T.I.A Recaps 2022: Australian News Stories
Every year we say “it’s been a bloody big year”, and every year, it just seems to get bigger. For this reason, the 2022 edition of “TIA RECAPS” has been split into multiple different articles because collating it into one would have you sitting here for hours. Let’s begin here at home, with a recollection of some of the Australian news stories we talked about in 2022.
DYLAN ALCOTT AWARDED AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR
In January, athlete, paralympian, philanthropist, media commentator and advocate (and all round incredible human being) Dylan Alcott AO was awarded the 2022 Australian of the Year for both his sporting achievements and for his work creating awareness around disability. This was also the first time a person with a visible disability had been made the Australian of the Year in the awards 62 year history.
INTERNATIONAL BORDERS REOPEN
On February 21, there were tears all round as the international borders to Australia were opened and quarantine restrictions were lifted for people flying into the country. After years of long distance phone calls, Facetime and Zoom, people were able to reunite with their loved ones, and some were able to meet new additions for the first time.
THE OFFICIAL CASH RATE INCREASES… AND INCREASES… AND INCREASES
In May the Reserve Bank of Australia increased the official cash rate for the first time in over 11 years, and to make up for the long time between drinks, they have continued to raise it. Since the initial raise from 0.10% to 0.35% there have been eight consecutive rises and it now sits at 3.10%
CHRIS DAWSON FOUND GUILTY
In August, Christopher Dawson was found guilty of murdering his former wife, Lynette Dawson, four decades ago in 1982. After the disappearance of Lynette, Dawson had maintained his innocence, and the fact that her body was never found meant that he was able to continue living his life.
It was NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison who found Dawson guilty of murder in August, “None of the circumstances considered alone can establish Mr Dawson’s guilt. But when regard is had to their combined force, I am left in no doubt. The only rational inference is that Lynette Dawson died on or about 8 January 1982 as a result of a conscious or voluntary act committed by Christopher Dawson.”
In early December, Chris Dawson was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder of Lynette Dawson. He will be eligible for parole in 18 years, at the age of 92. The judge told the 74 year old with health issues, he will “probably die in jail”.
OPTUS DATA BREACH
On the 22nd of September Telco giant Optus had to put their tail between their legs and tell Australia that at least ten million current and former customers had their data accessed in a hack. Optus quickly lost more than 10,000 customers and had to set aside $140 million for costs related to the cyberattack including replacing any hacked ID documents and an independent report commissioned by Deloitte.
MEDIBANK HACK
Just weeks after Optus was hacked, so was Medibank, one of Australia's biggest health insurance providers. On October 13 the company announced a “cyber incident”, the next day they said they were “still responding” and soon later disclosed to the Australian Stock Exchange that hackers had contacted them to “negotiate” in regards to 200 gigabytes of customer data they had taken. The hackers began to drip feed the data to the dark web including a “good” and “bad” list dependent on some of the claims that had been made.
NO MORE MANDATORY COVID-19 ISOLATION
After more than two years of restrictions related to COVID-19, the last major restriction was lifted on October 14. From this date it was no longer required that a person who tested positive for the virus had to be isolated. Each state and territory implemented their own rules, like exceptions for people who work in high risk settings, but overall, isolation was over.
BRUCE LEHRMANN TRIAL
Bruce Lehrmann faced a trial in October for one count of sexual intercourse without consent against Brittany Higgins. This trial, which had been the subject of intense media interest during and before the trial, was cut short on October 27 and declared a mistrial after “juror misconduct”.
A re-trial was set for 2023 at the time, however, in December it was announced that there would be no re-trial and charges would be dropped on the advice of mental health professionals who held serious concerns over Ms Higgins' wellbeing.
On December 21, the ACT government announced they are to establish an independent inquiry into the trial in response to a series of “complaints and allegations.” Chief Minister Andrew Barr will look into the process of the trial and determine if it was carried out with “appropriate rigour, impartiality and independence”.
WIEAMBILLA SHOOTING
Just two weeks ago shockwaves were sent through the whole of Australia when news emerged that six people, including two police officers had been killed at a remote Queensland property. Officers Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were ruthlessly shot dead when they, and two of their colleagues arrived at the property to investigate a missing person.
Alan Dare, who resided on a neighbouring property, either heard gunshots, or he saw smoke from a fire that was deliberately lit to coax out another female officer who fled, came to offer assistance. He was shot dead at the scene.
Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth Train and his wife Stacey Train set the ambush for the four police officers and were later killed in a gunfight with heavily armed tactical police.
What a fucking year for Australian news- and this isn’t even a scratch on the surface of news that rocked the country this year. Next instalment of TIA Recaps 2022 will be international news stories.
