Hussey to Holden: What made the headlines in Australia in 2013 JANUARY: WA cricketer Mike Hussey with children, Molly, Jasmin and William shortly after announcing his retirement. THIS year began with Mike Hussey retiring and ended with the death of the Holden. See what else made headlines in Australia in 2013. 1 - Michael Hussey retires from Test cricket following third Test against Sri Lanka at SCG. 4 - Australia's southern states swelter though record-setting heatwave with temperatures above 40C. 3 - Tony Greig, who died on Dec 29, honoured with minute's silence on first day of Test at SCG. 7 - Whitehaven Coal has $314 million wiped off its share price following hoax media release by anti-coal campaigners. 8 - Former Greens leader Bob Brown takes helm of anti-whaling outfit Sea Shepherd, replacing frontman Paul Watson. 11 - Terms of reference for federal government's royal commission into child sexual abuse announced. 18 - Parramatta prop Jon Mannah, 23, dies after succumbing to long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma. 18 - Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese ousted after the miner announces botched Mozambique mine investment worth $14 billion. 20 - French solo round-the-world yachtsman Alain Delord picked up by cruise ship in remote waters off Tasmania. MARCH: Hysteria as Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi arrive in Sydney. 22 - Olympian Nova Peris parachuted into top spot on Labor NT Senate ticket, at the expense of Senator Trish Crossin. 22 - Cyclone Oswald hits north Queensland, with six people dying in floods that left more than 2300 homes uninhabitable. 25 - Ita Buttrose named Australian of the Year 2013. 30 - Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces 2013 federal election will be held on September 14. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announces he will run for a Senate seat in the 2013 federal election. 31 - Federal MP Craig Thomson arrested on 149 counts of fraud. 4 - Former NSW Labor minister and powerbroker Eddie Obeid appears at Independent Commission Against Corruption. 6 - Federal MP Craig Thomson in Melbourne court on 154 charges of fraud allegedly committed while he was an HSU official. 7 - Australian Crime Commission investigation finds widespread use of banned drugs in sport, links with organised crime. MARCH: Entertainer Rolf Harris is arrested during the Jimmy Savile sex scandal investigation. 10 - Gotye wins three Grammys, including Record of the Year, for Somebody I Used to Know. 12 - S & P/ASX200 index passes the 5000-point barrier for the first time in three years. 13 - Mysterious ``Prisoner X" who died in an Israeli high-security prison in 2010 identified as Melbourne man Ben Zygier. 13 - Law passes creating an Act of Recognition of indigenous people, on 5th anniversary of stolen generation apology. 19 - Greens leader Christine Milne announces end of her party's alliance with Labor government. 25 - Joan Child, first female Speaker of federal parliament, dies at 91. 2 - Veteran Nine Network journalist Peter Harvey dies, aged 68, after battle with pancreatic cancer. 6 - Ted Baillieu resigns as Victorian premier, replaced by former state Liberal leader Denis Napthine. 13 - NT Chief Minister Terry Mills rolled by Adam Giles, giving Australia its first indigenous head of government. APRIL: Chrissy Amphlett - pictured performing at Fremantle Oval - dies in New York. 21 - Gillard makes long-awaited national apology to victims of forced adoption practices at a ceremony in Canberra. 21 - Government withdraws its four media reform bills after last-ditch efforts fail to win crossbench support. 21 - Gillard declares leadership tussle over, after Simon Crean called for a leadership spill and was sacked. 22 - Ellen DeGeneres arrives in Sydney for her highly-anticipated four-day Australian visit. 26 - Defence Minister Stephen Smith announces Australian troops will head home by the end of 2013. 25 - Gillard elevates two key supporters to cabinet after aborted leadership challenge. 27 - Government proposes crackdown on gambling advertising and live-odds betting during live sports broadcasts. 28 - Teen siblings Alexander and Bridget Jones, and a 30-year-old woman, killed in brick wall collapse in Melbourne. 29 - Australian entertainer, later named by media as Rolf Harris, arrested in Jimmy Savile sex scandal investigations. APRIL: British papers reveal that nurse Jacintha Saldanha left a note saying the hoax call of two Australian DJs led to her death. 3 - Royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse gets under way in Melbourne. 4 - Chris Bailey, bass player for The Angels, dies aged 62 after fighting throat cancer. 5 - Government announces superannuation changes impacting on those with super assets of more than $2 million. 20 - Champion mare Black Caviar retires after a record 25 wins from as many starts. 21 - Rock legend Chrissy Amphlett dies in New York, aged 53, after two-year battle with cancer. 23 - NSW becomes first state to sign schools funding agreement with the commonwealth. 27 - More Joyous runs second last in All Aged Stakes at Randwick. John Singleton suggests bookmaker Tom Waterhouse had said the horse couldn't win, sparking falling out between Singo and trainer Gai Waterhouse and a stewards' inquiry. Gai later fined $5,000. 28 - British paper reveals nurse Jacintha Saldanha left a note saying the hoax call of two Australian DJs led to her death. 6 - John Tomic in Madrid court over headbutting his tennis star son Bernard's training partner, Thomas Drouet. JUNE: Women holding signs march down Sydney Road, Melbourne in support of Jill Meagher as her killer is jailed for life. 16 - A 0.5 per cent increase in Medicare levy will pay for DisabilityCare Australia, after legislation is passed. 23 - Hazel Hawke dies, aged 83. 23 - Australian property executive Matt Joyce jailed in Dubai for 10 years. 24 - Teenage girl Magpies' fan calls Adam Goodes an ``ape," later apologises to Swans AFL star; Collingwood president Eddie McGuire also apologises on Magpies' behalf. 28 - Government insists new ASIO headquarters secure and rejects claims they have been compromised by Chinese hackers. 29 - Despite events just a few days earlier, McGuire on Triple-M suggests Adam Goodes promote King Kong musical. 2 - M Yunupingu, former lead singer of Yothu Yindi, dies aged 56. 5 - 60-year-old man dies from legionnaires' disease at The Wesley Hospital in Brisbane, sparking legionnaires' scare. 7 - Former Queensland premier Anna Bligh reveals she has cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma. AUGUST: AFL charges Essendon - coached by former AFL golden boy James Hird - with bringing game into disrepute over the suspect 2011-12 supplements program. 12 - Liberal fundraising menu denigrating Gillard condemned by both sides of politics. 15 - Gillard dismisses renewed speculation Labor powerbrokers planning to oust her from top job. 19 - Adrian Ernest Bayley jailed for life for rape and murder of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher. 21 - Australian artist Jeffrey Smart dies in Italy, aged 91. 22 - Stewart Baird, 32, of Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment killed in Afghanistan, 40th Aust soldier to die in the war. 26 - Gillard toppled as Kevin Rudd wins leadership vote 57-45; Rudd sworn in as PM the next day. 4 - Rudd puts NSW ALP under administration of the national executive to try to end corruption and limit union influence. 15 - Rudd says the government will scrap fixed carbon price and move to emissions trading scheme a year early. SEPTEMBER: Tony Abbott becomes PM; Kevin Rudd quits as Labor leader. Cartoon: Warren Brown 18 - Australian Special Forces soldier wounded during operation in Afghanistan. 19 - Australia and PNG sign agreement to allow resettlement of asylum seekers in PNG under a regional arrangement. 23 - Another asylum seeker boat capsizes off Java, with 11 bodies recovered and 189 people rescued. 25 - Coalition unveils border protection plan, involving putting a senior general in charge of asylum-seeker policy. 31 - ICAC recommends criminal charges against Labor figures Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald over corruption allegations. 1 - Quakers Hill nursing home murderer Roger Dean sentenced to life for the murders of 11 elderly residents in a fire. 4 - Rudd announces the previously-set September 14 election will now be Sept 7. 6 - The official interest rates drop to the lowest in Australian history at 2.5 per cent. 9 - Kim Williams resigns as News Corp Australia chief executive, replaced by Julian Clarke. OCTOBER: Mark "Chopper" Read dies after a battle with liver cancer. 14 - AFL charges Essendon with bringing game into disrepute over suspect 2011-12 supplements program. 4 - Perth man Dominic Bird acquitted of drug trafficking in Malaysia. Bird re-arrested on Sept 9 pending appeal by prosecutors. 7 - Tony Abbott becomes prime minister after Labor dumped in federal election; Rudd quits as Labor leader. 9 - Crime figure and author Mark ``Chopper" Read dies following battle with liver cancer. 13 - Bill Shorten wins Labor leadership; Tanya Plibersek is made deputy leader. 17 - Worst bushfires since the 1960s hit NSW, mostly the Blue Mountains, where more than 200 properties are destroyed. During the crisis one life was lost - a man who suffered a heart attack while protecting his home at Lake Munmorah. 22 - ACT passes same-sex marriage laws. The commonwealth immediately lodges a High Court objection, seeking an expedited hearing before the first marriages happen in early December. 23 - Bob Carr announces he's quitting the Senate after 18 months in parliament. NOVEMBER: Gai Waterhouse and Perth jockey Damien Oliverr the day after winning the Melbourne Cup. 24 - Former senior Victorian firefighter, Peter Brereton, 60, dies when his light plane crashes. He was returning to Victoria after doing some private work to help with NSW bushfire effort. 25 - Federal court challenge to ACT law allowing same-sex marriages. 31 - Australian Electoral Commission says 1375 votes lost for WA Senate re-count. 5 - Trainer Gai Waterhouse, after two decades of trying, wins Melbourne Cup with Fiorente. 6 - Former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks says he's appealing against his US conviction for supporting terrorism. 8 - Qantas' heavy maintenance base at Avalon closes with the loss of 300 jobs. 14 - 66 Aussies arrested as part of a global pornography ring. 19 - Abbott under pressure from Jakarta to explain the extent of surveillance operations in Indonesia after it's revealed Australia spied on Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, as well as eight others, in 2009. DECEMBER: Australia reclaims the Ashes, after three straight wins, in the Third Test at the WACA. 21 - Former Bundaberg doctor Jayant Patel gets two-year suspended sentence for lying to gain employment. 29 - Treasurer Joe Hockey announces he won't let Archer Daniels Midland take over Australian grain handler GrainCorp. 5 - Australia says it will comply with Yudhoyono's six-point plan to fix relations, damaged by the spy scandal. 6 - Qantas announces at least 1000 job cuts after forecasting a $300 million half-yearly loss. 11 - Holden announces it will stop manufacturing in Australia in 2017. 12 - The High Court strikes down the ACT's same-sex marriage laws. 17 - Australia reclaims The Ashes convincingly after three Tests. DECEMBER: Tony Abbott unveils a $100 million fund to help Holden workers find new jobs in the wake of the car maker stopping production. 17 - Treasurer Joe Hockey reveals Australia's forecast budget deficit will balloon to almost $50 billion in his mid-year economic and fiscal outlook. 18 - East Timor institutes proceedings in the International Court of Justice in relation to ASIO raids on the office of a Canberra lawyer representing the tiny country. 18 - Prime Minister Tony Abbott unveils a $100 million fund to help Holden workers find new jobs in the wake of the car maker planning to stop production.