Category Archives: Tasmania

Tasmanian devil analysis challenges study suggesting facial tumour disease decline

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Cambridge scientists critique research that concluded the disease is no longer a threat to the species’ survival

Cambridge researchers have challenged a previous study which had concluded a facial cancer that devastated the Tasmanian devil population was on the decline.

Devil facial tumour disease, a fatal cancer spread through biting and sharing of food, first emerged in the 1980s. The spread of DFTD led to the species being listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2008.

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Investigation launched after 29-year-old Tasmanian dies in custody

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Man found unresponsive shortly after being arrested over a ‘simple offence’ in the Moonah area

Tasmanian authorities have launched an investigation into a man’s death in police custody in Hobart on Saturday.

Police arrested the 29-year-old man from Glenorchy at about 1:55am, after several reports he was acting “in a suspicious and erratic” manner in the Moonah area.

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Bridget Archer leads criticism after Peter Dutton compares pro-Palestine protest to Port Arthur massacre

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Tasmanian Liberal MP labels comments ‘wholly inappropriate’ after PM says he was ‘taken aback’ by opposition leader’s speech

Peter Dutton has drawn widespread criticism, including from one of his own MPs, for comparing the 1996 mass murder of 35 people at Port Arthur to a pro-Palestine protest at the Sydney Opera House.

The Tasmanian Liberal backbencher Bridget Archer labelled Dutton’s comments “incredibly disrespectful” and “wholly inappropriate”.

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Make-up of Tasmanian parliament finally settled as ‘anti-politician’ independent takes last seat

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Premier Jeremy Rockliff says he will advise governor Barbara Baker that he be recommissioned to form a new government

Independent candidate and salmon farming opponent Craig Garland has secured the final spot in Tasmania’s parliament, leaving the Liberals with 14 seats, Labor 10, the Greens five, Jacqui Lambie Network three and three independents.

Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said with the 35 members of the state’s assembly elected, 13 of them new faces, he would advise governor Barbara Baker that he be recommissioned to form a new government.

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Tasmanian man jailed after AI-generated child abuse material found on computer

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Man, 48, to spend at least 10 months behind bars after AFP’s first seizure of such AI content in state’s history

A Tasmanian man has been jailed for at least 10 months after police found hundreds of files depicting child abuse – including content generated using artificial intelligence – on his computer.

The 48-year-old Gravelly Beach man was jailed for two years, with a non-parole period of 10 months, in the supreme court in Tasmania on Tuesday.

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Jacqui Lambie says Tammy Tyrrell’s decision to split from the party amicable

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Tyrrell worked as Lambie’s office manager for years before being elected to the upper house in 2022

Firebrand senator Jacqui Lambie has wished Tammy Tyrrell well after she announced her decision to quit the Tasmanian’s network and go it alone on the crossbench.

In a statement released on Thursday evening, the senator revealed she had resigned from the Jacqui Lambie Network and would remain in the upper.

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Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell quits Jacqui Lambie Network

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The party whip says she plans to stay in the Senate as an independent after Lambie suggested she should ‘go it alone’

The Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell says she is quitting the Jacqui Lambie Network, but plans to stay in the Senate as an independent, saying the party leader had suggested her former party mate “go it alone”.

“Today I have advised the Jacqui Lambie Network that I am resigning from the party. I’ll remain in the Senate as an independent Senator for Tasmania,” the 53-year-old said in a statement on Thursday evening.

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Liberal minority rule, Lambie alliance or Labor ‘traffic light’ coalition: where to now for Tasmanian politics?

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As the dust settles from an unnecessary election, premier Jeremy Rockliff has some serious work to do to form a stable government

Jeremy Rockliff brought this on himself.

The Tasmanian premier – the leader of Australia’s sole Liberal government – called an election a year earlier than required, believing he could persuade voters to reject the “chaos” of minority government and reward his party with a fourth straight majority victory. Tasmanians didn’t buy it.

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Liberals struggle to hold power in Tasmania as minor parties surge at election

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Party leading poll with 36.9% of vote, but suffered 12% swing against it since last election three years ago

The Liberal party faces having to negotiate with an expanded crossbench to hang on to power in Tasmania after winning the biggest share of the vote in the state election, but falling short of a majority of seats in parliament.

By late on Saturday, the Liberals, led by premier Jeremy Rockliff, were leading the poll with nearly 36.9% of the vote, but had suffered a 12% swing against it since the last poll three years ago.

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Voting closes in Tasmania’s early election as hung parliament looms

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Labor’s Rebecca White is hoping to unseat Australia’s only remaining Liberal government and return her party to power after 10 years in opposition

Australia’s last Liberal government is hoping they can defy opinion polls and be returned in majority, as polls close in Tasmania.

The state Liberals are chasing a record fourth successive term, while Labor is aiming to end a decade in opposition.

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Australia politics live: Peter Dutton claims PM ‘misrepresented’ earlier comments about Kevin Rudd’s performance as US ambassador

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Follow the day’s news live

The Republican candidate for the US presidency, former president Donald Trump, has had a few things to say about former Australian prime minister and current US ambassador Kevin Rudd.

Trump spoke to UK conservative Nigel Farage on GB News, saying if Rudd is hostile “he will not be there long”:

The Aukus deal that is in place, America, you know, the UK, Australia, very, very important deal, it is there to try and combat that huge growth in China. But now of course things have changed in Australia, we have a Labor government in Australia. The previous ambassador, Joe Hockey, I think was quite a good friend of yours, you got on pretty well with him. Now they have appointed Kevin Rudd. Former Labor MP, an he has said the most horrible things, you were a destructive president, a traitor to the west, and he is now Australia’s ambassador in Washington. Would you [take a phone call from him?]”

Yeah, well don’t know. He won’t there be long if that is the case. I don’t know much about him. I heard he was a little nasty. I heard he’s not the brightest bulb. I don’t know much about him, but he won’t be there long if he is at all hostile.

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The Juice Media told to censor satirical video with image of Tasmanian premier or face heavy penalties

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Maker of ‘honest government’ ad parodies says state’s antiquated electoral laws could be ‘weaponised to silence critics’

“It was a real ‘what the fuck’ moment,” Giordano Nanni says about his company, The Juice Media, being told to censor an image of Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff or face heavy penalties.

The Juice Media is well known for its satirical “honest government” series, which takes potshots at all sides of politics in videos that resemble government-funded propaganda.

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Two swimmers remain in hospital after drowning tragedy at Marengo leaves one man dead

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Drowning incident in ocean near Victoria’s Apollo Bay claimed the life of a man and left two swimmers in hospital, with one fighting for his life

Two men remain in hospital after a drowning incident that claimed a third man’s life when they were swimming at a beach along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

One of survivors in his 20s remained in a critical condition in Melbourne’s Alfred hospital, ABC reported, while the other was in a stable condition at Barwon Health in Geelong.

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Hobart endures hottest night in 112 years as severe heatwave hits south-eastern Australia

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Extreme heat forecast to continue across Victoria, Tasmania, SA and NSW for several days, as record temperatures cause cancellation of long weekend events

Hobart residents sweated through the city’s hottest night in 112 years as a severe heatwave continues to affect large parts of south-east Australia.

Extreme heat is forecast to continue across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales for several days, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday after record temperatures caused the cancellation of long weekend events.

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Pure imagination: Tasmanian premier vows to build world’s largest chocolate fountain if re-elected

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Liberal Jeremy Rockliff commits $12m and says ‘chocolate experience’ at Claremont would be ‘the greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona’

Dubai is home to the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa. Nepal boasts Mount Everest. Soon, if Jeremy Rockliff gets his way, Tasmania could be home to the world’s largest chocolate fountain.

The Tasmanian premier on Sunday appeared to take inspiration from Willy Wonka by pitching himself to voters as the dreamer of dreams during a visit to the Cadbury chocolate factory – the largest in the southern hemisphere – near Hobart.

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Melbourne’s Moomba parade cancelled due to heat as festivalgoers in Victoria advised to leave amid fire warnings

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Pitch music and arts festival attenders urged to delay arrival, with those already on site advised to head home

Festivalgoers at a music festival in Victoria’s Grampians have been advised to leave amid the extreme heat and fire danger, while Melbourne’s iconic Moomba Parade has been cancelled due to soaring temperatures.

Residents across four states have been experiencing stifling conditions, with high temperatures forecast over the long weekend in many parts of the country.

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Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia to swelter through heatwave on long weekend

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Hot weather will send temperatures soaring to 38C in Melbourne, 40C in Adelaide and the low 30s in Launceston, the BoM forecasts

Victorians, Tasmanians and South Australians will swelter through their long weekends, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing heatwave warnings for the three states.

Melbourne is expecting maximum temperatures of 38C across Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If temperatures do reach 38C, it will be the highest temperature recorded across three consecutive days in March since 1942.

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Tasmania’s unique electoral system means all bets are off on the Liberals’ future

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Though the state’s ruling party has been marked by defections and dissent, the opposition has struggled to make its mark

For the second term in a row, Tasmania will head to the polls about a year before an election is due after Australia’s last remaining Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, called an early election for 23 March.

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Victoria’s Squeaky beach beats famous Sydney and Queensland spots to be judged Australia’s best

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Wilson’s Promontory beach is the first Victorian site to top Tourism Australia’s list, which celebrates coastal spots

It’s not the famous sands of Bondi, the surf mecca of Bells, or the pristine white stretches along the Great Barrier Reef – but Squeaky beach in Victoria has been named the best in Australia.

Named for the under-foot sound of its quartz sand, the Wilson’s Promontory beach is close to the most southerly point of mainland Australia.

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Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy: company operator pleads not guilty to workplace safety charges

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Rosemary Anne Gamble faces Devonport court over Hillcrest primary school incident that left six children dead

A company operator charged with workplace safety breaches after six Tasmanian primary school students died in a jumping castle accident has pleaded not guilty.

Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt were killed when an inflatable castle was lifted into the air in December 2021. Three children were also seriously injured.

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