Editing 2004 in Australia (section)

===January===
* 2 January – "Crocodile Hunter" [[Steve Irwin]] feeds a crocodile at his famous [[Australia Zoo]] while holding his one-month-old baby son, [[Robert Irwin (television personality)|Robert Irwin]].  The incident generates a great deal of criticism both nationally and internationally over the next few days.
* 8 January – 33 asylum seekers detained on Nauru decide to suspend their month-long hunger strike after hearing of plans for an Australian medical team to travel to the island.
* 13 January – ''[[MS Mega Express Four|Spirit of Tasmania III]]'' makes its inaugural trip from Sydney to [[Devonport, Tasmania|Devonport]].
* 16 January – 
**Prime Minister [[John Howard]] discusses the issues of security and missile defense with the United States Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff, General Richard Myers.
**Queensland Premier [[Peter Beattie]] announces an election date of 7 February.
* 19 January – Cricketer [[David Hookes]] died after a fight outside a Melbourne pub.
* 23 January – The Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission has found no evidence of any misconduct by the state's police or judiciary, or by politicians including Premier [[Peter Beattie]] and Federal MP [[Tony Abbott]], in relation to the jailing last year of [[Pauline Hanson]] and [[David Ettridge]].
* 28 January – 
**[[Port Kembla, New South Wales|Port Kembla]] ethanol explosion
**Prime Minister [[John Howard]] and Foreign Minister [[Alexander Downer]] call for a sporting boycott in Zimbabwe.