Tasmania

Tasmania is the smallest of the 6 states of Australia, and is a separate island located south of the main continent, separated by a stretch of water called Bass Strait. In the stretch of water are several islands including King Island and Flinder's Island, both of which are officially in Tasmania. Tasmania's population is approximately 500,000 with an area that is roughly the same area as the size of the United Kingdom.

Tasmania can be divided into South, North, North West and West, in terms of population demographics and social terms.

The Tasmanian Devil, an unusual and aggressive animal, lives in Tasmania.

South Tasmania

Southern Tasmania includes the capital city of Hobart and makes up approximately half of Tasmania's population. Depending on the statistical methods used, Hobart has as small a population as 60,000 or as large as 250,000. The larger figure is often regarded as "Greater Hobart", which includes the cities of Clarence and Glenorchy in addition to nearby towns of New Norfolk.

Much as how Sydney and Melbourne hate each other in Australia as a whole, so too does Southern and Northern Tasmania hate each other.

Hobart is the home of Cascade brewery, which is in competition with Launceston's Boag's brewery in the north. Few places in Hobart sell Boag's, while few places in Launceston sell Cascade.

Southern Tasmania, by Tasmanian standards, is very multicultural, with as many as 5% of the population being non-white, including a small Chinese population. They have relatively large Greek and Italian groups and have small segments of both the Italian and Greek mafias operating out of Hobart, in addition to the Russian mafia. These groups, however, are dominated by local organised crime organisations.

In spite of the relatively large multicultural element, there is a large neo nazi element, with race-related violence and crime being common (although not as common as in Launceston). People with dark skin are generally not safe in Hobart.

Southern Tasmania is also the least polluted area of Tasmania, as historically people lived in Hobart while getting resources from the rest of Tasmania, especially the West. Southern Tasmania therefore has pristine rainforests and wonderful areas to go bushwalking, fishing and doing other natural things, while the rest of Tasmania is heavily polluted, especially the west. This is the cause of much of the hostility between the areas.

Southern Tasmania is frequented by many hippies and gays and is in many ways considered to be lesser Sydney.

North Tasmania

Northern Tasmania includes the second largest city of Launceston, with an official population of 120,000 people. Per official statistics, Launceston is therefore the largest city in Tasmania, as Hobart has an official population of only 65,000 people. However, "Greater Hobart", which includes 2 other cities, has twice the population of Launceston.

Launceston is the whitest part of Tasmania and possibly the whitest part of Australia as a whole. It has the largest section of neo nazis, and is in many ways the nationwide headquarters of the white supremest movement.

Launceston is generally very posh, with wineries, exclusive clubs galore and dress restrictions that are far more severe than elsewhere. There is a distinct division between the rich and the poor.

Crime in Launceston is heavier than anywhere else in Tasmania, especially with regards to organised crime. Neo nazis make up the majority of the crime, although political groups affiliated with aboriginal organisations (in spite of being white) are the most powerful organised crime group, that control the drugs, illegal prostitution, burglaries and muggings in the area.

As in the rest of Tasmania, police do little to nothing about the crime, instead preferring to uphold the image that Tasmania is safe, when in reality it is not.

Crime in Launceston escalated severely in 1994 when nightclubs were closed at 2am instead of 6am. This sudden change led to people leaving nightclubs frustrated and going around randomly beating others up, occasionally accidentally killing them. Rapes, muggings, violent attacks, murders and vandalism escalated by 5 times in a 6 month period. For a brief period of time, random crime like this actually overshadowed organised crime in the area.

Following this, the police and law enforcement bodies acted to set up places where you could drink later, and had special places that were open later. They have tried to remedy the problem, but it still exists to this day.

North West Tasmania

North Western Tasmania includes the 2 small cities of Burnie and Devonport, both with around 20,000 people, the minimum level that is required to become a city. North Western Tasmania is basically non stop small towns in every direction, and combined makes up approximately 80 - 100,000 people.

North Western Tasmania is the poorest area of Tasmania, which in turn is the poorest area of Australia, with unemployment at the highest level in the country.

Associated with the lack of employment, drug use is extremely high, especially marijuana, with Melbourne based organised crime gangs running the drugs in North Western Tasmania. Unlike most other parts of Tasmania, North Western Tasmania does not have any local major organised crime gangs.

The area is known for its large rate of gang rape and teen pregnancy, especially in some of the bad areas.

This is perhaps the most backward area of Tasmania. Everything happens several years behind. It is a slow moving area, which some people like. Buildings are old, people are old, and nothing much really happens.

West Tasmania

Western Tasmania is dominated by mining areas, which officially makes them wealthy parts of Tasmania. In reality, they are heavily polluted, and they are areas that nobody much wants to go to. They make up a combined population of approximately 10,000 people, in spite of making up about 1/3rd of the state's area.

There is no organised crime in Western Tasmania, and indeed not much of anything really.