16 January – Large parts ofVictoria are hit with power outages, includingMelbourne,Geelong andBendigo, after bushfires knock out power transmission lines connecting the state to the nationalelectricity grid.[6]
23 January –John Howard reshuffles his federal cabinet. Such changes include the sacking of the Immigration Minister,Amanda Vanstone.[7]
26 January – Organisers of theBig Day Out in Sydney plead with event-goers not to bringAustralian flags with them, fearing outbreaks of racial violence. The plea is ignored, and the day passes without incident.[8]
5 February – The first inquest into the deaths of theBalibo Five begins.[10]
7 February –James Hardie announces it has approved long-term compensation arrangements forasbestos victims.[11]
11 February –Prime MinisterJohn Howard causes a diplomatic stir when he publicly criticises U.S. presidential nomineeBarack Obama for his plan to withdraw U.S. troops fromIraq.[12]
6 March – The Australian government approves a proposedA$11.1 billion sale of the national airlineQantas to an international consortium after the Foreign Investment Review Board finds that the sale would not breach foreign ownership laws.
9 March – Shadow Attorney-GeneralKelvin Thomson resigns from the Opposition front bench after it is revealed that he wrote a positive character reference for Melbourne gangland figure and fugitiveTony Mokbel six years ago.
14 March – An electrical fault on aNorthern Line train near theSydney Harbour Bridge strands 4,000 passengers onSydney'sCityRail train system for nearly three hours, and causes substantial delays during the evening rush hour.
16 March – SenatorSanto Santoro resigns as Minister for Ageing following a scandal involving his ownership of shares in a company related to his portfolio. He resigns from the Senate on 20 March.
18 March – More than 200,000 people walk across theSydney Harbour Bridge to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
23 March – Three people are killed when three trucks and four cars are involved in a major collision and explosion inMelbourne'sBurnley Tunnel.
23 March – ThePlayStation 3 games console is released in Australia, exactly a year after the Australian release ofMicrosoft'sXbox 360.
10 April – Four elderly residents of the Broughton Hall nursing home in Melbourne die after agastroenteritis outbreak at the home over the Easter weekend. A fifth resident dies in hospital on 16 April.
19 April – Prime MinisterJohn Howard announces a report which states that unless significant rain falls in theMurray-Darling Basin within the next six to eight weeks, Australia will face a major agricultural crisis with no irrigation allocations available to farmers.
24 April – Two Australian soldiers are injured when a roadside bomb goes off inIraq.
26 April – Former immigration minister SenatorAmanda Vanstone announces her immediate resignation from theAustralian Senate. It is announced later that day that Vanstone will take up the position of Australia's Ambassador to Italy in late June.
1 June – The Australian Government climate task force releases its report, recommending Australia implement anemissions trading scheme by 2012. Prime MinisterJohn Howard declines to set a target for greenhouse gas reduction until after the 2007 election.[14]
5 June – Eleven people are killed, 12 seriously injured, 50 others wounded and 13 still missing after aV/Line traincollides with a truck at a level crossing nearKerang, Victoria.[15]
6 June – FugitiveTony Mokbel is recaptured in Greece after being missing since March 2006.[16]
8–10 June –Major storms strikeNew South Wales, killing at least nine people and causing major flooding. The coal freighterPasha Bulker is forced to run aground on Nobby's Beach, a major Newcastle beach.
21 June – After the release of a report intochild abuse anddomestic violence inindigenous communities, the Prime Minister declares the situation a "national emergency" and announces a series of measures (most of which are controversial) to deal with the crisis.
25 June –John Laws announces his retirement from radio after a career spanning 54 years.[21]
27 August – The Australian Government releases a draft booklet of Australian facts and values from which 20 questions of acitizenship test will be drawn. Applicants for citizenship will be required to score 12 out of 20 (60%) in the test to be eligible.[31]
13 September –Anna Bligh is sworn in as Queensland's first female premier.
15 September – A three-year-old toddler,Qian Xun Xue (nicknamed "Pumpkin" by authorities), is found wandering alone at Melbourne'sSouthern Cross station. Police believe the child had arrived several days before from New Zealand, and that her father had fled to the United States.
4 October – The controversialGunnsBell Bay Pulp Mill is given the go-ahead by federal Environment and Water Resources MinisterMalcolm Turnbull, with some conditions imposed on its development and with the Shadow minister for Environment and Water's backing.[32]
8–11 October – Severe thunderstorms have pounded South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales, with hailstones the size of tennis balls and destructive winds being recorded inBrisbane,Sunshine Coast,Gold Coast andLismore.[33]
6 November – An Australian children's toy known asBindeez is recalled and a safety warning is issued after several children who had swallowed the beads were hospitalised suffering the symptoms of ingestion ofgamma-Hydroxybutyric acid or GHB. The toys are also recalled in the United States and United Kingdom after several U.S. children suffer the same effects.[34]
9 November – The Assistant Commissioner ofVictoria Police, Noel Ashby, resigns, after a long service.
9 February – TheAustralian Football League signs a five-year broadcasting contract with theSeven Network,Network Ten andpay TV providerFoxtel, in a controversial deal that will see half of the AFL matches played each week broadcast on Foxtel instead of free-to-air television.
12 February –Jodi Power, a family friend of convicted drug smugglerSchapelle Corby, made allegations in a paid interview onChannel Seven'sToday Tonight that Corby's sister Mercedes had previously asked Power to transport drugs to Bali and that Mercedes had confessed to smuggling compressed cannabis concealed inside her body into Indonesia. Mercedes is interviewed byChannel Nine's rival programA Current Affair on 14 February.
1 April – When it was announced onWeekend Sunrise, TheSeven Network pays $3 million for the broadcast rights to the fourth series ofKath & Kim, a popular sitcom which had previously aired until their final appearance on theABC in 2005/06 asDa Kath & Kim Code.
16 April – Australia's Leader of the OppositionKevin Rudd and Minister for Workplace RelationsJoe Hockey discontinue their weekly appearances on Seven's breakfast news programSunrise after four years. The decision follows possibly politically damaging accusations thatSunrise had requested that Rudd appear at a dawn service forANZAC Day inLong Tan,Vietnam, with the service held an hour early to accommodate the time difference for live television.[38]
1 June – The very last ever episode ofBert's Family Feud goes to air on theNine Network after an 18-month run. The show was axed due to the strong competition prize win of rival Seven Network game showDeal or No Deal.
23 July – Top-rating soap operaNeighbours makes a super international revamp over to continue its long-run on theNetwork Ten.
19 August – Fourth series premiere ofKath & Kim at 7:30 pm, now on theSeven Network, attracts an audience of 2.521 million nationally,[39] making it the most watched television programme so far in 2007[40] and the highest rating ever for a first episode in the history of Australian television.[39]
15 October –Seven HD is introduced, becoming the first HD-only channel operated by a Melbourne-based commercial television network.
21 October – TheNine Network includes the "worm" audience reaction graph in their broadcast of theelection debate betweenJohn Howard andKevin Rudd, despite agreements to the contrary. TheNational Press Club cut Nine's transmission feed, and theABC cut their backup feed. Nine continued to transmit by adding the worm to theSky News broadcast.[41]
2 November –Network Ten's news anchorpersonCharmaine Dragun is found dead near Sydney, apparently due to a suicide.
1 March – JockeyChris Munce is sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in Hong Kong for taking bribes in exchange for racing tips. His lawyers are appealing.
20 March –West Coast Eagles midfielderBen Cousins is suspended indefinitely by his club after missing two days of training in a row. He later attends a four-week rehabilitation clinic in the United States.
31 March – Retired swimmerIan Thorpe is accused in French sports newspaperL'Equipe of having tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone in May 2006.FINA demands an investigation into the allegations, which Thorpe denies. Thorpe is eventually found to have no case to answer
23 August – A horse is diagnosed withhorse flu (equine influenza) in a quarantine station atEastern Creek. Further horses are diagnosed at the quarantine centre,Centennial Park and outside New South Wales over the next few days, resulting in the cancellation ofrace meetings Australia-wide and suspension of horse transportation for 72 hours on 25 August.[46]
23 September – Motorcycle racerCasey Stoner gains an unbeatable lead in theMotoGP world championships when he finished third in a race in Tokyo.[48]
29 September – TheGeelong Football Club (24.19.163) defeatPort Adelaide (6.8.44) to win the 111thVFL/AFL premiership. It is the first premiership since 1963 for the Cats, the first premiership won by a Victorian team since 2000 and the largest ever winning margin in VFL/AFL grand final history.
