2002 in Australia

2002 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Peter Hollingworth
Prime minister	John Howard
Population	19,640,979
Elections	Vic, Tas, SA

←

2002
in
Australia

→

Decades:

1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

Incumbents

Events

19 January - 70 asylum seekers at Woomera Detention Centre sew their lips together and hundreds take part in a hunger strike.
20 January - The first of the Ashfield gang rapes takes place.
26 January – The Melbourne inner-city Birrarung Marr park was formally opened to the public.
30 January - Asylum seekers at Woomera Detention Centre end their hunger strike.
31 January - Prime Minister John Howard tours Ground Zero in New York City.
9 February – The last remaining Liberal/National coalition state government is voted out in South Australia and replaced by an Australian Labor Party one, led by Mike Rann. It would be the last such Coalition state government until September 2008.
February onwards – The worst drought in 100 years affects most of Australia, with water restrictions being put in place in Sydney, Melbourne and many other areas, and farmers being devastated by crop failures.
19 February - An independent inquiry is ordered into claims that Governor-General Peter Hollingworth ignored sexual abuse claims.
27 February - Governor-General Peter Hollingworth greets Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival in South Australia for the Golden Jubilee tour.
1 - 5 March - The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002 takes place in Coolum, Queensland.
4 March- Bankrupt airline Ansett Australia formerly ceases all operations, with its final flights that had been operating on a scaled-down version of the once major carrier, flying for the last time. The airline's remaining 3,000 staff members are made redundant and the company falls into the history pages permanently after 66 years of operation.
8 March - Prime Minister John Howard is criticised for entertaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Chairman Geoff Clark, who is being investigated on rape allegations.
9 March - Amnesty International's Secretary, Irene Khan, criticised Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock for not allowing access to the Woomera Detention Centre after two detainees are injured in protests.
12 March - Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan alleges that High Court judge Michael Kirby trawled the streets of Sydney looking for underage rent boys.
15 March - Prime Minister John Howard goes to London to meet the Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria, as the Commonwealth decides whether to suspend Zimbabwe.
31 March – Janelle Patton becomes Norfolk Island's first murder victim in 150 years.
5 April - At the Council of Australian Governments Meeting in Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard concedes ground to the States on human embryo research.
19 April - New South Wales Premier Bob Carr officially opens the Ridgeway Gold Mine near Orange.
1 May - Prime Minister John Howard and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi agree to strengthen trade and security links between Australia and Japan.
23 May - Queensland police investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of 70-year-old Gold Coast widow Nancy Crick, who took her own life on 21 May in the company of 20 friends and family, after a long battle with immense pain brought on by an inoperable bowel condition.
27 May - Victorian Premier Steve Bracks defends his government against criticism by the Catholic Church over stem cell research.
30 May - The Victorian Government announces a package of reforms to address the public liability insurance crisis.
10 June - Prime Minister John Howard is briefed in Washington DC by the head of the CIA.
3 July - Prime Minister John Howard is questioned about mandatory detention during a visit to Germany to discuss economic and trade issues.
7 July –
- The British Naval destroyer HMS Nottingham runs aground off Lord Howe Island. It is eventually sent out to Newcastle for basic repairs and on to Portsmouth in the UK for more detailed repairs.
- Prime Minister John Howard meets with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City.
8 July - Prime Minister John Howard makes a pilgrimage to the Greek-Australian War Memorial in Crete.
17 July - Prime Minister John Howard confirms that paid maternity leave is under active consideration by the Federal Government.
20 July – The ALP government of Jim Bacon is re-elected for a second term in Tasmania.
2 August - Prime Minister John Howard announces that Australia will be asked to help in an imminent American attack in Iraq.
6 August - Clothing manufacturer Pacific Brands grants female staff 12 weeks' maternity leave on full pay in a landmark workplace deal.
12 August - Wheat farmers blame the Federal Government for causing the cancellation of $820 million in wheat contracts with Iraq.
16 August - The Federal Government appoints a cotton farmer, Dick Estens, to investigate the sale of Telstra. Federal Treasurer Peter Costello tours outback Queensland where he advocates for the full sale of Telstra.
19 August - Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon urges the Victorian Government not to abandon the Baselink development which will link Tasmania to the mainland electricity grid.
20 September - A matter involving allegations of a serious criminal offence against Queensland Chief Magistrate Di Fingleton is referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission for investigation.
22 September - Former Liberal Leader Andrew Peacock marries former Texan beauty queen Penne Percy Korth in the United States.
24 September - Prime Minister John Howard is out-voted during a meeting with African leaders about the future of Zimbabwe in the Commonwealth.
19 October – The Australian Greens win their first seat in the House of Representatives when their candidate Michael Organ losses the Cunningham by-election on preferences.
21 October – Two people are killed & three others are injured in a shooting at Monash University. It was the first such mass shooting in Australia since the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996.
26 October - Prime Minister John Howard meets with the Russian Prime Minister at the APEC Meeting in Mexico.
27 October –
- Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is banned by the Attorney-General, in response to the Bali bombings of 12 October.
- Indonesian President Megawati pleads with Prime Minister John Howard to lift the travel advice warning to Australians to stay out of Indonesia.
14 November - Bali bomber Amrozi smiles and laughs about the 2002 Bali bombings in an Indonesian court, creating outrage in Australia.
30 November – In Victoria, the Labor government of Steve Bracks is re-elected for a second term.
11 December - Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward recommends a 14-week fully paid maternity leave scheme for Australian working women.
12 December - The High Court of Australia hands down its decision in the case of Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Community v. State of Victoria, dismissing the native title claim made by the Yorta Yorta peoples to land and waters covering 2,000 square kilometres along and around the Murray and Goulburn Rivers. The Yorta Yorta peoples sought recognition that they are the Indigenous peoples belonging, by tradition, to that country.

Arts and literature

Main article: 2002 in Australian literature

ARIA Music Awards of 2002
Tim Winton's novel Dirt Music wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

Crackerjack
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
Rabbit-Proof Fence 2002. A true story of three girls journey home. It is a story of aboriginal pride, strength and love.

Television

Sport

15 February – Steven Bradbury wins Australia's first Winter Olympic Games gold medal in the 1.000m men's short track speed skating. He only qualified for the finals after all the other competitors in his semifinal crashed, and in the final, he again saw all the other contenders crash in front of him.
17 February – Alisa Camplin wins gold in the women's aerial skiing contest. The favourite, Jacqui Cooper, also from Australia, severely injured herself whilst training & was out of action for some time.
11 April – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 2001–2002 season, which are held at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Brisbane, Queensland. The 5,000 metres were conducted at Melbourne on Thursday 7 March 2002.
12 May – Olympic Sharks become NSL Champions for the second time, defeating Perth Glory 1-0 at Subiaco Oval in front of a crowd of the 42,735.
August – The Bulldogs are deducted 37 competition points after breaking the salary cap scandal, which saw them fined half a million dollars and relegated from minor premiers to wooden spooners for 2002.
13 September – The Melbourne Phoenix defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds 49-44 in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy netball grand final.
15 September – Jeremy Horne wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:25:27 in Sydney, while Heather Turland claims the women's title in 2:51:06.
28 September – The Brisbane Lions (10.15.75) defeat the Collingwood Magpies (9.12.66) to win the 106th VFL/AFL premiership. It is the second consecutive premiership for Brisbane.
6 October – The Sydney Roosters defeat the New Zealand Warriors 30-8 to win the 95th NSWRL/ARL/NRL premiership. It marks the end of a 27-year premiership drought for the Roosters.
13 October – Mark Skaife and Jim Richards win the Bob Jane T-marts Bathurst 1000 defending the Holden Racing Team's 2001 win. It was Richards' seventh victory, more than anyone other than Peter Brock.
5 November – Media Puzzle wins the Melbourne Cup. This comes just days after jockey Damien Oliver's brother is killed after falling off his horse in a race.

Births

9 April - Jet Rowland (died 2004)
Full date unknown - Nicholas McAnulty, child actor

Deaths

13 May – Ruth Cracknell (76), actress
16 May – Alec Campbell (103), Australia's last surviving ANZAC
19 May – John Gorton (90), 19th Prime Minister
25 May – Jack Pollard (75), sports writer and journalist
1 August – Theo Bruce (79), long jumper
25 August – Dorothy Hewett (79), poet, playwright and novelist
20 December – Bernard King, actor and chef (b. 1934)

Years in Australia (1788–present)

1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800

1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Timeline of Australian history

2002 in Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.