Sarah Jane Bell
Sarah Jane Bell is a reporter for ABC Hobart. You can contact her on Twitter @SarahJaneBell94 or bell.sarah@abc.net.au.
Latest by Sarah Jane Bell
'Fiercely intelligent' father and company director identified as final victim of fatal helicopter crash
By Sarah Jane Bell and staff
Nicholas Vasudeva's employer said the father-of-three was on his way to conduct a routine property inspection with his colleagues when the helicopter crashed over Mount Disappointment.
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Five killed in helicopter crash north of Melbourne
By Nicole Asher, Sarah Jane Bell and staff
The helicopter was flying in a convoy of two from Melbourne's CBD when it crashed at Mount Disappointment after 9am, killing four passengers and the pilot.
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Fears Tasmania's racing industry review leaves animal welfare 'buried'
Animal welfare advocates want to see the corporate racing body separated from the racing integrity office, and are concerned animal welfare will not be at the forefront of an industry review.
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Police investigate rock-throwing after truck crashes into house
A man in his 70's was sleeping in his bed when a 16-tonne tip truck came crashing into his suburban bedroom.
A chapter of history to be shared in English for the first time
Six pages at a time, Fritz Stegherr's diary has been translated, giving valuable insight into the life of a German POW interned at a camp on a small island off Tasmania during World War I.
For you, this house may cost $500k. For Habib, it's $546,000
Buying a house in Hobart right now is hard. For Habib ur Rehman, it's even worse. That's because migrants face an 8 per cent surcharge on the cost of a home.
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Parting gift: Samoans reprise hotel balcony thank you after quarantine
By Ros Lehman and Sarah Jane Bell
Hobart Airport is treated to an encore performance of a Samoan song after a video of seasonal workers singing from the balconies of a quarantine hotel went viral earlier this week.
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Devoutly religious Tasmanian woman fails in bid to stop autopsy of her mother
The daughter of an elderly woman whose body was found in a Tasmanian river this week says she believes in the rapture, and cites religious reasons for objecting to an autopsy.
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Golliwog remark has Tasmanian councillor stripped of national advocacy role
By Adam Langenberg and Sarah Jane Bell
A local councillor blasted for a "highly offensive" Facebook post on golliwogs has been stripped of his position of ambassador for a national mental health foundation.
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These turtles are probably all female — and that spells disaster for the species
Plastic pollution is significantly increasing sand temperatures on remote beaches — and it is feared the animals that call those beaches home are struggling to cope.
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'Get a life': Outrage over wedge-tailed eagle found with missing talons
The dismembered body of an endangered wedge-tailed eagle has been found in Tasmania, with its feet likely cut off as a "souvenir".
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Olympian Nancy Kerrigan enlisted to help save Tasmania's last ice-skating rink
By Alison Costelloe and Sarah Jane Bell
A battle to save Tasmania's only ice rink has ramped up with a celebrity of the sport drafted into the campaign.
Man who threatened police wanted to 'pull their trigger', court told
A Tasmanian man who was tackled to the ground after threatening police with a knife was a week earlier taken by his mother to hospital due to concerns over his mental health, his family says.
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Farmers fear for land that produces some of 'best potato crops in the world'
They have farmed prime land in western Victoria for generations, but now these families think plans for a new power project could put them out of business.
Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 'fails to protect those it's designed to'
New data shows the number of people contacting Victoria's human rights commissioner for advice about racial vilification has continued to rise through the pandemic.
Concerns high-voltage power network would be blight on 'beautiful, unspoilt country'
The power company planning to put 200-kilometres of transmission lines through western Victoria releases more detailed plans.
Bushfire-hit businesses bounce back as government vouchers deliver $85m reprieve
Some 52,000 people opted to use Victoria's travel vouchers in the first round of the stimulus package. Business owners reeling from Black Summer say it made a huge difference.
This town fought hard to keep its medical services, but now it's facing another GP shortage
Less than a decade ago a rural community in western Victoria fought to keep a medical centre in town, but now it's a case of deja vu with a sudden shortage of general practitioners.
'It can be difficult': Schools and businesses reopening after snap coronavirus lockdown
By Elise Kinsella and Sarah Jane Bell
After five days in lockdown, students across Victoria today return to school and many businesses are able to again open their doors. But the lockdown has not been without pain, with many small businesses calling for greater assistance.
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Red roses in short supply this Valentine's with pandemic still a thorny issue for growers
It's the time of year when the flower industry prepares for a flurry of orders and red rose sales surge, but wholesalers and farmers are warning they won't be able to meet the demand.
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Calls for high-voltage powerline in Western Victoria to be put underground
A community group is exploring its legal options in its fight against a proposed high-voltage above-ground powerline to be built through Victoria's west.
'Trees are still falling': Victims share $10.5m payout over Scotsburn blaze
More than five years after the Scotsburn bushfire tore through their property south of Ballarat, Trevor and Donna Hart are among 86 victims to receive compensation.
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Calls for cross-burning neo-Nazis camped in The Grampians to be classified as terrorist group
An anti-Semitism expert calls for the white supremacist group that reportedly burnt a cross in The Grampians in Western Victoria to be labelled as a terrorist organisation.
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Ratepayers get an apology as misconduct has officers fired
Ballarat City Council confirms several people have been sacked following independent investigations into misconduct allegations at the western Victorian council.
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How new clinics are bringing 'life-saving treatment' to trans and gender diverse people
Doctors say a fresh approach being used in Victorian state-funded clinics for trans and gender diverse people is proving successful.
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