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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With the September deadline for practical completion of the Royal Hobart Hospital's new K-block redevelopment expired, the Government "needs to be upfront with Tasmanians" as to when it will be operational, Labor says.

DAILY BRIEFING: A motorist is fined $963 and has had his car clamped for 28 days after allegedly being caught driving 172 kilometres per hour, and the University of Tasmania engages a "reputation protection" consultancy group.

Tasmania is brimming with history but anyone who owns a heritage-listed property knows it takes "buckets of money" to keep it up and running. Is it worth it?

DAILY BRIEFING: A motorcyclist dies in the state's north after crashing into the back of a parked truck, and a 29-year-old charged with the murder of Jarrod Leigh Turner pleads not guilty.

For Kobe Dare, the revived Tasmanian Aboriginal language of palawa kani is "one of the strongest there is". He's learning to speak it, then going home to teach his parents.

Elective surgery relief for Sally McShane is still years away under Tasmania's worsening waiting list. One doctor says his request for a male patient be moved up the list, was met with an "inappropriate" hospital letter.

A tent in his sister-in-law's back yard has been Paul's home for the past year, and despite government plans to build hundreds of affordable homes he is not optimistic of getting a roof over his head.

DAILY BRIEFING: A trio of women calling themselves the 'knitting nannas' are arrested for staging a climate change protest, and Hobart rent outpaces Melbourne for unaffordability.

DAILY BRIEFING: Premier Will Hodgman says it is "improbable" mining exploration licences or leases will be granted to companies looking for coal on agricultural land, and the Hobart City Council is one step closer to drug testing councillors.

DAILY BRIEFING: An elderly female driver has a fright after her car swerves off a road and over a cliff, and the Tasmanian Government holds off formally asking the Commonwealth to help pay for firefighting in the Wilderness World Heritage Area last summer.

DAILY BRIEFING: A Launceston woman is rescued from a house fire, and a Tasmanian judge describes the actions of a man caught with ecstasy in his underwear at Hobart Airport as "immature".

Before moving to Tasmania, Malak Abdou was a veterinarian in Egypt. Now working on a farm, he's one of the lucky ones.

Mick Lawrence was making a film for his son, Tim. But, when Tim was tragically killed in a jet ski accident in 2017 he dropped the project. Now, two years on, it's finished.

The death of 17-year-old Maggie Lore at the Blackmans Bay blowhole in 2017 prompts a southern Tasmanian council to conduct a risk assessment of several areas in its municipality.

The 24-year-old believes a move to change laws in Tasmania allowing survivors of sexual crimes to share their stories will give greater insights into how perpetrators operate.

DAILY BRIEFING: Protesters fearing an imminent logging operation in Tasmania's Tarkine area are outside a government building in Hobart, as Labor calls for an investigation into how a 17-year-old escaped detainee custody.

The daughter of a Tasmanian man shot dead in the Philippines says the family is shattered by the loss and having trouble repatriating his body due to "language barriers".