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27 March - The ALP government of Bob Carr is
re-elected in New South Wales.
14 April - A massive hailstorm hits Sydney,
with most of the damage being centred on the Eastern Suburbs. It is the
costliest natural disaster in Australian history, causing $1.7
billion in insured damages.
11 May - The biotechnology industry receives a record
$800 million in the federal budget.
21 May - Eight decaying bodies are found in barrels in a
disused bank vault north of Adelaide, marking the beginning of the Snowtown
murders case, which were Australia's worst ever serial killings. More bodies were found
underneath a house in Adelaide on 26 May.
28 June - The GST bill is passed
through the Senate, with the help of most of the
Australian Democrats, in exchange
for exemptions on fresh food.
27 July - A canyoning disaster at Saxetenbach Gorge near Interlaken in
Switzerland. 21 tourists, 14 of them Australian, are killed.
26 August - The Prime Minister
creates a controversy when he avoids the use of the word 'sorry'
when a motion was tabled in Parliament expressing 'deep
& sincere regret that indigenous Australians suffered
injustices under the practises of past generations'.
30 August - East
Timor votes for independence from Indonesia. In the violence that follows,
Australia is a major contributor of peacekeeping forces.
6 November - A referendum is held to determine whether Australia should become a republic & whether a preamble is inserted into the
constitution recognising the
Aborigines as Australia's first people. The 'no' vote scores 54% on
the republic question & 60% on the preamble question.
14 November - In response to the growing number of illegal immigrants, most of whom arrived by
boat, the government allows police to board vessels in international waters. On 23
November, refugees were barred from seeking asylum in they had lived somewhere else for
more than seven days or had the right to live somewhere else.
The Seven Network becomes the first Australian television network to introduce
a watermark on its programs, although the watermark is not
allowed to be broadcast on news or current affairs
programs or Deal Or No
Deal from 2004 onwards.
18 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field
Championships for the 1998-1999 season, which are held at the Olympic Park in Melbourne, Victoria. The 10,000 metres was
conducted at the Zatopek Classic, Melbourne on 5 December 1998. The
men's decathlon event was staged at the Hobart Grand Prix on 25
February-27.
11 July – Shaun Creighton wins the men's national
marathon title, clocking 2:16:03 in Brisbane, while Carolyn Schuwalow claims her
second women's title in 2:41:39.
25 September – The Kangaroos
(19.10.124) defeat the Carlton Blues (12.17.89) to win the
103rd VFL/AFL premiership. It is the first all-Victorian grand
final since 1995 & the first time the cup has not been won by
the Adelaide Crows since 1996.
26 September – A new world record crown for rugby league is set
when 107,961 people attend the first National Rugby League grand final
held at Stadium Australia. In one of the most memorable &
controversial grand finals in history, the Melbourne
Storm, in just their second season of existence, defeat the St George
Illawarra Dragons 20-18. The final outcome is determined when a
penalty try is given to Melbourne's Craig Smith. Melbourne's win means that
both the AFL trophy & NRL trophy have been won by teams from
the same city for the first time.
3 October - In the third year of the split in the organisation
of the Bathurst
1000 the traditional race was held for the last time and won by
Paul
Morris as the Bathurst 500 was declared
after just 310 of the scheduled 500 kilometres due to unrelenting
rain. It was a justification for Morris and the BMW team after
being disqualified from victory two years ago.
10 October – South Sydney supporters rally
through the streets of Sydney to protest against the
rationalisation of the NRL to 14 teams for 2000.
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