1989 in Australia explained
The following lists events that happened during 1989 in Australia.
Incumbents
State and territory leaders
Governors and administrators
Events
January
February
March
April
- 5 April – CEO of the Victorian Division of the National Safety Council John Friedrichs is captured after 17 days on the run.[15]
- 15 April – John Anderson wins the 1989 Gwydir by-election, unopposed by either Labor or Liberal, after the retirement of National Party Deputy Leader Ralph Hunt.[16] Apart from Anderson, two far-right independent candidates are the only people to contest the by-election.[17]
- 27 April – A dawn raid by the Tactical Response Group kills innocent Aboriginal Redfern resident David Gundy and arouses community anger.[18] [19] An inquiry into Gundy's death adds to already existing distrust of the police.[20] [21] [22]
May
June
July
August
- 9 August – The Victorian Government releases its Budget, proposing further savage cuts to the public sector due to the decreasing amount of Commonwealth funding available.
- 13 August – Thirteen people die in a hot air balloon accident near Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
- 22 August – The damaging 2-month airline pilots' strike over a 30% pay rise begins in earnest. Prime Minister Bob Hawke makes a crusade of resisting the claim.
- 23 August – 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.
September
October
- 11 October – Media magnate Rupert Murdoch criticises Andrew Peacock as having a poor standing as Opposition Leader.
- 17 October – New South Wales Premier Nick Greiner announces a Royal Commission under Mr. Justice Lee to investigate the case of Police Chief Superintendent Harry Blackburn who had been arrested and charged with sexual offences allegedly committed over a 20-year period. After several months, it was found that he had no case to answer.
- 20 October – 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.
- 22 October – The first Pride March is held at Parliament House, Perth as a rally in support of homosexual law reform (currently being debated in the West Australian Parliament).
- 25 October – In response to the Fitzgerald Inquiry recommendations, the Queensland Government establishes two new bodies - the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) to be headed by former NCA Commissioner Sir Max Bingham and the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission (EARC) under Tom Sherman.
November
December
- 2 December – The 1989 Queensland state election is held. After 32 years in power, 19 of those under Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the National Party government is voted out of office in Queensland amid widespread allegations of corruption & is replaced by the Australian Labor Party. led by Wayne Goss. The Labor Party wins 54 seats with 50.3% of the vote. The Nationals retain 26 seats with 24.1% of the vote while the Liberal Party wins only 9 seats with 21.1% of the vote.
- 5 December – Five former Queensland ministers are charged with misuse of public money. Special prosecutor Doug Drummond, QC, had summonses issued against Don Lane, Brian Austin, Ivan Gibbs, Geoff Muntz and Leisha Harvey.
- 7 December – The Law Reform (Decriminalisation of Sodomy) Act 1989, decriminalising private sexual acts between two people of the same sex in Western Australia, is passed by the West Australian Parliament (going into effect in March 1990).
- 22 December –
- 25 December – A savage storm rips through Brisbane and Redcliffe, leaving a $5 million trail of destruction. Two people are killed, around 1,000 homes are damaged and about 4,500 homes suffer loss of electric power.
- 28 December – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, killing 13 people.
Unknown dates
Arts and literature
See main article: 1989 in Australian literature.
Film
Television
- January – Young Talent Time is cancelled before the new series goes to air.
- 31 March – Phase 1 of Aggregation of television services occurs in Southern NSW, with WIN Television becoming a regional Nine Network affiliate, Prime Television becoming the Seven Network affiliate & Capital Television (now Southern Cross Ten) becoming the Network Ten affiliate.
- 12 April – Fast Forward premieres in Australia (1989–1992).
- June – Neighbours introduces a new look theme song. The theme is sung by Barry 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.
- 31 December – Phase 2 of Aggregation of Television services occurs in Orange & Wagga Wagga, with aggregation occurring in Wollongong & Canberra in March
- The Big Gig premieres in Australia (1989–1992).
Sport
Births
- 8 January – Oliver Bozanic, footballer
- 9 January – Chris Sandow, rugby league player
- 10 January – Kyle Reimers, Australian rules footballer
- 11 January – Kane Linnett, rugby league player
- 15 January – Ryan Corr, actor
- 1 February – Steven Browne, Australian rules footballer
- 4 February – Kevin Naiqama, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 7 February – Jake Granville, rugby league player
- 8 February
- 10 February – Liam Hendriks, baseball player
- 13 February – Rhys Palmer, footballer
- 17 February
- 20 February – Daly Cherry-Evans, rugby league player
- 25 February – Hayden Doyle, soccer player
- 15 March – Bryce Gibbs, Australian rules footballer
- 24 March – James Sellar, Australian rules footballer
- 24 March – Aziz Shavershian, Australian bodybuilder (d. 2011)
- 4 April – Chris Herd, soccer player
- 6 April – Gabrielle Scollay, actress
- 11 April – Eka Darville, actor
- 20 April – Amy Steel, netballer
- 21 April – Jayson Bukuya, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 26 April – Luke Bracey, actor
- 27 April – Tim Glasby, rugby league player
- 11 May – Jack Grimes, Australian rules footballer
- 14 May – Alexandra Park, actress
- 15 May – James Holland, soccer player
- 30 May – Catherine McNeil, fashion model
- 31 May – Chase Stanley, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 2 June – Steve Smith, cricketer
- 7 June – Mitch Robinson, Australian footballer
- 9 June – Josephine Tomic, racing cyclist
- 12 June – Shane Lowry, soccer player
- 13 June – Ben Barba, rugby league footballer
- 1 July – Daniel Ricciardo, racecar driver
- 12 July – Phoebe Tonkin, actress (H2O: Just Add Water)
- 13 July – Jack Bobridge, racing cyclist
- 18 July – Sebastian Ryall, soccer player
- 27 July – Talia Zucker, actress
- 4 August
- 10 August – Brenton Thwaites, actor
- 15 August – Ryan McGowan, soccer player
- 19 September – Kimberly Mason, rhythmic gymnast
- 21 September – Emma Watkins, singer and actress (The Wiggles)
- 22 September – Renee Rollason, soccer player
- 16 October – Angie Bainbridge, swimmer
- 17 October – Sophie Luck, actress
- 18 October – Leigh Howard, racing cyclist
- 24 October – Eliza Taylor, actress
- 26 October – Daniel Mullen, soccer player
- 2 November – Chris Winter, television presenter and reporter
- 9 November – Lucinda Whitty, sailor
- 10 November – Andrew James Morley, actor
- 25 November – Basia A'Hern, actress
- 10 December – Tom Sexton, Australian-Irish rugby player
- 22 December – Jared Petrenko, Australian rules footballer
- 22 December – Jharal Yow Yeh, rugby league footballer
- 31 December – Brydan Klein, tennis player
Full date unknown
Deaths
See also
Notes and References
- News: Angus. Nicole. 9 January 1989. Students face a testing time. The Sydney Morning Herald. 50. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105093955/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-students-face/138080972/. live.
- News: Campbell. Rod. Whitfield. Kathryn. Zakharov. Jeannie. Waterford. Jack. 11 January 1989. Police chief shot dead. The Canberra Times. 1-2. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105093829/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120903509. live.
- News: Skehan. Craig. Brough. Jodie. 4 November 1995. Winchester killing: Eastman convicted. The Sydney Morning Herald. 4. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105093830/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-winchester-kil/138081461/. live.
- News: Dixon. Robyn. Reddy. Muriel. 1 February 1989. Fordham falls, Left rises. The Age. 1. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105093830/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-fordham-falls-left-rises/138081617/. live.
- News: Jones. Bruce. 5 February 1989. Huge swing against Labor. The Sun-Herald. 1. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105095127/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-huge-swing-aga/138081960/. live.
- News: Dixon. Robyn. 8 February 1989. No plans to be premier, says Kirner. The Age. 3. 5 January 2024. 5 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240105095121/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-no-plans-to-be-premier-says-kir/138081929/. live.
- News: Cumming. Fia. 5 March 1989. ACT poll fracture. The Canberra Times. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106020757/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120914460. live.
- News: Stephens. Tony. 21 March 1989. Hawke in tears: how I cheated on Hazel. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 5 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106023404/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-hawke-in-tears/138082086/. live.
- News: Clark. Pilita. Cockburn. Milton. Moore. Matthew. 22 March 1989. Runway 3: Cabinet says yes. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024.
- News: Lyons. John. 21 March 1989. Noise, danger, land prices have Boy Minister jittery. The Sydney Morning Herald. 4. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106024557/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-noise-danger/138134252/. live.
- News: Chamberlin. Paul. 23 March 1989. Councils and residents ready to take fight to the High Court. The Sydney Morning Herald. 11. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106025137/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-councils-and-r/138134092/. live.
- News: Quiddington. Peter. 23 March 1989. Ahh, for the days of peace and quiet. The Sydney Morning Herald. 11. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106030124/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-ahh-for-the-d/138133944/. live.
- News: Clark. Pilita. Cockburn. Milton. 29 March 1989. Scramble to take over from Punch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106024558/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-scramble-to-ta/138133486/. live.
- News: Willox. Innes. Wilson. David. Robinson. Paul. Bottom. Bob. 25 March 1989. Safety council faces $235 loss. The Age. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106024542/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-safety-council-faces-235m-loss/138132873/. live.
- News: Wilson. David. Bottom. Bob. Willox. Innes. Doogue. Edmund. Rau. Christine. Graham. Duncan. 6 April 1989. Runaway Friedrich grabbed. The Age. 1. 6 January 2024.
- News: 16 April 1989. As expected. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106034921/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-as-expected/138134614/. live.
- News: Jones. Bruce. 23 April 1989. Right-wing extremists set alarms ringing. The Sydney Morning Herald. 42. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033945/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-right-wing-ext/138136076/. live.
- News: Zadel. Sonya. 28 April 1989. 'Uptight' police kill man in raid. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033944/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-uptight-poli/138136495/. live.
- News: Hewett. Tony. 28 April 1989. News that no-one wanted to pass on. The Sydney Morning Herald. 4. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033946/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-news-that-no-o/138136638/. live.
- News: Fife-Yeomans. Janet. 24 May 1990. Gundy death inquiry allowed. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033941/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-gundy-death-in/138137150/. live.
- News: Garcia. Hewett. Tony. 6 April 1991. Payout for Gundy family. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033943/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-payout-for-gun/138137469/. live.
- News: Garcia. Luis M. Cornwall. Deborah. 6 April 1991. David Gundy: police victim. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106033940/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-david-gundy-p/138137486/. live.
- News: Jones. Bruce. 7 May 1989. Libs in turmoil as Macphee dumped. The Sun-Herald. 3. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106041948/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-libs-in-turmoi/138138265/. live.
- News: Cockburn. Milton. Ramsay. Alan. Walsh. Max. 10 May 1989. The Coalition Coup: Libs go back to the future. The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 January 2024.
- News: Grattan. Michelle. 10 May 1989. Coalition dumps its leaders. The Age. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106035612/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-coalition-dumps-its-leaders/138138580/. live.
- News: Metherell. Mark. 10 May 1989. There was no collusion, says Blunt. The Age. 6. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106083432/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-there-was-no-collusion-says-blu/138147032/. live.
- News: Peake. Ross. 11 May 1989. Sinclair accuses his NP colleagues of disloyalty. The Age. 15. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106083413/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-sinclair-accuses-his-np-colleagu/138146993/. live.
- News: Willox. Innes. Boreham. Gareth. 10 May 1989. Man in court over kinder siege. The Age. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106050710/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-man-in-court-over-kinder-siege/138139938/. live.
- News: Gregory. Peter. 17 February 1990. Huseyin was determined to inflict a taste of his 'suffering' on other. The Age. 22. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106043550/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-huseyin-was-determined-to-inflic/138140490/. live.
- News: Gregory. Peter. 14 February 1990. Kindergarten siege man convicted. The Age. 5. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106045053/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-kindergarten-siege-man-convicted/138139161/. live.
- News: Gregory. Peter. 2 August 1990. Siege man fails to have conviction overturned. The Age. 16. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106045207/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-siege-man-fails-to-have-convicti/138138988/. live.
- News: Turner. Paulene. 12 May 1989. Loosley to appeal against fine. The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106083436/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-loosley-to-app/138147132/. live.
- News: Mitchell. Alex. 14 May 1989. Green vote hits Libs in Tasmania - but strong rebuff for ALP. The Sun-Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106101356/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-green-vote-hit/138147859/. live.
- News: 14 May 1989. Brisbane poll. The Sun-Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106101355/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-brisbane-poll/138147877/. live.
- News: 16 May 1989. University here to say, says Bond. The Age. 26. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106083435/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-university-here-to-stay-says-bo/138147181/. live.
- News: 17 May 1989. Peacock blasts 'stupid backers'. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106083259/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-peacock-blasts/138147277/. live.
- News: Murphy. Damien. 24 May 1989. Libs give Brown the reins. The Age. 6 January 2024.
- News: Darby. Andrew. 30 May 1989. Accord a first, says green leader. The Age. 16. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106100727/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-accord-a-first-says-green-leade/138147906/. live.
- News: Harvey. Sandra. 31 May 1989. Hilton bomb charge – 11 years later. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 6 January 2024. 6 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240106104503/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-hilton-bomb-ch/138148637/. live.
- Book: Hamilton, Leslie Bruce (1911–1989 . Australian Dictionary of Biography . Pam Crichton . 2007 . Diane Langmore . 16 . Melbourne University Press . 4 January 2022 . 4 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220104043528/https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hamilton-leslie-bruce-12586 . live .