Piia Wirsu

Journalist Piia Wirsu grappled with retelling the traumatic story of the Blythe Star shipwreck. But deep within the disaster was an uplifting story of survival.

It has been 50 years since the Blythe Star sank in Australia's unforgiving southern waters. Now, survivor Mick Doleman is telling the full story of how the crew lasted nearly two weeks in hostile seas, and helping give a voice to those who didn't return.

While Atlas Southall "grumbled" a little, the sweeping views of mountains, yak trains and helicopters provided plenty of distraction from his sore legs.

With more than two-thirds of Australians actively avoiding the news because it brings them down, Piia Wirsu explains why the ABC has created a new podcast with the sole purpose of making you feel good. 

Kamali Rai and Gesanit Mahare moved to Tasmania two years ago as the pandemic first took off, and it has been tough to find work — but their chances have been given a big boost thanks to this program.

Tasmania is preparing to manage inevitable COVID cases when borders open next week — but healthcare workers are concerned about the resilience of a system already under strain.

The pathology lab at Hobart's hospital is being upgraded to handle 5,000 COVID tests a day, PPE is being stockpiled, and thousands of home care kits are ready to go —  it is all part of Tasmania's plan to be ready for the disease when it inevitably arrives.

The commercial company running Tasmania's Three Capes Track has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the state government for marketing costs.

The Tasmanian government wants to generate 200 per cent renewable energy by 2040, but not everyone is sold on the pathway to a cleaner future, with wind turbine opposition groups popping up across the state.

Rochelle Gordon has had to postpone knee replacement surgery three times due to her public housing unit being in no state for her recovery — her story is just one of many, amid pleas for something to be done about Tasmania's public housing crisis.

In Tasmania, women on temporary visas experiencing domestic abuse now have access to a legal support service.  

Isaiah Dixon and Bree-Anna Thomas, whose bodies washed ashore yesterday after they and a third friend went missing at sea on Monday, are being remembered as "beautiful" people whose deaths will have a lasting effect on the community.

Emily Harvey battles with hearing loss and an auditory processing disorder and needs small adjustments in the classroom to help her, but confusion around disability funding means she is not receiving the support she needs.

Landing in a foreign country, Tibetan refugee Chungla wasn't sure of the cultural rules that define Australian life, but a new community support program hopes to change that.

George Town in Tasmania's north has long battled with youth unemployment and a reputation for disenfranchised youth but a new, community focused group is changing that.

Anwarul Islam Khan was at work one day when he suddenly felt like he was "breaking down from the middle". 

Michelle had to fight to have her mother's end-of-life wishes respected, she wants to make sure no-one else has to battle the way she had to.

The vertical rock columns of Mount Roland loom large over the historic north-west Tasmanian town of Sheffield. A proposal for a cableway at the site is gathering support from local businesses, but the Aboriginal community says it should not proceed.

Zane Jamison was told he would be in hospital for seven to 10 days to treat wounds on his legs caused by complications from a bone marrow transplant. He died months later, with his family saying he "rotted from the outside in".

A medical team is travelling around Tasmania to help vaccinate the state's homeless and vulnerable populations, but there are calls for public health and vaccine information to be made easier to understand for those with low literacy.

Kylie MacLeod has painful bursitis which stops her from working, or even doing basic tasks. But she's only one case in many thousands grappling with long waiting lists in Tasmania.

Thomas Langston died just weeks before he was due to receive an Order of Australia award for his service to music and the community. Now, his family and friends want to know why his death at a hospital was not investigated.

Dog owners on Hobart's eastern shore say they're concerned about a council proposal that will see dogs banned or on-lead in popular exercise areas.

The Tasmanian health union says changes to paramedics' travel allowance payments are leaving some remote ambulance stations unable to respond to call-outs for hours at a time, prompting warnings people may die waiting for help.

A tiny island off the coast of Tasmania could provide a refuge to the brush-tailed rock wallaby whose habitat was devastated in the 2020 bushfires, but they're not native to the island state.