2004 in Australia - Events

Events

• 13 January – The Spirit of Tasmania III makes its inaugural trip from Sydney to Devonport. It ceased in 2006
• 1 February – The first Ghan passenger train across Australia from Adelaide to Darwin sets off on its three-day journey.
• 6 February – The Music Industry Piracy Investigations organization uses an Anton Piller order to raid offices of P2P companies Sharman Networks and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, the homes of their key executives, as well as several internet service providers and universities.
• 8 February – Peter Beattie's Australian Labor Party Queensland state government is re-elected in a landslide.
• 11 February – A Black Hawk helicopter reportedly crashed near Amberley air force base, Mount Walker with at least five seriously injured.
• 14 February – Riots break out between police and Aboriginal residents of Sydney suburb Redfern
• 15 February – Violent riots ensue in the Sydney suburb of Redfern after an Aboriginal boy dies while allegedly fleeing police.
• 23 February – Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon resigns after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, handing power to his deputy, Paul Lennon.
• 25 February – Qantas launches its discount domestic airline, Jetstar.
• 29 February – Malcolm Turnbull controversially wins Liberal pre-selection for the federal seat of Wentworth, displacing sitting member Peter King.
• 11 March – A Senate report on poverty is immediately dismissed by Prime Minister John Howard. The report shows between 2 and 3.5 million Australians, or up to 19 per cent of the population, are living in poverty.
• 5 April – Australia's biggest supplier of the potential explosive ammonium nitrate decides to pull the product from its stores in response to concerns it could be used by terrorists.
• 14 April – The Family Court allows a thirteen year old child, born female, to start preliminary hormone treatment: the child identifies as being male and has been suffering from gender identity disorder.
• 24 April – John Howard joins Australian troops in Baghdad for ceremonies honouring the country's war dead.
• 14 May – Hobart woman Mary Donaldson marries Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark in Copenhagen to become Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
• 25 May – Jetstar Airways commences operations with a maiden flight from Newcastle to Launceston via Melbourne.
• 1 June – Australian Jennifer Hawkins wins the Miss Universe contest, held in Quito, Ecuador.
• 3 June – United States President George W. Bush publicly supports Prime Minister John Howard and criticises Opposition Leader Mark Latham, sparking criticism from the Opposition for intervening in Australian domestic politics.
• 5 July – Australia and Thailand sign a free trade agreement.
• 9 August – Richard Butler, the controversial governor of Tasmania, resigns.
• 29 August – John Howard announces that the 2004 federal election will take place on 9 October
• 9 September – A bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
• 9 October – The Liberal Party of Australia government of John Howard is returned for a fourth term at the 2004 federal election.
• 12 October – Simon Crean resigns from the position of Shadow Treasurer, requesting a lesser portfolio, and John Faulkner resigns as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in the aftermath of the Australian Labor Party's election loss.
• 12 October – Numerous Australians visit Kuta, Bali, to commemorate the second anniversary of the Bali bombing, with services being held across the nation.
• 14 October – Annette Ellis stands down as Shadow Minister for Ageing, Seniors and Disabilities.
• 14 October – The successful tenderer for Melbourne's Mitcham-Frankston Freeway is announced, with tolls due to be set at $4.43 for a one way trip.
• 26 November – a riot occurred on Palm Island leading to a complete break down of law and order with the 18 members of the Queensland Police barricading themselves in the local hospital.