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2021 in Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following lists events that happened during 2021 in Australia.

2021 in Australia
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralDavid Hurley
Prime ministerScott Morrison
Australian of the YearGrace Tame
ElectionsWA, TAS

2021
in
Australia

Decades:
See also:

Incumbents

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David Hurley
Scott Morrison

State and territory leaders

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Governors and administrators

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Events

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January

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  • 1 January – The words of the Australian national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", are changed for the first time since 1984, amending the line "For we are young and free" to "For we are one and free".[1]
  • 2 January – Two women drown during a guided canyoning tour at Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains[2]
  • 8 January – A three-day lockdown is imposed on the Greater Brisbane area to stop the spread of a UK COVID-19 variant after a hotel quarantine worker unknowingly contracted the virus and spread it out into the community.[3]
  • 22 January − An ongoing plague of mice continued to cause problems and began to cause concerns for crops in areas of New South Wales and Queensland.[4]
  • By March the mice were stripping food and other items from the shelves of a supermarket in Gulargambone.[5]
  • In June 2021 the plague caused the complete evacuation of the Wellington Correctional Centre as dead mice and damage to infrastructure led to concern for the health and safety of inmates and staff.[6]

February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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  • 5 September – Melbourne Storm win the minor premiership (their fifth since 2011) following the final main round of the 2021 NRL season. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs finish in last position, claiming their first wooden spoon since 2008.
  • 15 September – Australia cancels its Attack-class submarine submarine construction deal with France, representing $90b, in favour of the AUKUS security alliance with the United States and United Kingdom, which includes the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines.[47][48][49][50]
  • 20 September – in Melbourne, there was a protest by hundreds of people against mandatory vaccination for construction workers outside the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) headquarters. The protest became violent, the union building was damaged, and riot police employed pepper spray and rubber bullets. Combined with an increase in transmission of COVID-19 in the industry, from 11.59pm that night all building and construction industry worksites in Ballarat, Geelong, Metropolitan Melbourne, Mitchell Shire and the Surf Coast were shut down for two weeks.[51]
  • 21 September – in Melbourne, there was another protest with thousands of people marching against a wide range of pandemic response related issues, including the previous days' construction industry shut down. The "Victorian Workers Rally For Freedom" started near to the CFMEU headquarters at 10am, went through the CBD, past state Parliament, Flinders Street railway station, then onto and blocking the busy West Gate Freeway causing "chaos" in peak hour traffic. At least one media reporter was assaulted, and objects, including bottles and flares, were thrown at police. Riot police again used tear gas and rubber bullets and at least 62 arrests were made.[52] Union officials such as John Setka, CFMEU Victorian state secretary, and Sally McManus, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) national secretary, asserted that the protests had been hijacked, McManus saying it was by "... far right groups and anti-vax groups, ...". The construction shutdown has put about 300,000 out of work, and could cost the industry nearly AU$500 million per day.[53][54]
  • 22 September – A 5.9 magnitude earthquake is reported, with the epicentre being around the Mansfield area in north-eastern Victoria. The quake's effects were felt as far away as Tasmania and Adelaide. Southern New South Wales experienced the quake as well.[55]
    • in Melbourne city there was yet another protest, with up to 1,000 people converging on the Shrine of Remembrance. After a stand-off for a few hours with police surrounding them, protesters were dispersed at about 5pm. Two police officers were injured by thrown bottles and more than 200 people were arrested. An estimated 300 fines were issued for not complying with stay-at-home directives.[52] One protester there was hospitalised by the next day with COVID-19.[56]
  • 25 September – Melbourne Demons defeat Western Bulldogs 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66) to win the 2021 AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium, Perth. It is the Demons' first premiership victory since 1964.[57]
  • 30 September – A tornado touches down in the NSW Central West, demolishing homes in Peel and Meadow Flat. Three people are left injured.[58]

October

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November

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December

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  • 2 December – In New South Wales, the first case of Omicron variant, a highly mutated variant of COVID-19, is reported by the Department of Health and Aged Care in a Sydney resident, who had traveled to South Africa.[citation needed]
  • 3 December – A few months before the elections, Labor announces 43% cut to emissions by 2030 as climate policy goal
  • 6 December –
  • 7 December – Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs announced that John Asiata's contract has been terminated effective immediately. It resulted from Asiata's refusals to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Asiata becomes the first NRL player to suffer this fate.[71]
  • 16 December – A jumping castle and two zorbs were lifted into the air by a gust of a wind at Hillcrest primary school, located in the south-west Devonport, killing six children.[72][73]
  • 19 December – A microburst forms in Sydney's Northern Beaches, killing one person and leaving two people critically injured. Power went down for more than 12,000 residents and has not been restored as of 20 December.
  • 28 December – The Australian cricket team retains the Ashes in the 2021–22 series at the MCG.
  • 30 December – A fire broke out at the entrance of Old Parliament House, Canberra.[74] Police confirmed the fire had been started by protestors.[75] A spokesperson from Old Parliament House said the heritage doors, the portico and the building's facade all sustained substantial damage from the fire.[76] It was the second incident involving protestors and a fire at Old Parliament House after a fire, lit by protestors, scorched the front doors on 21 December 2021.[77]

Deaths

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January

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Kerry Vincent
Michael Bryce
Masada Iosefa

February

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March

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Michael Gudinski
Peter Fox

April

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Carla Zampatti
Andrew Peacock
John Konrads

May

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Johnny Ashcroft
Lorrae Desmond

June

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Duncan Pegg

July

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Sergio Silvagni
Dieter Brummer

August

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Alex Gallacher

September

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Marc Clark

October

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Bert Newton

November

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Jun Hong Lu
Babette Smith
David Gulpilil

December

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Peter Cundall

See also

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Country overviews

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References

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