A 59-year-old man who died at Hobart's Nyrstar Zinc smelter yesterday has been named as Michael Lewis Petterwood of Risdon Vale.

While you hear about children choosing the same career as their parents regularly, the opposite is true for this mother-daughter police duo.

The Peck family want the Tasmanian Government to overhaul the Mental Health Act so clinicians can consider a patient's history and risk of self-harm when considering involuntary treatment orders.

DAILY BRIEFING: The wait for public housing in Tasmania blows out by 34 per cent for those most in need, and passengers on a tourist train get a fright after an apparent failure of the braking system.

A bench shaped like a butterfly marks the spot where seven-year-old Rebecca Jackson was fatally struck by a falling tree limb. For her family, it's provided a quiet spot to heal.

The stories of two Tasmanian officers added to the national list of police who "gave the ultimate sacrifice" most likely differ markedly to those from other jurisdictions.

Until 2012, Maria Island's animal inhabitants were living without any major predators. But when devils were introduced they had to adapt or die.

It's no secret Tasmanians are proud of their rich convict history, which draws in tourists from far and wide, but there's much more to Van Diemen's Land than the infamous penal settlement at Port Arthur.

Jamie John Curtis tortured Alicia and murdered her fiance. His latest bid for freedom has failed, so now she's calling for him to be declared a dangerous criminal in the hope that he'll never be paroled.

As Tasmania lures more tourists with its wilderness charms, there are fears the method of holding tour operators accountable for licence breaches in precious wilderness areas is not up to the task.

Before you approach someone you don't know and start interviewing them about their disability, there's something you need to ask yourself.

Mandatory drug and alcohol testing for elected representatives could soon be a reality for a second Tasmanian council, but the proposal is proving to be divisive with one councillor labelling it "highly invasive".

DAILY BRIEFING: Bushwalkers are rescued in two separate incidents in Tasmania's national parks, while road spikes are deployed after a driver evades police.

A man who assaulted his then-pregnant girlfriend on a weekly basis, destroyed her possessions by driving over them and smeared faeces on her clothes is jailed and described by the presiding judge as "domineering" and "cowardly".

DAILY BRIEFING: A promised lost-cost abortion service for southern Tasmania is on hold indefinitely, and the union says more immediate solutions are needed to address prison overcrowding.

Daniel Bradshaw experienced his first epileptic seizure aged 8 and was until recently enduring up to 50 seizures a day, until life-changing brain surgery. Now he has joined the push to change public perception of the disorder.

In the town of Miena there are just 100 people and human interaction can be scarce, but Kaylee Hattinger has done her bit to bring life to one of the coldest places in the country.

An iceberg 1,636 square kilometres in size, or about the size of urban Sydney or Scotland's Isle of Skye, breaks off Antarctica.

DAILY BRIEFING: The majority shareholders of Hobart Airport have sold a 70 per cent stake in the facility, and concerns surround the rejection of the Constitution Dock extension.

More and more Australians are facing the prospect of random drug testing in their places of work. What does it involve, how reliable is it, and can you say no?

A Tasmanian councillor announces her resignation live on radio, saying ongoing "personal attacks" and negative comments on social media have taken "too much" of a toll.

DAILY BRIEFING: Scientists offer the public the chance to name a rare red handfish, and there are calls for councillors to receive training on responding to bullying.

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best, as a team of scientists found when building an underwater drone which had to do things no robot had done before.

Scuba divers can reach depths of 40 metres, but there's a small group of hardcore divers who venture more than twice as deep. You just need a sense of adventure and the right gear.

The flooding of Lake Pedder started the green political movement but remains an open wound. A nostalgic campaign to drain it is ramping up, but flies in the face of Hydro Tasmania's bold plans to grow its renewable energy assets.

An archaeological excavation is approved at the site where one of Tasmania's most divisive colonial figures once lived, sparking concerns Aboriginal "spirits" will be disturbed by the dig.

In the past two years Kylie Jones has undergone eight surgeries to treat her endometriosis, including having her fallopian tubes and an ovary removed.

Despite a bid to move Tasmania's time zone 30 minutes earlier than eastern standard time failing to win support, Prime Minister Scott Morrison tells Liberal Party faithful their future remains bright thanks to the revived fortunes for the island state.

Tasmanian farmer Richard Headlam says he was reassured a proposed coal mine on his land would not go ahead. Two years later, the plan by Midland Energy has been revived.

DAILY BRIEFING: Two people plead not guilty to charges relating to the deaths of 16 polo ponies, police charge two men after last week's stabbing, and there are concerns over the second Bass Strait interconnector.

Photos and documents show nurses in the Roy Fagan Centre for aged psychiatric patients use old pagers and duress buttons held together with sticky tape.

Human rights advocates fear the Tasmanian Government's failure to make a submission against the Federal Government's religious freedom draft bill would severely undermine the state's anti-discrimination laws.

DAILY BRIEFING: Treasury modelling warns of net debt of more than $4 billion by 2033-34, and a plan to accommodate a bumper Sydney-to-Hobart fleet this year at Constitution Dock hits a snag.

As Tasmania heads towards its busy summer tourist season, residents in popular locations are bracing themselves to share the road with tourists.

A cancer patient whose hysterectomy wound was split open after an assault by her former partner and carer, who has now won an appeal against his jail sentence, says she wants to see justice before she dies.

DAILY BRIEFING: 130 jobs are being cut from the Vodafone centre in Hobart, and former attorney-general John Bennett has died.

A judge sentencing a woman and her former lover to jail for the shooting murder of her partner Dwayne "Doc" Davies ?labels the act an "outrageous killing" and a "betrayal" by the victim's wife and close friend.

DAILY BRIEFING: Police arrest a man after a firearms incident at Risdon Vale, Tasmania's tourism boom appears to be going bust and people are encouraged to participate in platypus monitoring study.

In a matter of weeks more than 50,000 virtual signatures have been added to an online petition supporting the formation of a Tasmanian AFL team, but it is unlikely to be enough to sway the AFL executive, writes Chris Rowbottom.

Karen Cranfield has moved to a Hobart suburb where people on modest incomes should be able to "afford living" but with rental prices increasing, that's no longer the case.

DAILY BRIEFING: A confidential Tourism Tasmania report outs management as a golf-obsessed "boys' club", and the Liberals are looking for their next state party director.

Terry Hodgetts, 80, reckons a lifetime of woodchopping has kept him motivated, and he wants to see more "young ones" get into the sport.

The head of Tourism Tasmania says the organisation has made "a number of internal changes" since a 2016 report labelled it a "boys' club" where managers had to be encouraged to greet their staff at least once a week.

David Warner's much-queried spot in the Test side looks a little more secure after the Australian opener makes a Shield century for NSW against Queensland.

TasPorts has plans to give the popular Sullivan's Cove a facelift over the next 15 years, but has ruled out any 'aggressive' development.

A new survey of Tasmanian Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients finds poverty has forced more than a third to steal food, prompting renewed calls for the Federal Government to increase welfare payments.