Christian charity that’s owned Tasmanian town for 30 years sells up

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Christian charity that has owned Poatina in northern Tasmania for 30 years is selling up. Residents hope the change will attract more people to move to the village and help shape its new identity.

Transcript

00:00The people who live in this village in Tasmania's Northern Midlands say it's one of the most

00:08beautiful parts of the state.

00:11But Poitina is more widely known as the town run by Christian charity Fusion Australia.

00:18Now Fusion is selling up.

00:20The big picture is that things are rapidly and irrevocably changing with the departure

00:26of Fusion and it's going to become a town like any other town.

00:29Poitina was originally built to house hydroelectric workers.

00:34Fusion Australia took it over in 1995 to deliver youth training programs but it hasn't done

00:40so since 2021.

00:43The town's population is ageing and Fusion says it's been running at deficits of up to

00:49$200,000 in recent years.

00:53Under Fusion, prospective residents were interviewed before they could move in and asked to sign

00:58onto bylaws encouraging them to volunteer.

01:02Residents say these practices have fallen away over the years but they have discouraged more

01:08people from moving in.

01:10After three decades under Fusion Australia, Poitina has reached a crossroads.

01:14New bylaws expected to be in place by the end of the year should make it easier for residents

01:19to move in.

01:20While some are hopeful this will breathe new life into the town, views on Fusion's departure

01:25have been mixed.

01:26There was a group of the folks that have been here for quite some time that were disappointed

01:30about Fusion's decision to leave.

01:33There's a fair significant group that just don't have an opinion either way.

01:38They're just happy to live their lives however.

01:40And there's others like me that saw it as a positive.

01:42Mark and his neighbour Johannes have lived in Poitina for about five years.

01:49They welcome Fusion's departure and the adoption of less restrictive bylaws.

01:54I suspect it will be a flourishing village and we will end up back getting a school again.

02:03So I only see the optimistic part of it.

02:07As Poitina opens up, residents are hopeful the town's population could grow from 100 up

02:14to 180 residents.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended