Shows / ABC TassieCast
ABC TassieCast
Each Friday, Airlie Ward chats with Tasmania's top journos to unpack one of the big stories of the week. If it's going to hit your heart, head or your hip pocket – we're going to break it down for you.
Episodes
ABC TassieCastOnline abuse, are we becoming collectively more cruel?
As politicians report increasing amounts of abuse online a new piece of Tasmanian tech is being used to try to combat it.
- ABC TassieCast
Would you trust AI for legal advice?
Most of us have turned to Doctor Google to self diagnose.
ABC TassieCastCan we curb our family violence crisis?
For decades it's been called a national crisis and by any measure the numbers are alarming.
- ABC TassieCast
What footy taught one local ranger-in-training
What do footy and local indigenous culture have in common? For Heywire Takeover Tamar Valley winner Mason, both have shaped who he is. From learning on country…
ABC TassieCastCan a new crop of councillors improve the culture of local government?
Would you put your hand up for local government?
- ABC TassieCast
The charged debate around Tasmania’s gun laws
30 years ago in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre ... Tasmania's leaders across the political divide stood united to toughen gun laws. Three decades on…
- ABC TassieCast
The painful wait for public surgery in Tasmania
More than nine thousand Tasmanians are waiting for elective surgery ... the state government has just set a target of getting 70 per cent of them done in the…
- ABC TassieCast
Is Tasmania's screen industry at risk?
Local filmmakers are sounding the alarm over job cuts at Screen Tasmania following a recent government restructure that placed the agency under a new…
- ABC TassieCast
Beyond Birds, H5N1's threat to Tasmania
It's highly contagious and devastating ... Tasmanians have been warned to prepare for more birds to succumb to the deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu. The virus…
- ABC TassieCast
Dying with dignity, how well are Tasmania's laws working?
Tasmania's had the largest increase in the country for the number of applications and deaths using our Voluntary Assisted Dying laws. In a recent report by Go…
- ABC TassieCast
The Tassie trade-off, what'll it cost you?
A few years ago Tasmania was the hot ticket destination with population growth outpacing the rest of the nation. Yet, in just a few years the state is forecast…
- ABC TassieCast
Should Tassie embrace AI factories?
As the use of AI continues to surge across the world, AI companies are eyeing off key locations in Australia for data centres ... including here in Tasmania.
ABC TassieCastRewriting a historic narrative on Bruny Island
To celebrate NAIDOC week's 50th year, we're taking you to a wool growing property on Tasmania's Bruny Island, which is now owned and operated by an Aboriginal…
- ABC TassieCast
Are women being gaslit by the state's health system?
Women's access to quality healthcare in Tasmania is back on the table after a state parliamentary committee recently handed down its final report into maternal…
ABC TassieCastWhat's behind Tasmania's drop in vaccination rates?
Tasmania is experiencing a whooping cough epidemic, it's one of the highly contagious diseases that can be prevented through vaccination. The state is not…
- ABC TassieCast
Is Tasmania's forestry debate about to reignite?
For decades what was dubbed the "Forest Wars" saw conservationists, police and the Tasmanian timber industry lock horns on a regular basis. But after a period…
ABC TassieCastIs this really Tassie's "most transparent" government?
Transparency and trust in government ... they're cornerstones of any successful democracy.
- ABC TassieCast
Boag’s calls last drinks in Launceston
Northern Tasmania has been rocked with the news that after 145 years - James Boag beer will no longer be produced in Launceston. Boags – which has…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's housing failures, why are we still falling short?
The premier talks about housing as a fundamental human right, the treasurer used his budget speech to talk about delivering a caring community.
- ABC TassieCast
Who wins in Hawthorn's big breakup with Tassie?
Are you one of Tassie's eight thousand strong Hawks members? If so, you might be feeling a bit gutted right now with the news the AFL has intervened and given…
ABC TassieCastTassie's arts cuts: creative or catastrophic?
The state government has already chopped a number of creative courses from education provider TasTAFE ... leading to fears in the arts industry of a state-wide…
- ABC TassieCast
AI deepfakes doing real damage to Tassie teens
Do you know what your teenager was up to over the school holidays? While they might not have been created in the classroom, a Hobart school has been criticised…
- ABC TassieCast
Will land sales future-proof Tassie's only uni?
Tasmania has a long tradition of young people growing up, spreading their wings, and leaving for the mainland - before for some, returning to the island. But…
- ABC TassieCast
Do we care enough about our pollies' mental health?
In what's believed to be the biggest study of its kind, a staggering 70 percent of almost 300 of our federal, state and local politicians who took part say the…
- ABC TassieCast
Easter plans under the pump as Tassies shell out for fuel and choccy
Many of us are already feeling the pinch ... We've got massive fuel prices, TT Line has added a surcharge, farmers are worried about future production capacity…
- ABC TassieCast
The manosphere creeping into Tassie classrooms
The manosphere - the online world considered responsible for the rise in anti-social behaviour and fuelling misogyny is reaching Tassie classrooms. So how and…
- ABC TassieCast
Kunanyi/Mt Wellington: A mountain of a debate
Kunanyi/Mt Wellington is Tasmania's most visited natural asset but is a cable car the answer to getting more people on the mountain?
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's greyhound industry ... is the gate about to close?
In 2025 there were more than 200 injuries to greyhounds recorded on the track. Many countries have phased the industry out amid animal cruelty concerns …
- ABC TassieCast
Inside a Hobart community needle exchange program
When you imagine someone using a needle exchange program, who do you picture? Chances are, it’s not always who you’d expect.
- ABC TassieCast
Is that a side of antibiotics with your seafood?
After its public image took a dive last summer when millions of fish died ... the salmon industry sought regulatory approval to use an antibiotic in a bid to…
- ABC TassieCast
Has the state government squibbed on gambling reform?
Imagine what you could do with 200 million dollars. That's how much money Tasmanians lost on pokies last financial year, The government reckons its latest plan…
ABC TassieCastIs it time Tassie declared wild deer a pest?
They might look like Bambi but they're making a big mess. There are tens of thousands of fallow deer trampling across the landscape and they now outnumber some…
ABC TassieCastWill Tassie's latest education experiment work?
Let's face it, Tassie's school report card isn't one to take home proudly. Now with a new school year underway the Education Minister reckons she's found the…
- ABC TassieCast
The Foo Fighters rock Launceston
Two decades after the Beaconsfield mine collapse forever linked the Foo Fighters with Tasmania, the band touches down for a one-off Launceston show hailed as…
- ABC TassieCast
Young Aboriginal, Māori and French Tasmanian celebrates her cultural identity
Calais is a young woman from Burnie with Aboriginal, Māori, and French heritage. With the support of her father, Calais is exploring and strengthening her…
- ABC TassieCast
One young Tassie woman’s battle with OCD
Elena’s obsessive-compulsive disorder began after the death of her beloved pet duck. But it wasn’t until she saw the condition portrayed on screen that she…
ABC TassieCastCould you cut it as an Antarctic expeditioner?
Fancy weeing in a bottle or number twos in a bag? Australia's Antarctic bases have almost all the creature comforts, but don't be fooled, living in a hostile…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie, the protest isle. Passionate or parochial?
The reformed Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act runs hundreds of pages long - so what will actually change and will protests become a…
- ABC TassieCast
Will Tasmanian salmon be on your table this Christmas?
Will Tasmanian farmed salmon be on your table this Christmas?
ABC TassieCastCould Tassie really lose its AFL dream?
The final siren is about to sound on Tasmania's Macquarie Point Stadium, but are things too far down the line to pull the pin on Tassie's AFL dream now?
- ABC TassieCast
Unions pressure for more public sector pay
Tasmania’s public sector workers say they’ve long felt undervalued as unions push for new deals with the State Government. A revised one-year offer of a 3% pay…
- ABC TassieCast
Are triple zero blackspots risking local lives?
Have you ever had to call triple zero? It's the one call we should be able to make in an emergency but in parts of Tassie that's not always the case. One…
- ABC TassieCast
Is cancer detection at risk for some Tassie women?
Just over half of Tasmanian women who should be getting regular breast cancer screening are doing so. But with a key service out of action that number could…
- ABC TassieCast
Housing in Tassie, a right or a privilege?
Adequate Housing is supposed to be a basic human right ... but around 18 thousand Tasmanians don't have a secure home. Despite government promises to boost…
- ABC TassieCast
Is the right on the rise in Tasmania?
A wave of anti-immigration rallies have swept the world and Australia including Tasmania are no exception. Pauline Hanson's daughter Lee stood unsuccessfully…
- ABC TassieCast
Burnie teen rediscovers music after brain tumour battle
Sadie is a local high school student and young performer whose passion for singing became a lifeline through the hardest chapter in her life. From taking the…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie, can you hear me?
How's your hearing? Do you find yourself frequently asking people to repeat themselves? If so you're not alone. Around one in six Tasmanians has some form of…
- ABC TassieCast
How did a museum illegally collect human remains for decades?
Finding out that remains of a loved one ended up part of a museum collection without permission would be nothing short of shocking. An inquest into the actions…
- ABC TassieCast
Why are we yet to ban single-use plastics?
Tassie's east coast town of Coles Bay was the first in Australia to ban single-use plastic bags in 2003. How did we go from nation leader to lagger? Featuring…
- ABC TassieCast
Who's left behind when the banks leave town?
Once a staple of Tassie's suburbs and towns, real bricks and mortar bank branches are now becoming as rare as cash. What if you're not tech savvy or don't have…
ABC TassieCastAre we unwittingly killing our precious wildlife?
Tassie's wildlife is already under increasing pressure, but are we unknowingly adding to their demise? Have you bought a poison to get rid of rodents? The…
ABC TassieCastCould AI help Tassie's education outcomes?
Artificial Intelligence, it's here and it's here to stay. What impact is it having on young people ... is it helping them to learn smarter or risk kids…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's not so entertaining political circus
In just over a week Tassie's parliament returns after an early snap election we could ill-afford, brought on by a no confidence motion. We're sort of back…
ABC TassieCastIs the mother of all power cords worth it?
The proposed Marinus Link between Tasmania and Victoria is the biggest infrastructure project in the state's history. The Liberals have had the business case…
- ABC TassieCast
Can whoever forms government heal our health woes?
While the wheeling and dealing continues over who will ultimately form government after the state election ... we check out what the prospective governments…
- ABC TassieCast
Should governments bail out Tassie's big industrials?
The big industrials employ thousands and contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy each year. One of the biggest is Nyrstar, the century old…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's transparency and integrity debate
Business and government have good reason to have good relationships, it's a co-dependent relationship - but do we always know who is getting the most out of…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's spiralling debt dilemma
Tassie's living on the credit card and it's maxxed out, so what are the pollies proposing to fix it at next month's state election? We've got a spending…
- ABC TassieCast
Antarctica - bucket list trip? Or best left to scientists?
Champagne on ice, rings differently when you're literally talking about bubbles in Antarctica. The number of tourists heading to the icy continent each year is…
- ABC TassieCast
Tassie's dark side of so-called scientific research
Can you imagine finding out the remains of a loved one might have become part of a museum collection to be used for scientific research? That's what happened…