The following lists events that happened during 2008 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

–

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

– Michael Jeffery (until 5 September), then Quentin Bryce *

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

–

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

–

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

** Opposition Leader – Brendan Nelson (until 16 September), then

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...

* Chief Justice – Murray Gleeson (until 29 August), then Robert French

State and territory leaders

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

– Morris Iemma (until 5 September), then Nathan Rees ** Opposition Leader –

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

– Anna Bligh ** Opposition Leader – Jeff Seeney (until 29 January), then Lawrence Springborg *

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

–

Mike Rann Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and List of Australi ...

** Opposition Leader – Martin Hamilton-Smith *

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

– Paul Lennon (until 26 May), then David Bartlett ** Opposition Leader – Will Hodgman * Premier of Victoria – John Brumby ** Opposition Leader – Ted Baillieu *

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

– Alan Carpenter (until 23 September), then Colin Barnett ** Opposition Leader – Paul Omodei (until 17 January), then Troy Buswell (until 4 August), then Colin Barnett (until 23 September), then Eric Ripper * Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Jon Stanhope ** Opposition Leader – Zed Seselja *

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...

– Paul Henderson ** Opposition Leader – Jodeen Carney (until 29 January), then Terry Mills * Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – Andre Nobbs

Governors and administrators

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

–

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

– Quentin Bryce (until 29 July), then Penelope Wensley *

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

– Kevin Scarce *

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the governor is Gov ...

– William Cox (until 2 April), then Peter Underwood * Governor of Victoria –

David de Kretser David Morritz de Kretser (born 27 April 1939) is an Australian medical researcher who served as the 27th Governor of Victoria, from 2006 to 2011. Early life and medical career David de Kretser was born in British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka ...

* Governor of Western Australia –

Ken Michael Kenneth Comninos Michael, (born 12 April 1938) is an Australian civil engineer, academic and former public servant who was the 30th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2011. Early life and career Michael was born in Perth, W ...

* Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories – Neil Lucas (until 22 February) *

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of the Crown and the Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Exe ...

– Owen Walsh *

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

– Tom Pauling

Events

Entire year

*Year of the

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. *Year of Physical Activity. *

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

represents Australia in the pre-qualifying round of Eurovision 2008.

January

*1 January onwards – Torrential rain causes widespread flooding and damage to parts of

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

and the North Coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. *11 January – An

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final ass ...

lands at the new Wilkins Runway in the

Australian Antarctic Territory The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica claimed by Australia as an external territory. It is administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the E ...

, becoming the first passenger flight from Australia to Antarctica. *15 January – An Australian

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

activist, Benjamin Potts, and his British colleague, Giles Lane, are detained on board the Japanese

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

vessel ''Yushin Maru No. 2'' after boarding the ship which was inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary near Antarctica. *15 January –

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

officers use capsicum spray to subdue unruly Greek spectators at the

2008 Australian Open The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 thro ...

, during a match between Konstantinos Economidis and

Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...

. *17 January – An explosion in a wine processing shed at Drayton's Winery in the

Hunter Valley kills two men including winery owner Trevor Drayton, and injures one. *23 January – After 128 years, the final edition of '' The Bulletin'' is published. Its demise was announced on 20 January.

February

*8 February – A controversial plan to deepen

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

's shipping channels by

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is comple ...

begins. *12 February – Federal Parliament was opened with a Welcome to Country, the first time in its history that this has occurred. *13 February – An apology containing the word "sorry" is made by Kevin Rudd to

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

for the stolen generation as the first order of business of the new Parliament. *22 February –

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the

is brought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.

March

*12 March –

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

experiences a national record

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

for an Australian capital city, recording over ten straight days of temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius. *14 March – Former

New South Wales government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

minister Milton Orkopoulos is found guilty of 28 charges of child sex offences and the supply of drugs. *16 March – The South Australian

continues with

experiencing its 14th straight day of temperatures above 35 degrees. *16 March – The Finding Sydney Foundation announces it has located the wrecks of the Australian light cruiser HMAS ''Sydney'' and the German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'', which both sunk after a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

in 1941. *26 March – At the

Council of Australian Governments The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local G ...

meeting, the

Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

agrees to take part in a A$10 billion rescue plan for the Murray-Darling Basin, after 15 months of negotiations. *27 March – The Opes Prime stockbroking firm collapses, and the

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

announces it is conducting an investigation into the firm's activities. *28 March –

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

Australia Limited closes its Clovelly Park manufacturing facility, ending more than 40 years of manufacturing at the site. *30 March – The extension of

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

by a week to standardise time in

, Victoria, the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

causes a "mini- Y2K problem" as computer systems, mobile phones and even the " time man" incorrectly adjust the time back one hour. *30 March – The

gag order A gag order (also known as a gagging order or suppression order) is an order, typically a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public or passed on to any unauthorized third party. The phrase may ...

applied to

David Hicks David Matthew Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian who attended al-Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan. Hicks traveled to Pakistan after converting to Islam to learn more about the faith, eventually leading to his time in th ...

by the

Guantanamo military commission The Guantanamo military commissions were established by President George W. Bush through a military order on November 13, 2001, to try certain non-citizen terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison. To date, there have been a total of eight ...

is lifted, allowing him to discuss his detainment at

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

April

*18 April – Nick D'Arcy has his Beijing ticket terminated following an incident at a nightclub involving former swimmer Simon Cowley. *19 April – The Australia 2020 Summit begins in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. *30 April – The

agrees to implement safety measures for

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

drivers, after dozens of taxis blockade the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets following the stabbing of a driver the previous day.

May

*1 May – Five people are killed when a runabout collides with a fishing boat on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

. *17 May – Fugitive gangster Tony Mokbel arrives in Australia following his

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

from Greece. *22 May **Revolutionary Australian forum television programme Q&A broadcasts its first episode. ** Colin Campbell Ross, hanged in 1922 for the Gun Alley Murder, is granted an official pardon. *26 May – Paul Lennon announces his resignation as

. His deputy, David Bartlett, is sworn in as the new Premier later in the day. *26 May – Camden Council in Sydney votes unanimously to reject a proposal to build a 1,200 student

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic school in the area.

June

*1 June – Australia ends its combat operations in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, withdrawing approximately 550 troops from the region. *3 June – A gas explosion at a plant on Varanus Island in Western Australia severely disrupts gas supplies to the state. *8 June – It is revealed that New South Wales Education Minister John Della Bosca and his wife, federal Member for Robertson Belinda Neal, were allegedly involved in an altercation at a nightclub in

Gosford, New South Wales Gosford is a Waterfront (area), waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic v ...

. *28 June – A

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

is held in the federal seat of

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

following the resignation of the sitting MP, Peter McGauran.

Darren Chester Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans ...

wins the by-election, retaining the seat for the National Party.

July

*1 July – 36 State Senators elected in the 2007 election take their seats in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

. For the first time in 31 years, the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

have no Senators in the parliament. *11 July – The

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

is officially released in Australia. *13 July –

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

arrives for his first papal visit to Australia, ahead of World Youth Day 2008. *15 to 20 July – World Youth Day 2008, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

's youth festival is held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. *26 July – The Queensland divisions of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and the National Party merge to form the Liberal National Party. *29 July – Chris Evans, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, announces that the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

will reform the policy regarding mandatory detention of

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A per ...

August

*8 August – The

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

conduct what is claimed to be the world's biggest ecstasy drugs bust, seizing A$440 million worth of the drug. *9 August – A

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

is held in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

with the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

retaining government.

September

*5 September – Morris Iemma retires as

, and his replacement is Nathan Rees. *5 September – Quentin Bryce is sworn in as the first female Governor-General of Australia. *6 September – A

is held in Western Australia. *6 September –

By-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

s are held in the federal electorates of Mayo and Lyne, following the resignation of MPs Alexander Downer and Mark Vaile respectively. The Liberal Party retains Mayo, but the National Party loses Lyne to an independent candidate,

Rob Oakeshott Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...

. *14 September – The National Party agrees to support the

to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

in Western Australia.

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Alan Carpenter announces he will resign following

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

's defeat in the 2008 WA election – the first defeat of a state Labor government in Australia in over thirteen years. *16 September –

becomes

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

when he defeats Brendan Nelson in a ballot for the leadership of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

. *23 September – Colin Barnett is sworn in as

. *30 September – Professor

Ross Garnaut Ross Gregory Garnaut (born 28 July 1946, Perth) is an Australian economist, currently serving as a vice-chancellor's fellow and professorial fellow of economics at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of numerous academic publications ...

releases his final report in the

Garnaut Climate Change Review Professor Ross Garnaut led two climate change reviews, the first commencing in 2007 and the second in 2010. The first Garnaut Climate Change Review was a study by Professor Ross Garnaut, commissioned by then Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd and ...

October

*10 October – Prime Minister

receives a phone call from

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

during a dinner party at The Lodge. A subsequent edition of ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' newspaper reports that during the call, President Bush asked Rudd what the G-20 was. Although the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and the Prime Minister deny this exchange took place, the Opposition uses the event to question Mr Rudd's discretion. *18 October – A

is held in the

. *20 October –

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

commercially flies the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

for the first time.

November

*16 November – The Gap, Queensland and surrounding areas are affected by severe thunderstorms with Microburst.

December

*15 December – Prime Minister

announces that Australia will cut its

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

by five per cent of 2000 levels by the year 2020, with an option to reduce by 15 per cent if other developing countries take similar action. The announcement is criticised by the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

and environmental groups as not going far enough.

Arts and literature

*7 March – Del Kathryn Barton wins the 2008

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

for ''You are what is most beautiful about me, a self portrait with Kell and Arella'', a

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

with her children. *13 March – Australian author Sonya Hartnett wins the 2008

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award () is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it ...

for young adult literature. *23 May –

New South Wales Police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

seize a number of photographs depicting naked children by artist

Bill Henson Bill Henson (born 7 October 1955) is an Australian contemporary art photographer. Art Henson has exhibited nationally and internationally in galleries such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Venice Biennale, the National ...

which were to be exhibited the previous day. *19 June – Steven Carroll's novel '' The Time We Have Taken'' wins the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

*12 September – Steven Conte's novel '' The Zookeeper's War'' wins the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and ''Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers'' by Philip Jones wins the Non-Fiction award. *19 September – First-time novelist Andrew Croome wins the Vogel Literary Award for his manuscript about the Petrov affair, ''Document Z''. *15 October – Indian-Australian journalist Aravind Adiga wins the 2008

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

for his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' The White Tiger''.

Arts and literature award winners

* Michelle de Kretser is awarded the

Australian Literature Society Gold Medal The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal) is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by th ...

for '' The Lost Dog''. * Michelle de Kretser's novel '' The Lost Dog'' wins the Christina Stead Prize for fiction. *

Helen Garner Helen Garner (née Ford, born 7 November 1942) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garner's debut novel, first novel, ''Monkey Grip (novel), Monkey Grip'', published in 1977, immediately established her ...

's novel ''

The Spare Room ''The Spare Room'' is a 2008 novel by Australian writer Helen Garner, set over the course of three weeks while the narrator, Helen, cares for a friend dying of bowel cancer. Plot summary The novel is told from the first person perspective o ...

'' wins the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction.

Science and technology

*5 August – Google Street View images of Australian city streets are added to

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

and

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

software.

Film

*26 February –

-born film producer Eva Orner wins an

Academy Award for Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

for the film '' Taxi to the Dark Side''. *26 November –

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's epic film ''

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

'', starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and Hugh Jackman, makes its debut.

Television

* 5 January –

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

commentator, Clinton Grybas, dies at 32 as a result of falling whilst

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

. * 14 January –

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

revamps its logo and on-air graphics as a part of a new network re-launch, and after a two-year absence, returns the famous ''" Nine Balls"'' logo, except instead of balls, they use discs. * 7 February – Veteran television presenter Ray Martin quits the

after 30 years with the network. * 8 February – At 12:00 PM AEDT ABC TV officially became

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...

. * 8 February – Former The Great Outdoors host Shelley Craft quits Channel Seven and moves to Channel Nine to take over from Toni Pearen as host of ''

Australia's Funniest Home Videos ''Australia's Funniest Home Videos'' (''AFHV'', also known as ''Funniest Home Videos'' or simply ''The Video Show'', originally ''Graham Kennedy's Funniest Home Video Show'' in its first season and ''Australia's Funniest Home Video Show'' until ...

''. * 12 February – The

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

places an injunction on the broadcast and exhibition of the

's drama series '' Underbelly'' in Victoria, following concerns that the series, which depicts Melbourne's gangland wars, could prejudice an ongoing murder trial. * 14 March – '' A Current Affair'' broadcasts its 5000th episode and celebrates its 20th anniversary. * 17 March – The

launches its

high-definition television High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

channel, Nine HD. * 3 April – Kate Ritchie (

Sally Fletcher Sally Fletcher (also Keating) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Kate Ritchie. She made her first screen appearance during the serial's pilot episode, which was broadcast on 17 January 1988. Sally ...

), one of the original cast members of ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'', leaves the series after 20 years. * 7 April – The

makes the first episodes of the new series '' Canal Road'' available for download over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, ahead of its television broadcast on 16 April. * 27 April – Jack Chambers wins the first series of '' So You Think You Can Dance Australia''. * 4 May – The 2008 Logie Awards are held. Kate Ritchie (formerly of ''

'') wins the Gold Logie for the second year in a row. * 7 May – SBS TV reveals its new logo. * 26 May – Game show '' Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune'', a revival of the '' Wheel of Fortune'' format, premieres on the

. * 2 June – The

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

apologises after airing an episode of the hospital drama '' All Saints'' in which it is suggested that a child born of an incestuous relationship is likely to result in the child having Down's syndrome. * 27 June – '' Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune'' is cancelled on the

after a month. * 7 July –

starts broadcasting its watermark on all news and current affairs programs. * 21 July – The final episode of '' Big Brother Australia'', which was axed by

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

the week prior, goes to air. The winner of the final series is 52-year-old grandmother Terri Munro. * 25 July – The Nine Network's ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'' news program is broadcast for the last time after 16 years on air. * 26 July – Peter Cundall's last appearance on

's ''

Gardening Australia ''Gardening Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle television program which suggests and promotes organic and environmentally friendly ways of gardening. It is created by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs on ABC TV, in an ho ...

'' before retiring from Australian Landscapes. * 28 July – TV journalist, '' This Is Your Life'' host and also a former host of ''A Current Affair'', Mike Munro announces he is leaving the

after 22 years, due to budget cuts. * 3 August – The Nine Network's ''

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

'' program is broadcast for the last time after 27 years on air. * 28 August – '' Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos'', an adult-oriented spin-off of ''

'' is revived on the

. The program made headlines in 1992 when then-CEO

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

ordered it to be taken off-air in the middle of one episode.

Sport

*6 January –

retains the Border–Gavaskar Trophy when it beats

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by 122 runs at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

, equalling its own record of 16 consecutive

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

victories. *7 January – The

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI) suspends

's cricket tour of Australia after objecting to a three-match ban on Harbhajan Singh for allegedly calling Australian player

Andrew Symonds Andrew Symonds (9 June 1975 – 14 May 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, who played all three formats as a batting all-rounder. Commonly nicknamed "Roy", he was a key member of two Cricket World Cup, World Cup–winning squads. ...

a "big monkey". The tour suspension is lifted on 9 January after umpire Steve Bucknor is removed from the third test. *20 January –

Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under Professional sports lea ...

claim the premiership for the A-League 2007–08 season. *14 to 27 January – The

Tennis Championships are held at Melbourne Park.

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...

wins the men's singles, the first Grand Slam title since the

2005 Australian Open The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005. Roger Federer was unsuccessful in defending his 2004 title, being defeated in the semi-finals by eventual champion Marat Safin ...

not won by

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...

. He is also the youngest player to win the Australian Open, and the first Serb. Russian

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...

wins the women's singles title. *6 February –

defeats

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

3–0 in a

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

match at Telstra Dome in

. *24 February –

Newcastle United Jets FC Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

defeat

1–0 in the A-League Grand Final 2008, becoming champions of the 2007–08 season. *29 February – 2007 NRL premiers the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

are defeated by

Super League XII Engage Super League XII is the official name for the year 2007's Super League season in the sport of rugby league. The 2007 season kicked off on the weekend of 2 February 2007 at the Galpharm Stadium. For the first time, the league had a stagge ...

champions the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

11–4 in the

2008 World Club Challenge The 2008 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested between Super League XII champions, the Leeds Rhinos and National Rugby League season 2007 premiers, the Melbourne Storm. For the fifth consecutive year the English home team defeated their Aust ...

. *2 March – Australian rider

Troy Bayliss Troy Andrew Bayliss (born 30 March 1969 in Taree, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his care ...

wins both races at the Australian Superbike World Championship round. *12 March – The

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...

postpones the expansion of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

to include new clubs Gold Coast Galaxy FC and North Queensland Thunder FC until at least the 2009–10 season. *16 March – British driver

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

wins the 2008 Australian Grand Prix. *22 March – Swimmer Stephanie Rice breaks the 400 metres medley world record. *25 March – Stephanie Rice breaks the 200 metres medley world record. *26 March –

draws with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

0–0 in a

match at Tuodong Stadium in

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

, China. *1 June –

defeats

1–0 in a

match at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland. *2 July –

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

defeats

by 16–10 in the third game of the 2008 Rugby League State of Origin series, thereby winning their third consecutive series by two games to one. *8 to 24 August – Australia competes in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing, China. The Australian Olympic team wins 14 gold medals, coming 6th on the medal tally. *7 September – The

win their third straight minor premiership following the final main round of the 2008 NRL season. Like the previous two years, the win would later be revoked in 2010 following the club's salary cap breach. The

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

finish in last position, claiming the

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

. *13 September – The New Zealand

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

win the 2008 Tri Nations Series in

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. *22 September – The

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

' Adam Cooney wins the 2008

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

for best and fairest player in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

. *27 September – Hawthorn become premiers of the

2008 AFL season The 2008 AFL season was the 112th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

, defeating

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

18.7 (115) to 11.23 (89) in the 2008 AFL Grand Final. *5 October – The

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

become premiers of the National Rugby League season 2008, defeating minor premiers the

40–0 at ANZ Stadium. *5 October – Australian

Ducati Corse Ducati Corse () is the racing division of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., Ducati Motor Holding. Organization The company is split into four departments with 100+ employees working for the Ducati Corse, almost 10% of the Ducati Motor Holding S.p. ...

rider

Casey Stoner Casey Joel Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in and . During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a tit ...

wins his second successive Australian motorcycle Grand Prix. Stoner wins by 6.5 seconds over

Yamaha Motor Racing Yamaha MotoGP Racing or Yamaha Factory Racing is the official Italian-Japanese factory team of Yamaha in MotoGP, currently competing as Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team. History The team was founded in 1999 following the retirement of Wayne Ra ...

rider Valentino Rossi. *12 October – Craig Lowndes and

Jamie Whincup Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...

win their third successive

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

at the 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. *25 October – Maldivian wins the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, defeating Zipping and Samantha Miss. *25 October to 22 November – The 2008 Rugby League World Cup is held in Australia.

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

wins the cup, defeating

34 – 20 at the

. *26 October – Ryan Briscoe takes his

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

run Dallara IR5 to victory in the 2008 Nikon Indy 300, becoming in the last running of the event, the first Australian driver to win the Gold Coast Indycar race. *4 November – Viewed wins the 2008

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

, the twelfth win of the race for trainer Bart Cummings. *28 December – The yacht '' Wild Oats XI'' claims its fourth consecutive line honours win in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. ''Quest'' is the race's handicap winner.Skandia's skipper hails 'great job'

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, 28 December 2008.

Deaths

*1 January – Ted Baldwin, 85, politician *5 January – Clinton Grybas, 32, sports commentator *8 January – George T. D. Moore, 84, former jockey and horse trainer *9 January – Tim Willoughby, 53, Olympic rower *11 January – Nancy Phelan, 94, writer *12 January – Isobel Bennett, 98, marine biologist *19 January – Creighton Burns, 82, editor of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' newspaper (1981–1989) *22 January –

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

, 28, actor (died in New York City) *25 January – Roc Kirby, 89, founder of Village Roadshow Limited *26 January – Padraic McGuinness, 69, journalist *3 February – Jackie Orszaczky, 59, Hungarian-born musician and record producer *14 February – Smoky Dawson, 94, country music performer *19 February – Peter Pianto, 78, VFL player and coach for

*21 February –

Geoff Leek Geoff Leek (18 February 1932 – 21 February 2008) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL from 1951 to 1962. First senior match Recruited from the Preston Boys Club (he had been released by Collingwood to ...

, 76, VFL player for Essendon *25 February – Ashley Cooper, 27, V8 Supercar race driver *28 February – Val Plumwood, 67, ecologist and feminist *1 March – Sid Spindler, 76, Democrats senator *3 March – Norm O'Neill, 71, cricketer *14 March – Clyde Cameron, 95, Whitlam government minister *16 March – Bill Brown, 95, cricketer and member of the 1948 Invincibles *19 March – John Dowie, 93, sculptor *1 April – Audrey Cahn, 102, nutritionist *6 April – Tony Davies, 68, New Zealand rugby union player *7 April – Sir Frank Little, 82, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne *8 April – John Button, 74, ALP senator and Hawke government minister *10 April – Kim Santow, 67, NSW Supreme Court judge, university chancellor *24 April – Tristram Cary, 82, British composer *30 April – John Cargher, 89, ABC Radio presenter *9 May – Jack Gibson, 79, rugby league coach and player *10 May – Jessie Jacobs, 17, actress ('' The Saddle Club'') *22 May – Charlie Booth, 104, athlete and inventor of the starting block *26 May – Alan Renouf, 89, head of DFAT and ambassador *27 May – Mick Nolan, 58, Australian rules footballer. *3 June – Trevor Kaine, 80, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (1989–1991) *11 June – Sir Francis Hassett, 90, soldier and head of the Australian Defence Force *22 June – Jane McGrath, 42, cancer support campaigner and wife of cricketer Glenn McGrath *25 June –

Lyall Watson Lyall Watson (12 April 1939 – 25 June 2008) was a South African botany, botanist, zoology, zoologist, biologist, anthropologist, ethology, ethologist, and author of many books, among the most popular of which is the best seller ''Supernature'' ...

, 69, South African botanist and author *6 July – Jack Collins, 78, Australian rules footballer ( Footscray) *7 July – Yitzchok Dovid Groner, 83, chief rabbi of Melbourne's Chabad-Lubavitch community *12 July – Olive Riley, 108, believed to have been the world's oldest blogger *13 July – Peter Durack, 81, Liberal Party senator and Fraser government minister *16 July – Lindsay Thompson, 84, Premier of Victoria (1981–1982) *18 July – Peter Welsh, 54, Australian rules footballer *25 July – Jeff Fehring, 52, Australian rules footballer *5 August – Reg Lindsay, 79, country music singer *12 August – Christie Allen, 53, pop music singer *28 August – Mark Priestley, 32, television actor ('' All Saints'') *1 September –

Michael Pate Michael Pate Order of Australia, OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked prolifically as a supporting actor in Hollywood films and Ameri ...

, 88, actor and writer *1 September – Kevin Heinze, 81, ABC television and radio presenter *4 September – Colin Egar, 80, cricket umpire and administrator *12 September – Bob Quinn, 88, SANFL footballer *23 September – Peter Leonard, 66, journalist and television presenter *24 September – Sir Peter Derham, 83, businessman and philanthropist *25 September – Roger Vanderfield, 80, rugby union referee and administrator *2 October – Rob Guest, 58, stage actor and singer *4 October – Levi Kereama, 27, R&B Singer *27 November – Paul Hibbert, 56, cricketer *2 December – Frank Crean, 92, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer in the Whitlam government *6 December – Richard Marsland, 32, actor, comedian and radio announcer *8 December – Kerryn McCann, 41, athlete *10 December – Dorothy Porter, 54, poet *29 December – William Ellis Green, 85, cartoonist

References

{{Australian Incumbents Australian incumbents Years of the 21st century in Australia

Incumbents

State and territory leaders

Governors and administrators

Events

Entire year

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Arts and literature

Arts and literature award winners

Science and technology

Film

Television

Sport

Deaths

See also

References