1 January — The Tri-Nation ODI cricket match at the SCG between Australia and Pakistan is marred by poor crowd behaviour.[1] The game is interrupted six times due to pitch invasions with eight men arrested and charged with "entering a playing field" and 86 spectators ejected from the ground.[1] NSW Minister for Sport Gabrielle Harrison asks the SCG Trust to provide her with a report with a number of options to be considered to discourage future pitch invasions.[1] The crowd's behaviour is also condemned by Sydney district chief superintendent Darcy Cluff who also says two female police officers will be reprimanded for performing the Macarena in front of spectators during the game.[1][2]
9 January — HMAS Adelaide rescues British yachtsman, Tony Bullimore, from the Southern Ocean, after his boat, Exide Challenger, capsized three days before.[3][4][5]
17 January — After an exhaustive 18-month search, one of Australia's most wanted men, former businessman and accused paedophile
Prime Minister John Howard wins Parliamentary support for a constitutional convention on the republic.[10]
More than 1000 residents in the South West Queensland town of Charleville are evacuated as the Warrego River floods the town.[11] Makeshift accommodation was provided for evacuees at the local racecourse, the high school and at the showgrounds.[12] 47 homes in Augathella are also evacuated.[11]
9 February — Prime Minister John Howard announces that unemployed 16 to 20-year-olds will be forced to work up to 20 hours a week on community-based projects in trial work-for-the-dole schemes.[13] Participants will be paid award rates and will be obliged to work only the number of hours that equate to their dole payment.[13]
10 February — Prime Minister John Howard convenes meetings between miners, farmers and Aboriginal leaders, to discuss the Wik native title issue. Howard also reveals the details of the Government's Work for the Dole plan.
11 February — Prime Minister John Howard admits he approved a requested pay rise for one of Labor defector Mal Colston's staff shortly before last year's crucial Senate vote on the partial sale of Telstra.[14][15]
14 February —
Arnott's Biscuits begins withdrawing its biscuits from supermarket shelves as authorities issue a health alert over an extortionist's poison threat. A pesticide strong enough to kill a small child had been found in some of the biscuits.[16]
The New South Wales Health Department warns for the first time that oysters from Wallis Lake may be the source of a Hepatitis A outbreak after 150 cases are reported in the previous three weeks.[17] The outbreak goes on to worsen with hundreds more people becoming infected and one man dying after eating oysters from Wallis Lake.[18][19] The outbreak has a detrimental affect on the local seafood and tourism industries.[20][21] It also prompts a class action to be launched against Great Lakes Council by those who became infected after eating Wallis Lake oysters.[22] It's reported that the most likely source of the outbreak is faecal contamination from sewage overflow running into the lake onto oyster beds.[18]
22 February — Reflecting on his first year in office, Prime Minister John Howard talks of a "10-year leadership transition" and said that "while my health lasts and I've got my marbles and I'm delivering good leadership and political success, you stay. But when that changes, you don't".[23]
23 February — Federal Independent Senator Mal Colston denies new allegations that he had rorted his parliamentary expenses, saying the claims by a former employee were "malicious".[24][25][26]
25 February — The Minister for Administrative Services, David Jull, announces a departmental investigation into Independent Senator Mal Colston's use of chauffeur-driven Commonwealth cars and warns he would have no hesitation referring the matter to police.[27][28][29]
26 February — Arnott's Biscuits restocks Queensland supermarket shelves with its biscuits three weeks after it was rocked by an extortion threat. The threat has cost the company at least $10 million.[30][31]
March
6 March — In Cairns, Paul Streeton is sentenced to life imprisonment for setting fire to school boy Tjandamurra O'Shane.[32]
Senator Mal Colston admits he's guilty of claiming an extra $7,000 for travel expenses, but blames sloppy book-keeping.[35]
A conscience vote by the Senate overturns the Northern Territory's controversial voluntary euthanasia legislation, The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act.[36]
26 March — Prime Minister John Howard announces plans for a constitutional convention in Canberra to consider the republic issue.[37]
29 March — Prime Minister John Howard arrives in Shanghai, China to promote trade relations.[38]
31 March —
Prime Minister John Howard meets Chinese Premier Li Peng in Beijing and proposes a strategic relationship that focuses on trade, with regular military consultation and a human rights dialogue to manage differences between the two countries.[39][40]
In what is the first case of its kind in Australia, a 14-year-old gay high school student says he intends to sue his former school, Cranebrook High School, for failing to provide a safe environment alleging he was subject to ongoing homophobic vilification.[41] The case is expected to determine if Australian schools are liable for the safety of gay students.[41][42] The case prompted much commentary in the media.[43][44][45][46][47][48]
April
1 to 30 April — This is the driest area-averaged month since at least 1900 over New South Wales, with an average of 3.42 millimetres or 0.13 inches,
Murray-Darling Basin, with an average of 2.13 millimetres or 0.084 inches.[51]
2 April — Governor-General Sir William Deane urges action to address the widening gap in health between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.[52]
8 April —
Prime Minister John Howard refers travel rort allegations against Senator Mal Colston to the Australian Federal Police and calls on his to stand down as Deputy President of the Senate.[53] Liberal Senator Bob Woods and National Party backbencher Michael Cobb are also under investigation for allegedly rorting parliamentary expenses.[54]
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr announces plans to abolish or amend the law which allows diminished responsibility to be used as a legal defence.[55]
9 April — Senator Mal Colston agrees to stand down as Senate Deputy President but refuses to resign from Parliament.[56]
14 April — Prime Minister John Howard announces that the Government will no longer accept the vote of Senator Mal Colston.[58]
17 April — The Charter of Budget Honesty Act becomes law, setting a framework for sound fiscal management and informing the public about public finances.[citation needed]
21 April — Former West Australian Premier Carmen Lawrence is charged with perjury over her evidence to the 1995 Easton Royal Commission.[59]
29 April — BHP announces it will end steel-making operations in Newcastle in 1999, with 2,500 job losses.[60]
30 April — Prime Minister John Howard speaks on Melbourne's 3AW about Pauline Hanson saying that she is "articulating the fears and concerns and the sense of insecurity that many Australian feel at a time of change and instability. Now it's easy to sort of finger the fact that people feel uneasy and unhappy. The next step is to say, 'Okay, you've fingered the uncertainty. What are you going to do about it?'"[61]
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer uses the launch of Asialine, a magazine for Australian business in Asia, to make a strong attack on Pauline Hanson, saying her views are offensive to people of all backgrounds.[65] "Those views promote an insular Australia separate from the region. This is the concept of a little Australia: inward looking, narrow-minded, protectionist and disconnected from our own neighbourhood," he says.[65]
5 May —
The position of
Chief Minister of Norfolk Island is restored.[citation needed
Kerry Whelan disappeared.[69] Believed murdered, her remains have not been located as of 4 August 2016[update], when the man convicted of her murder died.[70]
7 May — Former
Coles Myer chief Brian Quinn is sentenced to four years jail for defrauding the company of almost $4.5 million.[71][72] Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, union boss Bill Kelty and businessman Lindsay Fox had all appeared as character witnesses for Quinn.[73]
Nine months after Pauline Hanson's maiden speech, Prime Minister John Howard directly attacks her views for the first time saying, "she is wrong when she suggests that Aboriginals are not disadvantaged. She is wrong when she says that Australia is in danger of being swamped by Asians. She is wrong to seek scapegoats for society's problems. She is wrong when she denigrates foreign investment, because it withdrawal would cost jobs. She is wrong when she claims Australia is headed for civil war".[75]
13 May — Federal Treasurer Peter Costello delivers his second Federal Budget, which delivers a tax rebate of up to $450 per year on savings and a $1 billion Federation Fund for construction.[76]
15 May — The Industrial Relations Commission signals the end of the traditional award system by rejecting an industry-wide claim for a wage rise.[77]
20 May — The Human Rights & Equal Opportunities Commission releases a 689-page report entitled, Bringing Them Home, which states that Australian governments must apologise and pay compensation for the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.[78][79] The report concludes that successive government policies of forced removal of children constitutes a crime against humanity which amounted to "genocide".[78][79] It recommends a national compensation fund be established by the Commonwealth and states, as well as a national "sorry day" be held each year.[78][79]
21 May — The Federal Government announces further cuts to immigration, halving the family reunion programme and increasing skilled migration, saying cuts are linked to high unemployment.[80]
26 May — Prime Minister John Howard tables the Bringing Them Home report, saying that "personally, I feel deep sorrow for those of my fellow Australians who suffered injustices under the practices of past generations towards indigenous people...[but] Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies over which they had no control."[81] At the Reconciliation Convention in Melbourne, some Aboriginal people turn their backs and yell at the Prime Minister in protest during his address.[82][81] However, some applaud when Howard expresses his personal sorrow.[82] Despite continuing to criticise Howard's 10-point Wik plan, Aboriginal leader Pat Dodson welcomes Howard's personal acknowledgement of the Stolen Generation and later states: "It's a start. It's a good start. I think that the Prime Minister is on the road to the acknowledgement of the things of the past. I think the fact that he said personally he was sorry is something we shouldn't lose sight of."[81]
30 May — Prime Minister John Howard releases a ten-point plan in response to the High Court of Australia's historic Wik decision last December which recognised that native title and pastoral leases can co-exist.[87] Key points of the plan include the permanent extinguishment of native title on freehold, exclusive-tenure leases, agricultural leases deemed to confer exclusive title and where rights are inconsistent with those of pastoralists; the removal of the right of native title-holders to negotiate over mining exploration and the imposition of a six-year unset clause to register statutory native title claims.[88][89]
June
2 June — A former
crime novel, stating: "I am an amateur novelist... I have seven novels in various stages of writing. This is the scenario for one of those novels - a crime novel."[93]
5 June — Prime Minister John Howard bows to pressure from the car industry to accept a four-year freeze on car tariffs from 2000 to 2004.[94]
bush poet Peter Shoobridge murders his four children and then kills himself north of Hobart, in what becomes known as the Shoobridge family killings.[100][101] The police investigating the killings are criticised by the Anglican Bishop of TasmaniaPhilip Newell who tells the police commissioner that the public disclosure of graphic details relating to the methods used is extremely irresponsible as it worsens the trauma of survivors.[102] A coroner later rules Shoobridge was acting under a delusion when he killed his children, with the murders probably not premeditated.[103]
July
1 July —
The
telecommunications market is deregulated, allowing the entry of competitors other than Telstra and Optus.[104]
When Britain hands back Hong Kong to China, Prime Minister John Howard warns China that it must keep its promise to maintain Hong Kong's freedom and autonomy.[105]
13 July — A crowd of over 100,000 people watches the Royal Canberra Hospital implosion. A 12-year-old girl, Katie Bender, is killed instantly and nine others are injured when debris from the site travels across Lake Burley Griffin.[106]
Two Australians are killed when a temporary wooden bridge collapses into a shallow creek at the Maccabiah Games near Tel Aviv, Israel.[108][109]
17 July — Frank Gilford waives his right to call for the death penalty of two British nurses charged with the murder of his sister Yvonne Gilford in Saudi Arabia.[110]
21 July — Former West Australian Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence pleads not guilty to giving false evidence to the Marks Royal Commission.[111]
23 July — Queensland Premier Rob Borbidge criticises cuts by the Federal Government to drought relief funds.[citation needed]
24 July — The West Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashes seven convictions against former West Australian Premier Brian Burke.[112]
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr announces that New South Wales Police will employ Korean police and intelligence officers to help crack down on organised crime gangs as investigations continue into Korean loan-shark operations at Sydney Harbour Casino.[114]
12 August — Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett is under fire for spending over $5,000 on a helicopter trip.[116][117]
18 August — Aboriginal activist Burnum Burnum dies at his Woronora, Sydney home.[118] He is particularly remembered for claiming Britain on behalf of the Aboriginal people on Australia Day 1988, while Australia celebrated its bicentenary.[118]
1 September — Federal Cabinet shelves plans to alter cross-media ownership laws.[126]
2 September — Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett ridicules Federal Cabinet's indecision on media ownership laws.[127] The Federal Opposition uses this to help show that the Prime Minister is weak.[127]
3 September — Waterfront unions and the ACTU warn the Federal Government of widespread industrial action if the Government continues its method of reforming work conditions at seaports.[128]
8 September — New South Wales Premier Bob Carr opens a world-class cancer research institute in Camperdown, Sydney.[citation needed]
11 September — BHP announces plans to cut over 800 jobs from coal mines in the Illawarra.[129]
14 September — Prime Minister John Howard announces a $5 million rescue package for farmers.[130]
30 September — The guns buyback amnesty expires with owners of restricted weapons now facing fines.[131]
October
4 October —
The body of 22-year-old Japanese woman Michiko Okuyama is discovered after she disappeared from Cairns on 20 September.[132] A 16-year-old boy later appears in the Children's Court charged with her murder.[133] The following year, he becomes the first minor in Queensland to be sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder.[134][135][136] He unsuccessfully appeals the severity of his sentence in 1999.[134] Due to his age when he murdered Okuyama, his identify can never be publicly disclosed under Queensland law.[134][137] Okuyama's murder is extensively covered by the Japanese media, causing hostility towards Australia. Federal tourism minister Andrew Thomson visits Cairns attempting to limit the damage to the tourism market and speaks Japanese while talking to the media urging them not to overreact.[133] Despite his efforts, the Japanese media portray Australia as an increasingly violent and racist country, linking the murder to the views of Pauline Hanson.[138] The murder of Michiko Okuyama is frequently described as one of the most heinous and violent crimes to have ever taken place in Far North Queensland.[139][134][140]
The New South Wales Labor Party Conference delegates reject Premier Bob Carr's planned sell-off of the State's electricity assets.[141] Carr is the first Labor Premier in fifty years to suffer a defeat at a State Party Conference.[141]
12 October — The National Gallery of Victoria decides to cancel Andres Serrano's exhibition after two youths destroy his controversial artwork Piss Christ with a hammer.[145] Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne George Pell says while he understands the outrage he only supports legal and peaceful protesting.[145]
19 December — Postcard bandit Brenden Abbott robs the Yirrigan Drive branch of the Commonwealth Bank in Perth, disguised as a businessman in a grey wig and a false moustache and brandishing a .45 Webley, stealing $300,000.[159]
26 December — The final figures for the nationwide guns buyback are released: 640,000 weapons were surrendered across Australia with New South Wales providing the poorest number of returns.[160]
24 March — Queensland-born actor Geoffrey Rush wins "Best Actor" at the 69th Academy Awards for his portrayal of pianist David Helfgott in the movie Shine.[168] He is the first Australian to win the Best Actor Oscar since Peter Finch in 1976 for the film Network.[168] Australian cinematographer John Seale wins an Oscar for his work on the film The English Patient.[168]
3 September — The Castle, a film that cost $700,000 to make and was shot in 11 days, passes $10 million at the box office.[164]
22 May — Television journalist Jana Wendt accepts a $1.2 million settlement and ends her legal action against the Seven Network after receiving a death threat.[170] Wendt had taken Seven to court to be released from a contract she had signed with the network, claiming she had been misled when lured from the Nine Network to host Witness with a promise it was to be a high quality program.[171]
24 May — The Footy Show panellist Sam Newman sustains a broken leg and ankle after being injured in an incident outside his home in Melbourne.[172] Although originally reported that he had been crushed while attempting to help his girlfriend park in his garage, Newman later admits the incident occurred following an argument but denies it was deliberate.[172][173] He claims he had exited the car and was walking alongside the vehicle when his girlfriend drove off, knocking him over, stating: "She said something to me and I walked around to find out what it was. She was in the process of driving off and that's when this accident happened."[173]
1 July —
Mildura, ending a monopoly on commercial television held by STV-8 since 1965.[174][175]
11 July — Long running American-Canadian children's animated series Arthur premieres on ABC TV.[176]
The 5,000 metres was conducted at the Nike Classic, Melbourne on 20 February. The men's decathlon event was conducted at the Hobart Grand Prix on 15–16 February 1997.
28 May 1997 — Swimmer Scott Miller is involved in a late night altercation outside a Canberra takeaway shop in which he sustains a dislocated finger.[186] The scuffle leads to his expulsion from the Australian Institute of Sport where there are already concerns about his attitude and apparent lack of commitment to training sessions.[186]
13 July —
Patrick Carroll wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:11:21 in Brisbane, while Susan Hobson claims her second women's title in 2:32:43.[187]
10 August — Australia retains the Ashes after beating England by 264 runs in the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge Nottingham.[189] The win gives Australia its fifth consecutive series victory, an ascendancy they've held since winning the 1989 series in England.[189]
28 September — In one of, if not the most exciting grand final ever played, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22–16 to win the 90th NSWRL/ARL premiership.[195] It is the first premiership for Newcastle & it was the third consecutive grand final appearance for Manly.[196] The South Queensland Crushers
finish in last position in their final season, claiming their second consecutive wooden spoon.
4 November — Melbourne Cup at Flemington won by Might And Power ridden by Jim Cassidy and trained by Jack Denham. The winning time was 3:18.3 and the placegetters were Doremus and Markham. The race was also noteworthy because of serial pest Peter Hore who ran onto the track during the race.[197]
^Gordon, Michael (14 December 2002). "A leader for the times". The Age. Retrieved 8 April 2023. I remind him of the answer he gave me almost six years ago, on the first anniversary of his prime ministership. "While my health lasts and I've got my marbles and I'm delivering good leadership and political success, you stay. But when that changes, you don't," he said then.
^"Colston to sue over rorts allegation". The Australian, p.2. 24 February 1997.
^Sitka, Chris; Zammit, Rita; Smith, Lyndon; Burns, Joy (4 April 1997). "Letters: Gay student is not the problem". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 14. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^Lindsay, C; Davidson, Robert; Kelly, Sean; Waterman, R; Pigott, Peter (8 April 1997). "Letters: Spotlight on gay harassment". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^Savva, Niki; Tingle, Laura (17 April 1997). "Colston's mentor joins calls to quit". The Age. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2023. The move came as Mr Howard announced that the Government would no longer accept Senator Colston's vote in Parliament
^Hextall, Bruce; Millett, Michael; McGeough, Paul (30 April 1997). "BHP's real target: 8,000 jobs". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^Millett, Michael (7 May 1997). "Bitter Colston promises to scuttle PM's key reforms". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 10 April 2023. Senator Colston stepped down as Senate Deputy President yesterday only minutes before a chamber vote to dump him from the position
^Willox, Innes; Farouque, Farah (7 May 1997). "Hanson talking nonsense: PM". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8. Retrieved 10 April 2023. ...after several protests in recent days, Mr Howard urges Ms Hanson's opponents not to demonstrate against her
^Millett, Michael; Sampson, Annette; Wright, Tony; Gittins, Ross (14 May 1997). "A super shake-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
^ abFlanagan, Martin (27 May 1997). "Turning away from an unhappy page in history". The Age. p. 1. Retrieved 10 April 2023. The first was when he expressed sorrow "for those of my fellow Australians who suffered injustices under the practices of past generations towards indigenous people." This was taken as a reference to the "stolen generation" and drew applause, even from those who had their backs turned.
^Millett, Michael (23 June 1997). "Republic summit 'may be scrapped'". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2. Retrieved 10 April 2023. ...Mr Howard is understood to have told the Queen in a private meeting on Friday that while the constitutional debate was continuing, there was no sign of a consenus emerging...
^Roberts, Greg (26 December 1997). "Inmate helps in search for Abbott". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 10. Retrieved 11 April 2023. The Australian Bankers' Association and the Queensland Government have posted rewards of $100,000 and $50,000 respectively for information leading to Abbott's recapture.
^"Prime set to start". Sunraysia Daily. 1 July 1997. Mildura will today become the final link in Prime Television's expansion throughout regional Victoria.
^Fieldhouse, Simon. "Channel 9 Antenna Willoughby". Simon Fieldhouse. Retrieved 8 April 2023. On 1 October 1997, TCN-9 performed the first on-air trial of digital broadcasting in the southern hemisphere.
^Bayley, Andrew. "1990-1999". Television.AU. Retrieved 8 April 2023. 1997... December: South Park, the politically incorrect animated series from America's Comedy Central pay-TV channel, begins on SBS and becomes the network's highest rating series to date.
^Cauchi, Stephen; Foley, Brett; Shiel, Fergus (2 January 1998). "Toddler's body found". The Age. p. 1. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
^Cauchi, Stephen; Foley, Brett; Murdoch, Lindsay (3 January 1998). "Secret of Blue Rock Lake". The Age. p. 1. Retrieved 8 April 2023. ...police sources confirmed yesterday was that of Moe toddler Jaidyn Leskie, reported missing by his mother on 15 June
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