Records 1993

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the estimated residential population of the Northern Territory on 31 December 1993 was 170,549 people.

Darwin had an estimated population of 67,699 people, Tennant Creek 3,140, Alice Springs 24,679, Palmerston 10,186 and the Darwin rural area had an estimated population of 12,504 people. The median age of the Northern Territory population was 27.5 years, with 45% of the population aged less than 25 years in June 1993. Only 3% of the population was above the age of 65.

The average weekly earnings for Territorians was $553.20 and for full-time workers $676.40 per week. This is based on ABS statistics.

In early 1993, NT News featured an advertisement by TIO Finance offering Home Loans at the rate of 9.25% per annum variable, or 10.25% per annum fixed for three years.

An unfurnished rental three bedroom house in Darwin's northern suburbs ranged from $200 to $250 per week.

Local Darwin residents were dining out at the Happy Garden Chinese restaurant in Parap, Kantillas at Football Park, Marrara and Matilda's Bar and Bistro at the Top End Hotel on Mitchell Street. The Vic Hotel had extended its trading hours until 4am and a regular column ‘Hooked on Fishing' by Alex Julius in the daily newspaper was a popular read for locals. All through the year the newspaper reported on the plans and negotiations for the Alice Springs to Darwin rail link.

9 January – Former Minister for Territories, the Right Honourable Sir Paul Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO, died in Perth. Hasluck, in his role as Minister for Territories, implemented a reform agenda including The Welfare Ordinance 1953.

Based on his master's thesis published under the title ‘Black Australians', it removed race-based protective legislation, but aligned to principles of assimilation. It was a cornerstone of Aboriginal policy until the mid-1970s, impacting the lives of many Territorians.

24 January – A sperm whale stranded itself on Casuarina Beach and efforts to save it were unsuccessful. The skeleton of the whale is preserved by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

28 January – The Jawoyn Association signed a gold mine development agreement with the Northern Territory Government and Zapopan Ltd. The agreement included the return of land surrounding the mine and various other titles in the region, and cultural, employment, training and housing benefits. The Jawoyn Association agreed to forgo native title rights over the area of the mine.

The Jawoyn Association also entered into a partnership with Travel North to operate boat tours of Nitmiluk National Park in the Katherine Gorge.

1 March – the Honourable Austin Asche QC, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed Administrator of the Northern Territory, succeeding the Honorable James Muirhead AC QC.

9 May – Former lead singer of the British band Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldolf, played at the Northern Territory University. It was described as an 'abysmal failure' in one newspaper following an inquiry into the financial loss incurred from the event by the NTU student union.

15 May – Australian band Yothu Yindi from north east Arnhem Land and country music legend Slim Dusty performed at the Darwin Botanic Gardens amphitheatre.

17 May – The new Darwin Export Stockyards at Berrimah were officially opened by Mike Reed MLA, Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries. The stockyards was a co-operative project between the Northern Territory Government and the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters' Association.

5 June – In recognition of his established reputation as an artist, the National Gallery of Australia staged 'The Art of George Milpurrurru', the first solo retrospective exhibition at a public gallery afforded to an Aboriginal artist. The ceremonial leader of the Ganalbingu people from the Ramingining region of Arnhem Land, Milpurrurru (1934 - 1998) was renowned as a bark painter and sculptor. His work was included in the Sydney Biennale in 1979.

10 July – In the closing concert of the Darwin International Guitar Festival the world renowned guitarist John Williams joined the Darwin Symphony Orchestra at the foot of Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park to perform the music of eminent Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe.

6 September – The Airbus A330 of Malaysia Airlines arrived in Darwin for the first time during an hour stopover. At the time it was the largest twin-engine aircraft in service.

16 September – The sixth Perron Ministry of eight was appointed, following the resignation of Max Ortmann.

3 November – The new library building opened at the Northern Territory University.

5 November – International star Tina Turner performed at Football Park, Marrara, as part of her world tour ‘What's love got to do with it'.

22 January – Shell Australia announced plans to close more than half of the nation's oldest colliery, the South Bulli mine, leading to job losses for 230 New South Wales coal miners.

13 March – In the federal election Paul Keating and the ALP won the 'unwinnable election' returning for a fifth term in Government. Warren Snowdon (ALP) retained the Northern Territory seat and Senators Bob Collins (ALP) and Grant Tambling (CLP) were returned.

22 March – the Federal Liberal Party re-elected John Hewson as leader by a 17 vote majority against contender John Howard. Deputy Leader Peter Reith retired to the backbench after losing to Michael Wooldridge. Tim Fischer fought off a challenge from Ian Sinclair to remain National Party leader, with John Anderson taking on the role of Deputy Leader.

29 April – Cheryl Kernot was confirmed Leader of the Australian Democrats. She was given a mandate to pursue more mainstream policy objectives and reform the party's internal procedures.

4 August – Coles Myer announced a $4 billion expansion plan spanning five years and creating 100,000 new jobs.

24 September – Sydney won the bid to host the year 2000 Olympic Games.

15 December –The famous landmark in Central Australia, Ayers Rock was renamed Ayers Rock/Uluru. It was the first feature in the Northern Territory to be given dual names.

22 December – Prime Minister Paul Keating tabled Native Title legislation in Parliament. The Native Title Act 1993, was passed by Commonwealth Parliament and assented to on 24 December 1993. The Native Title Act put into law the decision of the High Court in the Mabo case, opening the way for claims by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their traditional lands and compensation.

1 January – Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and was dissolved into two independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

1 January – Thousands of New Year revellers in Hong Kong trampled 20 party-goers to death in a stampede in the city's central entertainment district.

3 January – In the city of Moscow, US President George HW Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the Second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The Treaty eventually led to a 50% reduction in nuclear weapons held by both the United States and Russia - described as 'some 17,000 of the most fearsome engines of destruction invented' by the NT News on 4 January.

6 January – Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev died aged 54.

20 January – Bill Clinton was sworn-in as the 42nd President of the United States.

28 February to 19 April – the Waco siege, also known as the Waco Massacre, took place when US federal government and Texas law enforcement officials attempted a raid on a compound belonging to the religious cult Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh. The conflict became a 51 day siege resulting in the deaths of four federal agents and 82 Branch Davidians, 28 of whom were children.

26 February – In New York City the World Trade Centre was bombed. The explosion, which killed six people and injured 1,000 others, came from a van parked below the north tower.

12 March – North Korea announced plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and refused to allow inspectors access to nuclear sites.

18 June – Iraq refused to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at two missile engine tests stands.

22 September – An Amtrak train derailed near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people and injuring 103 more. It was the worst rail disaster in the United States in over 35 years.

30 September – a 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in the vicinity of Maharashtra India, killing 9,748 people and injuring 30,000.

3 to 4 October – Three American Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by forces of the Somali National Alliance and armed irregular citizens during the Battle of Mogadishu. The battle was part of the two-year Somali Civil War. A desperate fight by forces of the United States, supported by United Nations Operation in Somalia II service personnel, followed. They attempted to defend and rescue the survivors of the downed helicopters. Casualties of the fight included 18 dead American soldiers and 73 wounded. Malaysian forces suffered one death and seven wounded and Pakistani forces two injuries. Somali casualties were between 133 and 700 dead.

4 October – The Russian constitutional crisis culminated with Russian military and security forces using tanks and shelling the White House building of Russia's Parliament thereby quashing a mass uprising against President Boris Yeltsin and the threat of civil war. The 10 day conflict was the deadliest single event of street fighting in Moscow's history since the 'October Revolution' of 1917, with 147 people killed and 437 wounded according to official Russian government statistics.

18 to 31 January – Jim Courier of the United States won the Men's Singles title in the Australian Open Tennis, and Monica Seles (aged 19) from Yugoslavia won the Women's Singles title.

31 January – Michael Jackson performed at the American football game Super Bowl XXVII during the half-time concert. His performance marked the first time that ratings during the Super Bowl actually increased between the halves of the game, setting the bar for entertainment during a sports event.

February – At the age of 21, Jo-Beth Taylor became the youngest television presenter to host a prime time program on Australian TV with Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, beginning a four-year run.

29 March – The 65th Academy Awards hosted by comedian and actor Billy Crystal in Los Angeles saw movie Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris, win the award for Best Picture.

31 March – American martial artist and film star Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died on the set of his film The Crow when he was fatally wounded by a prop gun.

30 April – Yugoslavian tennis champion, Monica Seles was the victim of an attack when an obsessed fan of her rival Steffi Graf stabbed her in the back as she was sitting off court between games in Hamburg, Germany. Monica did not return to professional tennis for more than two years after the attack.

4 June – In the Ashes Test Cricket match Australian spin bowler Shane Warne, in his first delivery of Ashes Test cricket, delivered the 'ball of the century' to Mike Gatting, bowling the Englishman out at Old Trafford in Manchester. It was Warne's first ball of the match and was seen as heralding the revival of leg spin bowling.

11 June – The movie Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in the United States. It went on to gross over $914 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film ever and surpassing Spielberg's own film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. It would hold the record until the release of Titanic in 1997.

5 July – British Sitcom series Absolutely Fabulous debuted on Australian ABC TV.

30 July – Television series A Country Practice was axed by the Seven Network in Australia after 1,058 episodes. Network 10 picked up the series the following year but it was not successful and finished soon after.

6 August – The film The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford, was released in the United States.

9 September – American sitcom Seinfeld debuted on Australian TV.

10 September – The American science fiction drama television series X Files starring Gillian Anderson as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully and David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder, went to air on Fox television. Based around the investigation of unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena, it spanned nine seasons with 202 episodes, developing a cult following.

25 September – Essendon defeated Carlton to win the 97th Australian Football League premiership.

26 September – Brisbane Broncos defeated St George Dragons winning the 86th NSW Rugby League premiership.

26 October – Australian artist Peter Andre released a cover of the song 'Gimme Little Sign' from his debut self-titled album. It peaked at number 3 on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single by an Australian artist in 1993.

24 November – The film Mrs Doubtfire, starring Robin Williams, was released in the United States.

25 November – Gold Logie TV personality and journalist Ray Martin presented his final episode of Midday, a multi award-winning daytime television program based on the variety format. He was replaced by journalist Derryn Hinch.

26 November – The final episode of Australian comedy chat show Tonight Live with Steve Vizard was broadcast.

16 December – MTV Unplugged in New York featuring Seattle rock band Nirvana was broadcast on American cable television network MTV.

The three highest selling popular music singles in Australia for 1993 were 'I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)' by Meatloaf, 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston and 'You Don't Treat Me No Good' by Sonia Dada.

This decision was without a submission.

Cabinet decided that an agreement could be entered into with the Jawoyn Association which could commit the Northern Territory Government to land settlements, construction of accommodation and facilities for Aboriginal workers at Mount Todd mine, transfer of Nitmiluk Visitor Centre to the Jawoyn Association and provision of cultural advice at Nitmiluk Park.

The land settlements included the area of the Werenbun-Barnjaru Land Claim, 'Catfish Dreaming' (adjacent to the Rockhole community), and sections of land adjacent to Nitmiluk Park.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. WOS / Decision No. 7612 of 12 January 1993 / Volume 403 PDF (993.3 KB)

This Submission sought approval to release for public comment, the draft Code of Practice for Retirement Village Schemes.

Following concerns about the operation of retirement village schemes, all Australian jurisdictions reviewed their regulations. The Northern Territory Government proposed that development of a Code of Practice and legislation for the NT would be substantially based on that of New South Wales.

The Code sets out good practice in the sale, promotion and operation of retirement villages and is complementary to the Retirement Villages Act. The Code will be mandatory and apply to developers, promoters, sellers, management and residents of retirement villages. Compliance with the Code will be monitored by the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and can be enforced under the Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1990. Government approved release of the draft Retirement Village Industry Code of Practice, a copy of which is attached to this record.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. 6754 / Decision No. 8006 of 28 November 1993 / Volume 426B PDF (34.1 MB)

This Submission considers the future development of the aquaculture industry in the Northern Territory. In the 1990's the aquaculture industry was a significant contributor to the Northern Territory economy and potential for future development and employment opportunities were recognised. The Submission outlines the current status of Northern Territory aquaculture in the 1990's. Annual aquaculture production in 1993 was valued at $40 million and provided employment for over 70 people.

Attached to the Submission is an options paper on future directions for the aquaculture industry. The paper outlines current and proposed research and development projects. The importance of water quality and environmental conditions to the sustainability of the aquaculture industry was noted. Consideration was given to industry and government support provided to aquaculture development in other Australian States and in Asia, including land/water packages and an aquaculture food production facility.

In recognition of the potential for future development and employment opportunities in the industry, Government approved funding for research projects aimed at taking mud crab and golden snapper through to commercial pilot trials, given the prospects for marketing to Australian and Asian markets.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. 6576 / Decision No. 7772 of 3 June 1993 / Volume 412C PDF (25.8 MB)

The purpose of this Submission was to eradicate childhood infections of Haemophilus Influenzae Type b in the Northern Territory by funding the vaccination of young children.

The bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) causes life threatening infections in children, particularly those under 5 years of age. The main diseases are meningitis, pneumonia and epiglottitis (a serious infection of the throat, which can cause blockage of the windpipe).

In Australia in the 1990's, about 700 children were affected by the Hib disease annually, with up to 15 to 30 deaths. A further 30 will develop severe complications ranging from hearing loss to mental retardation and severe brain damage.

A safe vaccine against the Hib disease became available in Australia in February 1993. The disease has virtually been eradicated in communities immunised against Hib such as in Scandinavia and in all population groups in the United States of America, including Native Americans.

Consideration was given to the prohibitive costs of the vaccination, the potential impact of not vaccinating children under 5 years of age including an increase in affected children, and the costs for hospital care and long-term care of a child with severe brain damage.

The Northern Territory Government approved the offering of the vaccine against Hib infections to children up to the age of 5 years.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. 6572 / Decision No. 7768 of 3 June 1993 / Volume 412B PDF (11.1 MB)

This Submission sought funding to improve health centres in remote communities across the Northern Territory. Several health centres in the Katherine, Alice Springs and Barkly districts had served as bases for residential Aboriginal health workers and/or nurses but were never considered suitable for permanent use.

The clinics were either one room tin sheds or 'silver bullet' caravans structurally inappropriate or of unsatisfactory standard. Poor working conditions coupled with a lack of toilet and laundry facilities contributed to difficulties in staff recruitment and retention.

The Submission considered the design and construction of replacement clinics and approved $1 million to construct replacement clinics in communities characterised by high levels of disease. The Submission includes images of existing clinics and community profiles for several remote communities, and proposes a 5-year replacement program.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. 6498 / Decision No. 7689 of 30 March 1993 / Volume 407 PDF (37.1 MB)

The purpose of this Submission was to seek approval of a shared equity home ownership scheme (the Scheme) to supplement existing housing policies.

In the 1990's shared equity home ownership schemes were operating in most States and Territories of Australia. With increasing property prices, shared equity home ownership was considered an appropriate method of allowing low to middle income earners to work towards home ownership, and would attract those not able to be accommodated under the HomeNorth Easy Start First Mortgage Loan Scheme. Funds were available under the Commonwealth's Housing Assistance Act 1989 for participants in shared ownership schemes.

In summary, the Scheme required potential home owners to purchase a minimum 25% initial equity in a dwelling using a government loan similar to the HomeNorth Easy Start first mortgage loan. The Government would hold the balance of the equity, with the title of the property held by the NT Housing Commission under a legal agreement with the home owner.

The title would transfer to the home owner when they had acquired 100% equity in the property. The Scheme only applied to Housing Commission housing stock and there was no limit set on the maximum purchase price. The Submission outlines starting interest rates and maximum loan amounts based on gross weekly family income. At the time of writing the Submission, the variable home loan interest rate was 8.75%.

Eligibility criteria included the requirement that applicants must not own or have previously owned a dwelling in the Northern Territory, and the home must be for owner occupation. A minimum cash deposit was required and repayments were between 25% and 35% of the home owner's income. The home owner would be liable for all municipal, water and sewerage rates, insurance charges and repairs and maintenance.

Government decided to approve the principles of the Scheme, subject to submission of the recommendations in Appendix B to the Commonwealth Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services and/or the Department.

To assist the reader, other 1993 Cabinet decisions relating to housing matters are listed below:

• Shared Equity Home Ownership Scheme - Cabinet Decisions 7940, 7985 and 7987
• HomeNorth Mortgage Loan Scheme
• Cabinet Decisions 7887, 7905, 7923 and 7969.
• Interest Subsidy Scheme – Cabinet Decisions 7986, 7987 and 8028.

Read the Cabinet decision: Submission No. 6664 / Decision No. 7907 of 5 October 1993 / Volume 421A PDF (1.7 MB)