Tasmania's council elections are entering their final week, with a significant overhaul of local government on the cards. The number of councillors statewide is being cut from 263 to 213, and several high-profile mayors are not seeking re-election. Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds is among those leaving the role. Around 55 per cent of ballots had been returned as of Wednesday, according to the Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Voting is mandatory, and penalties of up to $42.60 may apply to those who fail to return their ballots by the deadline of 2pm on Tuesday, October 27.
The last Tasmanian-brewed Boag's beers were bottled in Launceston, ending 145 years of local production. The brewery will close its doors for the final time on November 6, taking 42 local jobs with it. Lion, which owns the brand, announced the end of local brewing in June, citing inflation and falling beer sales. Boag's will continue to be brewed on the mainland, and Tasmania will become an importer of the beer. The Tasmanian government is interested in buying the historic site, and the Boag's Brewhouse will keep operating beyond November.
A SkyBus service linking Launceston Airport with the city centre will launch on 2 November as a 12-month trial. It will run hourly, seven days a week, between 4.30am and 11.15pm, with adult fares set at $16. The Tasmanian Government has committed $1 million to the trial, which will be monitored for passenger demand and feedback. The route includes six stops, among them hotels and the Transit Centre. Kinetic, which owns and operates SkyBus, worked with the government and the airport to establish the service. Introductory fares are available until 30 November.
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Firmus Technologies says one of its three planned AI data centres in Tasmania's north is not yet funded. The company abandoned its plan to list on the Australian stock exchange earlier this month but is continuing with its Tasmanian projects. Firmus general energy manager Paul Grzinic told a parliamentary committee that the Launceston and Wesley Vale stage one sites are fully funded. He said the other sites still need development approval, which he described as a key step towards securing funding.
Australia's corporate regulator is making routine inquiries into AI developer Firmus after it abandoned a planned $44 billion stock market listing in October. The regulator's enforcement director said no formal investigation is under way. Firmus plans data centres across Australia, including three in Tasmania. A Launceston centre is under construction and a George Town centre has been approved, with a Wesley Vale application still in progress. The company is appealing conditions limiting diesel generators at George Town. Hydro Tasmania is expected to decide on a 450MW power request by the end of the year.
A 42-year-old man from Campbell Town has been charged with more than 32 offences following an investigation into a large number of burglaries across Launceston. Police say the thefts targeted at least 13 businesses, most of them in the city centre. Three searches at a private home in Newnham located and seized stolen property. The man faces 11 counts of burglary, four of attempted burglary, three of trespass, 12 of stealing, motor vehicle stealing, unlawful possession of property and minor drug offences. He was to appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court on 20 October.
A bushfire is threatening properties at Nunamara, about 30 kilometres east of Launceston, and is proving difficult to control. The Tasmania Fire Service issued a Watch and Act for Patersonia Road on Monday afternoon and urged residents to check their bushfire plans. Three aircraft, 10 ground crews and a dozer are working on the blaze, which had burned across 35 hectares by Monday evening. Changing winds and poor access are making the work harder. Tim Lockrey, from the Nunamara Hub, said residents were on high alert and that he had sheltered a man who had left his home.
A 54-year-old man from Ravenswood, near Launceston, has been charged after police allege an email threatening serious violence was sent to a federal politician's office. The Australian Federal Police charged him on Thursday. Police allege the email was sent on September 14. Officers searched his home with help from Tasmania Police and seized several electronic devices, which will undergo forensic examination. He faces one charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and was granted police bail. He is due to appear in Launceston Magistrates Court on December 16.
At Windsor Park in Riverside, near Launceston, a masked lapwing has built a nest in the middle of a community cricket ground. Ground staff mow around the site because the species is protected under state law, and players have adjusted their positions. One player said the bird became less bothersome as the season went on. Experts say open ovals suit lapwings because they can spot threats early. A local council says its staff take extra care around the birds and their nests.
Police have charged a 29-year-old man from Rocherlea over a deliberately lit fire that damaged a unit at Rocherlea. Emergency services responded to reports of a structure fire on Grevillea Court at about 7.55am on Friday 16 October. Tasmania Fire Service crews put out the fire, and fire investigators found it had been deliberately lit. The man faces charges including arson, aggravated burglary, stealing, trespass and unlawful possession of property. He was detained to appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Saturday 17 October.
Regional Australians are losing flights as jet fuel prices soar. Virgin Australia chief customer officer Andrew Cleary told a Senate inquiry that rising fuel costs have made some regional routes unprofitable. The airline has cancelled routes including Uluru to Brisbane and Uluru to Melbourne, along with several routes from Adelaide. Airlines for Australia and New Zealand chief executive Stephen Beckett said thin routes to regional centres are hit first. He also said major airports act like a monopoly, which raises costs for airlines and passengers.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is being urged to apologise after a Facebook post about a Launceston school's end-of-year event drew wide attention. Rockliff wrote that schoolchildren should be encouraged to sing Christmas carols, and asked the education department to step in. The school, Trevallyn Primary School, had planned to rename its Christmas on the Hill event as the End of Year Extravaganza. Rockliff said he would not apologise, and the education department said no decision had been made on changes to school celebrations.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff says he sees an opportunity in AI data company Firmus, despite its failed attempt to go public. Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis reportedly blamed Australians' dim views on risk-taking. Rockliff said Firmus remains committed to Tasmania and announced a community benefit fund for areas hosting data centres, though details of how companies would pay into it remain unclear. Opposition and Greens figures questioned the scheme, while a university professor called it an important step.
Properties in the Tasmanian town of Poatina are being offered for sale as the charity Fusion exits the town. A former school, the town's swimming pool, a golf course and an artists studio are among the listings through expressions of interest. The golf course has a $500,000 price guide and the former school has a $300,000 price guide. Sam Woolcock of Elders Launceston said there has been strong interest from buyers across the state.
CHOICE and Super Consumers Australia have released an original investigative podcast series. It examines the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds, which the organisations describe as Australia's biggest superannuation scandal. More than 11,000 people across Australia were affected.
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Tasmanian Labor says it will introduce a bill to cap how much anyone can spend in a state election. Labor Leader Josh Willie and Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad made the announcement. The party says many Tasmanians feel the system is not working for them.
A coronial inquest into the deaths of six children at Hillcrest Primary School in northern Tasmania in 2021 is expected to hear evidence from a US dust devil expert. Counsel assisting the coroner, Maree Norton SC, told a Hobart case management hearing that she is looking to engage Dr Ralph Lorenz, a planetary scientist and aerospace engineer. Ms Norton said he would give his opinion on pressure drops and the interaction between the dust devil and the castle structure. The six children died when a wind gust lifted a jumping castle at an end-of-year celebration.
Farmers in Tasmania's Northern Midlands are benefiting from an irrigation scheme that took almost 10 years to come online. Farmer Richard Burbury said the scheme arrived at a very timely moment, as this year has been exceptionally dry. The network of underground pipelines spans 150 kilometres and will deliver 25 billion litres of water each year. Tasmanian Irrigation says the scheme is expected to support about $54 million a year in economic activity across the region.
A man in his 60s died on Tasmania's west coast while waiting for an ambulance that took nearly 80 minutes to reach him. He called Triple Zero from the Zeehan area on Saturday, reporting chest pains and breathing problems. The Zeehan ambulance was unstaffed because of an unfilled roster gap, and nearby crews were attending other calls, so an ambulance from Burnie was sent. It arrived about 78 minutes after the call, but the man had already died. The Department of Health offered its condolences and said a comprehensive investigation will be held.
Peter Maloney, who lives with dementia, says spending time in nature has helped him feel more grateful and content. He takes part in a gardening program at the Chigwell Community Garden in Hobart's northern suburbs with his wife, Madeleine. The program is run by the University of Tasmania's Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and funded by Primary Health Tasmania. Researchers say outdoor activities can help people with dementia stay active, socialise and feel a sense of purpose. The Chigwell lab is funded until June 2027.
Twenty-eight parents of transgender and gender diverse children have written to Tasmanian MPs urging them to support a Greens bill banning conversion practices. Parents say the bill is lifesaving and warn against the bill failing or being weakened. The bill is due to be debated in the House of Assembly. It needs 18 votes to pass, and the Greens, Labor and independent Kristie Johnston hold 15. Liberal MPs have a conscience vote, and several have said they will vote against it.
A new exhibition in Hobart explores the stories of ten of Australia's first women to travel south to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic. The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies announced the exhibition in a media release dated 26 October 2026.
Foodbank Tasmania's Hunger Report 2026 has found that more than one in three Tasmanian households are struggling to put food on the table. An estimated 200,000 Tasmanians are living in households experiencing food insecurity, reflecting strong financial pressure across the state.
Tasmania's Labor opposition plans to table a private members' bill this week to introduce election spending caps for the first time. The bill would limit parties to $50,000 per candidate, and independents to $60,000. Leader Josh Willie said the reform would stop elections being decided by who has the biggest bank balance. He expects the Liberal government and One Nation to oppose the bill. An expert warned that caps could greatly favour incumbents.
