9 February – Flooding occurs in Sydney and other areas of New South Wales. Torrential rain also floods the Sydney Harbour Tunnel with 500,000 litres of water.[1]
– Scores of people flee their homes as several coastal towns north of Brisbane are hit by flash floods.
21 February
– A State of Emergency is declared in Maryborough and Gympie due to major flooding.
22 February
–
After trialling Daylight Saving in Queensland for a total of three years, a referendum is held, with 54.5% of Queenslanders voting against daylight saving. Regional and rural areas strongly oppose daylight saving, while those in the metropolitan south-east vote in favour of it.
A state of emergency is declared in the whole of Noosa Shire, Queensland due to major flooding – the worst since 1968.
24 February – Queen Elizabeth II visits Australia. Prime Minister Paul Keating breaks royal protocol by placing his hand on the Queen's back, causing an outraged British tabloid newspaper to dub him the "Lizard of Oz". In his speech welcoming the Queen, Paul Keating
contrasts the current state of Australia with that of her first visit in 1954.
, sitting henceforth as an Independent Senator. The Victorian branch of the Democrats fractures acrimoniously, damaging the party nationally.
August
11 August – A meeting with Prime Minister Paul Keating
fails to secure for the Greens commitments on global warming, endangered species protection and biodiversity.
18 August
– Budget expenditure promises on labour market and training programmes and reducing the sizeable deficit fail to halt the Keating Government's sliding popularity.
30 August – Representatives from the Tasmanian, Queensland and New South Wales Greens, with observers from other states, form the Australian Greens
– Porteous is fined $1,000 in Perth for forging prescriptions for drugs.
19 October
– One of the two men charged with the murder of Dr. Victor Chang pleads guilty.
20 October
–
The trial of the second man accused of murdering Dr. Victor Chang begins.
The Federal Opposition unveils Jobsback, its industrial relations policy designed to move from centralised wage-fixing to individual employment contracts negotiated at the enterprise level.
announces that the coming election would be a poll on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and pledged that if the Coalition won, Labor would allow the GST through the Senate.
19 November – With the implications of Fightback! increasingly scrutinised and condemned, and elements in the Coalition "panicking", Federal Opposition Leader John Hewson
declares that he would resign rather than abandon the GST.
23 November – Prime Minister Paul Keating announces the end of the ban preventing homosexual men and women from serving in the Australian Defence Force[2]
had been ineligible to stand for Wills as he was an Education Department employee on unpaid leave ("officers of the Crown" cannot stand for Parliament). His Labor and Liberal opponents were also declared ineligible, as they both held dual citizenship.
December
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends gets its official launch in Australia starting off being released on home video prior to transmitting on Australian television on 15 February 1993. The Australian releases also include Michael Angelis' later narrations of the first sixteen episodes which were first heard when the third series was first broadcasting on ITV
in its country of origin. It was also the first time that Angelis' later narrations were released on home video and was also the last time the series was released by Video Selection Australia.
18 December – Federal Opposition Leader John Hewson
unveils Fightback Mark II which includes abandoning the GST on basic food items and childcare and the threat to cut off the dole after 9 months.
22 December – The men who murdered heart surgeon Dr. Victor Chang
are each sentenced to 20 years jail.
Adelaide receives it highest annual rainfall on record, totalling 883.2 millimetres (34.77 in).[3]
The first WOMADelaide is held at Botanic Park as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. It featured Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour, Trio Bulgarka and Martenitsa, Archie Roach, Crowded House & Penguin Café Orchestra[5]
Gerard Barrett wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:16:46 in Brisbane, while Jennifer Dowie
claims the women's title in 2:40:40.
26 September – West Coast Eagles (16.17.113) defeat Geelong (12.13.85) in the first non-Melbourne –only Grand Final, to win the 96th AFL premiership. It is the first time that the VFL/AFL premiership has left Victoria.
27 September –
Gold Coast Seagulls
finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon for the second year in a row.
