February 2006 in Australia and New Zealand

[edit] 28 February 2006 (Tuesday)

• New Zealand Cabinet Minister David Benson-Pope, a former teacher, apologises to his ex-students in Parliament for incidents where he entered the female dormitory and showers at a school camp, while maintaining he did nothing inappropriate. (Radio New Zealand)

[edit] 24 February 2006 (Friday)

• Air New Zealand announces that 470 corporate jobs, mostly in Auckland, are to be axed over the next year. News Talk ZB

[edit] 23 February 2006 (Thursday)

• Air New Zealand workers accept a new employment package in a new vote. About 300 wide-body aircraft maintenance jobs will be saved in Auckland, although 200 will still be made redundant. (NZ Herald)

[edit] 22 February 2006 (Wednesday)

• New Zealand TV station C4 airs the controversial South Park episode Bloody Mary, which portrays a statue of the Virgin Mary menstruating, despite protests from religious groups. (NZ Herald)

[edit] 20 February 2006 (Monday)

• Air New Zealand is set to lay off another 507 workers as it outsources its wide-body aircraft maintenance. A union proposal to save some of the jobs failed to win a worker vote. (Radio NZ)

[edit] 17 February 2006 (Friday)

• Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon calls an early March 18 state election.

[edit] 16 February 2006 (Thursday)

• The Parliament of Australia passes a bill repealing ministerial veto over the abortifacient RU 486.
• Tokelau decides to remain a New Zealand territory after a referendum on independence. A 60 percent majority voted in favor of independence, but a two-thirds majority was required for the referendum to succeed. (NZ Government press release)
• New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, ONZM plays his final international cricket match against the West Indies in a Twenty20 at Auckland's Eden Park. (Cricinfo)

[edit] 14 February 2006 (Tuesday)

• New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton announced on 14 February 2006 that a draft agreement had been reached with fishing companies to ban bottom trawling in 30 percent of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone. Anderton promised to support a global ban on bottom trawling if that appeared a practical option. (NZ Herald)
• Andrew Chan, 21, and Myuran Sukumaran, 25, both of New South Wales, are sentenced to death by an Indonesian court for their roles in the Bali Nine heroin smuggling attempt. Fellow accused, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj both receive life prison sentences. The remaining three defendants are sentenced tomorrow. ABC.

[edit] 13 February 2006 (Monday)

• Renae Lawrence, 28, the only female member of the Bali Nine group arrested in 2005, and fellow accused Scott Rush, 19, are convicted in Indonesia of attempting to import heroin to Australia and sentenced to life imprisonment. (Sydney Morning Herald)

[edit] 11 February 2006 (Saturday)

• The Royal New Zealand Navy's new 9000 tonne Multi-Role Vessel is about to be launched at the shipyard in Rotterdam. The MRV is the largest of seven new ships ordered as part of "Project Protector". (Scoop)
• Tokelau begins voting in a referendum to determine whether it remains a New Zealand territory, or becomes a state in free association with New Zealand. (NZ Herald)

[edit] 10 February 2006 (Friday)

• The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. Australia sends 40 athletes, and New Zealand sends 18, for both countries the largest teams they've sent to a Winter Olympics.

[edit] 9 February 2006 (Thursday)

• The Australian Senate passed a private member's bill introduced by the Democrats to transfer power to legalise the abortion pill RU 486 from the Health Minister to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The Australian House of Representatives will now consider the bill. (ABC)

[edit] 8 February 2006 (Wednesday)

• The Labor Opposition attacked Trade Minister Mark Vaile during parliamentary Question Time over the Howard Government's alleged complacency in the AWB Limited scandal. (ABC)
• Recherche Bay in southern Tasmania, site of the 18th Century d'Entrecasteaux expedition, is saved from logging after a $2 million dollar fund was raised to buy back the land. (ABC)

[edit] 7 February 2006 (Tuesday)

• The Parliament of Australia resumes sitting for 2006.

[edit] 6 February 2006 (Monday)

• Today marked the 166th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, in 1840. This year the celebrations were peaceful, in contrast to other years where the day was the focus of protest by Māori activists. Wikinews

[edit] 4 February 2006 (Saturday)

• Two Fairfax-owned newspapers, The Dominion Post and The Christchurch Press, today controversially published all 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, which have triggered international outrage. Wikinews

[edit] 1 February 2006 (Wednesday)

• Don Brash, the leader of the New Zealand National Party gave his third state of the nation speech to the Orewa Rotary Club where he focused on the economy. Wikinews
• Owen Abrahams, Australian rules footballing legend with the Fitzroy Football Club, dies of illness overnight on January 31.

[edit] News collections and sources

• Wikipedia:News collections and sources.
• Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting.

[edit] See also

• 2006 in New Zealand
• 2006 in Australia