‘Children Overboard’ inquiry
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
HMAS Adelaide encounters a sinking boat carrying asylum seekers off the north coast of Australia. The Federal Government reports that passengers have thrown children overboard and
Al-Qaida terrorists attack the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The United States of America declares a “war on terrorism”
The United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance is held in Durban, South Africa. The conference marks both the International Year and
Asylum seekers en route to Australia from Indonesia are rescued off Christmas Island by the Norwegian ship MV Tampa. The Federal Government refuses to allow
Carol Martin wins seat of Kimberley, WA. She is the first Indigenous woman to be elected to any Parliament in Australia.