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2017 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 2017 in Australia.

Incumbents

State and territory leaders

Governors and administrators

Events

January

  • 1 January –
  • The 15% backpacker tax takes effect, as well as changes to the pension assets test.
  • The National Archives releases the 1992–93 Federal Cabinet papers. The Queensland State Archives releases the 1986 State Cabinet documents under the 30-year embargo rule.
  • 2 January–
  • Federal government backbencher Tony Abbott calls for Australia to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
  • 3 January–
  • Social Services Minister Christian Porter defends the Centrelink debt recovery system and said of 169,000 review letters sent since July, only 0.16 per cent had resulted in complaints.
  • The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission's website is hacked, purportedly by an international hacking group, sending it offline for several hours.
  • West Australian Labor Leader Mark McGowan outlines a scheme called Target 120, which he promises to implement if Labor wins the March election, to focus on the state's worst young offenders with $22 million to provide comprehensive support to dysfunctional families.
  • 4 January –
  • Defence Minister Marise Payne announces that Indonesia has formally suspended all military co-operation with Australia, allegedly over some offensive training material which was on display at an Australian Special Forces base in Perth.
  • West Australian Local government Minister Paul Miles announces that the Shire of Exmouth Council has been suspended for six months following and investigation by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) into alleged corruption and financial mismanagement, with the Local government Minister.
  • The West Australian Opposition promises to axe the $450 million extension of Roe Highway across the Beeliar Wetlands and the entire Perth Freight Link if it wins the state election in March.
  • Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman admits he had a mobile phone in his hands when he was behind the wheel of a car and says he will voluntarily speak to police about it.
  • Port Augusta residents confront the South Australian Environment Minister Ian Hunter over ash dust which is blanketing the town. Heavy rain in the previous week had caused the ash from the former Port Augusta power station to blow across the area.
  • 5 January – The Victorian government announces that it will launch a High Court appeal over an Ombudsman investigation into allegations that Labor MPs rorted their parliamentary entitlements. The Supreme Court of Victoria had earlier ruled that the Ombudsman could investigate allegations MPs misused their taxpayer-funded entitlements by letting paid staffers work in campaign roles in the lead up to the 2014 state election.
  • 6 January –
  • The Federal government stops the import of green prawns due to white spot disease.
  • Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley says that her purchase of a $795,000 apartment while on the Gold Coast was "neither planned nor anticipated".
  • 7 January –
  • A funeral is held for Josiah Sisson, a 9-year-old boy who was killed by a drunk driver in Springwood on Christmas Day 2016.
  • 9 January –
  • Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley stands aside while travel claims are being investigated after further allegations were revealed that she made at least 18 taxpayer funded trips to the Golds Coast during her time as Health Minister.
  • One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson is adamant that she alone made the decision to disendorse the Bundamba candidate Shan Ju Lin after her anti-gay social media post.
  • The Commonwealth Ombudsman agrees to Independent MP Andrew Wilkie's request for an investigation into Centrelink's debt recovery system after widespread criticism of its new automated data matching system which uses information from the Australian Taxation Office and has been producing incorrect debt notices.
  • 10 January –
  • The Federal government announces a long-awaited overhaul of MP's travel entitlements.
  • The South Australian government opens a special health clinic at the Port Augusta hospital in response to community health concerns after ash clouds flared up from the old power station. Premier Jay Weatherill concedes that embattled Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter could have shown more empathy to Port Augusta residents instead of politicising the issue.
  • 11 January –
  • Claims emerge that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop claimed her attendance at a polo match as an expense.
  • Former One Nation Senator Rod Culleton loses his Senate seat weeks after the Federal Court of Australia declares him bankrupt.
  • 12 January – After three years of court hearings and four separate trials, a jury finds Robert Xie guilty of the Lin family murders in July 2009.
  • 15 January –
  • Severe storms lash south-east Queensland leaving 1,500 homes without power. The suburb of Chandler in Brisbane records 102 mm. of rain in the space of half an hour. Some suburbs of Brisbane and Ipswich are flooded.
  • Claims emerge that Finance Minister Mathias Cormann made a $23,000 taxpayer funded trip to Broome.
  • 16 January –
  • Steven Young defects to One Nation.
  • A car is firebombed over Sydney fish market development plans.
  • 17 January –
  • The search for missing flight MH 370 is suspended after searching 170,000 square kilometres of the ocean.
  • The Supreme Court of ACT rejects Julian Knight's bid for an extension of time to bring a case of damages against the Commonwealth. Julian Knight was responsible for the Hoddle Street massacre in 1987.
  • 18 January –
  • Greg Hunt is named as new Federal Health Minister as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reshuffles his Cabinet for the fourth time since taking office.
  • Multiple blazes burn out of control across parts of New South Wales, particularly in the Hunter Valley.
  • West Australian Premier Colin Barnett rules out any attempt to ban Muslims from wearing burkas, but says he would prefer "that type of clothing" was not worn in Australia.
  • 19 January – New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announces his resignation, after nearly three years in office.
  • 20 January – Five people are killed and over 30 injured when a man drives a car into pedestrians on Bourke Street in the Melbourne City Centre.
  • 22 January –
  • Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews considers changes to the state's bail laws in the wake of the Bourke Street incident. A new 'night court' will be set up for magistrates to hear bail requests from violent suspects after hours
  • Opponents of forced council mergers protest in Sydney.
  • 23 January –
  • Gladys Berejiklian is sworn in as the 45th Premier of New South Wales.
  • A 28-year-old actor is shot and killed in Brisbane, during the filming of a music video for the band Bliss n Eso.
  • The Queensland government winds back its lockout laws. The 1 am lockout will remain but identification scanners will be introduced.
  • Dimitrious Gargasoulas is charged with 5 counts of murder over the Bourke Street attack.
  • 25 January –
  • Fifteen detainees escape from the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in Victoria. Police eventually re-capture all the escapees.
  • South Australia Opposition Leader Steven Marshall promotes two younger MPs to the frontbench at the expense of long-serving shadow ministers Duncan McFetridge and Steven Griffiths. David Speirs will take on the shadow environment portfolio and Stephan Knoll has been given the police, corrections and emergency services portfolios.
  • 26 January –
  • A police officer is injured and one person is arrested after protesters clash with police in Sydney, during demonstrations denouncing Australia Day.
  • Two people are killed (mining engineer Peter Lynch and his girlfriend), and festivities are cancelled, when a light plane crashes into the Swan River, during Australia Day celebrations in Perth.
  • 27 January –
  • The District Court of Queensland sentences former Billabong CEO Matthew Perin to 8 years imprisonment for fraud.
  • New South Wales Health Minister Jillian Skinner resigns.
  • The New South government announces the construction of the WestConnex tunnel.
  • The Supreme Court of Queensland sentences a father to 9 years' imprisonment for severe injuries inflicted on a one-month-old girl.
  • The Dow Jones breaks through 20,000 for the first time.
  • 28 January –
  • One Nation disendorsed candidate Peter Rogers, who had previously expressed his view that the Port Arthur massacre was a conspiracy.
  • 29 January –
  • Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces that US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will honour the refugee swap deal with Australia as agreed by the Obama administration.
  • The New South Wales Cabinet is reshuffled.
  • The Queensland government announces financial support for a boxing match to be held at Suncorp Stadium on 23 April between boxers Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao.
  • Year One students will undergo compulsory testing under a Federal government plan.
  • 30 January – Susan Kiefel is sworn in as the 13th Chief Justice of Australia.
  • 31 January –
  • The Federal government announces plans to review child care and to cut family tax benefits.
  • Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten addresses the National Press Club of Australia outlining the Labor Party's policy of investing in apprenticeships.

February

  • 1 February –
  • Teresa Bradford is found dead at her Pimpama home, having been killed by her husband who had been let out on bail. The case prompts widespread calls for an overhaul of bail laws in Queensland.
  • Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addresses the National Press Club of Australia and says the government will focus this year on keeping a lid on household electricity prices. Mr Turnbull also later admits that he donated $1.75 million to the Liberal Party.
  • West Australian Premier Colin Barnett announces an 11 March election date.
  • Police move on a group of homeless people camped outside Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, prompting minor protests.
  • 2 February –
  • A report by The Washington Post reported that US President Donald Trump berated Malcolm Turnbull during a phone call which Trump dubbed his "worst call by far". The pair discussed the "dumb" refugee deal between Australia and the Obama administration, before he abruptly ended the call.
  • Clothing retailers Marcs and David Lawrence are placed into voluntary administration.
  • In a landmark decision, the Federal Court finds that a $1.3b Western Australian land use agreement with the Noongar people cannot be registered.
  • 6 February –
  • Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession as Queen of Australia
  • Queensland Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe resigns. A report by commissioner Phillip Strachan is released and finds that Queensland Rail drivers took an average of 18 months to complete their training – seven months longer than their counterparts in Sydney.
  • 7 February –
  • Senator Corey Bernardi quits the Liberal Party of Australia to form a new political party, the Australian Conservatives.
  • The Federal government retreats from a plan to compulsorily acquire land to expand military training in Queensland.
  • 8 February –
  • Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls Bill Shorten a "simpering sycophant" due to his past association with the late packaging billionaire Dick Pratt suggesting he drank French champagne while selling out workers.
  • 10–12 February –
  • A heat wave in south-eastern Australia results in record breaking temperatures and extensive power loss. High winds on 12 February, spark up to 26 blazes across New South Wales, especially in the Central West and Mid North Coast regions.
  • Heavy rain throughout the South West regions of Western Australia causes widespread flooding. The entire towns of Wagin and Gnowangerup become cut off, and Perth experiences its second wettest day in history, 6 mm short of the record set in 1992.
  • 16 February – Police find Olympic gold medalist Grant Hackett in a "disturbed" state of mind, less than twelve hours after he was reported missing on the Gold Coast.
  • 17 February – Renegade Federal Nationals MP George Christensen confirms that he drafted a so-called 'letter of demand' to the Prime Minister, but says he never sent it.
  • 18 February – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits Queenstown, New Zealand and rejects calls to exclude the big four banks from the company tax cuts.
  • 21 February –
  • Five people are killed when a light plane crashes into the DFO Essendon shopping centre near Essendon Airport.
  • Human remains found at Mount Macedon are identified as those of Karen Ristevski, missing since 29 June 2016. On 13 December 2017 her husband Borce was charged with her murder.
  • Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews rejects the State Coroner's push for a safe injecting room.
  • 28 February –
  • A 42-year-old man is arrested in Young, after allegedly trying to help the Islamic State develop laser missile detection equipment, as well as their own missile arsenal.
  • Two members of the Brothers for Life street gang, Farhad and Mumtaz Qaumi, are convicted for the murder of "standover man" Joe Antoun, in his Strathfield home on 16 December 2013.

March

April

  • 1–3 April – Ongoing floods in the Northern New South Wales towns of Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Gungal and Tumbulgum claim the lives of 9 people, including 3 children.
  • 5 April –
  • Australia's largest ever seizure of ice occurs in Melbourne, a record 903 kg of the drug discovered beneath floorboards in a Nunawading property.
  • Former Family First Senator Bob Day who resigned following his re-election in the previous year, was ruled ineligible to run last year following an 'indirect pecuniary interest' with the Commonwealth. The ruling by the High Court meant that a recount of last election's votes would be necessary.
  • 7 April – Two teenagers, inspired by terrorists, aged 15 and 16, are arrested after they fatally stabbed one man and injured another, inside a Queanbeyan service station.
  • 14 April – After a confrontation earlier in the day, a group of locals and personnel from a nearby military base, storm Australia's Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea.
  • 17 April – A 17-year-old girl is killed by a shark while surfing off the coast of Esperance, Western Australia.
  • 18 April – Malcolm Turnbull makes a controversial decision to scrap the 457 visa program, citing that Australians should come before overseas workers.
  • 26 April – The Family First Party merges with the Australian Conservatives party founded by Senator Cory Bernardi.

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Music, arts and literature

Sport

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

  • 3 August – Cricket: Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketer's Association have agreed on a new Memorandum of Understanding, thus ending the Australian cricket pay dispute which has threatened to tear the Australian cricket history apart. This also means that the 230 Australian male and female cricketers have been re-contracted and available to play
  • 4 August – Association football: The Australian women's football team win the 2017 Tournament of Nations after defeating Brazil 6–1 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

September

October

November

December

  • 18 December – Cricket: At the WACA in Perth, Australia win the third Test of the five match 2017–18 Ashes series, regaining the Ashes from England.
  • 27 December – Yacht racing: Wild Oats XI takes line honours at the 2017 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, however an international jury applies a one-hour penalty after a protest is lodged by the crew of Comanche regarding an illegal tacking manoeuvre, resulting in Comanche winning line honours and the race record.

Deaths

January

February

  • 1 February – Sandy Gandhi, 59, comedian and columnist
  • 2 February – Paul McBlane, 53, rugby league referee
  • 3 February – Lou Rowan, 91, Test cricket umpire
  • 4 February –
  • Neil Betts, 90, rugby union player (Queensland, Wallabies)
  • Basil Hetzel, 94, medical researcher
  • 6 February –
  • Len Bosman, 93, politician
  • Ritchie Yorke, 73, music journalist
  • 17 February – Tony Vinson, 81, social scientist
  • 18 February –
  • Lyla Elliott, 82, Western Australian politician
  • Dan Vickerman, 37, rugby union footballer
  • 20 February – Eric Smith, 97, artist
  • 21 February –
  • Max Angus, 102, artist
  • Joy Hruby, 89, actress and television presenter
  • 23 February – Kim Chance, 70, Western Australian politician
  • 26 February – Ray Stokes, 92, Australian rules footballer (Richmond) and cricketer

March

April

  • 1 April – Sir Peter Lawler, 96, public servant and diplomat
  • 7 April – Peter Isaacson, 96, newspaper proprietor and publisher
  • 9 April – John Clarke, 68, satirist
  • 10 April – Jack Ahearn, 92, motorcycle road racer
  • 12 April – Geoff Grover, 73, Australian rules footballer
  • 13 April – Fred Goldsmith, 84, Australian rules footballer
  • 19 April – Phil Gray, 69, Queensland politician
  • 21 April – Gerry Jones, 84, Queensland Senator and state politician
  • 23 April – Mickey Dewar, 61, historian
  • 27 April – Robin Millhouse, 87, South Australian politician and judge

May

June

July

August

September

  • 6 September – Peter Luck, 73, journalist and author
  • 8 September – Connie Johnson, 40, charity worker
  • 17 September –
  • Bob Holland, 70, cricketer
  • Mary, Lady Fairfax, 95, philanthropist
  • 21 September – Evelyn Scott, 81, activist and educator
  • 25 September – Peter Lewis, 75, politician, Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly

October

November

December

See also

References