- 1989 in Australia
Infobox Australian year
monarch =Elizabeth II
governor-general =Ninian Stephen , thenBill Hayden
pm =Bob Hawke
population = 16,814,416
australian =
elections =WA , ACT,TAS ,SA ,QLD "See also:"1988 in Australia ,
other events of 1989,1990 in Australia ----See also:
*1989 Australian incumbents Incumbents
*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General – Sir Ninian Stephen (untilFebruary 16 ), thenBill Hayden
*Prime Minister –Bob Hawke Premiers and Chief Ministers
*
Premier of New South Wales –Nick Greiner
*Premier of Queensland – Mike Ahern (untilSeptember 22 ), thenRussell Cooper (untilDecember 7 ), thenWayne Goss
*Premier of South Australia –John Bannon
*Premier of Tasmania –Robin Gray (untilJune 29 ), thenMichael Field
*Premier of Victoria – John Cain
*Premier of Western Australia –Peter Dowding
*Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory –Rosemary Follett (fromMay 11 , untilDecember 5 ), thenTrevor Kaine
*Chief Minister of the Northern Territory –Marshall Perron Governors and Administrators
*
Governor of New South Wales – Sir James Rowland (untilJanuary 20 ), then Sir David Martin
*Governor of Queensland – Sir Walter Campbell
*Governor of South Australia – Sir Donald Dunstan
*Governor of Tasmania – Sir Phillip Bennett
*Governor of Victoria – Dr Davis McCaughey
*Governor of Western Australia – Professor Gordon Reid (untilOctober 30 )
*Administrator of the Northern Territory – Eric Johnston (untilJuly 1 ), thenJames Muirhead Events
*
January 1 -HECS is introduced with the commencement of theHigher Education Funding Act 1988 .
*January 10 - AssistantAustralian Federal Police commissionerColin Winchester is shot dead in the driveway of hisCanberra home by a sniper, later identified as David Harold Eastman.
*February 1 -Joan Kirner becomes Victoria's first female Deputy Premier after the resignation ofRobert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) crisis.
*March 1 - The Industrial Relations Commission replaces the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission.
*March 4 - First ACT (Australian Capital Territory ) elections held
*March 6 - Former National Safety Council bossJohn Friedrich is arrested inWestern Australia over allegations that he defrauded investors of $237 million.
*March 20 - Prime MinisterBob Hawke weeps on national television, as he admits marital infidelity.
*May 9 -Andrew Peacock deposesJohn Howard as Federal Opposition Leader and Leader of the Liberal Party.
*May 11 - TheACT Legislative Assembly meets for the first time
*May 15 - Australia's first private tertiary institution,Bond University , opens on the Gold Coast.
*May 29 - TheAustralian Labor Party inTasmania signs theLabor-Green Accord with theTasmanian Greens to form government.
*May 30 -Ananda Marga member Tim Anderson is arrested on charges related to the1978 Hilton bombing .
*July 5 - Findings from theFitzgerald Inquiry are released in Queensland.
*August 13 - Thirteen people die in a hot air balloon accident nearAlice Springs ,Northern Territory .
*August 23 - All of Australia's 1,645 domestic airline pilots resign over an airline's move to sack and sue them over a dispute, following a strike.
*October 20 -Grafton bus crash – 21 people are killed and 22 are injured when a tourist bus collides with a semi-trailer on the Pacific Highway near Grafton.
*November 10 -Gaby Kennard becomes the first Australian woman to fly non-stop around the world.
*November 25 - Elections inSouth Australia narrowly return the Labor government of John Bannon to power.
*December 2 - After 32 years in power, 19 of those underSir Joh Bjelke-Petersen , the National Party government is voted out of office inQueensland amid widespread allegations of corruption & is replaced by theAustralian Labor Party . led by Wayne Goss.
*December 22 -Kempsey bus crash - Two tourist coaches collide on the Pacific Highway north ofKempsey, New South Wales , 35 are killed and 39 injured.
*December 28 - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hitsNewcastle, New South Wales , killing 13 people.Unknown Dates
* The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is established in New South Wales.
*Western Australia decriminaliseshomosexual acts between consenting adults.
*Alan Bond'sBond Corporation goes into receivership with the largest debt in Australian history.Arts and literature
* Peter Carey's novel "
Oscar and Lucinda " wins theMiles Franklin Award Film
Television
*January -
Young Talent Time is cancelled before the new series goes to air.
*March 31 - Phase 1 ofAggregation oftelevision services occurs in Southern NSW, withWIN Television becoming a regionalNine Network affiliate,Prime Television becoming theSeven Network affiliate & Capital Television (nowSouthern Cross Ten ) becoming theNetwork Ten affiliate.
*April 12 - "Fast Forward" premieres in Australia (1989-1992 ).
*June -Neighbours introduces a new look theme song. The theme is sung byBarry Crocker when it lasted until the end of 1994.
*July -Bob Shanks takes over as managing director of Network Ten due to ailing ratings & totally revamps the network, giving it the name 10 TV Australia as well as introducing a new lineup with increased game show content. Most of the new shows are axed by the end of the year.
*August - "Acropolis Now " premieres in Australia (1989-1992).
*September - Network Ten is sold to Steve Cosser, head of Broadcom Australia, for $22 million.
*December 31 - Phase 2 of Aggregation of Television services occurs in Orange &Wagga Wagga , with aggregation occurring inWollongong &Canberra in March
*"The Big Gig " premieres in Australia (1989-1992).port
*
March 13 – NSWRL unveils massiveadvertising campaign featuring rock legendTina Turner singing "What You Get is What You See".
*March 17 – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1988-1989 season, which are held at theQEII Stadium inBrisbane, Queensland .
*July 23 –Bradley Camp wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:10:10 inBrisbane , whileJan Federick claims the women's title in 2:51:30.
*August 11 –Canterbury Bulldogs &Canberra Raiders meet at theWACA Ground in Perth in the first NSWRL match played outside the eastern states. On the same day, it is announced that the VFL will become known as the AFL from next season.
*August 13 –Marconi Fairfield win theNSL with a 2-0 victory overSydney Olympic , in the last season to be played in traditional Winter format.
*September 24 – Canberra upset Balmain 19-14 in extra time at theSydney Football Stadium (now Aussie Stadium) to win one of the most dramatic & exciting grand finals ever & take the NSWRL premiership outsideSydney for the first time.
*September 30 – Hawthorn (21.18.144) defeat Geelong (21.12.138) to win the 93rd and indeed final VFL premiership until 1996, when the VFA would become known as the VFL.
*Brownlow Medal awarded toPaul Couch (Geelong ).
*Cricket – Australia regainsThe Ashes on English soil for the first time in 40 years defeating England 4-0 in the 6 test series.Deaths
*
March 17 -Donald Friend , artist
*August 11 -John Meillon (actor; "They're a Weird Mob ", "The Dismissal")
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