During the 1980s, the magazine exhibited a strong concern for ecological issues, supporting protests against the Tasmanian government's proposed damming of the Franklin River.
During the 1980s, the magazine exhibited a strong concern for ecological issues, supporting protests against the Tasmanian government's proposed damming of the Franklin River.
Reflecting the national character of the magazine, contributors during this period included Les Murray, Christopher Koch, Dorothy Green, Humphrey McQueen, Donald Horne, Frank Moorhouse, Gwen Harwood, Bernard Smith, Hugh Stretton, Tim Winton, Olga Masters, Marion Halligan, John Forbes, Judith Beveridge, Geoff Page and Peter Porter.
In 1994, the board requested her resignation, ending Pybus's term in controversial circumstances, and prompting heated debates in the press both locally and nationally.
[citation needed] Rodney Croome, a prominent Tasmanian gay rights activist, was appointed editor of Island after a short interim period.
In 1999, continuing financial difficulty influenced a 'strategic planning process' with the support of Arts Tasmania, resulting in a change of editorial policy to that originally voiced by Denholm and Sant: 'The two criteria which determine the selection of material for the journal are excellence and variety'.