local economy is diversified to inoculate it against external factors such as peak oil, energy rises and climate change.
• Work to secure a permanent solution for a sea-highway link to the mainland so that clean, green produce can be exported cheaply and efficiently.
• And of course recognise, respect and value the state’s natural environment, biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided.

Bill was part of a pioneering team that established the first joint venture Malaysian/China business college in Beijing in 1994, and, prior to leaving Australia, from 1982 to 1993, he ran a courier business delivering boutique wine, bookcases and antiques.