2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Matthew
A tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Fourteen on October 8, while located about 205 mi (330 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Matthew about six hours later. The storm moved generally northeastward or northward throughout its duration. After briefly weakening, Matthew attained its peak intensity late on October 9, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 997 mbar (29.4 inHg). At 11:00 UTC on October 10, Matthew made landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). Only an hour later, Matthew weakened to a tropical depression and became extratropical early on October 11.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Matthew
The storm dropped heavy rainfall in southeastern Louisiana, with a peak total of 18 in (460 mm) near Haynesville. Along the coast, storm surge up to 5.85 ft (1.78 m) was observed at Frenier. A combination of storm surge and heavy rainfall inundated numerous roads in Lafourche, Orleans, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Terrebonne parishes. About 20 homes in Terrebonne Parish were damaged, while several others were flooded in Lafourche Parish. A tornado also damaged the roof of a trailer in Golden Meadow. Winds resulted in electrical outages for approximately 2,500 customers. The storm cracked water lines in LaPlace, leaving nearly 30,000 residents without tap water. Overall, losses in Louisiana reached $255,000. In Mississippi, storm surge caused coastal flooding in Hancock County. Damage in the state totaled only $50,000.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm Nicole
The interaction between an upper-level trough and a decaying cold front led to the development of a low-pressure area on October 8 to the southwest of Bermuda. Although it lacked a well-defined center of circulation, the system was already producing gale-force winds. Early on October 10, the low developed a curved band of convection northwest of the center, and it organized into Subtropical Storm Nicole by 06:00 UTC. An approaching mid-level trough turned the system northeastward. Early on October 11, Nicole passed about 60 mi (95 km) northwest of Bermuda. On the island, Nicole and its precursor dropped 5.86 in (148 mm) of rainfall and produced wind gusts reaching 60 mph (97 km/h). The winds left 1,800 homes and businesses without power, while the unsettled conditions caused delays at the L.F. Wade International Airport.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Subtropical Storm Nicole
After passing Bermuda, Nicole developed an area of convection near the center, suggesting the beginning of a transition to a tropical cyclone. However, strong wind shear caused weakening after the storm reached peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h), preventing Nicole's transition to a fully tropical cyclone. A larger extratropical storm absorbed Nicole on October 11, while the storm was located south of Nova Scotia. In Maine, gusty winds from the remnants of Nicole downed trees and electrical lines, resulting some power outages, especially along or near the coast. Similarly, 11,300 people were left without electricity in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick alone after winds uprooted trees and toppled power lines. Significant rainfall was also produced in the region, peaking at about 5 in (130 mm) in northeastern Nova Scotia.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Otto
A cold front and a strong upper-level trough interacted, resulting in the development of an extratropical low-pressure area on November 26. After losing frontal characteristics, the system transitioned into Subtropical Storm Otto at 12:00 UTC on November 29, while located about 1,150 mi (1,850 km) east-southeast of Bermuda. Initially, the storm moved northwestward due to a weakness in a subtropical ridge. Late on November 29, Otto attained its maximum sustained wind speed of 50 mph (85 km/h). Deep convection formed near the center and the storm began transitioning to a warm core system.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Systems, Tropical Storm Otto
The system was re-classified as Tropical Storm Otto at 12:00 UTC on November 30, although it is possible that Otto transitioned to a fully tropical cyclone one day earlier, on November 29. Although sea temperatures were relatively cold, Otto did not quickly weaken, because of low wind shear. On December 1, the storm curved southeastward and completed a cyclonic loop later that day. After wind shear began increasing, Otto started weakening and was downgraded to a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC on December 2. At that, Otto reached its minimum barometric pressure of 995 mbar (29.4 inHg). Early on December 3, the storm degenerated into a remnant low while located about 920 mi (1,480 km) southeast of Bermuda. Otto was the first tropical cyclone to form in the month of November since Olga of 2001


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Season effects
The following table lists all of the storms that have formed in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) (in parentheses), damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2004 USD.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2004. This is the same list used for the 1998 season except for Gaston and Matthew, which replaced Georges and Mitch. The names not retired from this list were used again in 2010. Storms were named Gaston, Matthew, and Otto for the first time in 2004. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.


2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Storm names, Retirement
On April 5, 2005, The World Meteorological Organization retired four names – Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne due to extreme damages and death toll and will not be used again for an Atlantic hurricane. They were replaced in the 2010 season by Colin, Fiona, Igor, and Julia. The 2004 season is tied with the 1955, 1995, and 2017 seasons for the second-highest number of names retired after a single season in the Atlantic basin, surpassed only by the 2005 season, which had five names retired.


2004 Auburn Tigers football team
The 2004 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Auburn compiled a record of 13–0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship and finishing the season ranked #2 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Beginning the season ranked #17 in the AP poll and #18 in the Coaches' Poll, the Tigers were denied a berth in the BCS National Championship Game because they finished the regular season ranked #3 in the BCS rankings. Head coach Tommy Tuberville, who was nearly fired after the 2003 season, was named national Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. This was Auburn's third undefeated season in which they played over ten games.


2004 Auburn Tigers football team
The team defeated LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee (twice, facing them a second time in the SEC Championship game), all of whom were ranked opponents. They were left out of the BCS National Championship Game, and instead went to the 2005 Sugar Bowl, beating #9 Virginia Tech, 16–13, to finish 13–0. USC and Oklahoma played for the national title in the Orange Bowl. USC's national title was later vacated by the NCAA. Both Darryl W. Perry and GBE College Football Ratings awarded their national titles to Auburn.


2004 Auburn Tigers football team
The team's roster featured four first-round NFL draft picks in running back Carnell Williams, running back Ronnie Brown, defensive back Carlos Rogers, and quarterback Jason Campbell, as well as five future Pro Bowl participants in offensive linemen Marcus McNeill and Ben Grubbs, running back Ronnie Brown, Carlos Rogers, and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. Permanent team captains were Campbell, Williams, Brown, Rogers, and Bret Eddins.


2004 Auckland City mayoral election
The 2004 Auckland City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 2004, elections were held for the Mayor of Auckland plus other local government positions including nineteen city councillors. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.


2004 Auckland City mayoral election, Ward results
Candidates were also elected from wards to the Auckland City Council.


2004 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours 2004 are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2004 by the Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey.


2004 Australia Day Honours
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, the first announced to coincide with Australia Day (26 January), with the other being the Queen's Birthday Honours, which are announced on the second Monday in June.


2004 Australia national soccer team season
This page summarises the Australia national soccer team fixtures and results in 2004.


2004 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
2004 commenced with a trip to Venezuela for a first ever meeting with the Venezuela national football team in a friendly which finished 1–1 after an injury time equaliser to the hosts. This was followed by a 1–0 friendly win in London over South Africa. Following this Australia hosted Turkey in a two-match friendly series. The Turks were ranked 7th in the world at the time and won both fixtures, 3–1 in Sydney  and then 1–0 in Melbourne.


2004 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
In late May and early June Australia hosted the final tournament of the 2004 OFC Nations Cup in Adelaide. The tournament doubled as qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Australia largely cruised through their matches although a surprise 2–2 draw with Solomon Islands in the last game meant the two nations would meet again in a two-legged playoff to determine the OFC Nations champions.


2004 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
These fixtures took place in October. Australia comfortably won both legs. A 5–1 win in Honiara was followed with a 6–0 win in Sydney to be crowned OFC Nations champions and qualify for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.


2004 Australia national soccer team season, Summary
The year ended with a 2–2 friendly draw in London to Norway.


2004 Australia rugby union tour of Europe
The 2004 Wallabies Spring Tour  was a series of five matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in November 2004.


2004 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, The Matches
Scotland: 15.Stuart Moffat, 14.Sean Lamont, 13.Graeme Morrison, 12.Andrew Henderson, 11.Chris Paterson, 10.Dan Parks, 9.Chris Cusiter, 8.Ally Hogg, 7.Donnie Macfadyen, 6.Scott Gray, 5.Scott Macleod, 4.Nathan Hines, 3.Bruce Douglas, 2.Gordon Bulloch (capt. ), 1.Allan Jacobsen,  – replacements: 16.Ross Ford, 17.Craig Smith, 18.Alastair Kellock, 19.Jon Petrie, 20.Mike Blair, 21.Andy Craig, 22.Hugo Southwell Australia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Clyde Rathbone, 13.Stirling Mortlock, 12.Matt Giteau, 11.Lote Tuqiri, 10.Stephen Larkham, 9.George Gregan (capt), 8.John Roe, 7.Phil Waugh, 6.George Smith, 5.Dan Vickerman, 4.Justin Harrison, 3.Al Baxter, 2.Jeremy Paul, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 16.Brendan Cannon, 17.Matt Dunning, 18.Mark Chisholm, 19.David Lyons, 20.Elton Flatley, 21.Wendell Sailor, 22.Mat Rogers


2004 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, The Matches
France: 15.Nicolas Brusque, 14.Aurelien Rougerie, 13.Tony Marsh, 12.Yannick Jauzion, 11.Cedric Heymans, 10.Frederic Michalak, 9.Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8.Imanol Harinordoquy, 7.Olivier Magne, 6.Serge Betsen, 5.Jerome Thion, 4.Fabien Pelous (capt. ), 3.Sylvain Marconnet, 2.William Servat, 1.Olivier Milloud,  – replacements: 16.Sebastien Bruno, 19.Julien Bonnaire, 20.Julien Peyrelongue, 22.Christophe Dominici      –  No entry : 17.Nicolas Mas, 18.Pascal Pape, 21.Clément PoitrenaudAustralia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Clyde Rathbone, 13.Stirling Mortlock, 12.Matt Giteau, 11.Lote Tuqiri, 10.Stephen Larkham, 9.George Gregan (capt), 8.John Roe, 7.Phil Waugh, 6.George Smith, 5.Dan Vickerman, 4.Justin Harrison, 3.Al Baxter, 2.Jeremy Paul, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 17.Matt Dunning, 19.David Lyons, 20.Elton Flatley, 21.Wendell Sailor, 22.Mat Rogers     –  No entry: 16.Brendan Cannon, 18.Mark Chisholm


2004 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, The Matches
Scotland: 15.Hugo Southwell, 14.Chris Paterson, 13.Ben Hinshelwood, 12.Andrew Henderson, 11.Sean Lamont, 10.Dan Parks, 9.Chris Cusiter, 8.Jon Petrie, 7.Donnie Macfadyen, 6.Ally Hogg, 5.Nathan Hines, 4.Stuart Grimes, 3.Gavin Kerr, 2.Gordon Bulloch (capt. ), 1.Allan Jacobsen,  – replacements: 16.Robbie Russell, 17.Bruce Douglas, 18.Scott Macleod, 19.Jason White, 20.Mike Blair, 22.Graeme Morrison    –  No entry : 21.Gordon RossAustralia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Clyde Rathbone, 13.Stirling Mortlock, 12.Matt Giteau, 11.Lote Tuqiri, 10.Stephen Larkham, 9.George Gregan (capt), 8.David Lyons, 7.Phil Waugh, 6.George Smith, 5.Dan Vickerman, 4.Justin Harrison, 3.Al Baxter, 2.Jeremy Paul, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 16.Brendan Cannon, 17.Matt Dunning, 18.Radike Samo, 19.Stephen Hoiles, 20.Elton Flatley, 21.Wendell Sailor, 22.Mat Rogers


2004 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, The Matches
England: 15.Jason Robinson (capt. ), 14.Mark Cueto, 13.Henry Paul, 12.Mike Tindall, 11.Josh Lewsey, 10.Charlie Hodgson, 9.Andy Gomarsall, 8.Martin Corry, 7.Lewis Moody, 6.Joe Worsley, 5.Steve Borthwick, 4.Danny Grewcock, 3.Julian White, 2.Steve Thompson, 1.Graham Rowntree,  – replacements: 20.Harry Ellis, 21.Will Greenwood, 22.Ben Cohen       –  No entry : 16.Andy Titterrell, 17.Andrew Sheridan, 18.Ben Kay, 19.Andy HazellAustralia: 15.Chris Latham, 14.Wendell Sailor, 13.Morgan Turinui, 12.Matt Giteau, 11.Lote Tuqiri, 10.Elton Flatley, 9.George Gregan (capt), 8.David Lyons, 7.Phil Waugh, 6.George Smith, 5.Dan Vickerman, 4.Justin Harrison, 3.Al Baxter, 2.Jeremy Paul, 1.Bill Young,  – replacements: 17.Matt Dunning, 19.Stephen Hoiles, 22.Mat Rogers       –  No entry: 16.Brendan Cannon, 18.Radike Samo, 20.Matt Henjak, 21.Drew Mitchell


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 16 October 2004. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Brendan Smyth. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method, known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was a clear majority of nine seats in the 17-member unicameral Assembly for Labor. It marked the first and so far only time in the history of ACT self-government that one party was able to win a majority in its own right.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election
Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the sixth Assembly on 4 November 2004. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission and was the second time in Australia's history that an electronic voting and counting system was used for some, but not all, polling places, expanding on the initial trial of the system at the 2001 ACT election.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Overview
The incumbent centre-left Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, attempted to win re-election for a second term after coming to power in 2001. Labor was challenged by the opposition centre-right Liberal Party, led by Brendan Smyth, who assumed the Liberal leadership in November 2002. A third party, the ACT Greens, held one seat in the Assembly through retiring member, Kerrie Tucker.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Overview
The election saw all 17 members of the Assembly face re-election, with members being elected by the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation. The Assembly is divided into three electorates: five-member Brindabella (including Tuggeranong and parts of the Woden Valley) and Ginninderra (including Belconnen and suburbs) and seven-member Molonglo (including North Canberra, South Canberra, Gungahlin, Weston Creek, and the remainder of the Woden Valley). Election dates are set in statute to occur once every four years; the government has no ability to set the election date.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Overview
Following the 2001 election outcome, Labor held eight seats; the opposition Liberal Party held seven seats; with the Greens holding a further one seat; and the Democrats also holding one seat. In September 2002, Helen Cross resigned from the Liberal Party, and remained in the Assembly, sitting as an independent. Gary Humphries, the former Liberal leader, resigned from the Assembly on 25 November 2002 to fill a casual vacancy in the Australian Senate following the resignation of Margaret Reid. Humphries was replaced in the Assembly by Jacqui Burke who was sworn in on 18 February 2003.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates
Sitting members at the time of the election are in bold. Tickets that elected at least one MLA are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are indicated by an asterisk (*).


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Brindabella
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Brindabella
Mick Gentleman* John Hargreaves* Paschal Leahy Rebecca Logue Karin MacDonald*


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Brindabella
Steve Doszpot Steve Pratt* Megan Purcell Karen Schilling Brendan Smyth*


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Ginninderra
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Australian Democrats were defending one seat.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Ginninderra
Wayne Berry* Ross Maxwell Susan McCarthy Mary Porter* Jon Stanhope*


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Ginninderra
Briant Clark Vicki Dunne* Ilona Fraser Bob Sobey Bill Stefaniak*


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Molonglo
Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party had won three seats in 2001 but after Helen Cross's departure from the party in 2002 was defending two seats. The Greens were defending one seat. Helen Cross was also defending her seat with an independent list.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Molonglo
Andrew Barr Adina Cirson Simon Corbell* Katy Gallagher* Mike Hettinger Ted Quinlan* Kim Sattler


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Candidates, Molonglo
Lucille Bailie Jacqui Burke* Ron Forrester David Kibbey Richard Mulcahy* Gordon Scott Zed Seselja*


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
Australian Capital Territory general election, 16 October 2004Legislative Assembly << 2001–2008 >>


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
On election night 16 October 2004, four hours after the close of polling, with 78 per cent of the vote counted, Liberal leader, Brendan Smyth, conceded defeat to Labor. Smyth conceded that the incumbent Labor Government had been returned for a second term and appeared set to win the Territory's first ever majority mandate. Labor had obtained 47 per cent of the vote across the ACT, with the Liberals at 34.8 per cent and the Greens at 9.2 per cent. Swings were recorded towards Labor (+5.3 per cent), Liberal (+3.2 per cent) and the ACT Greens (+0.1 per cent).


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
Support for the Democrats collapsed and they lost their one and only seat. Counting continued up until 27 October 2004, when all preferences were distributed, resulting in Labor winning nine seats, the Liberals winning seven seats, while the Greens won one seat. The ACT Electoral Commission determined and announced the election's final results on 29 October 2004. The result marked the first time in the history of ACT self-government that one party was able to win a majority in its own right.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
In Brindabella, Labor retained its three seats and the Liberals retained its two seats. Government minister John Hargreaves and backbencher Karin MacDonald were re-elected; with Mick Gentleman replacing the retired former Government minister Bill Wood. For the Liberal Party, leader Brendan Smyth and shadow minister Steve Pratt were both re-elected.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
Labor gained a seat in Ginninderra, where Democrats sitting member Roslyn Dundas unsuccessfully sought re-election. The Liberals retained their two seats. Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and Labor Speaker Wayne Berry were both re-elected, with Mary Porter winning the additional seat for Labor. Both Bill Stefaniak and Vicki Dunne retained their seats for the Liberal Party.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results
In seven-member Molonglo, there was no change to representation from the 2001 ACT election with both Labor and the Liberals retaining three seats, and the Greens retaining one seat. Labor Deputy Chief Minister Ted Quinlan, and ministers Katy Gallagher and Simon Corbell all won re-election. The Liberal benches saw the re-election of one member, Jacqui Burke and two new members, Zed Seselja and Richard Mulcahy; following the retirement of long-serving member and former Speaker, Greg Cornwell. Helen Cross, elected as a Liberal member at the 2001 ACT election, resigned from the Liberal Party in September 2002 to become an independent. Cross failed to get re-elected at the 2004 ACT election. The Greens sitting member, Kerrie Tucker, resigned from the Assembly less than one month before the election. The Greens endorsed Deb Foskey, who was elected as the sole Green in the Assembly.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results, Electronic voting and counting system, Overview
The ACT's electronic voting system was first used at the 2001 election and was again used at the 2004 election. The system used standard personal computers as voting terminals, with voters using a barcode to authenticate their votes. Voting terminals were linked to a server in each polling location using a secure local area network. No votes were taken or transmitted over a public network like the Internet. The electronic voting system was used in the pre-poll voting centres, which were open for three weeks before polling day, and which opened on election day as ordinary polling places. In polling places that did not have electronic voting, voters used traditional paper ballots. In electronic polling places, voters were given a choice of voting electronically or on paper.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results, Electronic voting and counting system, Overview
Electronic counting, which combines the counting of electronic votes and paper ballots, was first used in the ACT at the 2001 election and was again used in the 2004 election. In 2001 and 2004, preferences shown on paper ballots were data-entered by two independent operators, electronically checked for errors, and manually corrected if required. This data was then combined with the results of the electronic voting, and the computer program distributed preferences under the ACT's Hare-Clark electoral system. The software for the electronic voting and counting system was built using Linux open source software, which was chosen specifically for the electoral system to ensure that election software is open and transparent and could be made available to scrutineers, candidates and other participants in the electoral process.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results, Electronic voting and counting system, 2004 statistics
In 2004, a total of 28,169 electronic votes were recorded at four pre-poll voting centres and at eight polling places on polling day. This number of electronic votes represented a 70 per cent increase on the 16,559 electronic votes cast at the 2001 election. The proportion of electronic votes in relation to all votes counted increased from 8.3 per cent in 2001 to 13.4 per cent in 2004.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results, Electronic voting and counting system, 2004 statistics
At each electronic polling place the number of voting machines was increased from ten in 2001 to at least fifteen in 2004 to ensure that those that wished to use computers to vote could do so with minimal queues. The ACT Electoral Commission claims that interim results for 20,722 votes using the electronic voting system were available through the Commission's website by ten minutes after the close of polls on polling night. Later in the night, a further 7,447 electronic votes cast were made available.


2004 Australian Capital Territory general election, Results, Electronic voting and counting system, 2004 statistics
Before 10:00pm, interim preference results from all formal electronic votes cast were available, representing 13.6 per cent of all formal votes. Based on these, and other results, the Commission claims that commentators were able to accurately predict the election outcome. Of the seventeen candidates indicated as elected on election night using the 27,849 formal electronic votes, sixteen were ultimately elected. Only one candidate indicated as elected on election night was not ultimately successful – Labor candidate Andrew Barr was the last candidate indicated as elected in Molonglo on election night. After the full distribution of all preferences, the last position in Molonglo was taken by Liberal candidate Zed Seselja.


2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The championship, which was the second Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was contested over a nine round series and was administered by CupCar Australia Pty Ltd. Alex Davison won the title from Jim Richards and Fabian Coulthard.


2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over a nine round series  with three races per round.


2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Results
Race 2 of Round 5 at Queensland Raceway was cancelled following a crash on the first lap of the race.


2004 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 2004 Australian Drivers' Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to Formula 4000 cars. It was the 48th Australian Drivers' Championship and the sixteen and last to be contested by Formula Holden / Formula Brabham / Formula 4000 cars. The championship winner was awarded the 2004 CAMS Gold Star and the Silver Star Trophy was awarded to the winner of the "Silver Star" class which was restricted to approved competitors.


2004 Australian Drivers' Championship
The championship, which was promoted as the 2004 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship, was dominated by reigning Australian Formula Ford Champion Neil McFadyen. McFadyn won six of the eight races and took second place at each of the two Winton Motor Raceway races behind International Formula 3000 returnee Rob Nguyen. With only one race finish off the podium, but no wins, Ty Hanger was the runner up ahead of Nguyen.


2004 Australian Drivers' Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over a four-round series with two races per round.


2004 Australian Drivers' Championship, Calendar
The winner of each round (for presentation purposes only) was determined by the aggregation of Championship points awarded in that round.


2004 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Gold Start points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first ten outright finishers in each race. Silver Star points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first ten Silver Star class finishers in each race.


2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship
The 2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to Australian Formula 3 cars. The championship, which was the fourth Australian Formula 3 Championship, was organised and administered by Formula 3 Australia Inc.


2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship
Western Australian racer Karl Reindler took a narrow three point championship victory driving a Dallara F301 for South Australian based motor racing team, Team BRM. Reindler took the win over Queensland driver Chris Gilmour.


2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship, Points system
Championship class points were awarded on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis to top ten placed Championship class drivers in each race. One additional point was awarded to the driver gaining pole position for the Championship class at each race and one additional point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest Championship class race lap in each race.


2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship, Points system
Trophy class points were awarded on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis to top ten placed Trophy class drivers in each race. One additional point was awarded to the driver gaining pole position for the Trophy class at each race and one additional point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest race Trophy class race lap in each race.


2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship, Points system
Manufacturers Championship points were awarded on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the recognized engine manufacturers of cars classified as finishers in each race, irrespective of class.


2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship
The 2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to Formula Ford racing cars. The championship was managed by the Formula Ford Association Inc. and was promoted as the 2004 Ford Racing Australian Formula Ford Championship. It is recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as the 12th Australian Formula Ford Championship.


2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship
The championship was won by David Reynolds driving a Van Diemen RF04.


2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over an eight round series with three races per round.


2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 basis to the top ten finishers at each race. An additional point was awarded to the driver achieving pole position for the first race at each round.


2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Standings
All competing cars were required to comply with Formula Ford regulations as defined by CAMS. These regulations specified the mandatory use of a Ford 1600cc crossflow engine.


2004 Australian GT Performance Car Championship
The 2004 Australian GT Performance Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title, organised by Procar Australia as part of the PROCAR Championship Series and open to high performance coupes and sedans, racing with minimal modifications. It was the second running of the Australian GT Performance Car Championship.


2004 Australian GT Performance Car Championship
During the running of the championship, PROCAR relinquished its Category Management rights back to the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.


2004 Australian GT Performance Car Championship
Justin Hemmes won the championship driving a Subaru Impreza WRX, defeating semi-factory Volkswagen Golf R32 driver Paul Stokell by 90 points. Mitsubishi Lancer driver Garry Holt was third.


2004 Australian GT Performance Car Championship, Points system
Points were awarded on a 30-24-20-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the top 21 classified finishers in each race  except for the two rounds run over two races, where the second race was worth double points. An additional 3 points were awarded to the driver setting the fastest qualifying time at each round.


2004 Australian Grand Prix
The 2004 Australian Grand Prix (officially the 2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 March 2004 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. It was Race 1 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher won the race for Ferrari from pole position in very dominant fashion, with his teammate Rubens Barrichello finishing behind him in second. This one-two finish gave Ferrari a strong 9-point lead in the constructors' standings after just one race. Williams and Renault each had both cars finish in the points while McLaren, a team that had enjoyed success in years preceding this, only managed one point, with David Coulthard finishing a lapped 8th.


2004 Australian Grand Prix
This race also marked the first time since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix that cars competed without using fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control, which were both banned by the FIA after the 2003 season. The use of traction control, however, was still permitted by the FIA, and would continue to be used over the next three seasons, until being banned for the 2008 season.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Friday drivers
The bottom 6 teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Friday drivers
Leinders was entered as Third Driver but was refused a superlicence until he completed the required mileage in an F1 car. He satisfied this requirement before the next race.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Qualifying resulted in a Ferrari one-two, with Juan Pablo Montoya third on the grid for Williams. Gianmaria Bruni, Christian Klien and Olivier Panis all failed to set a qualifying time.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the start, Alonso was up and away and ahead of Button and looking for a way to deal with Montoya while Jarno Trulli went from ninth on the grid to be fifth out of the first corner. He was aided in his task by Montoya, who went howling down to Turn 1, braked just a hint too late and Montoya was jumped by the Renault of Fernando Alonso as he tried to stay ahead of the surging Alonso. He went off and Alonso had to put some wheels on the grass to avoid a disaster.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Montoya went back to seventh. That condemned the Colombian to an afternoon stuck in traffic and put paid to any challenge there might have been for Alonso. Behind all this there were a few wheels off the grass as others sorted themselves out (notably both Saubers) while Takuma Sato bumped the rear end of Trulli's Renault, slightly (but significantly) damaging both cars.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The Ferraris were gone already and as the afternoon developed all that Fernando Alonso could do was to watch the rears of the two red cars as they disappeared from his view. It did not take long. By the fourth lap they were two seconds ahead. By the eighth lap they were five seconds clear and after that Alonso had nothing to do. No one else could keep up with him. Sauber's Giancarlo Fisichella had a long battle for position in the midfield with Jordan's Nick Heidfeld.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Fisichella passed Heidfeld, who later dropped out of the race with a transmission failure. Montoya attempted to regain the place by going around the outside of the Spaniard into the first turn, but outbraked himself and ran wide. This dropped him behind his teammate Ralf Schumacher, who'd qualified 8th. Despite repassing Ralf Schumacher on-track, the Colombian ended up behind him again by the race's end in fifth place.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The race proved that Ferrari once again had a dominant car, with Michael Schumacher winning from teammate Rubens Barrichello in Ferrari's first one-two since Japan 2002, while the rest of the field was over 20 seconds behind. Schumacher led every one of the 58 race laps. At the start, Montoya was jumped by the Renault of Fernando Alonso.


2004 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Fernando Alonso gave Renault a podium with third place, while Jenson Button got BAR off the mark with sixth. Jarno Trulli finished 7th in the Renault and was the first lapped runner. McLaren seemed to be less competitive than in recent years, with Kimi Räikkönen becoming the first retirement of the year, dropping out with an engine problem, and with David Coulthard picking up just 1 point in eighth place.


2004 Australian Lacrosse League season
Results and statistics for the Australian Lacrosse League season of 2004, the inaugural season for the ALL.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship
The 2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for modified production-based coupes  complying with "Nations Cup" regulations. Contested as part of the 2004 Procar Championship Series, it was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as a National Championship with PROCAR Australia Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship
The championship, which was the fifth Australian Nations Cup Championship, was won by defending champion Paul Stokell driving a Lamborghini Diablo GTR. Finishing second was Nathan Pretty driving a Holden Monaro 427C with David Stevens third in his turbocharged Porsche 911 GT2.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship
The 2004 championship was eagerly awaited by fans of the category. Although it had lost John Bowe and his Ferrari 360 N-GT, popular young Danish driver Allan Simonsen would drive an ex-ALMS Ferrari 550 GT2 in selected rounds (as well as racing a Ferrari 360 Challenge in the Trophy Class) for Mark Coffey Racing while David Stevens introduced the 911 GT2. 59 year old Australian racing legend Peter Brock, after racing a Monaro for Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2003, left to form his own team (with Monaro's supplied by GRM) with himself and oldest son James Brock doing the driving.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship
GRM themselves would continue with Pretty driving the #427 Monaro as well as servicing the Team Brock cars between rounds. Ian Palmer, the brother of series founder Ross Palmer, raced a Honda NSX Brabham and also Peter Brock's Monaro for a number of races. Team Lamborghini Australia returned to defend their crown with Stokell driving the V12 Lamborghini Diablo and he was joined by Formula 3 driver Peter Hackett in a second Diablo GTR.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship
Following the 2004 championship, PROCAR shut down the Nations Cup championship citing financial difficulties (this also saw the cancellation of the 2004 Bathurst 24 Hour). From 2005 CAMS would revive the Australian GT Championship with the Nations Cup cars (with the exception of the Monaros) eligible to race in that series.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Schedule
The championship was contested over a seven round series  with three races per round.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Classes
Cars competing in two classes, GT Class and Trophy Class, classified according to potential vehicle performance.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Points system
Championship points were awarded in each class on a 30-24-20-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the top twenty one class placegetters in each race. 3 bonus points were awarded to the driver achieving pole position in each class during qualifying at each round.


2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship, Points system
Cars from a separate series, the Porsche Drivers Challenge, were invited to compete with the Nations Cup cars at selected rounds however the drivers were not eligible for championship points.


2004 Australian Open
The 2004 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 19 January to 1 February 2004.


2004 Australian Open
Andre Agassi was unsuccessful in defending his 2003 title, being defeated in the semi-finals by Marat Safin. This ended a 26-match winning streak for Agassi at the Australian Open, having previously won in 2000, 2001 and 2003, missing 2002 through injury. Roger Federer won his first Australian Open title, defeating Safin in the final. Serena Williams was unable to defend her 2003 title after withdrawing from the tournament due to a left knee injury. Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated compatriot and rival Kim Clijsters in the final to win her only Australian Open title.


2004 Australian Open, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Michaël Llodra /  Fabrice Santoro defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan, 7–6(7–4), 6–3


2004 Australian Open, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Virginia Ruano /  Paola Suárez defeated  Svetlana Kuznetsova /  Elena Likhovtseva, 6–4, 6–3


2004 Australian Open, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Elena Bovina /  Nenad Zimonjić defeated  Martina Navratilova /  Leander Paes, 6–1, 7–6(7–3)


2004 Australian Open, Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Scott Oudsema /  Brendan Evans defeated  David Galić /  David Jeflea, 6–1, 6–1


2004 Australian Open, Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Chan Yung-jan /  Sun Shengnan defeated  Veronika Chvojková /  Nicole Vaidišová, 7–5, 6–3


2004 Australian Open, Wheelchair, Men's Doubles
Robin Ammerlaan /  Martin Legner defeated  Tadeusz Kruszelnicki /  Satoshi Saida, 6–3, 6–3


2004 Australian Open, Wheelchair, Women's Doubles
Maaike Smit /  Esther Vergeer defeated  Sonja Peters /  Sharon Walraven, 6–3, 7–6(3)


2004 Australian Open – Boys' Doubles
Scott Oudsema and Phillip Simmonds were the defending champions, but only Scott Oudsema competed that year with Brendan Evans.


2004 Australian Open – Boys' Doubles
Brendan Evans and Scott Oudsema won in the final 6–1, 6–1 against David Galić and David Jeflea.


2004 Australian Open – Boys' Singles
Marcos Baghdatis was the defending champion, but did not compete in the Juniors in this year.


2004 Australian Open – Boys' Singles
Gaël Monfils defeated Josselin Ouanna (6–0, 6–3) in the final.


2004 Australian Open – Girls' Doubles
Casey Dellacqua and Adriana Szili were the defending champions, but did not compete in the Juniors that year.


2004 Australian Open – Girls' Doubles
Chan Yung-jan and Sun Shengnan won the title, defeating Veronika Chvojková and Nicole Vaidišová in the final, 7–5, 6–3.


2004 Australian Open – Girls' Singles
Barbora Strýcová was the defending champion, but did not compete in the Juniors in this year.


2004 Australian Open – Girls' Singles
Shahar Pe'er defeated Nicole Vaidišová (6–1, 6–4) in the final.


2004 Australian Open – Men's Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro were the defending champions, and won the final 7–6(4), 6–3 against Bob and Mike Bryan.


2004 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer defeated Marat Safin, 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2004 Australian Open. It was his first Australian Open title and second Major title overall. The victory granted Federer the world No. 1 ranking the following week for the first time in his career, and he would hold the top ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks, until 17 August 2008.


2004 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Andre Agassi was the defending champion, but was defeated in the semifinals by Safin. This ended his streak of 26 match wins at the Australian Open (extending back to 2000 as he did not play in 2002).


2004 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Safin also defeated No. 1 seed Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. This was the only time in Roddick's career where he was seeded No. 1 at a Major tournament.


2004 Australian Open – Men's Singles
A total of 13 seeded players lost in the first round, the most seeds to do so at a Major since the 32-seed draw was adopted at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships.


2004 Australian Open – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for men's singles at the 2004 Australian Open.


2004 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Elena Bovina and Nenad Zimonjić won the title at the 2004 Australian Open, defeating the defending champions Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes in the final 6–1, 7–6(7–3).


2004 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Serena Williams and Venus Williams were the defending champions, but Serena withdrew from the tournament (due to an injury) and Venus didn't want to participate with another player.


2004 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez reached the final of the Australian Open for the second time (in 2003 they lost to Williams sisters). This time they won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva.


2004 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated compatriot and rival Kim Clijsters in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2004 Australian Open. It was Henin-Hardenne's third Grand Slam title, and her third win against Clijsters in a Grand Slam tournament final, after her victory at the 2003 French Open and the 2003 US Open. Clijsters would go on to win the title seven years later.


2004 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but did not participate this year due to injury affecting her left knee.


2004 Australian Open – Women's Singles
This Grand Slam would be the last time the top two seeded players would meet in a final until the 2013 French Open, a span of 36 majors.


2004 Australian Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the Women's singles at the 2004 Australian Open.


2004 Australian Production Car Championship
The 2004 Australian Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to Group 3E Series Production Cars. The championship, which was the 11th Australian Production Car Championship, was managed by Procar Australia as part of the 2004 PROCAR Championship Series. The championship was won by Chris Alajajian driving a Subaru Liberty GT.


2004 Australian Production Car Championship, Race calendar
The championship was contested over a seven-round series with two races per round.


2004 Australian Production Car Championship, Classes
Car competed in four classes based on the performance potential of each car.


2004 Australian Production Car Championship, Points system
Outright championship points were awarded on a 30–24–20–18–17–16–15–14–13–12–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the first 21 finishers in each class in each race. In addition, 3 outright championship points were awarded to the driver setting the fastest qualifying time in each class for race 1 at each round. Class championship points were awarded on the same basis as outright championship points.


2004 Australian Production Car Championship, Results
Note: The Toyota Corolla Sportiva was classified as a Class B car for Round 1 and as a Class C car from Round 2 onwards.


2004 Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship
The 2004 Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship was the 18th running of the Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship organised by Motorcycling Australia. The final took place on 31 January 2004 at the Undera Park Speedway in Undera, Victoria. The championship was won by defending champion, Adelaide's Rory Schlein. Robert Ksiezak from Adelaide was second with another South Australian, Matt Wethers, in third place.


2004 Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship, 2004 Australian Under-21 Solo Championship, Final
1 Rory Schlein ()2 Robert Ksiezak ()3 Matt Wethers ()4 Trevor Harding ()


2004 Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship, 2004 Australian Under-21 Solo Championship, Heat By Heat
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2004 Australian federal election
The 2004 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 October 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Mark Latham.


2004 Australian federal election
As of 2021, this is the most recent federal election in which the leader of the winning party would complete a full term of Parliament as Prime Minister.


2004 Australian federal election, Results, Seats changing hands
In the House of Representatives, the Coalition won eight seats from Labor: Bass (Tas), Bonner (Qld), Braddon (Tas), Greenway (NSW), Hasluck (WA), Kingston (SA), Stirling (WA) and Wakefield (SA). Labor won four seats from the Coalition: Adelaide (SA), Hindmarsh (SA), Parramatta (NSW) and Richmond (NSW). The Coalition thus had a net gain of four seats. The redistribution had also delivered them McMillan (Vic), formerly held by Christian Zahra of Labor and won by Liberal Russell Broadbent; and Bowman (Qld), formerly held by Labor's Con Sciacca and won by Liberal Andrew Laming. Labor, meanwhile, received the new seat of Bonner (Qld) and the redistributed Wakefield (SA), both of which were lost to the Liberal Party. The Labor Party regained the seat of Cunningham, which had been lost to the Greens in a by-election in 2002.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
The Coalition parties won 46.7% of the primary vote, a gain of 3.7% over the 2001 election. The opposition Australian Labor Party polled 37.6%, a loss of 0.2 percentage points. The Australian Greens emerged as the most prominent minor party, polling 7.2%, a gain of 2.2 points. Both the Australian Democrats and One Nation had their vote greatly reduced. After a notional distribution of preferences, the Australian Electoral Commission estimated that the Coalition had polled 52.74% of the two-party-preferred vote, a gain of 1.7 points from 2001.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
The Liberal Party won 74 seats, the National Party 12 seats and the Country Liberal Party (the Northern Territory branch of the Liberal Party) one seat, against the Labor opposition's 60 seats. Three independent members were re-elected. The Coalition also won 39 seats in the 76-member Senate, making the Howard Government the first government to have a majority in the Senate since 1981. The size of the government's win was unexpected: few commentators had predicted that the coalition would actually increase its majority in the House of Representatives, and almost none had foreseen its gaining a majority in the Senate. Even Howard had described that feat as "a big ask".


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
The election result was a triumph for Howard, who in December 2004 became Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister, and who saw the election result as a vindication of his policies, particularly his decision to join in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The results were a setback for the Labor leader, Mark Latham, and contributed to his resignation in January 2005 after assuming the leadership from Simon Crean in 2003. The defeat made Labor's task more difficult: a provisional pendulum for the House of Representatives, showed that Labor would need to win 16 seats to win the following election.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
However, Kim Beazley said that the accession of Latham to the ALP leadership, in December 2003, had rescued the party from a much heavier defeat. Beazley stated that polling a year before the election indicated that the ALP would lose "25–30 seats" in the House of Representatives. Instead the party lost a net four seats in the House, a swing of 0.21 percentage points. There was also a 1.1-point swing to the ALP in the Senate. The Coalition gaining control of the Senate was enabled by a collapse in first preferences for the Australian Democrats and One Nation.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
Members and Senators defeated in the election include Larry Anthony, the National Party Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, defeated in Richmond, New South Wales; former Labor minister Con Sciacca, defeated in Bonner, Queensland; Liberal Parliamentary Secretaries Trish Worth (Adelaide, South Australia) and Ross Cameron (Parramatta, New South Wales); and Democrat Senators Aden Ridgeway (the only indigenous member of the outgoing Parliament), Brian Greig and John Cherry. Liberal Senator John Tierney (New South Wales), who was dropped to number four on the Coalition Senate ticket, was also defeated.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
Celebrity candidates Peter Garrett (Labor, Kingsford Smith, New South Wales) and Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal, Wentworth, New South Wales) easily won their contests. Prominent clergyman Fred Nile failed to win a Senate seat in New South Wales. The first Muslim candidate to be endorsed by a major party in Australia, Ed Husic, failed to win the seat of Greenway, New South Wales, for Labor. The former One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, failed in her bid to win a Senate seat in Queensland as an independent.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
Minor parties had mixed results. The Australian Democrats polled their lowest vote since their creation in 1977, and did not retain any of the three Senate seats they were defending. The Australian Greens won their first Senate seat in Western Australia and retained the Seat they were defending in Tasmania.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
They did not achieve a widely expected Senate Seat in Victoria, due to fellow progressive parties, the Australian Labor Party and The Australian Democrats, as well as some micro parties, joining with the conservative parties in a preference deal with far-right evangelist Christian party Family First, which despite a popular vote of just 1.7% received so many preferences from the unsuccessful Candidates of other parties that it eventually overtook the Greens David Risstrom's 7.4% vote and claimed that Senate Seat.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
As predicted, the Greens did not gain a Senate Seats in Queensland or South Australia, partly because of similar preference deals by fellow progressive parties, but also because of a traditionally lower vote in these States.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
Predictably, the Greens lost their first and (at the time) only Lower House seat of Cunningham, which they had gained by way of an electoral anomaly at the 2002 by-election in that Seat, which when The Liberal Party did not provide a Candidate, caused atypical voting patterns, overwhelmingly amongst voters who would normally have voted for The Liberals and did not want to vote for their traditional nemeses, The Labor Party.


2004 Australian federal election, Overall result
The Australian Progressive Alliance leader, Senator Meg Lees, and the One Nation parliamentary leader, Senator Len Harris, lost their seats. One Nation's vote in the House of Representatives collapsed. The Christian Democratic Party, the Citizens Electoral Council, the Democratic Labor Party, the Progressive Labour Party and the Socialist Alliance all failed to make any impact. The Family First Party polled 2% of the vote nationally, and their candidate Steve Fielding won a Senate seat in Victoria.


2004 Australian federal election, Result
The Liberal and National parties run joint tickets in some states. The figures under "Seats" show the number of Senate seats won at this election. These have been added to the number of seats won in 2001 to give the total number of seats in Senate which each party will hold after 1 July 2005, when the new Senators take their seats.


2004 Australian federal election, Result
The National and Liberal Parties won the fifth and sixth Senate seats in Queensland, thus giving the Coalition 39 seats and outright control of the Senate. Labor won the final Senate seats in New South Wales and South Australia, giving it 28 seats. The Greens won the final Senate seats in Western Australia and Tasmania, increasing their Senate seats from 2 to 4.


2004 Australian federal election, Pre-election issues
In the wake of the 2002 Bali Bombings and the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, the Howard government along with the Blair and Bush governments, initiated combat operations in Afghanistan and an alliance for invading Iraq, these issues divided Labor voters who were disproportionately anti-war, flipping those votes from Labor and to the Greens. The second issue was the ongoing and continued worsening of the Millennium Drought continued to bolster support for the Nationals water management policies of the Murray-Darling river system, diverting focus away from rural and inner-city community water supplies and focusing on Regional and Farmland water supplies.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign
The Prime Minister, John Howard, announced the election at a press conference in Canberra on 29 August, after meeting the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, at Government House.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Opening shots: "who do you trust?"
John Howard told the press conference that the election would be about trust. "Who do you trust to keep the economy strong and protect family living standards?" he asked "Who do you trust to keep interest rates low? Who do you trust to lead the fight on Australia's behalf against international terrorism?"


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Opening shots: "who do you trust?"
Howard, who turned 64 in July, declined to answer questions about whether he would serve a full three-year term if his government was re-elected. "I will serve as long as my party wants me to," he said.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Opening shots: "who do you trust?"
At a press conference in Sydney half an hour after Howard's announcement, Opposition Leader Mark Latham welcomed the election, saying the Howard Government had been in power too long. He said the main issue would be truth in government. "We've had too much dishonesty from the Howard Government", he said. "The election is about trust. The Government has been dishonest for too long."


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Labor starts ahead in national opinion polls
The campaign began with Labor leading in all published national opinion polls. On 31 August, Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper gave Labor a lead of 52% to 48% nationwide, which would translate into a comfortable win for Labor in terms of seats. Most commentators, however, expected the election to be very close, pointing out that Labor was also ahead in the polls at the comparable point of the 1998 election, which Howard won. Howard had also consistently out-polled Latham as preferred Prime Minister by an average of 11.7 percentage points in polls taken this year.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, After the first week, the Coalition draws ahead
After the first week of campaigning, a Newspoll conducted for News Corporation newspapers indicated that the Coalition held a lead on a two-party-preferred basis of 52% to 48% in the government's 12 most marginal held seats. To secure government in its own right, Labor needed to win twelve more seats than in the 2001 election. In the same poll, John Howard increased his lead over Mark Latham as preferred Prime Minister by four points. The Taverner poll conducted for The Sun-Herald newspaper revealed that younger voters were more likely to support Labor, with 41% of those aged 18 to 24 supporting Labor, compared with 36% who support the Coalition.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, A terrorist attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta marks the second week
On 9 September, during the second week of campaigning the election was rocked by a terrorist attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. John Howard expressed his "utter dismay at this event" and dispatched Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to Jakarta to assist in the investigation. Mark Latham committed the Labor party's "full support to all efforts by the Australian and Indonesian governments to ensure that happens". The parties reached an agreement that campaigning would cease for 10 September out of respect for the victims of this attack and that this would be in addition to the cessation of campaigning already agreed upon for 11 September in remembrance of the terrorist attacks in 2001.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, The leaders debate and the worm turns in Latham's favour
A debate between John Howard and Mark Latham was televised commercial-free on the Nine Network at 7:30pm on Sunday 12 September. In a change from previous election debates, which involved a single moderator, the leaders were questioned by a five-member panel representing each of the major media groups in Australia. There was a representative from commercial television (Laurie Oakes), the ABC (Jim Middleton), News Limited (Malcolm Farr), John Fairfax Holdings (Michelle Grattan) and radio (Neil Mitchell). After an opening address, Howard and Latham responded to questions posed by the panel and had the opportunity to make a closing statement. The Nine Network permitted other television organisations to transmit the feed, but only the ABC chose to.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, The leaders debate and the worm turns in Latham's favour
The debate was followed (only on the Nine Network) by an analysis of the leaders' performance by the "worm". The worm works by analysing the approval or disapproval of a select group of undecided voters to each statement that a leader makes. Throughout the debate, according to the worm, Latham performed strongly and Howard performed poorly. A final poll of the focus group found that 67% of the focus group believed that Latham won the debate and that 33% of the focus group believed that Howard won.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, The leaders debate and the worm turns in Latham's favour
Major media outlets generally agreed that Latham had won the debate, although they pointed out that with no further debates scheduled and nearly four weeks of the campaign remaining, Latham's gain in the momentum from the debate was unlikely to be decisive. Political commentators noted that the 2001 election debate, between Howard and then opposition leader Kim Beazley, gave the same worm results yet Labor still lost that election.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, At the midpoint, it is too close to call
By the midpoint of the campaign, after Labor had released its policies on taxation and education, polls showed that the election was still too close to call. The Newspoll in The Australian, showed (21 September) Labor leading with 52.5% of the two-party-preferred vote. The ACNielsen poll published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age showed the Coalition ahead on 52%. The Morgan poll, which has a poor recent record of predicting federal elections, showed Labor ahead with 53% on the weekend of 18–19 September. A Galaxy Poll in the Melbourne Herald Sun showed the Coalition ahead with 51%, but showed Labor gaining ground.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, At the midpoint, it is too close to call
Despite Latham's strong performance in the debate, most political commentators argued that he had not gained a clear advantage over Howard. They pointed to anomalies in Labor's tax policy and the controversy surrounding Labor's policy of reducing government funding to some non-government schools as issues which Howard was successfully exploiting.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, At the midpoint, it is too close to call
John Howard and John Anderson launched the Coalition election campaign at a joint function in Brisbane on 26 September. Howard's policy speech can be read at the Liberal Party website. Anderson's policy speech can be read at the National Party website.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, At the midpoint, it is too close to call
Mark Latham's policy speech was delivered, also in Brisbane, on 29 September.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Contradictory polls in the fourth week
During the fourth week of the campaign contradictory polls continued to appear. The ACNielsen poll published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on 25 September showed the Coalition ahead with 54%, which would translate into a large majority for the government. The Newspoll in The Australian on 28 September showed Labor ahead with 52%, which would give Labor a comfortable majority.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Tasmanian forests erupt as the main issue during the last week
In the last days of the campaign the environment policies regarding the logging of Tasmania's old-growth forests were released by both major parties, but too late for the Greens to adjust their preference flows on how-to-vote cards in most electorates as the majority were already printed. In the game of "cat and mouse" on Tasmanian forest policy between Mark Latham and John Howard, Latham eventually lost out when Dick Adams (Labor member for the Tasmanian seat of Lyons), Tasmanian Labor Premier Paul Lennon and CFMEU's Tasmanian secretary Scott McLean all attacked Latham's forest policy.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Tasmanian forests erupt as the main issue during the last week
At a timber workers' rally on the day Labor's forestry policy was announced, Scott McLean asked those gathered to pass a resolution of no confidence in Mr Latham's ability to lead the country. Michael O'Connor, assistant national secretary of the CFMEU said the Coalition's forest policy represented a much better deal for his members than Labor's policy. Australian Labor Party national president Carmen Lawrence later said that "Labor has only itself to blame for the backlash over its forestry policy" and that it was a strategic mistake to release the policy so late in the election campaign. She stated that she was disappointed in criticism from within the ALP and union movement, and that the party did not leave itself enough time to sell the package.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Tasmanian forests erupt as the main issue during the last week
Treasury and the Department of Finance reported on the validity of Labor's costings of their promises. They claimed to identify a different flaw to that identified by Liberal Treasurer Costello, but overall Labor was satisfied with the report.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, The Handshake
On the morning of 8 October, the day before the election, a television crew filmed Latham and Howard shaking hands as they crossed paths outside an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio studio in Sydney. The footage showed Latham appearing to draw Howard towards him and tower over his shorter opponent. The incident received wide media coverage and, while Latham claimed to have been attempting to get revenge for Howard squeezing his wife's hand too hard at a press function, it was variously reported as being "aggressive", "bullying" and "intimidating" on the part of Latham.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, The Handshake
The Liberal Party campaign director, Brian Loughnane, later said this incident generated more feedback to Liberal headquarters than anything else during the six-week campaign, and that it "brought together all the doubts and hesitations that people had about Mark Latham". Latham disputes the impact of this incident, however, having described it as a "Tory gee-up: we got close to each other, sure, but otherwise it was a regulation man's handshake. It's silly to say it cost us votes – my numbers spiked in the last night of our polling." (Latham Diaries, p. 369) According to Latham's account of events, Latham came in close to Howard for the handshake to prevent Howard shaking with his arm rather than his wrist.


2004 Australian federal election, The campaign, Final opinion polls are not conclusive
The final opinion polls continued to be somewhat contradictory, with Newspoll showing a 50–50 tie and the Fairfax papers reporting 54–46 to the Coalition. Most Australian major daily newspaper editorials backed a return of the Howard government, with the notable exceptions of The Sydney Morning Herald, which backed neither party, and The Canberra Times, which backed Labor.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals
As in all Australian elections, the flow of preferences from minor parties can be crucial in determining the final outcome. The close of nominations was followed by a period of bargaining among the parties. Howard made a pitch for the preferences of the Australian Greens by appearing to offer concessions on the issue of logging in old-growth forests in Tasmania, and the Coalition directed its preferences to the Greens ahead of Labor in the Senate, but the Greens nevertheless decided to allocate preferences to Labor in most electorates. In exchange, Labor agreed to direct its preferences in the Senate to the Greens ahead of the Democrats (but critically, not ahead of other minor parties), increasing the chances that the Greens would displace Australian Democrats Senators in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals
The Democrats in turn did a preference deal with the Family First Party, which angered some Democrats supporters who viewed Family First's policies as incompatible with the Democrats'.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In Victoria, Family First, the Christian Democrats and the DLP allocated their senate preferences to Labor, to help ensure the re-election of the number three Labor Senate candidate, Jacinta Collins, a Catholic who has conservative views on some social issues such as abortion. In exchange, Labor gave its Senate preferences in Victoria to Family First ahead of the Greens, expecting Family First to be eliminated before these preferences were distributed.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In the event, however, Labor and Democrat preferences helped Family First's Steve Fielding beat the Green's David Risstrom to win the last Victorian Senate seat and become Family First's first Federal parliamentarian. This outcome generated some controversy and highlighted a lack of transparency in preference deals. Family First were elected in Victoria after receiving 1.88% of the vote, even though the Greens had the largest minor party share of the vote with 8.8%. In Australia, 95% of voters vote "above the line" in the Senate. Many "above the line" voters do not access preference allocation listings, although they are available in polling booths and on the AEC website, so they are therefore unaware of where their vote may go. The end result was one Family First, three Liberal and two Labor Senators elected in Victoria.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In Tasmania, Family First and the Democrats also directed their Senate preferences to Labor, apparently to preclude the possibility of the Liberals winning a majority in the Senate and thus reducing the influence of the minor parties. The Australian Greens' Christine Milne appeared at risk of losing her Senate seat to a Family First candidate shortly after election night, despite nearly obtaining the full required quota of primary votes. However, strong performance on postal and prepoll votes improved Milne's position. It was only the high incidence of "below the line" voting in Tasmania that negated the effect of the preference swap deal between Labor and Family First. The end result was one Green, three Liberal and two Labor Senators elected in Tasmania.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In New South Wales, Democrat preferences flowing to Labor rather than the Greens were instrumental in Labor's winning of the last Senate seat. Had Democrat preferences flown to the Greens rather than Liberals for Forests and the Christian Democrats, then the final vacancy would have been won by the Greens' John Kaye. The scale of Glenn Druery's (of the Liberals for Forests party) preference deals was revealed by the large number of ticket votes distributed when he was eliminated from the count.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
He gained preferences from a wide range of minor parties such as the Ex-Service Service and Veterans Party, the Outdoor Recreation Party, and the Non-Custodial Parents Party. Liberals for Forests also gained the preferences of two leftish parties – the Progressive Labour Party and the HEMP Party. When Druery was eventually excluded, these preferences flowed to the Greens, but the Greens would rather have received the preferences earlier in the count. In the end, three Liberal/National Senators and three Labor Senators were elected in New South Wales.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In Western Australia, the Greens' Rachel Siewert was elected to the final vacancy after the final Labor candidate was excluded. This was a gain for the Greens at the expense of the Democrats Brian Greig. While the Democrats had done a preference swap with Family First, the deal in Western Australia did not include the Christian Democrats. As a result, when the Australian Democrats were excluded from the count, their preferences flowed to the Greens, putting them on track for the final vacancy. The end result was one Green, three Liberal and two Labor Senators elected in Western Australia.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In South Australia, the Australian Democrats negotiated a crucial preference swap with Family First that prevented the Greens winning the final vacancy. If the Democrats had polled better, they would have collected Family First and Liberal preferences and won the final vacancy. Former Democrat Leader Meg Lees also contested the Senate in South Australia, but was eliminated late in the count. However, Lees did have some impact on the outcome, as there were large numbers of below the line preferences for both the Progressive Alliance (as well as One Nation) which were widely spread rather than flowing to the Democrats.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
When the Democrats were excluded, preferences flowed to Family First which prevented the Greens' Brian Noone passing the third Labor candidate. This resulted in a seat that could otherwise have been won by the Greens instead being won by Labor on Green preferences. The flow of One Nation preferences to Labor made it impossible for either Family First or the Liberal Party to win the final vacancy. Labor's Dana Wortley was elected to the final vacancy. The end result in South Australia was split 3 Liberal, 3 Labor.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
In Queensland, Pauline Hanson attracted 38,000 below the line votes and pulled away from One Nation. Preferences from the Fishing Party kept the National Party's Barnaby Joyce ahead of Family First and Pauline Hanson. Joyce then unexpectedly won the fifth vacancy ahead of the Liberal Party. The sixth and last vacancy was then won by Liberal Russell Trood. The final outcome was 1 National, 3 Liberals and 2 Labor.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on Senate outcomes
The election of both Barnaby Joyce and Russell Trood to the Senate in Queensland resulted in the Coalition gaining control of the Senate and was confirmed by the National Party's Senate Leader Ron Boswell's in a televised telephone call to Prime Minister John Howard. This result was not widely predicted prior to the election.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on House of Representatives and national outcomes
Despite constant media attention on preference deals, and a widely held belief that the two party preferred result for the election would be close, the Newspoll figures during the three months prior to the election showed little alteration in the first preference margin between the parties, nor was there any evidence of any voter volatility. The figures suggested, then, that as the Coalition's first preference vote was healthy, the most likely result was a Government victory.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on House of Representatives and national outcomes
This was born out in the election results when the Liberal first preference vote of 40.5 per cent was 3.4 percentage points higher than in 2001, while Labor's first-preference vote of 37.6 per cent was its lowest since the elections of 1931 and 1934. Preference flows from minor parties are much more likely to affect an election outcome when the two major parties are close. The collapse of Labor's primary vote therefore negated this effect, even though 61 out of 150 House of Representatives seats were decided on preferences.


2004 Australian federal election, Preference deals, The effect of preference deals on House of Representatives and national outcomes
The national outcome of minor party preference distributions (in order of number primary votes received) is summarised in the following table:


2004 Australian federal election, Disclosure
Dates for financial disclosure for the 2004 Federal election were specified by the Australian Electoral Commission. Broadcasters and publishers had to lodge their returns by 6 December, while candidates and Senate groups needed to lodge by 24 January 2005. This information was made available for public scrutiny on 28 March 2005.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the penultimate round of the 2004 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 15–17 October 2004 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
This race was most notable for the last-lap battle between Sete Gibernau and Valentino Rossi for victory, as well as Rossi's subsequent crowning as world champion - clinching his sixth overall world title, fourth premier-class title and third back-to-back MotoGP title as a result.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
After fourteen rounds, Valentino Rossi is narrowly leading the hunt with 254 points. Close second is Sete Gibernau with 224 points and further behind is Max Biaggi in third with 188 points. Rossi has the first opportunity to win the 2004 MotoGP world championship if he finishes second or higher to secure the title, regardless of Gibernau's finish. Gibernau in turn need to score six points more than Rossi to keep his title fight alive.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
For 2004 the MotoGP Safety Commission advised to make some changes to improve the safety on the circuit. As such, the Government of Victoria and the Australian logistics and supply chain business Linfox, who purchased the circuit in the same year, invested a two million Australian dollars to execute these changes in two months. The changes involved the extension of the pit lane entry and exit, as well as enlarging existing gravel traps so no changes were made to the fast, flowing lay-out of the circuit itself.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Before the start of the race, the now annual Barry Sheene Tribute Ride took place to commemorate the British rider, who had passed away due to cancer last year. Several hundred motorcyclists and some local press were present, as well as Sheene's former teammate Steve Parrish and his then fifteen-year-old son Freddie Sheene as civilian passenger. It was also revealed that Colin Edwards would move from the Telefónica Movistar Honda to the Gauloises Yamaha Team to partner Valentino Rossi for the 2005 season. He will be replacing Carlos Checa who will be going to the Ducati Marlboro Team for next season.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
It is Sete Gibernau who fired the first shot on Saturday, taking pole position with a time of 1:30.122. +0.100 seconds behind is Valentino Rossi, who will be starting just behind the Spaniard and in third is Loris Capirossi who is +0.491 seconds behind. The second row of the grid consists out of Colin Edwards in fourth, Makoto Tamada in fifth and Alex Barros in sixth place. Suzuki test rider Gregorio Lavilla replaces the injured Kenny Roberts Jr. who is still recovering from his elbow injuries he sustained after a first-lap collision on the opening lap of the Japanese round. Garry McCoy also replaces Shane Byrne who is still recovering from wrist damage he sustained during a practice highside at the Czech round where he suffered ligament and tendon damage.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
All riders take off and do their usual warm-up lap before lining up in their respective grid slots. As the lights go out, Capirossi gets a great start and immediately slingshots past to take the lead going into Doohan Corner (Turn 1). Rossi manages to remain in second whilst Troy Bayliss has a really good start and manages to get up into fourth spot, almost overtaking Gibernau in the process. Gibernau initially gets off the line relatively well but loses out on the front two, opening up a small gap to Rossi and almost losing the position to Bayliss.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Barros makes up one position as he gets away, fighting with sixth place Max Biaggi who managed to briefly overtake teammate Tamada before getting swallowed up again in the pack as Tamada exiting the turn on the opening lap. At the entrance of the Southern Loop, Gibernau has practically nullified the gap and even manages to pass Rossi on the outside exiting the turn, snatching second from him. Further back, Colin Edwards is slowly clawing back his way up the field after losing out to both Camel Honda riders initially, going up Tamada's inside and taking sixth position.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Entering Stoner Corner (Turn 3), Gibernau has a look up the inside of Capirossi but stays behind for now. As Rossi is blocked by Capirossi, Bayliss then manages to sneak past around the outside and take third. At the Honda Corner (Turn 4), Gibernau makes a lunge up the inside of Capirossi and takes the lead as Rossi tries to go around the outside of Bayliss but gets blocked off and has to stay behind. Further back, Biaggi - who had overtaken Tamada before - also makes a move down Edward's inside to take sixth position.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Exiting the hairpin, Gibernau immediately starts to open up a gap to Capirossi as Rossi hounds Bayliss through Siberia (Turn 6) but almost loses fourth himself to Barros behind him at the entry of the fast unnamed Turn 7.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
At the exit of that turn, Rossi then tries to line up a pass going into Hayshed (Turn 8) but goes too wide and runs off-track, not crashing out by miracle and even manages to get a great run on Bayliss at Lukey Heights (Turn 9) to make a lunge pass at MG (Turn 10) on the home hero as well as Capirossi for third position. Exiting the hairpin, Bayliss looks to be making a move around the outside of teammate Capirossi at the unnamed Turn 11 but thinks better of it and stays behind for now. Gibernau is still way ahead in front as Rossi is also starting to open up a small gap to the fighting pair of the Marlboro Ducati's. Exiting Turn 12, Barros is close behind Bayliss.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap two, Barros almost goes side by side with Bayliss at the Gardner Straight but his superior power preventing him from fully doing that, instead the Repsol Honda rider lines himself up on the outside of Bayliss at Doohan Corner to then try and get the inside line at the Southern Loop but gets blocked and has to stay behind. Biaggi meanwhile is now coming under pressure from Edwards at both Doohan Corner and the Southern Loop, the American trying to pass him around the outside. Rossi meanwhile is still opening up his advantage to the Ducati duo.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Gibernau's gap back to Rossi was +1.195 seconds in sector one but has increased to +1.222 seconds in sector two. Barros is close at Lukey Heights, then dives down the inside of Bayliss at MG, moving him up to fourth place. Gibernau's gap back to Rossi has decreased slightly to +1.107 in sector three. Also at MG, Marco Melandri tries to take seventh position from Edwards around the outside but fails and has to stay behind at the exit.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap three and Rossi sets the fastest lap of the race. At Doohan Corner, Biaggi manages to pass Bayliss for fifth place. At Honda Corner, Melandri goes up the inside of Edwards and takes seventh place, with Nicky Hayden behind him trying a move around the outside but going wide upon entry, losing ninth to Tamada in turn. At Turn 8, Edwards manages to retake seventh position. In sector two, Gibernau's gap back to Rossi was +1.062 seconds. In sector three, this gap has decreased slightly to +0.901 seconds.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap four, Rossi sets the fastest lap, only for Barros to snatch it away. Fourth place Barros is still right behind Capirossi at the Gardner Straight but is unable to make a move entering Doohan Corner. Rossi is slowly closing the gap and Barros tries to go down the inside of Capirossi at MG but is once again unable to get past.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap five and Barros is right behind Capirossi at the Gardner Straight but cannot get by Capirossi due to the Ducati's superior top speed. Barros sets the fastest lap as well. Gibernau's gap back to Rossi was +0.703 seconds at the start/finish straight but that has already been reduced to +0.487 seconds in sector one. Barros has now also broken the circuit record with a time of 1:31.309, beating Rossi's 2003 record of 1:31.421 with +0.112 seconds.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap six, the top six is as follows: Gibernau, Rossi, Capirossi, Barros, Biaggi and Bayliss. Exiting Stoner Corner, sparks can be seen at the bottom of Rossi's bike as he pushes at the max to close the gap to Gibernau. Barros is once again very close coming into Honda Corner but still cannot get past Capirossi. Replacement rider Garry McCoy has come into the pits to retire with technical issues. At MG, Barros is still right behind but cannot get side by side with the Italian.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap seven and Capirossi sets the fastest lap of the race. Rossi has almost caught up to Gibernau with Capirossi closing the gap to him also. Barros tries to pass Capirossi around the outside but gets blocked and has to stay behind still.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap eight, Rossi has fully caught Gibernau by now. Barros is still right behind Capirossi but caouldn't get past.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap nine and Bayliss manages to get side by side with Biaggi on the Gardner Straight, going past entering Doohan Corner for fifth spot. Biaggi tries to hang on and retake the position at the Southern Loop but isn't quite able to. James Ellison is entering the pits


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap ten, Gibernau has a slight moment exiting the Southern Loop but doesn't lose any time or position from it. At Stoner Corner, Barros is very close and at Honda Corner, Barros finally manages to get by Capirossi thanks to a late lunge on his inside, outbraking him and taking third as a result. He then starts to open a small gap in pursuit of the top two riders.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap eleven and Rossi makes a lunge entering Doohan Corner to close up to Gibernau in front of him. Gibernau's gap back to Rossi is only +0.232 seconds. Rossi's gap to Barros was +0.952 seconds in sector two, increasing to +1.001 seconds in sector three.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twelve, Edwards goes up the inside of Biaggi at the entrance of Doohan Corner, taking fifth place.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap thirteen and Rossi attempts a move on Gibernau's inside at the entry of the Southern Loop but is too far and thus has to stay behind. No overtakes happened at the front.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap fourteen - the halfway point of the race -, Biaggi has managed to take back sixth position from Edwards entering Doohan Corner. At the entrance of the Southern Loop, Biaggi then attempts a move on the inside of Bayliss for fifth but thinks better of it. At MG, Biaggi then lunges up his inside, promoting him up to fifth place.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap fifteen and Edwards has also managed to get ahead of a now struggling Bayliss, taking sixth place.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap sixteen, the top six is as follows: Gibernau, Rossi, Barros, Capirossi, Biaggi and Edwards. Exiting Stoner Corner, sparks fly off of Rossi's Yamaha YZR-M1 again. Rossi's gap back to Barros is +2.190 seconds. At MG, Tamada goes up in seventh after diving down the inside of Bayliss at MG.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap seventeen and Rossi is still right behind Gibernau, harassing him all throughout the lap. Before MG, Hayden managed to pass Bayliss for eighth position. Melandri has retired from the race, the Italian sitting in pit box disappointed.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap eighteen, Gibernau is still in the lead with Rossi right behind him. No overtakes happened at the front.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap nineteen and Rossi makes his move, going side by side with Gibernau at the Gardner Straight and taking over the lead for the first time in the race. Rossi's gap to Gibernau was -0.060 seconds at the start/finish straight and is now +0.144 seconds in sector one. In sector two, that gap increases to +0.231 seconds and in sector three, the gap increases again to +0.307 seconds.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty, Hayden goes up the inside of Tamada at the inside of the Southern Loop to take seventh spot. Just ahead, Edwards is also tries a move around the outside at the same corner but gets blocked by Biaggi and has to settle for sixth for now.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap twenty-one and Rossi is still ahead, Gibernau in second and Barros back in third. At the Honda Corner, Rossi has a slight moment and goes a tad wide, allowing Gibernau to almost go up the inside of Rossi and snatch the lead back. However, Rossi blocks him off and retains the lead.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-two, Edwards has passed Biaggi entering Doohan Corner for fifth place, with Hayden trying a move as well. He tries to go side by side with the Italian at the entry of the Southern Loop but Biaggi blocks his path and forces him to stay behind.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap twenty-three and Gibernau overtakes Rossi by going side by side with him at the Gardner Straight, taking first position entering Doohan Corner. Hayden almost manages to get up the inside of Biaggi for fifth at MG but has to stay behind for now.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-four, Capirossi has managed to close the gap to a now struggling Barros. At the end of the Gardner Straight, Capirossi manages to pass Barros and get back into fourth position. The pair comes up to a backmarker - James Haydon - which goes out of the way at MG without causing any troubles.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap twenty-five and Rossi has closed up at the Honda Corner but is not able to overtake Gibernau. He has another look at the exit of Lukey Heights but Gibernau blocks him off before he can make a lunge.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-six, the penultimate lap of the race, Gibernau still leads but Rossi is all over the back of him. At Lukey Heights the duo encounters another backmarker, this time being Nobuatsu Aoki. He gets out of the way at Lukey Heights, causing no troubles for the frontrunners.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Gibernau crosses the line to start the last lap - lap thirty - and Rossi goes up the inside of Gibernau at the Southern Loop to take the lead. At Honda Corner however, Rossi runs wide and gifts the position back to Gibernau, trying to fight back upon exit but not being able to take the place. At Lukey Heights, Rossi tries a move on his inside but isn't quite able to get by.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
However, Gibernau runs a bit wide at the exit of the uphill corner and Rossi takes the place anyway as he takes a tight line through the corner. He blocks the possibility for overtaking at MG for Gibernau, staying in front going up to Turn 11. Gibernau tries to get him on speed but comes short, allowing Rossi to cross the line and win the race - his eighth of the season - with Gibernau a close second. Capirossi comes home in third place as Barros gets pipped to the line by Edwards who takes fourth, the Brazilian having to settle for fifth. Hayden comes home in sixth position.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On the parade lap back to parc-fermé, Rossi puts his arms on his head, barely believing the feat he had just accomplished, shaking his head also. He then kisses his bike and gives it some pats as well as a brushing with the hand as a symbolic gesture to the Yamaha he just won the title with. He puts his arm up in the air as a sign of total victory, with backmarker Nobuatsu Aoki riding next to him to congratulate him on his victory.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
He then puts his arms on his head again before they both go up in the air while both Capirossi and Taamada ride next to him to congratulate him as well. As Checa stops next to Rossi to congratulate him also, 'The Doctor' gets swarmed by fans who invaded the track as well as photographers who circle around him. One of his crewmembers also arrives to hug and celebrate with him. Rossi steps off his bike to continue his celebrations.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
As he steps on his bike again and gets going, the fans and photographers continue to run with and after him, revealing they had dressed him up in a shirt that reads "Che spettacolo" meaning "What a spectacle" in Italian. They also put this on his helmet. He puts his arms up at the fans one more time as he rides into the pits now to get to parc-fermé.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Gibernau is the first to actually arrive back to parc-fermé, stepping off his bike and looking at his rear tyre to see how badly it had grained. He takes off his gloves, as well as his helmet, to reveal an angry Gibernau walking towards his Telefónica Movistar Honda crew. Capirossi has also arrived at parc-fermé, stepping off his bike and happily walking over to celebrate with his crew. After lengthy celebrations, Rossi then arrives, gets off the bike and goes to his crew to celebrate with them.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
One of the Ducati crewmembers shakes Rossi's hands and Capirossi hugs Rossi as well. Gibernau looks at him as he gets interviewed by the media, Rossi then taking off his helmet to show his locks to everyone. As Rossi takes off various other things and puts on his cap, he puts his helmet in the air with his arm as Gibernau looks on, still being interviewed. The Italian now goes to one of the reporters and also gets interviewed by the media. After the interviews, Rossi and Gibernau give each other a cold handshake, the Spaniard doing likewise to some of the Yamaha crew.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
All riders make their way to the podium, the fans start to sing "Vale! Vale!" in droves. First one to appear is Capirossi, followed by Gibernau and then Rossi, who kisses his helmet as he arrives. The fans cheer for him as he steps onto the podium. All the riders receive their trophies, Rossi kissing his and holding it next to it before holding it above his head in glee. The champagne then gets handed out by the podium girls, Rossi cheekily spraying one of the girls as well as Capirossi. Gibernau immediately sprays it into the crowd as Capirossi also sprays Rossi.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Rossi's win, Gibernau's second and Biaggi's seventh position gives Rossi an unassailable lead with one round remaining. As such, he is crowned 2004 MotoGP World Champion with 279 points. Second is Gibernau with 244 and third is Biaggi with 197 points.


2004 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (motoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round fifteen has concluded.


2004 Austrian Figure Skating Championships
The 2004 Austrian Figure Skating Championships (German: Österreichischen Staatsmeisterschaften im Eiskunstlauf 2004) took place in Vienna. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing. The results were used to choose the Austrian teams to the 2004 World Championships and the 2004 European Championships.


2004 Austrian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2004. While the post of President of Austria is a largely ceremonial one, presidential elections are conducted on a party basis and are seen as a test of the relative standing of the major parties.


2004 Austrian presidential election
The victorious candidate was Heinz Fischer of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). He defeated Benita Ferrero-Waldner, foreign minister in the ruling conservative coalition led by the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).