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Retail reprieve for mussels

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 November 2012 | 14.56

THEY say timing is everything, and the timing of Spring Bay Mussels' algal toxin discovery and global product recall could not have been worse.

It follows an export ban on diseased Tasmanian abalone earlier in the year, and comes in the same week authorities raised fears over the safety of wild oysters from the Tamar estuary and allegations that Seafish Tasmania may have polluted the waters off Triabunna.

The discovery also came just weeks after Spring Bay Mussels secured a deal to supply supermarket giant Coles with a new gourmet homebrand bagged product range.

Coles Cooked Mussels in Tomato and Herb Sauce and Coles Cooked Mussels in Cream and White Wine sauce had only been on the shelf for two weeks when Spring Bay was forced to notify customers of the toxin discovery and recall all of its exported product.

Deputy Premier Bryan Green said the State Government took the situation very seriously.

Mr Green said comprehensive analytical testing had been undertaken to better understand the extent and impacts of the recent naturally occurring algal bloom.

"Industry and government have and will continue to work closely together to protect and grow our aquaculture industry, including by determining whether any additional measures need to be put in place," he said.

"We hope to have the testing results over the next few days."

Coles says it will stick with the Tasmanian seafood company despite its "horrible luck".

Coles merchandise director John Durkan said the company would continue to stock the line when it was again available.

"These things happen. The algae which caused the problem is naturally occurring and nothing to do with the company," Mr Durkan said.

"It has not changed our perception of Tasmania as a place producing clean, green and safe food."

Neil Stump, chief executive of the Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council, said shellfish were filter feeders that could be the "canary in the coalmine" in regard to waterway conditions.

"It is reassuring to hear a major customer like Coles is staying with Spring Bay Mussels," Mr Stump said. "It would be unfortunate if Tasmania's reputation was tarnished.

"But hopefully the quick response of Spring Bay Mussels to their situation and the rigorous testing being undertaken in the wake of the event will reassure customers that there are strict, quality assurance systems in place here."


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Twisters, hail, rain hit Hobart

TORNADOES, torrential rain and thick hail rampaged across the state yesterday.

The wild weather forced the evacuation of a childcare centre and a call centre but most of the state escaped relatively unscathed.

The South and East were hardest hit, with conditions worsening on the East Coast last night but the Midlands and the North also reported dramatic weather.

At least three tornadoes were reported -- and photographed -- by stunned onlookers as thunderstorms swept across Hobart and its outer suburbs.

Check out the wild pics

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Flash flooding forced children to be evacuated from CareBears Cottage Childcare at Mornington.

The storm also caused evacuation of 570 workers from the Vodafone call centre at Kingston.

Vodafone spokeswoman Karina Keisler said rain came through overhead light fittings and flooded the building.

The tornadoes provided a once in a lifetime experience for many of those who spotted them.

Cambridge office worker Colin Hepher said his colleagues went to their window when rain started bucketing down mid-morning.

"We were there for four or five minutes watching the tornado coming towards us," Mr Hepher said.

Acton Park resident Imogen Norris, 17, and her family were also lucky enough to witness the event.

"It suddenly got really dark and started pouring with rain and then it started hailing," she said.

"Then the rain started to subside a bit and we looked up in the sky and there was a weird-shaped cloud and all of a sudden it started spinning and we thought 'no, it can't be a tornado'."

Luckily the tornadoes -- two out towards the airport and one above the tip at South Hobart -- do not appear to have caused any significant damage.

But the torrential rain caused flooding in areas including Kingston and Mornington, largely because of overflowing drains, said State Emergency Service southern regional manager Mark Nelson.

Heavy hail blanketing roads also caused problems for motorists across suburban Hobart.

The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled its severe thunderstorm warning just after 3pm yesterday.

Senior forecaster Tim Bolden said tornadoes were not that unusual in terms of weather events but said he could not remember the last time there were twisters over Hobart.

The bureau reported 7mm of rain in Hobart city to 3pm with 9mm at Hobart airport.


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Ban the plastic

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 November 2012 | 14.56

Hobart City Council Alderman Bill Harvey with compostable cups and packaging. Picture: ROSS MARSDEN

ENVIRONMENTALISTS are pushing for a ban on the use of polystyrene and non-biodegradable plastic plates and cutlery by Hobart cafes and takeaways.

Hobart City Council Greens alderman Bill Harvey said he was dismayed by the number of inner-city food retailers still using such packaging when there were so many compostable alternatives available.

Ald Harvey said some eateries even offered single-use plates and cutlery for meals eaten inside the venue.

"I would like to see all cafes and takeaway places start to use compostable packaging rather than petroleum based plastics, which never disintegrate," Ald Harvey said. "We need legislation that phases out both Styrofoam and plastic.

"The only excuse people have is the cost but the cost of compostable [plates and cutlery] will come down as more people switch," he said, adding that although plastic products were cheaper, they wreaked havoc on the environment.

Jon Dee from Do Something! said "there is no excuse" for restaurants to use single-use plastics for food that is eaten in.

"That's just lazy ... there is this wonderful invention called a ceramic plate that is very useful, it can be washed and used again and again," he said. He urged customers to vote with their feet on the issue.

Robert Mallett from the Tasmanian Small Business Council said his organisation would "fully support" the initiative "as long as it is affordable".

"As an aspirational target we should probably look at it but there should be absolutely no moves to impose such a ban until such time as [compostable alternatives] become realistically affordable," Mr Mallett said.


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New youth arrest concerns

NEW powers that would allow police broader scope to arrest young people have been compared with anti-terror laws.

Critics fear the proposed changes to the Youth Justice Act will create confusion.

Current laws say police should opt for cautions and diversionary measures and only arrest a youth for serious offences if they think the youth will "repeat the same offence" if not arrested.

But "same offence" would be extended to include all other serious offences, prompting fears the law is too broad.

The amendment has been criticised by the Australian Lawyers Alliance and Tasmania's Commissioner for Children Aileen Ashford. ALA criminal law spokesman Greg Barns, right, said yesterday the change could have serious implications for vulnerable youth.

Mr Barns said the amendment would give police the power to bolster their justification for arrest based on a further, more serious, offence that was not yet committed.

"These proposed new powers allow police to detain vulnerable young people, not on the basis of what they are alleged to have done but on the basis of what they may commit in the future," said Mr Barns, who is a columnist for the Mercury.

"The new laws will give police enormous power over vulnerable young people to drag them off the streets on the basis police think they are going to commit another offence.

"That is called preventative detention, it is what we see in anti-terror law."

Tasmania Police has not responded to requests for clarification on the amendment, indicating the Act was an issue for children and youth services.

But Children and Youth Services deputy secretary Des Graham said police had requested the changes "to clarify that a youth could be arrested for a previous serious offence if the arrest is necessary to prevent the commission of another serious offence".

Ms Ashford said the amendment would widen the circumstances in which a young person could be brought into the youth justice system.

"Rather, the focus should be on diverting young people, not increasing the circumstances in which suspicion is a sufficient ground to arrest a young person.

"The effect of it is to widen the circumstances in which an arrest may be authorised ...

"This is an extremely wide discretion and appears to be contrary to general principles of youth justice."

Mr Graham said the Act already limited the power of police to arrest.

"The amendment will not alter the fact that a police officer may only arrest a youth on suspicion of a serious offence and if one of a number of factors exist.

"It is important to note young people may only be arrested in relation to offences already committed, not offences they have not yet committed."

matthew.smith@news.com.au


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Outcry over spend-up call

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 08 November 2012 | 14.56

PREMIER Lara Giddings has been roundly criticised on the Mercury's website and Facebook page for suggesting Tasmanians need to spend their savings in local stores to help boost the economy.

On Tuesday Ms Giddings urged all Tasmanians who could to get out and spend up big this Christmas.

"There are many Tasmanians out there that can afford to get out there and spend," Ms Giddings said.

"Stop sitting on all the savings and start spending in our shops and helping to get our retail industry back up and going again."

But Mercury readers said there was no money in the bank for such big spending sprees.

Dozens of comments were left on both sites suggesting the Premier's comments were way off the mark.

Most suggested paying their ever-growing bills was their priority this Christmas.

"Maybe if the power was 50 per cent less, like a few years ago, and I was not paying for a water meter I could afford to spend that money in the shops," Gavin Jackson, of Hobart, said on the website.


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Locals ramp up fight over Oval

A GROUP of Bellerive residents is preparing to campaign against the latest expansion plans for Blundstone Arena.

Cricket Tasmania wants approval for a $30 million redevelopment, with work starting by early next year to be ready for the 2015 World Cup.

In June, the Clarence City Council knocked back Cricket Tasmania's first proposal after a community campaign against a new entrance encroaching on the neighbouring park.

Save the Bellerive Beach Park Group organiser Joanne Marsh said the latest plans still intruded on the park.

"We're really concerned," Mrs Marsh said.

"We know powerful business interests are against us but there are lots of serious safety issues for us, including increased traffic, a new bus interchange and crowds spilling through the park.

"We're up against it but we're not going to give up.

"Once Cricket Tasmania lodges the development application with the council, the public has three weeks to launch some kind of response. We will be encouraging people to put in a submission."

Cricket Tasmania chairman Tony Harrison said that far from an intrusion into the park, the new plan involved a bigger park area.

"Apart from a small slice of land on Derwent St required for this entry, the entire redevelopment is restricted to within Cricket Tasmania's existing lease boundary," he said.

The extra area required for the new entrance was about 32 square metres.

However, Cricket Tasmania had offered to return about 120 square metres of its existing leased area for inclusion in the Bellerive Beach Park.

Mrs Marsh said the new entrance would affect a prime area of the park and the land Cricket Tasmania was proposing to return to the council was in the shadow of an existing grandstand.

Mr Harrison said the Blundstone Arena redevelopment, partly funded by a $15 million Federal Government grant, was essential to lure World Cup cricket and more AFL games to Hobart.

It involved a new grandstand, increasing the ground's capacity to 20,000 people.

"It will enable Tasmania to compete with other venues around Australia for top-class cricket and other sporting events," he said.


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Basher free after time served

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 07 November 2012 | 14.56

A MAN who kicked an elderly stranger in the face has walked free from court after a judge ruled the three months he had already spent in custody was an adequate sentence.

Luke Ashley Woods, 26, of Devonport, had earlier pleaded guilty to assaulting the 72-year-old man.

Supreme Court Justice David Porter said Woods approached the victim at the Rosny bus mall, on Hobart's Eastern Shore, about 5pm on July 17, 2010, and called him a "f...ing wog, dirty dog, paedophile".

As the man tried to call police, Woods kicked him in the face. When he fell to the ground, Woods kicked him another four or five times.

The attack caused a spinal injury from which the victim had not yet recovered, the judge said.

Woods was spoken to by police soon after the incident but failed to appear at court. He was arrested in Devonport in August.

Justice Porter said Woods had suffered a difficult life because of his mother's drug addiction and had developed his own drug problem.

He also suffered from psychiatric difficulties but was remorseful and did not have a criminal record.

"The assault was a quite brutal one, unprovoked and unjustified," the judge said.

"It has caused ongoing symptoms of some significance to the complainant. Notwithstanding the lack of prior convictions, a term of imprisonment is appropriate."

Justice Porter imposed a seven-month jail sentence, but suspended the rest of the term on the condition Wood did not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment for the next two years.

david.killick@news.com.au


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Vincent wins mayoral race

Kerry Vincent, Sorell's new mayor, campaigning for a Bendigo Bank branch in the sprawling south-eastern town in 2010.

SORELL has a new mayor, with local businessman Kerry Vincent to head the council until the 2013 poll.

The results of the recent by-election were announced today by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission.

Cr Vincent replaces Carmel Torenius, who held the position of mayor for 17 years before making a surprise exit from local government in late September amid a bitter dispute about plans for new $4.5 million chambers and council mergers.

At the time, Cr Torenius told the Mercury she resigned because she no longer had the respect and support of fellow councillors.

Cr Vincent, who has served on the council for three years, received 2823 votes to finish well clear of his closest rival, incumbent Councillor Kerry Degrassi, on 707.

Rob Leach was elected as a councillor ahead of other hopefuls Sharon Prior, John the Duke of Avram and Judy Young.

A total of 4759 electors voted in the poll, representing a return of 48.51 per cent.


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Union warns on jobs, service

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 06 November 2012 | 14.56

A FULL retail market for Tasmanian electricity will lead to inferior service and job losses, the union representing call centre workers has warned.

The Australian Services Union has warned the State Government's plan to privatise the retail arm of state electricity sector will lead to job losses.

ASU assistant secretary Igor Grattan said the experience from other states swapping to retail contestability had not been good for workers or consumers.

"If we can learn anything from the other states that have gone down this path, it is that this move can only lead to massive job losses and lesser services, with little if any savings to the consumer," Mr Grattan said.

"With the down turn in jobs in Tasmania, we cannot afford to export hundreds of call centre jobs to the mainland.

"Since privatisation in South Australia and Victoria, the two states have risen to become the proud title holders of the third and fifth highest-priced electricity consumers in the world."

Mr Grattan said electricity companies won't compete to lose money in a small marketplace, and if something has to give it will be at the expense of services to the consumer.

"If there really are problems with the way the service is being run, maybe we should cast our eye on those running it.

"If the privatisation of the retail arm of the electricity sector goes ahead we will all be paying for it through the loss of Tassie jobs, inferior services and higher prices."

Mr Grattan's comments follow calls from energy expert Danny Price, the managing director of Frontier Economics, who told the Mercury last week energy retailers were being warned not to enter the state due to a wholesale market monopoly and concerns over the credit ratings of Aurora customers.

matthew.smith@news.com.au


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Melbourne Cup preview

MERCURY racing writer Damien Seaton takes a look at your best Melbourne Cup options.

Melbourne Cup top five tips:

(20) LIGHTS OF HEAVEN (Luke Nolen) she looked very dour in Caulfield Cup after settling seventh. She was held-up at a vital stage at the top of the straight and it took her a while to wind-up when she got into the clear. Her best part of the Caulfield Cup was the final 70 metres of the race when she just started to extend fully. This is her first try beyond 2400m, however being by Zabeel and the way she found the line in the Caulfield Cup I believe that she has slipped under the guard of many. She is at $21 and $6 and at those odds I'm more than happy to back her each way.

(2) AMERICAIN (Damien Oliver) drew barrier 19 in the Caulfield Cup and couldn't get in from the draw settling three-wide for the trip. He had trouble trying to keep the back of Dunaden when the sprint came on but was very good over the concluding stages and has been very solid in betting. He's second-up going into the Melbourne Cup which suits his pattern of racing and is certain to finish top 4. He handles all types of track conditions and he's foolproof at the distance. With Oliver going on it's a huge bonus and he has been rock solid at the $6.50.

(1)DUNADEN (Craig Williams) was simply awesome in the Caulfield Cup and displayed an amazing turn of foot to run down Alcopop, who has since franked the form by winning the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes on Saturday. His only other start at 2 miles was when winning last year's Melbourne Cup. He is unbeaten at three starts in Australia and I would love to tip him on top, however weight can stop a train and with 59kg I can only see him finishing third or fourth.

(4) RED CADEAUX (Michael Rodd) was beaten a flared nostril in the Melbourne Cup last year and can certainly go one better in this year's version of the race. He meets Dunaden 2.5kg better that he did last year and his form since has been just as good. He has the services of Australia's best distance jockey in Michael Rodd and a bet of $3500 was taken by Tattsbet at $9. Watch for him late in the race and he's another that has to be included as a serious chance.

(5) WINCHESTER (Jamie Mott) has yet to be tested beyond 2400m, however his Caulfield Cup effort was good enough to suggest that is capable of running the two mile journey. He settled near the rear and was three wide and got back to second last at the 1800m. He followed Dunaden in the Caulfield Cup, but like many he couldn't go with the impressive turn of foot by Dunaden and was spotted doing his best work over the final 100 metres. Winchester again settled at the rear when sixth to Alcopop in the Mackinnon Stakes on Saturday and all four Australian starts have seen him cover extra ground. I expect him to drift marginally from his $51 quote and he could well be the bolter that most have overlooked.

LUKE'S TIP: (14) Green Moon (Brett Prebble)

BEST BETS FOR FLEMINGTON:

Race 3 No 6 Verdant (Dwayne Dunn) each way forever @ $6 and $2.25 as this race appears perfect for him.
Race 5 No 3 Magnier (Vlad Duric) is ready to win his first city race and what a day to do it.
Race 8 No 6 King Diamond (Nick Hall) at double figure odds you could do worse than back him at the odds.
Race 9 No 14 Altar (Kerrin McEvoy) at $7 and $2.50 I'm all over that quote.

Weekend Winners tasted success on Saturday when we tipped Appearance (50/1) as one of our three best bets of the day.

That followed up our best bet the week before when Freereturn won at 8/1.

Tuesday's best is Verdant in race three at Flemington.


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Bid to save rebeached whale

Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 November 2012 | 14.56

Park ranger Shelley Davison with the rebeached whale on New Year Island. Picture: DPIPWE

WILDLIFE officers and volunteers are hoping 15 whales and dolphins that made it back out to sea after a mass stranding on a Bass Strait island at the weekend will keep swimming.

Sixty pilot whales and 20 bottlenose dolphins were found on New Year Island off King Island on Saturday, and late yesterday afternoon rescuers were still trying to save one whale which had been freed but then rebeached.

The stranding followed another beaching of dolphins at Quarantine Bay on mainland King Island on Friday.

Forty-two whales and 25 dolphins died.

Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment marine biologist Rachel Alderman said beaches on both islands would be monitored for the possible return of the animals.

King Island was the scene of one of the state's biggest mass stranding in March 2009.

Volunteers and rescuers fought to save 54 pilot whales and five bottlenose dolphins that washed up on Naracoopa Beach but another 116 whales and two dolphins died.

More than 1000 whales and dolphins have been stranded on Tasmanian beaches in the past 30 years and what drives them inshore is still unclear.

Dr Alderman said it was likely to be a combination of factors, such as tide and currents, confusing the animals' navigation systems.


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State cheated of $120m tax

AUSTRALIAN businesses avoided paying so much GST in the past year that Tasmania missed out on $120 million -- equivalent to half the state's Budget deficit.

Tasmania's share of the overall GST take was undermined by shonky businesses across the nation which under-paid tax and claimed false rebates, the tax office says.

A new analysis of the likely "gap" between GST that should have been paid, and GST that was actually paid, has been released by the tax office.

A crackdown has seen the gap narrowed in the past decade, but the difference -- worked out by comparing national accounts consumption data with actual GST paid -- is still as high as $3.3 billion.

Analysis shows the state should be getting an extra $120 million.

A State Government spokesman said the figure could equate to about 1000 frontline staff such as nurses, teachers, police and ambulance officers.

Tax Institute senior tax counsel Robert Jeremenko said the lost money was a concern for Tasmania because it placed "a greater strain on the budgets for schools, roads, law and order".

The money due to Tasmania, calculated by the Tax Institute based on Tasmania's share of the tax pie, could have allowed hundreds of nurses and police officers to keep their jobs.

The State Government this year slashed $100 million from the health department and $16 million from the police budget, resulting in the loss of more than 250 full-time nurses and about 75 police officers, plus 60 police service staff.

The Tasmanian Council of Social Service said an extra $120 million in state coffers could make a dramatic difference to the state's poorest residents.

"It's very concerning to learn that the proper amount of GST is not being collected, because community-sector organisations ... are stretched beyond breaking point," TasCOSS chief Tony Reidy said.

He said more than 30 per cent of Tasmanian households were at least partly dependent on welfare and many families had this year been forced to seek emergency charity "for the first time in their lives".

"Agencies are reporting that demand is on a scale they've never seen before," he said.

"Those organisations providing emergency relief -- whether it's food parcels or shopping vouchers or help paying for electricity -- they cannot meet demand, people are being turned away. Send $120 million our way and we would do more good with it than possibly anyone else in the state."

But Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief economist Phil Bayley questioned the size of the reported GST shortfall.

"It's a bit misleading to make an accusation that businesses aren't paying their share," he said. "The ATO has such extensive compliance programs and I doubt if the ATO is missing $3 billion in revenue."


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Drip-fed welfare

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 04 November 2012 | 14.56

ONE in six Tasmanian children lives in a family where no one works and Federal Government agencies lay the blame for the lost generation on welfare "largesse".

However, a leading Tasmanian social welfare agency says that far from enjoying an easy life, those people who are living on New-start are actually living well below the poverty line.

Unemployed families in Tasmania now outnumber the "working families" in which both parents have full-time jobs.

Damning new data reveals that 612,416 Australian children, or one in eight, have both parents out of work.

And in Tasmania, shocking statistics show that 18,149 children, or 17 per cent, are living in jobless families, according to new Census data provided to the Sunday Tasmanian by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Nearly one in four "couple families" in Tasmania relies on welfare no one works in 23.1 per cent of families, significantly more than the 17.3 per cent of families in which both parents work full-time.

Federal Government agencies are warning that welfare "largesse" is discouraging unemployed parents from getting a job.

A single parent with one child pockets $30,000 a year in welfare payments as much as a cleaner, labourer or shop assistant earns working for the minimum wage.

Four Federal Government agencies, including the departments of Employment and Workplace Relations, Families and Human Services, have warned of welfare "largesse", in a joint submission to the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart unemployment benefits.

A single parent with one child will receive, on average, about $30,000 a year through the Parenting Payment, Family Tax Benefit, Rent Assistance, supplements for telephone allowance, and a pensioner concession card, the submission states.

"This is the equivalent of working ... 72 hours per fortnight or, essentially, a couple of hours short of a full-time job at minimum wage," it says.

The departments argue jobless single parents have an incentive to work because they will still receive Family Tax Benefit of up to $182 a week, depending on what they earn.

"Nevertheless, with a [welfare] payment of $30,000 per annum ... there can be little doubt the incentive to work is at least partially mitigated by the largesse of the broader social security system," they state in their submission.

In its submission titled No Heart in Newstart, Uniting Care Tasmania argues, along with other welfare agencies, that Newstart should be increased by at least $50 a week.

The organisation says that Australia provides the second-lowest unemployment benefit as a percentage of the average wage earned in the developed world.

"It is difficult to find an Australian anywhere who considers that $35 a day is an adequate amount to meet even the most basic of living costs. Yet that is what is expected of Newstart recipients," the submission says.

"Even the Federal Government's 2009 Henry Tax Review recommended an increase and did not accept the oft-peddled myth that if Newstart allowance was increased it could act as a disincentive for the unemployed to seek work."


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A tragedy of nature

SAD SIGHT: Rescuers do what they can to help the dolphins that had not perished on the beach. About 67 pilot whales and 20 dolphins were stranded. Picture: MARGARET BARNES

ALMOST 90 whales and dolphins have died in mass strandings on King Island.

On Friday morning locals found 13 dolphins beached at Quarantine Bay on the island's north-west coast, while on nearby New Year Island a stranding of about 67 pilot whales and 20 dolphins went undiscovered until yesterday.

King Island Parks and Wildlife Service head ranger Shelley Davison said eight surviving dolphins on Quarantine Beach were returned to the water on Friday afternoon thanks to the help of about 20 volunteers.

But yesterday King Island resident Guy Barnes was horrified to find the second much bigger stranding while on a dive trip to New Year Island.

Almost all the whales, including a small number of calves, were dead when Mr Barnes arrived.

Mrs Davison said parks staff and two boatloads of volunteers arrived on New Year Island around 3pm yesterday to launch a rescue mission.

Six dolphins were saved, but the four living pilot whales died before they could be returned to the water.

Mrs Davison said it was likely the separate strandings happened at the same time, given the poor condition of those on New Year Island.

"We think they may have been there for two nights," she said.

Mrs Davison praised the efforts of volunteers who helped rescue the dolphins that could be saved. Some involved in the rescues were distraught by the number of whales and dolphins that died.

"It's really emotional," she said. "We had a pretty good outcome with the ones that were alive."

Staff from the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment marine branch visited King Island to perform autopsies and take samples.

King Island whale rescue group member Margaret Barnes said the stranding on New Year Island was confronting for volunteers.

"[The whales] were screaming for their calves which were dead, it was all pretty bad," she said.

It is not known why the whales and dolphins beached themselves.

"That's part of the reason why we take so many samples, so we can look at them over time and try to piece together what has happened," Mrs Davison said.

The North-West Coast is a notorious trap for whales and dolphins, with a disproportionate number of the state's strandings occuring there.


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