2002 in Australia

Infobox Australian year
monarch = Elizabeth II
governor-general = Peter Hollingworth
pm =John Howard
population = 19,640,979
australian =
elections =Vic, Tas, SA"See also:"
2001 in Australia,
other events of 2002,
2003 in Australia

Incumbents

*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General - Peter Hollingworth
*Prime Minister - John Howard
*Premier of New South Wales - Bob Carr
*Premier of South Australia - Rob Kerin, then Mike Rann
*Premier of Queensland - Peter Beattie
*Premier of Tasmania - Jim Bacon
*Premier of Western Australia - Geoffrey Gallop
*Premier of Victoria - Steve Bracks
*Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory - Jon Stanhope
*Chief Minister of the Northern Territory - Clare Martin
*Chief Minister of Norfolk Island - Geoffrey Robert Gardner

Events

*February 9 - The last remaining to date Liberal/National coalition state government is voted out in South Australia and replaced by an Australian Labor Party one, led by Mike Rann.
*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.
*March 31 - Janelle Patton becomes Norfolk Island's first murder victim in 150 years.
*July 7 - The British Naval destroyer HMS "Nottingham" runs aground off Lord Howe Island. It is eventually sent out to Newcastle for basic repairs and on to Portsmouth in the UK for more detailed repairs.
*July 20 - The ALP government of Jim Bacon is re-elected for a second term in Tasmania.
*October 12 - The first Bali bombings take place, killing 202 people, of which 88 were Australian. Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) is banned by the Attorney-General on October 27.
*October 19 - The Australian Greens win their first seat in the House of Representatives when their candidate Michael Organ wins the Cunningham by-election on preferences.
*November 30 - In Victoria, the Labor government of Steve Bracks is re-elected for a second term.

Arts and literature

* ARIA Music Awards of 2002
* Tim Winton's novel "Dirt Music" wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

Television

*July - "Kath and Kim" premieres on the ABC and is a surprise hit.
*September - SBS launches its first Digital channel, the "SBS World News Channel".

port

*February 15 – 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 semifinal crashed, and in the final, he again saw all the other contenders crash in front of him.
*February 17 – Alisa Camplin wins gold in the women's aerial skiing contest. The favourite, Jacqui Cooper, also from Australia, severely injured herself whilst training & was out of action for some time.
*April 11 – 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 March 7, 2002.
*May 12 – Olympic Sharks become 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 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 spooners for 2002.
*September 13 – The Melbourne Phoenix defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds 49-44 in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy netball grand final.
*September 15 – 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.
*September 28 - The Brisbane Lions (10.15.75) defeat the Collingwood Magpies (9.12.66) to win the 106th VFL/AFL premiership. It is the second consecutive premiership for Brisbane.
*October 6 - The Sydney Roosters defeat the New Zealand Warriors 30-8 to win the 95th NSWRL/ARL/NRL premiership. It marks the end of a 27-year premiership drought for the Roosters.
*October 13 - Mark Skaife and Jim Richards win the 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.
*November 5 - 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.

Deaths

*May 13 — Ruth Cracknell (76), actress
*May 16 — Alec Campbell (103), Australia's last surviving ANZAC
*May 19 — John Gorton (90), 19th Prime Minister
*May 25 — Jack Pollard (75), sports writer and journalist
* August 1 — Theo Bruce (79), long jumper
*August 25 — Dorothy Hewett (79), poet, playwright and novelist