January 2006 in Australia and New Zealand

Australia Portal • New Zealand Portal

January

• Steve Rogers
• Sir William Skate

Ongoing

• Australia Day
• Triple J Hottest 100, 2005
• Scott Rush (Bali Nine)
• Myuran Sukumaran (Bali Nine)

• none

24 January 2006 (Tuesday)

• Prime Minister John Howard announces a reshuffle to his ministry which saw Dr Brendan Nelson assigned the Defence portfolio and the Nationals lose one minister following Senator Julian McGauran's defection the day previous. (ABC)

23 January 2006 (Monday)

• National Party of Australia Senator for Victoria, Julian McGauran, defects to senior Coalition partner, the Liberal Party of Australia. (ABC)

21 January 2006 (Saturday)

• A Wellington sperm bank refuses to accept a donation from a gay man, apparently to minimise the risk of HIV transmission. (Stuff)
• Liberal Party of Australia Senate Leader and Defence Minister, South Australian Senator Robert Hill, announces his resignation from Parliament. Media reports widely tip Senator Hill to be appointed as the next Ambassador to the United Nations in New York City. (News.com.au).

19 January 2006 (Thursday)

• David de Kretser is named by Premier Steve Bracks as the next Governor of Victoria. He will succeed John Landy on April 7, 2006.

16 January 2006 (Monday)

• Geoff Gallop resigns as Premier of Western Australia and from State Parliament, in order to aid his recovery from depression (ABC News).

15 January 2006 (Sunday)

• Review of David Lange's documents show that the United States threatened to spy on New Zealand if it didn't back down on its 1980s anti-nuclear legislation. (Stuff)

14 January 2006 (Saturday)

• The New Zealand Government announces a review of liquor advertising amidst concern over teenage binge drinking. The review will consider regulating sponsorship of sport by alcohol companies. Lion Nathan says there is no need for change. (Radio New Zealand) (Stuff)

12 January 2006 (Thursday)

• Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs says Australians should exercise caution about travelling to Fiji after the Fijian military chief threatened to remove the Government. New Zealand decided no similar warning was necessary. (Sydney Morning Herald) (New Zealand Herald)

11 January 2006 (Wednesday)

• The first ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate begins in Sydney, Australia. (BBC)

10 January 2006 (Tuesday)

• Bradley John Murdoch appeals his [...] conviction a month after being declared guilty of murdering British backpacker, Peter Falconio. (ABC)
• Japanese whalers and anti-whaling environmental groups continue to clash in Australia's Antarctic waters, as calls for the Australian Government to intervene intensify. (ABC)

9 January 2006 (Monday)

• New Zealand electricity generator and retailer TrustPower announces that it is considering a wind farm development at Lake Mahinerangi, south of Dunedin. (Wikinews)

7 January 2006 (Saturday)

• The New Zealand Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, is undergoing dialysis treatment, the Tainui Tribe confirmed today. The Queen's condition is not believed to be critical. (Wikinews)

4 January 2006 (Wednesday)

• Former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Sir William Skate, who was instrumental in diffusing the Bougainville crisis of the 1990s, has died at age 52 following a short illness.(ABC)
• Steve Rogers, an Australian rugby league hero, was found dead in his home. Rogers' death is believed to be linked to depression. He was 51.(ABC)
• The Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has died on Queensland's Gold Coast. (ABC)

2 January 2006 (Monday)

• New Zealand's warm sunny New Year's weather has come to a sudden end as gale force winds and rain assault southern New Zealand. (Wikinews)

1 January 2006 (Sunday)

• Changes to New Zealand citizenship laws mean not all babies born in New Zealand have a right to be citizens. Babies must have a parent who is a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand or its dependencies. (TVNZ)