Northern Tasmania local news briefing: Thursday, September 17, 2026 - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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

Launceston's 16th annual Junction arts and music festival begins tonight, with 35 events across theatre, immersive performance, dance, contemporary art and live music over the next three days.

A highlight this year will be a nightly 90-person dance performance featuring professional dancers and community members aged up to 80.

Government minister Nick Duigan said the festival was an important cultural and economic contributor to the region.

He said it had grown into one of Tasmania's most significant multi-arts festivals.

Employees at Launceston's Boag's Brewery are preparing for its closure after the final batch of beer was brewed yesterday.

Parent company Lion announced in June the 145-year-old brewery would close in November, with production moving interstate.

The closure will mean the loss of more than 40 jobs.

Worker Adrian Hines, who has been at Boag's for more than two decades, told ABC Radio Northern Tasmania that staff would gather in the final weeks to celebrate the brand.

"We're actually having old workers come back on site," he said.

The operator of a Tasmanian tourism business says the upcoming cruise ship season is vital to the state's visitor economy.

Eighty-five cruise ships are set to dock at ports around Tasmania this season, down from 101 last season.

Patrick Bass, who runs a tour company that gets about 15 per cent of its business from cruise ship visitors, said many passengers were returning to the state.

He said statistics showed 50 per cent of first-time visitors to Tasmania would return within two years.

The Tasmanian Greens want a review of parole board decisions after the board was found to have used artificial intelligence to create an incorrect court document.

In the Supreme Court this week, convicted murderer Susan Neill-Fraser had a parole condition overturned that had prevented her from speaking to the media about her alleged innocence.

The parole board conceded it had used AI to create a document justifying the ban, which referenced non-existent case law.

Greens MP Cassy O'Connor said it was deeply concerning.