August – Brenda Hodge becomes the last person to be sentenced to death by Western Australia, and in the country as a whole, before the complete abolition of capital punishment. Her sentence is later commuted to life imprisonment.
7 August – Margaret, 35, and Seana Tapp, 9 are attacked and murdered by an unknown man in their suburban Melbourne home.[22] Seana is also sexually assaulted.[23]
21 August – The Federal budget is televised for the first time.[24]
5 September – Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment for ordinary crimes (i.e. murder). New South Wales maintained it as a punishment for treason and piracy with violence until 1985†, when capital punishment was finally abolished in Australia.
6 November – In a crime that shocks the city, Melbourne schoolgirl Kylie Maybury is kidnapped, raped and murdered after being sent on an errand to buy a bag of sugar.[27]
26 November –
Former NSW Corrective Services Minister Rex Jackson appears in Court on conspiracy charges for the early release of prisoners.[28]
A good performance by Andrew Peacock in the leaders' televised debate boosts his poll ratings.[29]
December
2 December – Hawke Government re-elected with a reduced majority.[30]
7 December – Andrew Peacock and John Howard retain their respective positions in the Opposition.[31]
30 January – Perfect Match is launched in the 5:30 pm timeslot, bringing in record ratings for that timeslot & ensuring Ten's Eyewitness News won the 6–7 p.m. timeslot.
3 February – Australia's first nationally televised telethon screens on Network Ten. It is a 26-hour effort to raise money for Australia's Olympic athletes.[33]
11 February – The Nine Network's Hey Hey It's Saturday moves from Saturday mornings to the 9:30 pm timeslot and renamed Hey Hey It's Saturday Night.
26 July – French-American-Canadian animated television series Inspector Gadget begins on ABC.
10 June – Andrew Lloyd wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:36 in Sydney, while Mora Main claims the women's title in 2:46:00.[39][40]
6 November – Black Knight wins the Melbourne Cup.[41]
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