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2000 in Australia
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==Events== ===January=== *1 January **Serbian President [[Slobodan Milosevic]] releases Care Australia worker Branko Jeken from imprisonment in Serbia.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kremmer|first1=Christopher|last2=Marshallsea|first2=Trevor|date=2 January 2000|title=Care worker set free|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-care-worker-set-free/129517827|work=The Age|page=16|location= |access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> **The National Archives releases 1969 Cabinet documents.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nicholson|first1=Brendan|last2=Daley|first2=Paul|last3=Macdonald|first3=Janine|date=1 January 2000|title=1969 Cabinet papers|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-1969-cabinet-papers/129517977|work=The Age|page=13|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052831/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-1969-cabinet-papers/129517977/|url-status=live}}</ref> **Pakistani cricketer [[Shoaib Akhtar]] returns home to Pakistan after the ICC rules that his bowling action during a recent match was illegal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ray|first1=Mark|last2=Wilkins|first2=Phil|date=1 January 2000|title=ICC bans Akhtar|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-icc-bans-akhtar/129518097|work=The Age|page=32|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052207/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-icc-bans-akhtar/129518097/|url-status=live}}</ref> *2 January – A massive oil spill occurs off the coast of Phillip Island, endangering the region's penguin population.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ketchell|first=Misha|date=3 January 2000|title=Penguins die as oil spills along coast|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-penguins-die-as-oil-spills-along/54585195|work=The Age|page=3|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806085440/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-penguins-die-as-oil-spills-along/54585195/|url-status=live}}</ref> *3 January – When Federal Justice Minister, Senator Amanda Vanstone is asked whether alleged Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs would be welcome when he arrived in Australia in the coming days, she replies, "Would you expect a situation where any Australian citizen would not be?", an answer which caused much controversy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/01/nazi-j17.html|title=Australia a "safe haven" for Nazi war criminals|first=Mike|last=Head|author-link=Mike Head|date=17 January 2000|work=[[World Socialist Web Site]]|access-date=12 January 2015|archive-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226001123/http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/01/nazi-j17.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=MacDonald|first1=Janine|last2=Mann|first2=Simon|date=4 January 2000|title=Nazi row: Canberra refuses to step in|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-nazi-row-canberra-refuses-to-st/129518249|work=The Age|page=1|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052209/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-nazi-row-canberra-refuses-to-st/129518249/|url-status=live}}</ref> *7 January – Alleged Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs returns to Australia, arriving at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne, and met by a barrage of protesters.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mann|first1=Simon|last2=MacDonald|first2=Janine|date=8 January 2000|title=Konrad Kalejs flies in to a storm of protests|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-konrad-kalejs-flies-in-to-a-stor/129518369|work=The Age|page=1|location= |access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> *8 January – Queensland Labor Member for Woodridge, Bill D'Arcy resigns from Queensland Parliament due to the controversy caused by the Net Bet scandal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Showdown - Double election puts Beattie to test|newspaper=The Sunday Mail|date=9 January 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=<!--not stated-->|date=10 January 2000|title=ALP loses majority as sick MP quits|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-alp-loses-majo/129518510|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|page=8|agency=Australian Associated Press|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052830/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-alp-loses-majo/129518510/|url-status=live}}</ref> *10 January – [[Civil Aviation Safety Authority|CASA]] issues an Airworthiness Directive which grounds all aircraft after being advised the day before that more contaminants had been found in fuel produced at Mobil's Altona refinery in Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web|title=Avgas Fuel Contamination|url=http://avstop.com/news/avgas.html|access-date=12 January 2014|archive-date=17 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017105854/http://avstop.com/news/avgas.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Naidoo|first=Manika|date=11 January 2000|title=Planes hit by new fuel fear|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-planes-hit-by-new-fuel-fear/129518648|work=The Age|page=1|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806053712/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-planes-hit-by-new-fuel-fear/129518648/|url-status=live}}</ref> *11 January **Australia's biggest ecstasy haul is discovered in Brisbane and seven are arrested.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bearup|first=Greg|date=12 January 2000|title=Right on target with $36m drug bust|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-right-on-targe/129518722|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|page=3|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052834/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-right-on-targe/129518722/|url-status=live}}</ref> **Another 83 asylum seekers arrive in Darwin.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} **Australian troops return home from [[East Timor]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Dodd|first=Mark|date=10 January 2000|title=Troops head home on leave from East Timor|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-troops-head-ho/129518844|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|page=5|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052201/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-troops-head-ho/129518844/|url-status=live}}</ref> **A commuter train derails in Hornsby, Sydney.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/la/latabdoc.nsf/0/c20843906ce4dd84ca256a4b0083ba85/$FILE/A9RB6AA.tmp.pdf|title=Special Commission of Inquiry into the Glenbrook Rail Accident|date=April 2001|first=Peter Aloysius|last=McInerney|publisher=[[Parliament of New South Wales]]|access-date=12 January 2015|archive-date=12 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112101130/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/la/latabdoc.nsf/0/c20843906ce4dd84ca256a4b0083ba85/$FILE/A9RB6AA.tmp.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Malcolm|date=20 January 2000|title=State told to act urgently as more trains leave the rails|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-state-told-to/129518966|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|page=6|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052832/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-state-told-to/129518966/|url-status=live}}</ref> *12 January – [[Leonard Fraser]] is committed to stand trial over the murder of Rockhampton schoolgirl Keyra Steinhardt.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} *21 January – Former Queensland Labor MP, [[Bill D'Arcy]], is named as the political figure facing child-sex charges. He is committed to the District Court on 49 charges relating to his career as a school teacher.<ref>{{cite news|title=D'Arcy on sex charges|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=22 January 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Klotz|first=Suzanne|date=22 January 2000|title=Former Labor MP to face trial on sex charges|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-former-labor-mp-to-face-trial-on/129519164|work=The Age|page=14|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806052832/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-former-labor-mp-to-face-trial-on/129519164/|url-status=live}}</ref> ===February=== *5 February **The [[Woodridge state by-election, 2000|Woodridge state by-election]] and [[Bundamba state by-election, 2000|Bundamba state by-election]] are held in Queensland. Labor MP [[Mike Kaiser]] wins the seat of [[Electoral district of Woodridge|Woodridge]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Labor Safe – ALP survives voter anger|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=6 February 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> **Cyclist Peter Cribb is attacked by a gang of up to ten thugs on the Brisbane Riverside Bikeway and suffers severe brain damage as a result, prompting a widespread ongoing police crackdown on gang violence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Plea to find attackers as cyclist fights for life|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=10 February 2000|ref=p.3}}</ref> *9 February – A 15–year–old [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] boy, who was imprisoned for 28 days for stealing stationery, commits suicide in a [[Northern Territory]] [[prison]], sparking controversy about the [[mandatory sentencing]] laws of the Territory and neighbouring Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mandatory sentencing death|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s98868.htm|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-date=3 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303191623/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s98868.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> *16 February – 21–year–old Jamie Wurramara, who stole $23 worth of biscuits on Christmas Day 1999, is sentenced to a year in jail under the Northern Territory's mandatory sentencing laws, prompting a wave of protests around the nation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Man jailed for stealing biscuits worth $23|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=17 February 2000|ref=p.9}}</ref> *25 February – The Federal Opposition calls on Aged Care Minister [[Bronwyn Bishop]] to resign after revelations she waited four weeks to act on reports that elderly residents of the Riverside Nursing Home were given kerosene baths in an effort to rid them of scabies, a skin rash.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bishop under fire over elderly|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=26 February 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> *29 February – [[Katherine Knight]] murders her partner John Price by stabbing him 37 times in [[Aberdeen, New South Wales]]. She proceeded to decapitate, skin and cook the victim in a crime that shocked the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/story/3263532/filmmaker-looks-at-the-grisly-hunter-murder-of-john-price-photos/|title=Filmmaker looks at the grisly Hunter murder of John Price - PHOTOS|first=JESSICA|last=BROWN|date=6 August 2015}}</ref> ===March=== *16 March – A nationwide recall of Herron headache tablets is ordered after a Brisbane doctor and his 18–year–old son are hospitalised with strychnine poisoning. *18 March – Herron offers a $250,000 reward to try to find out who tampered with its paracetamol products. A 32–year–old Brisbane man is subsequently arrested. *20 March – Queensland Premier [[Peter Beattie]] announces that State Cabinet has approved a $30 million deal to exclude trawling from 35 percent of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and reduce the fish catch from the reef by 15 percent.<ref>{{cite news|title=State in $30m trawling offer|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=21 March 2000|ref=p.7}}</ref> *25 March – Brisbane City Council election - [[Jim Soorley]] is elected for a fourth term as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, defeating Liberal candidate Gail Austen.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lord Jim's Juggernaut|newspaper=The Sunday Mail|date=26 March 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> ===April=== *6 April – Train carriages derail at Redfern, Sydney. No passengers are involved. *10 April – Prime Minister [[John Howard]] reaches agreement with the Northern Territory Chief Minister [[Denis Burke (Australian politician)|Denis Burke]] on mandatory sentencing. In exchange for Commonwealth funding, the Territory's laws will be changed to give diversionary programmes as a substitute for jail time to children accused of minor crimes. Police will have discretion to give children who've committed more serious crimes access to these programmes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Deal struck on mandatory sentencing|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s117524.htm|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-date=3 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303191625/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s117524.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> *27 April – Four elderly people, between the ages of 65 and 88, are hospitalised after catching the potentially fatal [[Legionnaire's disease]] at the new [[Melbourne Aquarium]] in what became Victoria's worst outbreak of the disease with possible exposure to up to 10,000 people.<ref>{{cite news|title=Germ Scare|publisher=Herald Sun|date=28 April 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> ===May=== *21 May – The [[Airport railway line, Sydney|Airport Rail Link]] opens in [[Sydney]]. *28 May – 250,000 people walk across the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] in support of [[wiktionary:reconciliation|reconciliation]] with Australia's Aboriginal people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Howard stands firm after reconciliation walk|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s132204.htm|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303191620/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s132204.htm|archive-date=3 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> ===June=== *23 June – The [[Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire]] hostel fire kills 15 people.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roberts|first1=Greg|last2=Fyfe|first2=Melissa|last3=Morris|first3=Linda|last4=Kennedy|first4=Les|date=24 June 2000|title=Backpacker tragedy|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-backpacker-ars/170417582/|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|pages=1,6-7,9-10|access-date=15 April 2025}}</ref> [[Robert Paul Long]] is later sentenced to life imprisonment for lighting the fire which destroyed the [[Palace Hotel, Childers|Palace Hotel]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hosier|first=Phoebe|date=2 February 2021|title=Childers backpacker hostel killer Robert Long's release bid quashed by Parole Board Queensland|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-02/childers-backpacker-hostel-killer-has-parole-bid-rejected/13114808|work=ABC News|access-date=15 April 2025}}</ref> ===July=== *1 July – [[Goods and Services Tax (Australia)|Goods and Services Tax]] introduced.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Carney|first1=Shaun|last2=Gordon|first2=Michael|last3=Hudson|first3=Phillip|date=1 July 2000|title=Welcome to GST day one...|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-welcome-to-gst-day-one/129519687|work=The Age|page=1|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806094839/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-welcome-to-gst-day-one/129519687/|url-status=live}}</ref> *24 July – Five people are killed in the [[2000 Marlborough helicopter crash]] when a rescue helicopter crashes while attempting to land in thick fog at [[Marlborough, Queensland]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Greg|date=25 July 2000|title=Dash to save little boy ends in tragedy|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-dash-to-save-little-boy-ends-in/115828213|work=The Age|page=7|location=|access-date=6 August 2023|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806054009/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-dash-to-save-little-boy-ends-in/115828213/|url-status=live}}</ref> ===August=== *10 August – Beginning of the [[Sydney gang rapes]] by a group from up to fourteen men. *15 August – Queensland Attorney–General [[Matt Foley (Australian politician)|Matt Foley]] announces that the Government has ordered an independent investigation into allegations of widespread electoral rorting within the Queensland Labor Party.<ref>{{cite news|title=State seeks inquiry on electoral rort claims|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=16 August 2000|ref=p.4}}</ref> *17 August – It is announced that the current Queensland Assistant Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson will replace Jim O'Sullivan as Police Commissioner when he retires on 31 October.<ref>{{cite news|title=New police chief cops it sweet as praise rolls in|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=18 August 2000|ref=p.3}}</ref> ===September=== *11–13 September – The [[World Economic Forum]] is held in [[Melbourne]]. The [[S11 (protest)|S11]] movement organises protests that overshadow the meeting. *15 September – 1 October – [[2000 Summer Olympics|Sydney Olympics]] held & are a massive success. Outgoing [[International Olympic Committee]] president [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]] regards them as the 'best [[Olympic Games]] ever'. The [[Olympic Games]] are handed back to their birthplace [[Athens]], [[Greece]] from [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]. They'll are welcome back home, soon in the next 4 years to host [[2004 Summer Olympics]] ===October=== *10 October – It is revealed that Workplace Relations Minister [[Peter Reith]] has incurred almost $50,000 on a taxpayer-funded Telecard for a service he says he hasn't used for years, but which he admits he gave to his son.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reith breaks phone perk rule|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=11 October 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> ===November=== *1 November – Former Queensland Labor MP [[Bill D'Arcy]] is found guilty of 18 child sex charges committed while he was a school teacher.<ref>{{cite news|title=D'Arcy raped schoolgirls|newspaper=The Courier-Mail|date=2 November 2000|ref=p.1}}</ref> *November – [[New South Wales]] suffers its worst floods in 40 years, with 240 cm of [[rain]] falling in one week. *22 November – [[Jim Elder (politician)|Jim Elder]] resigns as Queensland Deputy Premier, citing allegations of electoral rorting within the Labor Party currently under investigation by the Shepherdson Inquiry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Queensland's Deputy Premier resigns amid CJC inquiry|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s215494.htm|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-date=3 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303191618/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s215494.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
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