Specialist police from New South Wales have arrived in Devonport, Tasmania, for the tough task of interviewing the child witnesses of last week's jumping castle disaster.

Police believe up to 40 children could have seen the horrifying moment a gust of wind lifted the jumping castle into the air, causing nine children to fall an estimated 10 metres.

It comes after the death toll from the tragedy climbed to six children yesterday.

Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt, all aged 12, and Chace Harrison and Addison Stewart, all aged 11, died in the accident at Hillcrest Primary School.

The National Basketball League (NBL) released a statement today, extending their condolences to the families of the six children killed and paying tribute to one of their members, 11-year-old Chace.

Chace has been remembered as a much-loved member part of the Basketball Tasmania program.

"We extend our condolences to the families of the six children who lost their lives and the Hillcrest community on what was meant to be a day of celebration," the NBL said in a statement.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our own, Chace Harrison, who was a much-loved member of the Devonport Warriors and the Basketball Tasmania Further Development Program.

"Chace will always be in our hearts."

The WNBL and NBL will honour the six children and those impacted by holding a minute silence and players wearing black armbands at all games this week.

Around 40 grade five and six students were taking part in end-of-term activities when the jumping castle tragedy took place.

Thirty-three pilot whales have died in a mass stranding at Parengarenga harbour in the Far North. The Department of Conservation (DOC) with Te Aupōuri and support from Ngāti Kuri and NgāiTakoto responded to the stranding…

A former soldier who shot and killed one-time Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin at a Perth raceway has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.

The 35-year-old man, who cannot be named due to court orders, shot Mr Martin at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana on December 12 last year from more than 300 metres away.

The shooter avoided a life sentence by offering to cooperate with police in the investigation into the mastermind behind the killing.

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Paramedic shortages are crippling parts of Ambulance Victoria with up to a third of Melbourne being left without specialist coverage.

The Victorian Ambulance Union has revealed that Mobile Intensive Care Ambulances (MICA) have been unable to attend serious callouts on multiple occasions because demand is outstripping supply.

The shortage has left regular paramedics to deal with complex situations that MICA teams are trained in, union secretary Danny Hill said.

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"What we're seeing is the resources are so thin, that our MICA paramedics, which should be reserved for the highest acuity cases – they're just being sent to patients with back pain, intoxicated patients, patients who are vomiting," he said.

"That's not what they're there for.

"A patient's outcome will be poor if MICA paramedics don't attend."

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On Friday, units in Preston, Altona, central Melbourne, Roxburgh Park and Hillside had no MICA specialists rostered on, leaving crews in Tarneit and Sunshine to cover the entire area.

A trial to reserve MICA crews only for life and death cases began on the same day but was abandoned after an hour because there weren't enough staff to meet demand.

Deputy Leader for the Opposition Georgie Crozier said the shortages weren't "good enough".

"We're not a third-world country," she said.

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"Why should people accept that people are going to die because the government has failed to put investment and planning?"

Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said Victoria has come of the "world's best paramedics" but the state needed "more of them".

Ambulance demand is busier than ever – the pandemic has seen a surge in triple-zero calls – from people who would not normally need it.

Mr Hill said the reason for the surge was because many people were not going to see their GP or staying on top of health issues, which then snowball and become much worse.

Paramedics have been working overtime to fill the shifts, which has left them "completely burnt out".

Ambulance Victoria said the sickest patients would always be prioritised and receive the highest quality emergency care.

More paramedics are being recruited, with Ambulance Victoria also working to upskill existing staff.

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