The following lists events that happened during 2012 in Australia.
Incumbents
Monarch – Elizabeth II Governor-General – Quentin Bryce Prime Minister – Julia Gillard Deputy Prime Minister – Wayne Swan Opposition Leader – Tony Abbott Chief Justice – Robert French
State and territory leaders Premier of New South Wales – Barry O'Farrell Opposition Leader – John Robertson Premier of Queensland – Anna Bligh (until 26 March), then Campbell Newman Opposition Leader – Jeff Seeney (until 26 March), then Annastacia Palaszczuk Premier of South Australia – Jay Weatherill Opposition Leader – Isobel Redmond Premier of Tasmania – Lara Giddings Opposition Leader – Will Hodgman Premier of Victoria – Ted Baillieu Opposition Leader – Daniel Andrews Premier of Western Australia – Colin Barnett Opposition Leader – Eric Ripper (until 23 January), then Mark McGowan Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Katy Gallagher Opposition Leader – Zed Seselja Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Paul Henderson (until 29 August), then Terry Mills Opposition Leader – Terry Mills (until 29 August), then Delia Lawrie Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – David Buffett
Governors and administrators Governor of New South Wales – Marie Bashir Governor of Queensland – Penelope Wensley Governor of South Australia – Kevin Scarce Governor of Tasmania – Peter Underwood Governor of Victoria – Alex Chernov Governor of Western Australia – Malcolm McCusker Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories – Brian Lacy (until 5 October), then Jon Stanhope Administrator of Norfolk Island – Owen Walsh (until 1 April), then Neil Pope Administrator of the Northern Territory – Sally Thomas
Events
Whole year Australian Year of the Farmer
January 12 January – Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Heidi battered Western Australia's Pilbara region bringing disruption to the local iron ore industry, damaging roofs, bringing down trees, and cutting power to at least 3,500 people.Herald Sun: Cyclone Heidi, 12 January 2012. 18 January - Sam Moran leaves The Wiggles after having been wearing the yellow skivvy since 2006. As a result, Greg Page makes a return to the group. 26 January – Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott are evacuated by a security detail from a celebratory function when a protest by supporters of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy threatened to turn violent.
February 3 February – The Mehi River at Moree, in northern New South Wales breaks its banks, flooding much of the town. Around 1,600 people are evacuated from their homes. Other towns affected by the flooding include Wee Waa, Pallamallawa and Biniguy. In south west Queensland, the Maranoa River floods the town of Mitchell, inundating 100 homes and threatens to flood downstream Roma. 6 February – Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession as Queen of Australia 17 February – Air Australia's fleet is grounded as the budget airline goes into voluntary administration. 27 February – The Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party holds a ballot to determine its leader and by extension the Prime Minister of Australia. Julia Gillard wins the ballot by 71 votes to Kevin Rudd's 31 votes.
March 20 March – A tornado destroys houses and injures nine people in the Townsville suburb of Vincent. 24 March – The Queensland state election is held. Anna Bligh's Labor government is defeated heavily, with the Liberal National Party led by Campbell Newman winning the largest parliamentary majority in the state's history. 31 March – Genieve Blackwell is the first woman appointed as an Anglican bishop in New South Wales.
April 22 April – Peter Slipper stands aside as Speaker of the House of Representatives while a civil claim of sexual harassment is dealt with by the Federal Court. 28 April – Graham Quirk wins the 2012 Brisbane City Council election to remain as Lord Mayor.
May 17 May – Three members of The Wiggles, Greg Page, Murray Cook and Jeff Fatt, announced that they will retire at the end of the year and will be replaced by Emma Watkins (yellow skivvy), Simon Pryce (red skivvy) and Lachlan Gillespie (purple skivvy) respectively.
June 5 June – Record rainfall across much of Gippsland leads to flooding in Traralgon. Omeo records its wettest day since records began 133 years ago—. 12 June – A fourth coronial inquest into the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain rules that a dingo took the infant from an Uluru campsite in 1980. 14 June – The world's largest network of marine parks in offshore waters is announced by Environment Minister Tony Burke. 18 June – Fairfax Media—the publishers of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald—announce plans to cut 1900 jobs and to reformat both papers to a compact tabloid size. 19 June – A minor earthquake shakes Melbourne and much of regional Victoria. The epicentre of the 5.4 magnitude earthquake was around south west of the Gippsland town of Moe.
July 1 July – A carbon pricing scheme is introduced in Australia, which will charge a group of "liable entities" $23 per tonne of carbon emissions they produce in the 2012–13 financial year.
August 15 August – The High Court of Australia rules in the cases JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia and British American Tobacco Australasia Limited & Ors v Commonwealth of Australia that the government's plain cigarette packaging legislation was not contrary to s 51 (xxxi) of the Australian Constitution, which empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to "the acquisition of property on just terms".JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia; British American Tobacco Australasia Limited & Ors v Commonwealth of Australia, High Court of Australia, 15 August 2012. 25 August – A general election is held in the Northern Territory. Paul Henderson's Labor government is defeated by the Country Liberal Party led by Terry Mills.
September 15 September – 2012 Sydney Islamic Riots erupt in response to an American anti-Islamic film.
October 9 October – Peter Slipper resigns as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Anna Burke is elected the new Speaker. 20 October – A general election is held in the Australian Capital Territory. The Labor Party led by Katy Gallagher retains minority government with the support of the only remaining Greens MLA, Shane Rattenbury. 31 October – Groundbreaking occurs at Australia's largest master planned community, Ecco Ripley.
November 1 November – Daniel Keighran is awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for his actions of 24 August 2010 during the Battle of Derapet, part of Operation Slipper in the War in Afghanistan. 12 November – Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces the creation of a national Royal Commission into institutional responses to instances of child sexual abuse. 14 November – Total solar eclipse in northern Australia.
December 1 December – The Federal Government's plain packaging laws for cigarettes come into force, meaning that cigarettes must be sold in olive-green packets with graphic health warnings. 2 December – Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces a plan to cut the cost of electricity in Australian households. West Australian Transport Minister Troy Buswell announces a $500 million road package for the northern suburbs which will include an extension to the Mitchell Freeway. 3 December – A disabled woman interrupts a speech by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to National Disability Services chief executives in Sydney to voice her frustration at eligibility criteria for the disability support pension. Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury releases the interim response to the Federal Government's taskforce on whether the current GST threshold of $1,000 should be lowered on goods bought online from overseas and advises that lowering the threshold would not be cost-effective, particularly for with the volume of work for Customs and Australia Post. Food company, Rosella, goes into receivership. The South Australian Director of Public Prosecutions tells the Court of Criminal Appeal that his office will mount fresh criminal proceedings against a boy who was accused of murdering South Australian woman Pirjo Kemppainen in September 2010. Former West Australian Premier Brian Burke is found not guilty of illegally obtaining confidential government information. 4 December – 2DayFM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian make a prank call to the King Edward VII's Hospital, which was treating the Duchess of Cambridge, and pose as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha answers the phone before transferring the call to a colleague, who divulged details of the Duchess's bout of acute morning sickness. Senator John Faulkner calls for major reform within the New South Wales Labor branch, including electoral funding reform and the establishment of a parliamentary code of conduct. The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts rates by 25 points back to the historic law of 3%. The Australian dollar remains firmly above $US 1.0472. The Northern Territory Government reconfirms its promise to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on indigenous communities and then increase motor vehicle registration by $48 a year. 17-year-old Brisbane resident, Harrison Kadell, dies in Fiji in a resort swimming pool while on an end-of-school holiday. 6 December – The Federal Government secures a $6 billion funding deal with New South Wales to begin the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2018. Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson is stabbed in Oakville, Sydney while dealing with a dispute between neighbours. He later dies in hospital and Mitch and Fiona Barbieri are charged over his death. 7 December – A funeral for Daniel Morcombe is held at Sippy Downs. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Meeting is held. The governments agree to a plan to ease electricity costs, but are reluctant to commit funds to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. They also debated the issue of removing the gender bias from the monarchy succession rules. An armed robber who led police on a high speed chase through the Valley Fiveways in 2011 and created 4 days of mayhem is arrested. Jacintha Saldana commits suicide and 2 Day FM says that Michael Christian and Mel Grieg are "completely shattered". 8 December – Five people die after a horrific crash on the M1 at Coomera. Five young friends travelling to Melbourne die when their car crashes during their journey from Geelong. 10 December – Mel Greig and Michael Christian give their first interviews since Jacintha Saldanha's death, telling Nine Network's A Current Affair and Seven Network's Today Tonight that they are still badly shaken over the tragedy A boat shed near Jacobs Well, Queensland catches fire and 230 boats are destroyed. 11 December – Queensland Premier Campbell Newman promises that there will be no more public sector job cuts after the current target of 14,000 jobs is met. Protective Services Officer James Vongvixay is brutally attacked with a hammer on the steps of Parliament House Melbourne, requiring him to undergo surgery to mend a fractured skull. 12 December – The Federal Court of Australia rules that the case brought against former House of Representatives Speaker Peter Slipper by James Ashby is an "abuse of process", declaring that its predominant purpose was to cause "significant public, reputational and political damage". Thousands attend the funeral for slain Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta. Summer thunderstorms and once-in-100-year rains wreak havoc across the southern half of Western Australia affecting properties near the Collie River. The Queensland Government offers to join the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with Premier Campbell Newman offering $1.77 billion to roll out the scheme in Queensland from 2018. The Federal Government says it is a step in the right direction but the offer is well short of what's required. 13 December –