PELL: Cardinal George Pell starts the year having been secretly convicted of sexually abusing two choirboys at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996. In February, the once highly revered Vatican treasurer is publicly revealed to be the highest ranking Catholic in the world found guilty of child sexual abuse. A jury has convicted him months earlier on five charges over the rape of a 13-year-old choirboy and for molesting another after a Sunday mass when he was Archbishop of Melbourne. One of the choirboys, now in his 30s, gave evidence against Pell after coming forward to police following the death of the second boy. The 78-year-old cardinal is jailed for six years in March and spends almost every hour of the day in solitary confinement in his cell at a central Melbourne prison for offending described as "brazen" and committed with "venom". His first challenge to his five convictions fails when Victoria's Court of Appeal upholds the jury's verdict two judges to one. Pell's legal team heads to Australia's High Court, which agrees to refer the case to the full bench to hear appeal arguments in 2020.
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BANKS: Financial services royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC's final report shames those who have presided over widespread misconduct and regulators for letting much of it go unpunished. He calls for an overhaul of the banking, superannuation and financial services industry and an end to "taking money for nothing". Some observers, however, believe the banks have a clear win by avoiding radical structural reform. NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn and chairman Ken Henry resign after Mr Hayne expresses serious concerns about their leadership. The most controversial of his 76 recommendations prove to be banning commissions to mortgage brokers, with a federal government backflip on abolishing trail commissions. The big four banks, AMP and others continue to grapple with the fallout of the inquiry and scandals like the charging of fees for no service, with remediation payments to customers tipped to run into billions of dollars. ASIC and APRA promise to be tougher regulators. CBA's CommInsure is fined $700,000 for "hawking" life insurance policies in unsolicited phone calls. NAB agrees to pay $49.5 million to tens of thousands of customers sold "worthless" credit card and personal loan insurance to settle a class action. More prosecutions are before the courts.
ELECTION: The polls all point to a Labor victory but at a retirees forum in Perth just weeks out from the federal election, Scott Morrison reveals his secret strategy for winning. South Fremantle's Ian Johnson waves a collection of newspaper clippings and urges Mr Morrison to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten on May 18. "Can you nail the bastard in three weeks?" Mr Johnson asks. "Do any of you remember that show that Andrew Denton used to run? It was called Enough Rope," Mr Morrison replies. "Well that's what I think I'll give him." It works. Mr Shorten's policy-heavy campaign struggles to convince voters to dump a coalition government on the way back to a budget surplus. Labor's plan to axe tax payouts for franking credits turns off voters with share portfolios and a fake "death tax" campaign spreads on social media - and then legendary Bob Hawke dies two days short of election day. Labor's longest-serving prime minister doesn't even get to vote because he'd planned to make it to the ballot box. The nation mourns. Mr Morrison pulls out a "miracle" victory to keep the coalition in power for a third term. Anthony Albanese replaces Mr Shorten as Labor leader.
THE ASHES: England is Steve Smith's playground in a phenomenal return to Test cricket from a ball-tampering ban for the disgraced ex-captain. The Aussies keep the Ashes in a rollicking 2-2 away series forever to be recalled in wonder at Smith's Bradmanesque 774 runs. Top-score 211, average 110.57, three centuries, dismissed under 80 just once. Smith, who also misses a Test with concussion, and sandpaper scoundrel David Warner are taunted by English crowds after serving 12-month suspensions. Smith's eccentric style of run-making confounds the Poms and astounds the cricket world - the Ashes belong to him, though England savours Ben Stokes' masterpiece in Leeds, 135 not out in a one-wicket win. The reformed Australians are on their best behaviour and anti-hero Warner adopts a charm offensive to the crowd ribbing, but barely scores a run - he's Stuart Broad's bunny, seven times out to the Poms' pantomime villain. Warner's woes are puzzling considering he's just made three tons and three half-centuries in Australia's World Cup campaign, which ended with a semi-final loss. Warner finds comfort back home: he makes an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan, the second-highest Test score by an Australian.
DROUGHT: Australia will enter 2020 as it ends 2019: in devastating drought, fighting deadly bushfires and divided on climate change action. Almost no rain has flowed into the vital Murray Darling basin for two years, making it the river system's most severe drought in 120 years of records. More than 98 per cent of NSW is drought affected. Two-thirds of Queensland is drought declared. Western Australia has had its third-driest year on record. The drought has contributed to an early and deadly start to the bushfire season. Eight people have been killed in NSW (including two firefighters) and more than 700 homes destroyed across three states. Vast tracts of country have been blackened - more than a million hectares in NSW alone. The insurance council puts fire damage in NSW and Queensland at $145 million and rising. The drought wipes billions from Australia's farm production, forcing the federal government to dramatically ramp up drought assistance. Taxpayer help also flows to fire victims as 24 former fire chiefs join angry calls for the government to do more to address climate change. Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists Australia is doing its bit to address a global problem.
Australian Associated Press
