Editing 2002 in Australia (section)

==Events==
===January===
*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, Melbourne|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]].

===February===
*6 February – [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II]]'s accession as [[Queen of Australia]]
*9 February – The last remaining [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]/[[National Party of Australia|National]] [[coalition]] state government is voted out in [[South Australia]] and replaced by a [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] one, led by Mike Rann. It would be the last such [[Coalition (Australia)|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.

===March===
*1 – 5 March – The [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002]] takes place in [[Coolum]], Queensland.
*4 March – Bankrupt airline [[Ansett Australia]] formally 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 (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.

===April===
*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.

===May===
*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.

===June===
*10 June – Prime Minister [[John Howard]] is briefed in [[Washington, D.C.]] by the head of the [[CIA]].

===July===
*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 [[Royal Navy|Naval]] [[destroyer]] [[HMS Nottingham (D91)|HMS ''Nottingham'']] runs aground off [[Lord Howe Island]]. It is eventually sent out to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|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]].

===August===
*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 (politician)|Jim Bacon]] urges the Victorian Government not to abandon the Baselink development which will link Tasmania to the mainland electricity grid.

===September===
*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.

===October===
*12 October – 88 Australian tourists along with 114 people from other countries are killed in [[2002 Bali bombings|a terrorist attack]] in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]].
*19 October – The [[Australian Greens]] win their first seat in the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] when their candidate [[Michael Organ]] wins the [[2002 Cunningham by-election|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 (Australia)|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 – 
**[[Indonesia]]n terrorist group [[Jemaah Islamiyah]] (JI) is banned by the [[Attorney General of Australia|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.

===November===
*5 November – [[Damien Oliver]] wins the Melbourne Cup on board [[Media Puzzle]], a few days after his brother died in a riding accident
*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, Australia|Victoria]], the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] government of Steve Bracks is re-elected for a second term.

===December===
*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.