2010 was the year of 'Women in Local Government'[1] and the year of the 'Girl Guide'[2] to coincide with the 100th year of the Girl Guides.
January
2 January – The fatal stabbing of a young
Indian man, Nitin Garg, in the
Melbourne suburb of
Yarraville generates deep anger in India, following other incidents of violence against Indian students in Australia.[3]
7 January – The Queensland Government activates disaster relief funding for communities in central and southwest Queensland isolated by floods.[4]
3 February – Following extensive public criticism, the South Australian
Attorney-GeneralMichael Atkinson announces that controversial new electoral legislation will be repealed after the
South Australian state election to be held on 20 March 2010. The new legislation requires anyone responding online to a political report during an election period to provide their full name and postcode, with the information to be retained by the publisher for six months.[8]
19 February –
Mary MacKillop is declared by
Pope Benedict XVI to be a
saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the first Australian so declared. A formal canonisation will take place in October 2010.[10]
22–23 February – Police are called to
Rose Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the early morning hours of 23 February to remove an illuminated street sign which had been tampered with earlier in the evening so it would display to passing motorists that “
Kevin Rudd Sucks".[11]
March
1–2 March – A record rainfall for a single day, since 22 December 1956, with over 100mm of rain fall across 1.7 per cent of Australian territory on 1 March, and over 1.9 per cent of the country the following day.[12]
1–20 March –
Major floods hit southern Queensland and north western New South Wales, with
Charleville,
Roma and
St George severely affected,[13] resulting with significant damage to properties, roads and rail lines.
6 March – Severe
thunderstorms and hail hit Melbourne and central Victoria, causing flash flooding and widespread property damage.
21 March – The category 3 severe tropical
Cyclone Ului crosses the Queensland coast near
Airlie Beach, causing moderate damage.[19]
22 March – A
storm featuring torrential
rain and large
hailstones caused flash flooding, structural damage and loss of power to 150,000 houses in
Perth.[20]
29 March – 100 boats have arrived since November 2007 bringing 4,386
asylum-seekers and at least 225 crew members to Australia. The 100th boat, with 41 passengers and 3 crew on board, was intercepted in the vicinity of
Christmas Island.[23][24]
27 April – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces the deferral of the introduction of the proposed
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until after the end of the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (which ends in 2012), citing a lack of bipartisan support for the proposal and slower progress than expected in terms of global action on climate change.[29]
May
2 May – The Rudd Government announces it will tax the above-normal profits—known as super profits—of the mining industry to fund a superannuation rise and a company tax cut.[30]
15 May – 16-year-old sailor
Jessica Watson completes a solo voyage around the world.[31]
June
3 June – The township of
Lennox Head on the North Coast of
New South Wales is affected by a
tornado, which destroys at least 40 properties.
19 June – A
by-election is held for the New South Wales state electorate of
Penrith. The by-election was won by the Liberal Party candidate
Stuart Ayres with a record swing of 25.7% in two party preferred terms. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of
Karyn Paluzzano after an admission that she lied to the
Independent Commission Against Corruption and her subsequent expulsion from the Australian Labor Party.[32][33]
26 June – The bodies of eleven people, including six board members of the Australian mining company
Sundance Resources who were killed in a
plane that crashed in West Africa, are recovered.
29 June –
Jayant Patel is found guilty on three counts of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm for his actions as Director of Surgery at
Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005.[35]
2 July – Prime Minister
Julia Gillard announces major changes to the Federal Government's proposed Resource Super Profits Tax, now known as the
Mineral Resource Rent Tax, including a reduction in the headline rate to 30%.[37]
4 September –
Widespread flooding across
Victoria leads to the evacuation of hundreds of people and millions of dollars of property damage.
7 September – Seventeen days after the 2010 federal election, the three independent MPs holding the balance of power announce their decisions.
Bob Katter announces he supports the Coalition. Several hours later,
Tony Windsor and
Rob Oakeshott announce they will support Julia Gillard's Labor government, allowing Gillard to inform the Governor-General that she is able to form a
minority government.[43]
October
8 October – The
Murray-Darling Basin Authority releases the Guide to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The plan proposes to cut water entitlements in the basin by up to 40% and return 4000
GL of water to the river system.[44]
25 October – Environmental activist
Peter Gray throws his shoes at former Prime Minister
John Howard on the ABC's
Q&A programme, in protest to the Howard Government's involvement in the
Iraq War.[46]
21–24 March – The
2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Australia tops the medal table, winning 6 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze.
22 April – The
Melbourne Storm are stripped of their
2007 and
2009National Rugby League premierships and 2006–2008
minor premierships, fined a record $1.689 million, deducted all eight premiership points for the
2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season after systematic breaches of the NRL
salary cap were discovered.[59]
23 June – Despite defeating
Serbia 2–1 in their final match in
Group D,
Australia did not progress past the group stages of the
2010 FIFA World Cup—finishing third in their group behind
Ghana on goal difference.
5 September – The
St. George Illawarra Dragons win their second straight, and most recent, minor premiership following the final main round of the
2010 NRL season. Following the
Melbourne Storm's stripping of team points in April after their
salary cap breach, they are relegated to last position by default.
26–29 December – England win the fourth Test and retain
The Ashes.
28 December – Wild Oats XI takes line honours for the fifth time in the
2010 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, although a protest is unsuccessfully raised over the yacht's failure to report its position by radio as it entered Bass Strait at Green Cape.[70]
^Fyfe, Melissa; Pierik, Jon (14 February 2010).
"Altona in 12% swing against Labor". Melbourne: The Age.
Archived from the original on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
2010 was the year of 'Women in Local Government'[1] and the year of the 'Girl Guide'[2] to coincide with the 100th year of the Girl Guides.
January
2 January – The fatal stabbing of a young
Indian man, Nitin Garg, in the
Melbourne suburb of
Yarraville generates deep anger in India, following other incidents of violence against Indian students in Australia.[3]
7 January – The Queensland Government activates disaster relief funding for communities in central and southwest Queensland isolated by floods.[4]
3 February – Following extensive public criticism, the South Australian
Attorney-GeneralMichael Atkinson announces that controversial new electoral legislation will be repealed after the
South Australian state election to be held on 20 March 2010. The new legislation requires anyone responding online to a political report during an election period to provide their full name and postcode, with the information to be retained by the publisher for six months.[8]
19 February –
Mary MacKillop is declared by
Pope Benedict XVI to be a
saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the first Australian so declared. A formal canonisation will take place in October 2010.[10]
22–23 February – Police are called to
Rose Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the early morning hours of 23 February to remove an illuminated street sign which had been tampered with earlier in the evening so it would display to passing motorists that “
Kevin Rudd Sucks".[11]
March
1–2 March – A record rainfall for a single day, since 22 December 1956, with over 100mm of rain fall across 1.7 per cent of Australian territory on 1 March, and over 1.9 per cent of the country the following day.[12]
1–20 March –
Major floods hit southern Queensland and north western New South Wales, with
Charleville,
Roma and
St George severely affected,[13] resulting with significant damage to properties, roads and rail lines.
6 March – Severe
thunderstorms and hail hit Melbourne and central Victoria, causing flash flooding and widespread property damage.
21 March – The category 3 severe tropical
Cyclone Ului crosses the Queensland coast near
Airlie Beach, causing moderate damage.[19]
22 March – A
storm featuring torrential
rain and large
hailstones caused flash flooding, structural damage and loss of power to 150,000 houses in
Perth.[20]
29 March – 100 boats have arrived since November 2007 bringing 4,386
asylum-seekers and at least 225 crew members to Australia. The 100th boat, with 41 passengers and 3 crew on board, was intercepted in the vicinity of
Christmas Island.[23][24]
27 April – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces the deferral of the introduction of the proposed
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until after the end of the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (which ends in 2012), citing a lack of bipartisan support for the proposal and slower progress than expected in terms of global action on climate change.[29]
May
2 May – The Rudd Government announces it will tax the above-normal profits—known as super profits—of the mining industry to fund a superannuation rise and a company tax cut.[30]
15 May – 16-year-old sailor
Jessica Watson completes a solo voyage around the world.[31]
June
3 June – The township of
Lennox Head on the North Coast of
New South Wales is affected by a
tornado, which destroys at least 40 properties.
19 June – A
by-election is held for the New South Wales state electorate of
Penrith. The by-election was won by the Liberal Party candidate
Stuart Ayres with a record swing of 25.7% in two party preferred terms. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of
Karyn Paluzzano after an admission that she lied to the
Independent Commission Against Corruption and her subsequent expulsion from the Australian Labor Party.[32][33]
26 June – The bodies of eleven people, including six board members of the Australian mining company
Sundance Resources who were killed in a
plane that crashed in West Africa, are recovered.
29 June –
Jayant Patel is found guilty on three counts of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm for his actions as Director of Surgery at
Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005.[35]
2 July – Prime Minister
Julia Gillard announces major changes to the Federal Government's proposed Resource Super Profits Tax, now known as the
Mineral Resource Rent Tax, including a reduction in the headline rate to 30%.[37]
4 September –
Widespread flooding across
Victoria leads to the evacuation of hundreds of people and millions of dollars of property damage.
7 September – Seventeen days after the 2010 federal election, the three independent MPs holding the balance of power announce their decisions.
Bob Katter announces he supports the Coalition. Several hours later,
Tony Windsor and
Rob Oakeshott announce they will support Julia Gillard's Labor government, allowing Gillard to inform the Governor-General that she is able to form a
minority government.[43]
October
8 October – The
Murray-Darling Basin Authority releases the Guide to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The plan proposes to cut water entitlements in the basin by up to 40% and return 4000
GL of water to the river system.[44]
25 October – Environmental activist
Peter Gray throws his shoes at former Prime Minister
John Howard on the ABC's
Q&A programme, in protest to the Howard Government's involvement in the
Iraq War.[46]
21–24 March – The
2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Australia tops the medal table, winning 6 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze.
22 April – The
Melbourne Storm are stripped of their
2007 and
2009National Rugby League premierships and 2006–2008
minor premierships, fined a record $1.689 million, deducted all eight premiership points for the
2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season after systematic breaches of the NRL
salary cap were discovered.[59]
23 June – Despite defeating
Serbia 2–1 in their final match in
Group D,
Australia did not progress past the group stages of the
2010 FIFA World Cup—finishing third in their group behind
Ghana on goal difference.
5 September – The
St. George Illawarra Dragons win their second straight, and most recent, minor premiership following the final main round of the
2010 NRL season. Following the
Melbourne Storm's stripping of team points in April after their
salary cap breach, they are relegated to last position by default.
26–29 December – England win the fourth Test and retain
The Ashes.
28 December – Wild Oats XI takes line honours for the fifth time in the
2010 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, although a protest is unsuccessfully raised over the yacht's failure to report its position by radio as it entered Bass Strait at Green Cape.[70]
^Fyfe, Melissa; Pierik, Jon (14 February 2010).
"Altona in 12% swing against Labor". Melbourne: The Age.
Archived from the original on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.