A year in which Australia was rocked by hard-hitting stories is drawing to a close.
Some of the more noteworthy incidents included the revival of a high-profile cold murder case, a horrific rape and the mystery of needles appearing in strawberries, sparking a nationwide recall of the fruit.
Knife-wielding terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali left Melbourne reeling in November after he stabbed three people, including the fatal stabbing of Sisto Malaspina and a spate of vicious shark attacks occurred at the Whitsunday Islands.
Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the most ground-breaking stories across Australia in 2018.
NEW SOUTH WALES
UNDERWORLD: Former Comanchero boss Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi is gunned down outside a gym, years after he stepped away from his colourful life in Sydney’s underworld. (Feb) Two members of the rival Lone Wolf club and a third man are charged with the killing months after Hawi’s extravagant funeral.
FIRE: Bushfires rip through idyllic holiday village Tathra on the state’s south coast, cutting the only road out of town and raining embers down on homes. More than 60 houses are destroyed and asbestos is strewn throughout the town, prompting a massive and ongoing recovery effort. (March)
FAREWELL: Family and friends of Matthew Leveson, who disappeared in 2007, lay the young man to rest at an emotional ceremony in Sydney years after their son’s then-lover, Michael Atkins, was arrested, prosecuted and acquitted of his murder. (March)
Former Comanchero boss Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi (pictured) is gunned down outside a gym
Bushfires rip through idyllic holiday village Tathra on the state’s south coast cutting the only road out of town and raining embers down on homes
Family and friends attended the funeral of Matthew Leveson, who disappeared in 2007
MURDER: Millionaire property developer Ron Medich is sentenced to 39 years in prison for the execution-style murder of his business foe Michael McGurk in 2009 and the intimidation of his victim’s widow a year later. (June)
DROUGHT: NSW is declared 100 per cent in drought as years of below-average rainfall bite across primary production areas. (August)
DESPAIR: A three-week search of bushland around the home where William Tyrrell disappeared unearths no trace of the toddler who went missing in 2014. Detectives hoped the fruitless search would put pressure on locals withholding information as they announce the case will be handed to the NSW coroner. (Sept)
Millionaire property developer Ron Medich (pictured) is sentenced to 39 years in prison
NSW is declared 100 per cent in drought as years of below-average rainfall bite across primary production areas
A three-week search of bushland around the home where William Tyrrell (pictured) disappeared unearths no trace of the toddler who went missing in 2014
YOUTH POLITICS: The NSW Nationals are embroiled in political turmoil after young conservative members allegedly pair up with neo-Nazis to stack a branch and assume control of the party’s youth wing. Dozens are expelled as the internal war spills into the media spotlight. (Oct)
POLITICS: NSW Labor leader Luke Foley resigns in disgrace after pressure from his political enemies triggers ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper to break her silence about allegations he indecently touched her at a Christmas party. Foley briefly threatens legal action but later backs down as Michael Daley replaces him as opposition leader. (Nov)
MURDER: Former Newtown Jets rugby league star Chris Dawson is charged with the 1982 murder of his wife Lynette after new evidence emerged and the cold case was thrust into the public consciousness by The Teacher’s Pet podcast. Dawson was recently granted bail and permitted to return to his third wife Susan and his home on the Gold Coast. As part of his strict bail conditions, the 70-year-old is required to check in to Maroochydore police station daily until he faces court again in the New Year. Dawson was arrested on the Gold Coast earlier this month and extradited to NSW where he was charged with murdering wife Lynette Dawson, who went missing from Sydney’s northern beaches in 1982.(Dec)
The NSW Nationals are embroiled in political turmoil after young conservative members allegedly pair up with neo-Nazis
NSW Labor leader Luke Foley resigns following allegations he allegedly indecently touched ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper
Chris Dawson (left) was charged for the 1982 murder of his Lynette (right) after new evidence emerged
Dawson (pictured) was recently granted bail and permitted to return to his third wife Susan and his home on the Gold Coast
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
FAMILY MASS MURDERS: At a farm near Margaret River, grandfather Peter Miles shoots dead his wife Cynda, their daughter Katrina and her four children then kills himself. It is Australia’s worst gun crime since the Port Arthur massacre. (May) Two months later, 19-year-old Teancum Vernon Peterson-Crofts allegedly kills his mother Michelle Petersen, sister Bella and brother Rua at their Perth home in Ellenbrook. Another two months later, Anthony Robert Harvey, 24, allegedly kills his wife Mara Harvey, mother-in-law Beverley Quinn and three young children Charlotte, Alice and Beatrix at their Bedford home in Perth.
ASSISTED SUICIDE: Australia’s oldest scientist, 104-year-old David Goodall, did not have a terminal illness but says he stopped enjoying life at about the age of 90. The West Australian travels to Switzerland, where it’s legal to take his own life. The England-born Member of the Order of Australia says in an open letter he would have preferred to end his days in “the country of my adoption”. (May)
CLAREMONT SERIAL KILLINGS: Telecommunications worker Bradley Robert Edwards, 49, pleads not guilty to murdering Jane Rimmer, 23, Ciara Glennon, 27, and Sarah Spiers, 18, in 1996 and 1997, plus separate sexual offences in 1988 and 1995. He is expected to face a lengthy judge-alone trial, starting next year, following what is believed to be Australia’s longest-running and most expensive police investigation. (June)
A grandfather shoots dead his wife, their daughter and her four children then kills himself
Australia’s oldest scientist, 104-year-old David Goodall (pictured middle), did not have a terminal illness but says he stopped enjoying life at about the age of 90
Telecommunications worker Bradley Robert Edwards (pictured left), 49, pleads not guilty to murdering three people to separate sexual offences
TASMANIA
ELECTION: Liberal Premier Will Hodgman is re-elected, his party winning 13 seats in the state’s 25-seat House of Assembly. Labor claims 10 seats, the Greens two. (Mar)
SPEAKER: Liberal MP Sue Hickey shocks parliament when on the first sitting day of the year she votes with Labor and the Greens to become Speaker, trumping the government’s nomination. Ms Hickey votes as an independent and has since crossed the floor to pass contentious transgender rights reforms. (May)
DARK MOFO: Performance artist Mike Parr receives global attention when he’s buried in a steel container under a Hobart street for three days during Dark Mofo. The controversial winter festival draws the ire of some Christians when massive inverted crosses are erected along Hobart’s waterfront. (June)
Liberal Premier Will Hodgman (pictured) is re-elected, his party winning 13 seats in the state’s 25-seat House of Assembly
Liberal MP Sue Hickey (pictured) shocks parliament when on the first sitting day of the year she votes with Labor and the Greens to become Speaker
Performance artist Mike Parr receives global attention when he’s buried in a steel container under a Hobart street for three days during Dark Mofo
TORSO FIND: Jack Harrison Vincent Sadler, 26, and Gem Clark, 25, are charged over the alleged murder of Jake Daniel Anderson-Brettner, 24, whose torso is found in bushland outside Launceston. (Aug)
DERAILMENT: Two people are injured by flying debris when an out-of-control driverless train is forcibly derailed in Devonport. The 1132-tonne train travelled 21 kilometres after it became unresponsive to controls while being loaded with cement. (Sept)
BREACH: Primary Industries Minister Sarah Courtney reveals she has started a relationship with her head of department Dr John Whittington. Ms Courtney is shifted to new portfolios after an investigation finds she breached ministerial code of conduct. (Oct)
GENDER: Landmark transgender reforms that would make mentioning gender on Tasmanian birth certificates optional pass the state’s lower house. The legislation is expected to be debated by the legislative council in March. (Nov)
Jack Harrison Vincent Sadler (left), 26, is charged with murder while Gemma Elizabeth Clark (right), 25, is accused of being an accessory
Two people are injured by flying debris when an out-of-control driverless train is forcibly derailed in Devonport
Primary Industries Minister Sarah Courtney (pictured) reveals she has started a relationship with her head of department Dr John Whittington
Landmark transgender reforms that would make mentioning gender on Tasmanian birth certificates optional pass the state’s lower house
NORTHERN TERRITORY
HORROR: A two-year-old girl is raped in Tennant Creek, highlighting the town’s and the wider NT’s child protection and social problems. (Feb) Strict alcohol measures are imposed. The NT Children’s Commissioner says the horrific attack was foreseeable, given the family’s problems were well known. Former PM Malcolm Turnbull visits the town after pressure by local media. A man is later charged.
CYCLONE: Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcus hits the NT and Kimberley. (Mar). It was stronger than Cyclone Tracey, which levelled the town in 1974. Fortunately, unlike Tracey, there are no deaths. Darwin is shut off with school, events and flights cancelled and power cut off to 26,000 homes.
FRACKING GREEN LIGHT: The Labor government lifts its ban on fracking – or hydraulic fracturing – in which a rock is fractured by using a pressurised liquid to access natural gas. The government insists it did so only after a scientific inquiry found the risks could be reduced, but there are claims the federal government pressured them do so in order to receive $260 million extra in GST. (April)
A two-year-old girl is raped in Tennant Creek, highlighting the town’s and the wider NT’s child protection and social problems
Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcus hits the NT and Kimberley and was stronger than Cyclone Tracey
The Labor government lifts its ban on fracking – or hydraulic fracturing – in which a rock is fractured by using a pressurised liquid to access natural gas
DISGRACE: The Territory’s former police commissioner John McRoberts becomes the second top cop in Australian history to be jailed. (June) He is guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice after he was found to have interfered with an investigation into his former lover, NT Crime Stoppers chairwoman Xana Kamitsis, who was jailed for committing fraud as a travel agent. He is sentenced to three years.
VISIT: Shinzo Abe becomes the first Japanese PM to visit Darwin since his country’s military bombed the city. The attack 76 years ago, in which at least 243 people were killed, was the biggest assault on Australia. Mr Abe and Australian PM Scott Morrison lay wreaths at the Darwin cenotaph in what’s seen as a highly symbolic moment. The two leaders announce closer military ties and strategic partnerships. (Nov)
John McRoberts is guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice after he was found to have interfered with an investigation into his former lover
Shinzo Abe (pictured left) becomes the first Japanese PM to visit Darwin since his country’s military bombed the city
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
CORRUPTION: Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander delivers a damning report into the Oakden nursing home scandal, declaring it a “shameful chapter in the state’s history”. (Feb)
MYSTERY: In a renewed search for the Beaumont Children, who disappeared in 1966, police converge on a factory site in Adelaide amid speculation it was where Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4, were buried. The dig only uncovers animal bones. (Feb)
POLITICS: Liberal leader Steven Marshall ends 16 years of Labor rule in South Australia. His party wins 25 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly to Labor’s 19, with three going to independents. (Mar)
Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander delivers a damning report into the Oakden nursing home scandal
Police converge on a factory site in Adelaide amid speculation it was where the Beaumont Children were found
Liberal leader Steven Marshall (pictured) ends 16 years of Labor rule in South Australia
CRIME: Steven Graham Peet is jailed for 36 years for the 2016 murders of his partner Adeline Yvette Wilson-Rigney and her two children, with a judge describing his actions at deplorable and incomprehensible. (April)
TERROR: Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif is found guilty of being a member of terror group Islamic State with evidence against her including 127 video files and communication with three young African women involved in a terror attack in Kenya. (Sept)
COLD CASE: The disappearance of Colleen Adams 45 years ago is resolved with the discovery of her skeletal remains under a concrete slab at a Yorke Peninsula property and the charging of her husband, Geoffrey Adams, with murder. (Sept)
Steven Graham Peet is jailed for 36 years for the 2016 murders of his partner Adeline Yvette Wilson-Rigney (pictured) and her two children
Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif (pictured) is found guilty of being a member of terror group Islamic State
Disappearance of Colleen Adams 45 years ago is resolved with the discovery of her skeletal remains under a concrete slab
QUEENSLAND
GAMES: The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is hailed a success, however it ends on a sour note with organisers criticised for not televising the entrance of the athletes to the closing ceremony. (April)
COURT: Rick Thorburn is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 12-year-old foster-daughter Tiahleigh Palmer in 2015. (May)
JOGGER: The bizarre case of the “poo jogger” who defecated over 60 times on Brisbane footpaths. It turns out to be corporate executive Andrew Douglas Macintosh after a disgruntled neighbour caught him in the act, snapping a picture after lying in wait for three nights. (June)
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is hailed a success, however it ends on a sour note
Rick Thorburn (pictured) is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 12-year-old foster-daughter Tiahleigh Palmer
Andrew Douglas Macintosh ‘poo jogger’ defecated over 60 times on Brisbane footpaths
COURT: Shock jock Alan Jones is slapped with a record defamation payout of $3.7 million. (Sept)
CRIME: Toyah Cordingley, 24, is found murdered at a beach north of Cairns, sparking a major investigation, with her killer still at large. (Oct)
POLITICS: Laws to remove abortion from the state’s criminal code pass state parliament. (Oct)
Shock jock Alan Jones (pictured) is slapped with a record defamation payout of $3.7 million
Toyah Cordingley (pictured) went missing as she was walking a dog in Wangetti Beach
Laws in Queensland to remove abortion from the state’s criminal code pass state parliament
STRAWBERRIES: Needles discovered in supermarket strawberries spark a nationwide recall. Queensland Health officials issued a safety warning on September 12 after the discovery of needles hidden inside a punnet of strawberries. Needles were then found in packets of strawberries nation-wide and the contamination was dubbed ‘food terrorism’. Brands effected included Donnybrook Berries, Love Berry, Delightful Strawberries, Berry Obsession and Berry Licious. Farmers across Australia were forced to lay off staff as a result of plummeting sales, with people terrified to purchase fruit. (Sept) Former strawberry farm worker, My Ut Trinh, is charged over the initial contamination incidents, however police are still hunting for several copycats. My Ut Trinh, known as Judy, was arrested on Sunday after a two-month police investigation linked her DNA to the first discovered needle, which police allege was found in a punnet from Queensland’s Berrylicious/Berry Obsession farm. The woman reportedly worked as a farm supervisor and was unhappy with the way she was being treated.(Nov)
SHARKS: Victorian doctor Daniel Christidis dies after being mauled by a shark at Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays. Daniel Christidis, 33, worked as a trainee urologist and was killed after being attacked by a shark on a sailing holiday with friends. (Nov) There are two non-fatal attacks in the same area in September. Tasmanian tourist Justine Barwick and Melbourne schoolgirl Hannah Papps were attacked by sharks within just 24 hours of each other. The Queensland government soon after released a ‘catch and kill’ order on predators in the area, resulting in the culling of five tiger sharks and one other.
FIRE: A record-breaking extreme heatwave leads to an unprecedented start to the bushfire season. While numerous buildings and properties are damaged, there are no thankfully no deaths. (Dec)
Needles discovered in supermarket strawberries spark a nationwide recall with one woman charged
Daniel Christidis (pictured with friend) dies after being mauled by a shark at Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays
Tasmanian tourist Justine Barwick and Melbourne schoolgirl Hannah Papps were attacked by sharks within just 24 hours of each other (pictured: Justine Barwick with husband)
VICTORIA
POLITICS: A damning Ombudsman report finds 21 Victorian Labor MPs breached parliamentary guidelines in a $388,000 rort at the 2014 state election. (March). It leads to an active police investigation into what is now known as the red shirts affair, implicating up to 21 MPs, including six ministers. (Aug)
POLITICS: Daniel Andrews’ Labor government is re-elected for a second term in a landslide victory. Three days later he unveils his new front bench, with half of ministerial positions going to women. (Nov) Opposition leader Matthew Guy and state Liberal Party President Michael Kroger resign in the wake of the thumping. (Dec)
COURT: James Gargasoulas is found guilty of six murders after mowing down pedestrians on Melbourne’s Bourke Street in January 2017 after what he described as a “premonition from God”. (Nov)
A damning Ombudsman report finds 21 Victorian Labor MPs breached parliamentary guidelines in a $388,000 rort
Opposition leader Matthew Guy (pictured) and state Liberal Party President Michael Kroger resign in the wake of the thumping
James Gargasoulas (pictured) is found guilty of six murders after mowing down pedestrians on Melbourne’s Bourke Street in January 2017
TERROR: A knife attack on Bourke Street launched by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali kills Italian restaurateur Sisto Malaspina and injures two other men. Ali, 30, crashed his car on the busy shopping street before setting it on fire, knifing bystanders – one fatally – and slashing at the two officers who tried to stop him. Officers arrived within 90 seconds, foiling Ali’s other plan of knifing many more people to death. One of the officers eventually shot him in the chest. He later died of his wounds in Royal Melbourne Hospital. Malaspina is remembered for his warmth and “out there” fashion sense at a state funeral. (Nov)
MEDICAL: Surgeons at Melbourne’s Royal Childrens Hospital successfully separate conjoined Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa in a six-hour operation. A team of up to 25 doctors helped to separate the 15-month-olds, who were joined at the torso and shared a liver. (Nov)
COURT: Three men – Hamza Abbas, Abdullah Chaarani and Ahmed Mohamed – are found guilty of plotting a Christmas Day 2016 terror attack in Melbourne. (Nov)
Knife-wielding terrrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali kills one and injures two other men
Ali, 30, crashed his car on the busy shopping street before setting it on fire, knifing bystanders – one fatally – and slashing at the two officers who tried to stop him
Surgeons at Melbourne’s Royal Childrens Hospital successfully separate conjoined Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa in a six-hour operation
Hamza Abbas (pictured), Abdullah Chaarani and Ahmed Mohamed – are found guilty of plotting a Christmas Day 2016 terror attack in Melbourne