Category Archives: Tasmania

Volunteer firefighter dies after being hit by police car on Flinders Island

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Man in his 60s killed in incident involving on-duty Tasmania police officer in town of Lady Barron

The death of a volunteer firefighter struck by a police car on Flinders Island will have an impact on the whole community, a senior officer says.

Tasmania police say the man was on foot when he was hit by the police vehicle driven by an on-duty officer on Saturday night.

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Why do whales beach themselves? A vial of parasites in a Tasmanian museum may hold the answer

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Pilot whale that beached itself in 1973 was infested with thousands of parasitic nematodes that may have eaten away at its blowhole

A vial of white parasitic worms left for decades in a Tasmanian museum may help solve a timeless mystery: why do whales strand themselves on beaches?

The worms were collected from the blowhole of a pilot whale that beached itself in 1973 and then stored in Launceston’s Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.

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Ecologists warn deadly H5N1 bird flu could arrive in Australia via Antarctica as preparations ramp up

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Influx of highly pathogenic strain a case of ‘not if, but when’ and could devastate native wildlife, experts say

The Australian government is ramping up preparations for a highly pathogenic and contagious strain of bird flu potentially reaching Australia via its Antarctic territory and Macquarie Island, warning it could devastate wildlife and be passed to people.

Government agencies led by the Australian Antarctic Division at a planning exercise in Hobart on Wednesday were told an influx of the virulent H5N1 Avian flu strain that has killed millions of seabirds, wild birds and poultry overseas was a case of “not if, but when”.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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Hundreds of labradoodles in urgent need of homes after RSPCA Tasmania shuts down puppy breeder

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Tasmanian Labradoodles agrees to close to avoid charges laid for alleged overbreeding

More than 250 labradoodles – many who have never been in contact with a human – are in “urgent” need of a home after RSPCA Tasmania shut down the state’s biggest puppy breeder over animal welfare concerns.

Tasmanian Labradoodles surrendered all of its dogs last Friday in a “landmark out-of-court agreement” that led to the immediate and permanent closure of the business, the RSPCA said in a statement.

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Tasmanian judge facing assault charge tells court his former partner ‘fell’

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Court hears Gregory Geason, who denies assaulting the woman, searched ‘how to get domestic violence charges dropped’ in days after argument

A Tasmanian supreme court judge denied punching his former partner and pushing her into a mantelpiece, telling a court she was unsteady, fell and hit her head on a table.

Justice Gregory Geason is facing a court hearing after pleading not guilty to assault and one count of emotional abuse or intimidation.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Tasmanian judge allegedly assaulted partner after seeing funny photo from her colleague, court hears

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Supreme court justice Gregory Geason has pleaded not guilty to emotional abuse or intimidation and common assault

A Tasmanian supreme court judge allegedly assaulted a woman and left her with two large “egg” bumps on her head after he saw a funny photo she received from a colleague, a court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be named, continued giving evidence on Tuesday in a hearing over her alleged “controlling and coercive” relationship with Tasmanian justice Gregory Geason.

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Snowfall possible in northern NSW as low pressure brings Antarctic blast to southern Australia

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BoM says most severe impacts expected on Sunday and Monday, with warnings of flash flooding in Tasmania

An intensifying low pressure system off Australia’s south-east is bringing frigid temperatures to large parts of the country’s south and a chance of snow as far as northern New South Wales.

The Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) was carefully monitoring the system on Saturday, which was expected to move from the NSW coast towards Tasmania, intensifying as it goes.

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Lucrative building contracts for Exclusive Brethren schools awarded to businesses run by church members

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Donations to school building funds are tax deductible, with Brethren-owned businesses across three states the beneficiaries

Schools set up by the Exclusive Brethren sect have spent millions of dollars with businesses owned by church members on major building projects, including to a company majority-owned by the powerful Hales family, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

The Brethren’s OneSchool Global (OSG) schools are registered charities in Australia and exempt from income tax. The schools also have building funds endorsed for deductible gift recipient status.

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Eastern Australia to shiver through cold week as snow predicted for ski fields in Victoria and NSW

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Weather bureau says the cold front sweeping from SA to Tasmania will move up into alpine areas to bring much-needed snowfalls

Large parts of Australia will shiver through much of the coming week, with temperatures as much as 4C below average expected in some regions.

The Bureau of Meteorology says ski fields could also expect some much-needed snowfalls in time for school holidays in some of the eastern states.

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William Crowther: controversial statue toppled in Hobart one night before removal decision due

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Controversial monument of a Tasmanian premier who beheaded the body of an Indigenous man damaged and graffitied

A controversial statue of William Crowther has been toppled in Franklin Square, Hobart, after its legs were cut through the night before a decision on its removal.

It was dumped face-down on the ground beside its podium, which was graffitied in red with the word “decolonize” and “what goes around”.

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Aurora australis: spectacular southern lights might be seen as far north as Queensland after ‘extreme’ solar storm

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Social media users post pictures of skies lit up around the country while the Bureau of Meteorology warns of solar storm’s impacts

Aurora australis has lit up skies across southern Australia after an “extreme” geomagnetic solar storm.

Social media users in posted pictures of brightly coloured skies in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and across the Tasman in New Zealand.

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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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