Birth Rights
An ABC investigation uncovers allegations of mothers undergoing birth procedures without consent or being medicated with antidepressants and feeling like they've been "spiked", despite saying "No".
The dark side of metal music
Hitler salutes, white supremacy slogans and symbols of hate … insiders say Nazi bands have become an open secret within Australia's metal scene, as fans prepare for the return of major international event Knotfest next month.
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Three Australians who underwent conversion "therapy" to change their sexual orientation say there was nothing therapeutic about what happened to them, as they call for a ban on the practice.
There are calls for Tasmania to ban so-called gay conversion therapy by the end of the year to prevent the island state from becoming a "dumping ground" for the practice — but the Catholic Archbishop has "grave concerns" about what it sees as a "threat to religious freedoms".
Leigh is still grieving what happened to his dad, Maurice, and believes the treatment he received while in Tasmanian aged care facilities "shortened" his father's life. Advocates say it is not an isolated story and points to "bigger issues" in the sector.
A northern Tasmanian metal recycling yard had to partially shut down following concerns about lead exposure linked to dust generated by a shredder. Now the company is trying to resume operations.
Eve Askew was 14 years old when, one night, she disappeared from her bedroom and was never seen again. Her brother thinks she met with foul play and that the killer "will strike again".
A former detainee at Ashley Youth Detention Centre claims staff turned off fire sprinklers, leading him to suffer burns and smoke inhalation.
Six children died and three were seriously injured when a jumping castle flew 10 metres into the air at Hillcrest Primary school in north-west Tasmania in 2021. Beau Medcraft was one of those who fell.
Georgina and Andrew are each grieving the loss of a son in the jumping castle tragedy in Tasmania's north-west. They also both initially received wrong information about what happened to their children.
Sitting up in hospital with his head half-shaved and eating pizza — it is a simple photo, but one which came as welcome news that one of the children involved in the jumping castle tragedy had made it.
Devonport's Hillcrest Primary School says it is carefully managing the return to school, as families and friends continue to mourn the loss of six students who died following a jumping castle accident in December.
Zane Mellor, one of the victims of the Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle incident in Tasmania's north, is remembered in Devonport as a loving teenager and a passionate gamer.
Tasmanian mother of six, Darlene Avis Geertsema, who disappeared over 40 years ago was killed by her former partner, a coroner finds — with police confirming they will "review the findings".
A coronial inquest into the disappearance and likely death of Devonport mother Darlene Geertsema, who was last seen in 1978, begins in Launceston.
An inquest into the disappearance of Darlene Geertsema more than 40 years ago is told harrowing allegations about her then-boyfriend's behaviour — which included claims he threw a basket, with a baby in it, out a door.
Kathryn Gray was eight years old when she last saw her mum and, while the memories have begun to fade, the pain of not knowing what happened to her remains.
A coroner finds speed, weather and road conditions did not contribute to a deadly crash that left three teenage children in the car orphaned last year.
Corrie Summers was with her baby and recovering after an emergency caesarean when cigarette smoke blew into the maternity ward from a nearby park. The hospital says the park is on council land and the Mayor says smoking is legal there — but an expert warns mums could sue if it goes on.
Scientists are calling on Australian governments to provide incentives to enable households to transition away from using gas in the home because of its detrimental health effects.
Tasmanian government-proposed tax relief is hoped to ease the cost of living for owners of rental properties, shacks, vacant land and commercial property. But an expert says it is unlikely to benefit tenants.
When Anne Townsend's mother was recently unwell, she had to be taken to hospital due to a shortage of GPs. But even there she couldn't get treatment.
Senator Claire Chandler's "Save Women's Sport" bill has been described as unnecessary and discriminatory by transgender advocates, who say most sporting organisations support inclusion.
Cecil Mabb sentenced over 2021 campground abduction of 5yo girl in Tasmania
The defence for a man jailed over abducting a five-year-old girl from a campground in Tasmania tells a court he has had to "deal with emotive media coverage" while in prison.
A Tasmanian man accused of stabbing another man to death in a Launceston home refuses to leave his cell for a court appearance, with the hearing adjourned until next week over safety considerations.
A town once the flashpoint for the debate on decriminalising homosexuality in Tasmania raises the rainbow pride flag over its council chambers, marking a change in attitudes after gay locals grew up there and copped abuse daily.
Violence and abuse are prevalent in teenage relationships and this behaviour can have life-long impacts, according to an Anglicare report that calls for governments and communities to do more to protect young people.
Tasmanian right-to-information documents have revealed the extent that salmon producers go to protect their harvest against seals, with the use of more than 75,000 seal crackers and almost 4,000 bean bag shots recorded over a three-year period by the industry.
The town of Pioneer will get a piped supply of drinking water over a decade after its water supply was deemed unfit to drink.
An Australian humanitarian visa scheme for people fleeing Ukraine will end on Sunday, leaving many locked out.
A town once the flashpoint for the debate on decriminalising homosexuality in Tasmania raises the rainbow pride flag over its council chambers, marking a change in attitudes after gay locals grew up there and copped abuse daily.
US rapper denies writing ‘instruction manual’ for Australian’s murder
An American rapper whose lyrics — according to the Australian mother of a murder victim — read like an "instruction manual" should be pursued as an accessory to the crime, she says. But he says artists are not responsible for what others do.
Australia Talks finds six out of 10 regional families can't easily access child care
Alanna Wardle has been waiting for six months to access child care in her regional town, and the Australia Talks National Survey has found she is far from alone in the search for affordable care.
‘I’ll show you the mercy that you didn’t show my son’: Mother’s extraordinary act towards killer
The mother of a Tasmanian man who was murdered, dismembered and had parts of his body dumped in wheelie bins has looked into the eyes of her son's killer and told him she forgives him.
‘I don’t understand why she’s not in jail’:woman guilty of negligent driving death avoids prison time
A Launceston woman escapes time behind bars after she being found guilty of causing the death of an 18-year-old by negligent driving on Christmas Day in 2018.
Body cut up, placed in wheelie bins after inspiration from song lyrics, prosecution tells murder trial
A man accused of murder cut up his victim's body and placed pieces of it in different residential wheelie bins after taking inspiration from the lyrics of a song, the prosecution tells a Launceston jury.
‘I’m a drug manufacturer, not a hitman,’ murder accused Jack Sadler tells court
A Tasmanian man accused of murdering Jake Anderson-Brettner tells the jury that drug suppliers from Victoria killed his friend over a drug debt.
A Tasmanian Supreme Court judge says a convicted firebug who attempted to create a micronation and started fires that burnt through the Fingal Valley is a "danger to the public".
Youth workers and other professionals at Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre are extremely concerned the lack of adequate accommodation for residents preparing to return to the community will increase the risk of recidivism.
A man who crashed his car with his young children in the back, killing three people including himself, was high on ice and had violently assaulted his partner before the collision, a Tasmanian coroner finds.
Resources Minister Guy Barnett says a "lodging error" found in a newly granted mining lease on a road on Tasmania's west coast means it is not valid, as environmentalists claim the lease is aimed at stopping them from reaching a protest site.
Detention centre’s multi-million dollar workers compensation bill revealed
The ABC can reveal $3.68 million in compensation has been paid in 95 claims by staff at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in the last five years, which groups say highlight issues of understaffing and cultural problems at the centre.
Catching lobsters off King Island has been a normal workday for Wayne Coombe for decades. But with a gas company wanting to conduct seismic testing in the area, he's concerned the local industry could hit troubled waters.
Old timers who remember the good years at King Island's tungsten mine say it was more than just a job — and they are holding on to a glimmer of hope it will reopen.
Despite having no active cases of COVID in the community and 80 per cent of eligible residents double-vaccinated, Tasmania still has strict limitations on music events and dancing — and promoters say it is killing the vibe.
Tasmanian hospital fails to honour dying woman's wishes, coroner finds
The Launceston General Hospital intervened medically despite a directive from a woman with multiple sclerosis that she not be revived or have her life prolonged if she could no longer speak, hear, move or had to be fed through a tube, a coroner has found.
After fleeing war in Africa, Esperance found her way to a community in Tasmania where African cuisine was nowhere to be seen. So she opened her own cafe.
A world-first verified discovery of a near-intact egg of the extinct King Island dwarf emu is creating a stir in the scientific community.
Alleged paedophile nurse James Geoffrey Griffin continued working as police investigated
A Launceston nurse accused of child sex abuse continued working at a Tasmanian hospital for months while police investigated the claims.
More than 100k fish killed at Salmon Ponds after 'filthy substance' spotted in Plenty River near trout hatchery
The deaths of more than 100,000 fish at the Salmon Ponds trout hatchery in Tasmania's south are being investigated.
How a childhood nickname inspired graffiti artist James Cowan's career
An assortment of tattoos trail from James Cowan's neck and down his arm in a whirlpool of colours intertwined on his skin.
TasWater connected water to homes with contamination problems, documents show
Eva Pagett lives in the tiny, idyllic Tasmanian village of Pioneer, and while it looks clean and green, she can drink only bottled water since discovering her water supply is contaminated.
Pregnant and homeless couple trying to avoid coronavirus in Launceston
Jerry and Bonnie worry about having to go into coronavirus quarantine while living on the streets in northern Tasmania.
Hobart rain refills 'disappearing' mountain tarn atop kunanyi/Mount Wellington
As the rain continues to fall in southern Tasmania, flooding roads and inundating homes, the downpour has caused one of Hobart's most mysterious gems to reappear.
The Ravenswood Men and Community Shed promotes friendship through woodwork, but it is about to lose funding for the only paid employee.
Tasmania's north-west coast residents preparing for 'a whole new world' as coronavirus lockdown looms
Locals in beachside towns on Tasmania's north-west coast are bracing as the threat of a full lockdown looms large in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak in the region's major hospitals.
Vets register ventilators ahead of possible use on coronavirus patients
Some veterinarians in Tasmania are sceptical about suggestions animal ventilators could be used on humans during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tasmania records three more coronavirus cases as health worker investigation continues
Three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Tasmania.
Women riding, and driving, a turning tide in the mining industry
Ellen Lillico now finds driving the huge 789D mining trucks a bit like handling a big go-kart.
Property prices booming in Tasmanian holiday town of St Helens
The seaside town of St Helen's on Tasmania's east coast has long been an idyllic, sleepy holiday spot.
Homeless in Launceston doing their best to survive, but tensions boiling over
Terry has been homeless for almost two years — and it has been a struggle.
Tasmanian couple grieving death of baby devastated after Launceston IVF clinic stops services
Sara Hodder and her husband Ben have been trying for a baby for two years.
Tasmania is full of heritage-listed sites, but are they worth saving?
In the heart of Queenstown on Tasmania's remote west coast stands a forest green hotel, framed with gold trimmings and a grand wooden balcony that overlooks the township.
What finding work as a migrant in rural Australia is really like
Before moving to Australia, Malak Abdou was a veterinarian in Egypt for 18 years.
Developmental delays in premature babies may last to school age, study shows
Amelia Pinkard survived against the odds when she was born prematurely at just 24 weeks and six days.
Man accused of hit-and-run murder had post-traumatic stress disorder, court hears
A man accused of deliberately running over and killing a stranger had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after suffering an assault nine years prior, a court has heard.
Tasmanian veteran with PTSD rejected from businesses because of assistance dog
David Cantley relies on his dog Buddy to get him through difficult moments, but the 54-year-old veteran, who lives with PTSD, says he has been rejected from numerous businesses for having his accredited assistance animal by his side.
Witches, wicca, spells and pub 'moots' all form part of Tasmania's thriving pagan community
"Love, health, acres, wealth. All the fires come alive," — this is just one of the many spells scrawled in the pages of a Tasmanian witch's book of shadows.
Potential swift parrot breeding habitat along Tasman Highway under threat
There are concerns a proposed development on Tasmania's east coast could interfere with the breeding habitat of one of Australia's most endangered birds.
Tasmanian town of Longford on 'pong alert' as sewage-abattoir stench sends locals packing
The sign at the entrance to Longford in northern Tasmania welcomes visitors and tells them of the "history and gardens entwined" that await them.
Female bikers find freedom and friendship on the road with Tasmanian Women Riders Network
Julie Penney used to ride pillion on motorcycles as a child and later on the back of her husband's bike as an adult.
A new bypass cuts regional Tasmanian town Perth off from traffic and business
Phil Maney started working with pastry when he was just 15 years old and has been baking pies for 45 years.
Tasmania snow just part of life in Central Highlands lakeside town of Miena
As the wood fire smoke swirls up, mingling with the snowflakes, the chimneys are barely visible, poking their heads through the snow covered rooftops.
Most orange-bellied parrots don't survive their first migration — and Tasmanian researchers want to know why
A multi-coloured, budgie-sized parrot remains at severe risk of extinction, despite the extensive conservation work in Tasmania's remote south-west.
Lead in Tasmanian town's water continues the uncertainty for residents living on bottled water
Inside Eva Pagett's home in the tiny Tasmanian town of Pioneer, it has become routine to bath kids, brush her teeth, and even fill up her dogs' bowl with bottled water after testing by TasWater showed cadmium and lead in her drinking water tank.
Cider gums under threat from fire, foraging and global warming, conservationists warn
In the coldest state of Australia, the most frost-tolerant eucalypt in the world is under threat.
Tasmanian farmers tap into growing demand for buffalo meat and milk
It is not widely known that the rolling hills in Tasmania's north-west are home to a herd of buffalo.