A senate select committee holds an inquiry into a 2001 Australian Government claim that children were thrown overboard from a sinking boat carrying asylum seekers off the north coast of Australia. The inquiry finds that the claim was untrue and
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission holds a Cyber Internet Racism Symposium. Legislators, government regulators, senior representatives from the IT sector, academics and racial equality groups focus on the Commission’s research into race hate and the internet. The research
On 12 October bombs kill 202 people and injure 209 more in two nightclubs in the tourist town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. It is considered the deadliest act of terrorism in Indonesian history. 88 of the
All Australian immigration detention centres are visited by inspection teams as part of a National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention. Public hearings are conducted in VIC, NSW, WA, SA and QLD with testimonies given by experts. Confidential focus groups
Australia hosts the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for the new millennium at Coolum in Queensland. Forty leaders and Her Majesty the Queen attend.
After leading the One Nation party for six years, Pauline Hanson resigns to concentrate on her trial for fraud. Best known for her outspoken ideas on Aboriginal welfare, immigration and political correctness, she co-founded One Nation with David Ettridge after
Over the course of the year, there are periodic protests in a number of refugee detention centres as well as escapes from some centres. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees criticises Australia’s mandatory detention policy. Human rights and church groups
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), due to be held in Brisbane, is postponed as a result of world events relating to attacks on the United States.
Victoria passes the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. The Act provides civil redress and criminal sanctions for racial vilification. The Act is to come into effect at 1 January 2002.