Northern Tasmania local news briefing: Thursday, November 5, 2026 - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Here's what's making news in northern Tasmania today.

The new Spirit of Tasmania IV has failed to dock on time in Geelong this morning, with passengers stuck on board the ferry several hours after its expected arrival time.

The ferry departed from Devonport just after 7pm Wednesday, and was due to arrive at 6am this morning.

A ship-tracking website showed the vessel docked in Geelong about 10am after taking multiple sharp turns in Port Phillip Bay.

Operator TT-Line has been contacted for comment.

A coronial inquest into the deaths of six children killed in the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy in Tasmania's north-west resumes this morning.

Jumping castle operator Rosemary Gamble is today expected to give evidence about her knowledge of the Australian safety standards around inflatable amusement devices, as well as the instruction manuals she used to set up the jumping castle at the end-of-year school celebration almost five years ago.

On Tuesday, the inquest heard from a retired teacher who worked at Hillcrest at the time of the incident, who told the court about the impact the day has had on his life.

Tomorrow, the inquest will hear from retired Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Kim Steven, who was present on the day of the tragedy.

The Tasmanian Association of State School Organisations (TASSO) says more needs to be done to address bullying in Tasmanian schools following the release of the 2026 Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey.

The organisation said almost 5,000 students reported high levels of verbal bullying in 2026, nearly 3,900 reported high levels of social bullying, and more than 3,300 reported a low sense of safety at school.

TASSO is calling on the government to adopt all of the recommendations, including increased specialist staffing and greater investment in mental health and wellbeing support in schools.

A Tasmanian Labor MP has asked Tasmania's Commissioner of Police if the possibility of reputational damage to the police service was a factor behind a full police funeral not being cancelled for an officer facing allegations of child abuse.

Former officer Paul Reynolds died by suicide in 2018, the day after police seized his electronic devices as part of the investigation into child abuse allegations.

Despite that, he was granted a full police funeral.

Tasmania's Commissioner of Police, Donna Adams, told a parliamentary inquiry into police misconduct she did not know why the decision to grant the funeral was made.

Labor's Jen Butler asked if reputation damage was a factor.

"This is a catastrophic reputational risk to Tasmania Police."

Commissioner Adams replied: "I totally agree with you, in hindsight, it absolutely was significant reputational risk."

Commissioner Adams said granting the funeral was a mistake.

A Pakana ranger who saw an echidna on Lungtalanana/Clarke Island in Bass Strait for the first time in decades says the encounter was phenomenal.

A trail camera captured an image of the species in 2023, with several more images taken across the island since then.

Rangers consulted an echidna expert, who confirmed the sightings indicated multiple individuals were on the island.

Healthy Country ranger Tasha Cooper said the sightings were encouraging and showed cat-trapping efforts were having an impact.

The Central Coast Council is celebrating the fifth birthday of the Hive arts and culture centre at Ulverstone this week.

The council will host a birthday event at Hive on Saturday.

The cultural precinct is home to Tasmania's largest dome planetarium, an art gallery, science centre and local history museum.

Central Coast Council arts and culture manager Jessie Pangas said the community had rallied behind the centre since it opened, with more than 30,000 visitors each year.

"The connection for people in the community has just gone from strength to strength," she said.

A no-ball has handed the Melbourne Renegades a four-wicket win over the Hobart Hurricanes in Women's Big Bash cricket at Bellerive Oval.

With the visitors at 6-154 and needing one run to win, Deandra Dottin missed the final delivery, setting up a super over finish.

But replays showed Hurricanes wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee caught the ball in front of the stumps, which is not allowed, giving the Renegades a run and victory.

Melbourne's Sophie Molineux earned player of the match honours for her four-wicket haul, while Hobart captain Nicola Carey top-scored with 62.