Editing 2002 in Australia

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title alone is adequate; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
The following lists events that happened during '''2002 in Australia'''.

{{Infobox Australian year
| monarch = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor-general = [[Peter Hollingworth]]
| pm = [[John Howard]]
| population = 19,640,979
| australian = 
| elections = [[2002 South Australian state election|SA]], [[2002 Tasmanian state election|TAS]], [[2002 Victorian state election|VIC]]
}}
{{Year in Australia|2002}}

==Incumbents==
[[File:Dr Peter Hollingworth.jpg|thumb|upright|140px|[[Peter Hollingworth]]]]
[[File:Howard John BANNER.jpg|thumb|upright|140px|[[John Howard]]]]
*[[Monarchy of Australia|Monarch]] – [[Elizabeth II]]
*[[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]] – [[Peter Hollingworth]]
*[[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] – [[John Howard]]
**[[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia|Deputy Prime Minister]] – [[John Anderson (Australian politician)|John Anderson]]
**[[List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition|Opposition Leader]] – [[Simon Crean]]
*[[Chief Justice of Australia|Chief Justice]] – [[Murray Gleeson]]

===State and territory leaders===
*[[Premier of New South Wales]] – [[Bob Carr]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Kerry Chikarovski]] (until 28 March), then [[John Brogden (politician)|John Brogden]]
*[[Premier of Queensland]] – [[Peter Beattie]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Mike Horan (politician)|Mike Horan]]
*[[Premier of South Australia]] – [[Rob Kerin]] (until 5 March), then [[Mike Rann]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (South Australia)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Mike Rann]] (until 5 March), then [[Rob Kerin]]
*[[Premier of Tasmania]] – [[Jim Bacon (politician)|Jim Bacon]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Bob Cheek]] (until 20 July), then [[Rene Hidding]]
*[[Premier of Victoria]] – [[Steve Bracks]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Victoria)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Denis Napthine]] (until 20 August), then [[Robert Doyle]]
*[[Premier of Western Australia]] – [[Geoff Gallop]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Colin Barnett]]
*[[Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory]] – [[Jon Stanhope]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Australian Capital Territory)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Gary Humphries]] (until 25 November), then [[Brendan Smyth (politician)|Brendan Smyth]]
*[[Chief Minister of the Northern Territory]] – [[Clare Martin]]
**[[Leader of the Opposition (Northern Territory)|Opposition Leader]] – [[Denis Burke (Australian politician)|Denis Burke]]
*[[List of heads of government of Norfolk Island|Chief Minister of Norfolk Island]] – [[Geoffrey Robert Gardner|Geoffrey Gardner]]

===Governors and administrators===
*[[Governor of New South Wales]] – [[Marie Bashir]]
*[[Governor of Queensland]] – [[Peter Arnison]]
*[[Governor of South Australia]] – [[Marjorie Jackson-Nelson]]
*[[Governor of Tasmania]] – [[Guy Green (judge)|Sir Guy Green]]
*[[Governor of Victoria]] – [[John Landy]]
*[[Governor of Western Australia]] – [[John Sanderson]]
*[[Australian Indian Ocean Territories|Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories]] – [[Bill Taylor (naval officer)|Bill Taylor]]
*[[List of administrative heads of Norfolk Island|Administrator of Norfolk Island]] – [[Tony Messner]]
*[[Administrator of the Northern Territory]] – [[John Anictomatis]]

==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.

==Arts and literature==
{{main|2002 in Australian literature}}
* [[ARIA Music Awards of 2002]]
* [[Tim Winton]]'s novel ''[[Dirt Music]]'' wins the [[Miles Franklin Award]]

==Film==
* [[Crackerjack (2002 film)|''Crackerjack'']]
* ''[[The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course]]''
* [[Rabbit-Proof Fence (film)|''Rabbit-Proof Fence'']]

==Television==
{{See also|2002 in Australian television}}
*July – ''[[Kath & Kim (Australian TV series)|Kath & Kim]]'' premieres on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] and is a surprise hit.
*September – [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] launches its first [[Digital television|Digital]] channel, the ''[[SBS World News Channel]]''.

==Sport==
*15 February – [[Steven Bradbury (speed skater)|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 semi-final 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 at the Winter Olympics|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 [[National Soccer League|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 Rugby League Football Club|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 spoon (award)|wooden spooners]] for the [[2002 NRL season]]. The [[New Zealand Warriors]] are subsequently named minor premiers.
*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 [[Australian Football League|VFL/AFL]] premiership. It is the second consecutive premiership for [[Brisbane]].
*6 October – The [[Sydney Roosters]] defeat minor premiers the [[New Zealand Warriors]] 30–8 to win the 95th [[New South Wales Rugby League|NSWRL]]/[[Australian Rugby League|ARL]]/[[National Rugby League|NRL]] premiership. It marks the end of a 27-year premiership drought for the Roosters.
*13 October – [[Mark Skaife]] and [[Jim Richards (race driver)|Jim Richards]] win the [[2002 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000|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==
* [[4 January]] – [[Nicholas McAnulty]], child actor
* [[9 April]] – [[Jet Rowland]], car accident victim (d. [[2004]])
* [[30 September]] – [[Levi Miller]], actor
* [[10 October]] – [[Josh Giddey]], basketball player

==Deaths==
[[File:JohnGorton1968.jpg|100px|thumb|[[John Gorton|Sir John Gorton]]]]
* [[21 February]] – [[Roden Cutler|Sir Roden Cutler]], 32nd [[Governor of New South Wales]] (b. [[1916]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warmemorialsnsw.asn.au/traditions/cutler.cfm|title=Sir (Arthur) Roden Cutler|publisher=Register of War Memorials in NSW|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220123903/http://www.warmemorialsnsw.asn.au/traditions/cutler.cfm|archive-date=20 February 2011}}</ref>
* [[20 March]] – [[Samuel Warren Carey]], geologist (b. [[1911]])
* [[13 May]] – [[Ruth Cracknell]], actress (b. [[1925]])
* [[16 May]] – [[Alec Campbell]], last surviving Australian veteran of the [[Gallipoli campaign]]  (b. [[1899]])
* [[19 May]] – [[John Gorton|Sir John Gorton]], 19th [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (born in [[New Zealand]]) (b. [[1911]])<ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Damien|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/20/1021801645667.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Larrikin PM who sacked himself dies aged 90|date=20 May 2002|access-date=8 January 2022|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604094359/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/20/1021801645667.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[25 May]] – [[Jack Pollard]], sports journalist and writer (b. [[1926]])
* [[7 July]] – [[Herbie Screaigh]], Australian rules footballer (b. [[1911]])
* [[1 August]] – [[Bill Bruce (athlete)|Bill Bruce]], Olympic long jumper (b. [[1923]])
* [[25 August]] – [[Dorothy Hewett]], poet, playwright and novelist (b. [[1923]])<ref>''[http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s659224.htm Dorothy Hewett passes away] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131055100/https://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s659224.htm |date=31 January 2022 }}'' ABC radio (PM) transcript, 26 August 2002</ref>
* [[2 September]] – [[Dick Reynolds]], Australian rules footballer ([[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]]) (b. [[1915]])
* [[7 November]] – [[Tom Reynolds (footballer)|Tom Reynolds]], Australian rules footballer ([[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]], [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]]) (b. [[1917]])
* [[20 December]] – [[Bernard King (television)|Bernard King]], actor, chef, and television personality (b. [[1934]])

==See also==
* [[2002 in Australian television]]
* [[List of Australian films of 2002]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Years in Australia}}
{{Oceania topic|2002 in|countries_only=yes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 in Australia}}
[[Category:2002 in Australia| ]]
[[Category:Years of the 21st century in Australia]]
[[Category:2002 by country|Australia]]
[[Category:2002 in Oceania|Australia]]