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'It's going to be terrible': Can Australia's smallest state come back from a pandemic?

Once a destination for grey nomads and bus tours, Australia's island state has built its brand into something clean, green and edgy. With 10 per cent of its economy hinging on tourism, Tasmania has a lot to lose.




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Tassie music therapist's coronavirus song becomes an internet hit worldwide

Allison Davies says when she uploaded a cheerful ditty about wellness on her Instagram page she had no idea it would strike a chord with families worldwide.




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Non-essential travellers forced into isolation in state-run facilities to protect 'Fortress Tasmania'

All non-essential travellers who arrive in Tasmania after midnight on Sunday will be placed into a Government-operated facility, Premier Peter Gutwein announces.




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How one patient in this notorious asylum kept 'power and control'

The deliberate concealment of objects throughout history has been linked to superstition, but for a patient at this notorious psychiatric asylum it was an act of resistance.




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'Suspicious' death in Tasmania's north-west

A young Tasmanian father is dead and five people are in custody after police are called to an altercation in Ritchie Avenue in Burnie early on Sunday morning.




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Why Hammer gave up 'millions' to sleep under a tree

A former shearer tells how he turned away from life as a wealthy businessman to find happiness.




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Despite coronavirus, some want schools to stay partially open. Here's why

The former Children's Commissioner is calling for school-based care services to stay open for vulnerable students, even if tougher lockdown measures are introduced.




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No new coronavirus cases for Tasmania, as both of state's deaths linked to Ruby Princess

No new cases are identified on the day Tasmania records its second coronavirus death, an elderly man in southern Tasmania who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.




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'We're staying safe, that's the main thing': How Australia's 'bear boy' is living in coronavirus isolation

Campbell Remess has been making teddy bears for sick children since he was nine, now in isolation due to coronavirus, the teen is streaming lessons online.




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'Not a time for holidays': Calls to shut off rural shires from coronavirus

State borders are closed, but has the time come to cordon off the shires from visitors too? Some rural and country leaders think so.




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Man who 'told police he had coronavirus' charged with disobeying public health direction

A Tasmanian man who allegedly left his home without a lawful reason and told police he had coronavirus when he was pulled over is charged with failing to comply with a public health direction.




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Tasmanian coronavirus cases rise overnight as COVID-19-infected tourists' trip probed

A new coronavirus case diagnosed overnight takes Tasmania's tally to 72, as authorities release a list of destinations visited by two interstate travellers who later tested positive for COVID-19.




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'We're in a bit of a tight spot': Meet the workers who can't get the wage subsidy

Because Niall Harden and Sarah Wyllie are not permanent residents, they are not entitled to the Government's new JobKeeper payment, which also excludes casuals who have not been with an employer for more than 12 months.




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Data reveals why our isolation can't just end when we've flattened the curve

Data suggests Australia's strict physical-distancing measures are beginning to work — but the risks are huge if we relax too quickly.




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One-punch killer 'heartbroken' for suffering caused by nightclub attack that killed academic

A teenager pleads guilty to manslaughter, saying he is "honestly sorry for what I have put everyone through" and admitting he fatally punched a university academic at a Hobart nightclub in 2019.



  • Law
  • Crime and Justice
  • Murder and Manslaughter
  • Courts and Trials

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Coronavirus crisis could be Peter Gutwein's finest hour

Leaders show us their true colours during a crisis, and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein — only in the job three months and following the popular Will Hodgman — is already giving clues as to how he will fare, writes Emily Baker.




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Tasmanian hospital coronavirus infection 'a very serious incident'

The Tasmanian hospital where two staff members have tested positive to coronavirus will remain open, authorities say, assuring the public they can be "confident about the care they receive".




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'Members feel they aren't going through it alone': Memes make way for coronavirus support

The members of Facebook group Hobart Gal Pals are now asking questions about hand cleaning and self-isolation, and Chit Chat Launceston members want to know who they can visit, as a feeling of community is staying alive during coronavirus self-isolation.




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'The safest place to be': Backpackers find refuge in rural Australia following visa decision

Backpackers sacked after bars and restaurants closed down due to coronavirus are flocking back to previous farm jobs, but employers want details on Government help with quarantine measures.




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Three new coronavirus cases take the state's total to 89

Three more cases of coronavirus in Tasmania are confirmed with two of those from the north-west, as investigations into an outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital continue.




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Visitors banned from hospitals in Tasmania's north-west due to coronavirus outbreak

Two more staff at the North West Regional Hospital test positive to coronavirus, taking the total to six, prompting a ban on visitors to the facility as well as the Mersey Community Hospital.




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The weekend's drenching rain could be a sign of things to come

Who would have thought weather would be providing the good news a few months ago? The weekend's rainfall is a welcome relief after years of drought and there could be more on the way.




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Following the route of Penguin's forgotten race

Take a trip along a seriously nostalgic street, the route of the long forgotten Penguin Hillclimb.




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Man in his 80s is Tasmanian's third coronavirus fatality

A Tasmanian man who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship dies in the North West Regional Hospital from coronavirus.




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Megan was in Paris on an arts residency when coronavirus hit. Now she's reimagining her project from home

Artist Megan Walch was just two weeks into a months-long arts residency in the heart of Paris when coronavirus took hold of France. Armed with her camera, she documented her experiences. Now back home in Tasmania, she's just one of the artists adapting her work for an unusual age.




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'There will be no year 13': Education Minister says year 12 students will graduate this year

Year 12 students are assured they will receive an ATAR university entrance rank and will not have to repeat the school year.




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Police to target Tasmania's north-west as drive-through coronavirus testing centre opens

A coronavirus outbreak at Burnie's hospital has prompted a plea for Tasmania's north-west residents to do the right thing over the Easter break, as a drive-through testing station opens in Hobart.




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Sacre rhubarb? French respond to Tassie farmer's bubbly post with a firm 'non'

A Tasmanian farmer's suggestion that people make champagne with their surplus rhubarb draws a legal warning from the French.




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Do driving lessons count as 'essential'?

A Victorian teenager learning to drive was hit with a coronavirus-related fine, sparking this question from parents: Can I take my child for a lesson? Here's where each state stands on learner drivers.




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'It shocks us back into realisation': Residents of Tasmania's north west brace for lockdown

Residents are finding ways to cope as a full lockdown looms over the region, with one woman banging pots and pans in support of essential workers, while another considers whether to shut up shop.




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'We're still trying to keep going': Companies change business model to keep staff employed during coronavirus

Tasmanian companies keen to keep staff employed are adapting and shifting their business focus by making face shields, hand sanitiser and other products in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.




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'Shacks' used to be glorified tents, now they're 'architect-designed showpieces'

In the years after World War II Tasmanians took to the country to buy up vacant land and built makeshift dwellings on their own patches of paradise. Shacks now dot the Tasmanian coastline, but they're not as shabby as their names suggest.




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The decade ahead may be 'the era of massive change' for our cities and suburbs after COVID-19

Automated crosswalks, the rebirth of suburbia, electric scooters — there are many quirky and nuanced ways that the coronavirus outbreak could impact on urban life.




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Eleven new coronavirus cases in Tasmania's north-west as government moves to 'ring fence' outbreak

Tasmania's coronavirus tally reaches 133, with the director of Public Health confirming 11 new cases have been diagnosed in the state's north-west today.




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'United in spirit': How locked-down Australians are planning to mark Anzac Day

Kat Jackson does not play a brass instrument, and neither does her eight-year-old daughter, Neve, but they plan to sound the Last Post in their driveway this Anzac Day.




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Tasmania closes two hospitals to 'stamp out' coronavirus outbreak

Tasmania's Premier Peter Gutwein says the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital in Burnie close today because of the coronavirus outbreak.



  • Diseases and Disorders
  • Health
  • COVID-19
  • Doctors and Medical Professionals


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Easter was not the same this year — but this might help if you're feeling lonely

Social-distancing measures mean we haven't been able to celebrate Easter like we normally would, and many of us are feeling lonelier than ever. The good news is, there are things you can do to stay connected.




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Chief Medical Officer walks back 'illegal dinner party' claim

Brendan Murphy was rebuked by Tasmania's Premier after saying most of the people involved in a cluster of COVID-19 cases around the town of Burnie broke social-distancing laws.




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Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy warns New Zealand to pay attention to Tasmania's experience.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy warns New Zealand to pay attention to Tasmania's experience



  • Diseases and Disorders
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)

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More coronavirus cases found in Tasmania's north-west, as death toll rises to six

A 91-year-old woman becomes the sixth Tasmanian to die from coronavirus, as the state's overall tally jumps to 165 cases — with all of the new cases known to be from the disease hotspot of the north-west.



  • Health
  • Diseases and Disorders
  • COVID-19
  • Doctors and Medical Professionals
  • Government and Politics

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More coronavirus cases found in Tasmania's north-west as 'testing blitz' announced

More cases of coronavirus are confirmed as being from Tasmania's north-west, on the day Premier Peter Gutwein urges residents with flu-like symptoms to get tested for the deadly disease.




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Royal Commission begins into 'Black Summer' that killed 33 people

The chair of Australia's Bushfire Royal Commission says the evidence from those affected by the nation's catastrophic bushfire season will be critical in "applying the lessons learnt so that we can do things better in the future".




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Seven people charged over alleged 'gathering' on Easter Sunday in Tasmania's north-east

Seven people face charges related to alleged breaches of coronavirus self-isolation directions after police raid a gathering in Tasmania's north-east.




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'Really strong odds' for wet winter amid hints that climate drivers may finally tip

Warm oceans are encouraging wet conditions for Australia, with the hint of a negative IOD and even a potential La Nina on the horizon.




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Coronavirus claims eighth victim, as Tasmania's north-west gets help from RAAF, ADF

A man who was a patient at a hospital at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak dies after contracting COVID-19, becoming the second death in two days as RAAF and ADF personnel begin work in the disease-hit region.



  • COVID-19
  • Health
  • Diseases and Disorders
  • Government and Politics
  • Federal - State Issues
  • State of Emergency

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'The bush has been a testing ground': Australians are no stranger to the isolated life

Hiking huts are Australia's answer to Scotland's famed bothies and New Zealand's backcountry shacks and stand as a testament of a national identity that has long been intertwined with survival in isolation.




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'Sometimes Play School trumps ABC News': Reporting and broadcasting from home under coronavirus restrictions

Coronavirus has forced some dramatic changes to how the ABC keeps the public informed, from home-based broadcasting to webcam interviews and recruiting people featured in a story to help film it on their mobile phone.




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They should be on the front line, but instead they're looking after their kids

Emergency workers across Australia who use government-subsidised nannies are scrambling to find child care options after their In Home Care was cancelled as a side effect of the Federal Government's new policy to make child care free.




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Coronavirus outbreak in Tasmania's north-west 'trailing off', one new case confirmed

The number of coronavirus cases associated with an outbreak in Tasmania's north-west is "trailing off", the state's director of public health says, with additional retail restrictions in place in the region due to be lifted on Sunday night.