2012 Australian Capital Territory general election, Formation of Government
On 6 November 2012, Gallagher was reelected as Chief Minister with the votes of her Labor-Green coalition. Labor's candidate for the office of Speaker Mary Porter, as expected, was not successful, as Rattenbury had announced at the same time as the government agreement that he would vote for the Liberal Party's candidate, which in the end was Vicki Dunne. Porter was elected Deputy Speaker instead.


2012 Australian Capital Territory general election, Formation of Government
While both Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Opposition Leader Zed Seselja retained their positions following the outcome of this election, neither lasted in their positions to lead their respective parties at the next election in 2016 as both remarkably resigned from their positions of their own volitions and from the territory Parliament to move to the Federal Parliament as the two Senators representing the ACT.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The 2012 Porsche City Index Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The title, which was the eighth Australian Carrera Cup Championship, was won by Craig Baird.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Race calendar
The 2012 Championship was contested over an eight round series with each round decided over a number of races with a minimum total race time of one hour at each round.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Season summary
Round 1 in Adelaide was won by returning 2004 Champion Alex Davison from defending champion Craig Baird with Daniel Gaunt third. The elite class was won by James Koundouris.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Season summary
Round 2 was held as a support race to the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. A classy field assembled including former Grand Prix winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen, former V8 Supercar Champion and Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Skaife, 2011 runner-up Jonny Reid and returning from racing sports cars in the USA, James Davison. But the regulars showed the way with Craig Baird winning all three races, followed by Reid, with round 1 winner Alex Davison third. The elite class was won by Max Twigg.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Championship standings
Points were awarded to the first 25 finishers in each race as per the following table.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Championship standings
In addition to competing for the outright championship, each driver was classified as either Professional or Elite and contested the relevant class title. Points were awarded for class places in each race on the same basis as for the outright championship.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Championship standings, Professional Class
Craig Baird won the Professional Class pointscore from Jonny Reid and Alex Davison.


2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, Championship standings, Elite Class
Max Twigg won the Elite Class from James Koundouris and Tony Bates.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 2012 Formula 3 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title with the winner awarded the 2012 CAMS Gold Star award. The 2012 championship was the 56th Australian Drivers' Championship and the eighth to be contested with open wheel racing cars constructed in accordance with FIA Formula 3 regulations. The 2012 Australian Formula 3 Championship title was also awarded to the series winner. The championship began on 1 March 2012 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and ended on 23 September at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit after seven rounds across six different states with three races at each round.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship
The championship was secured by British driver James Winslow after the penultimate round held at Queensland Raceway. It was Winslow's second championship victory after having won previously in 2008. Winslow, driving for R-Tek Motorsport, won 13 of the 21 races, including five of the seven feature races, over the course of the season, a new record for the Australian Drivers' Championship, eclipsing the 12 wins Rick Kelly took in 2001. Defending champion Chris Gilmour ended the series in second place having won two races.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship
Winslow's teammate Steel Giuliania finished third in the championship with just over half of the points Winslow collected. Jordan Skinner of Team BRM and Hayden Cooper of BF Racing each collected a their debut race victories. The other races wins were collected by John Magro whose partial season campaign with Team BRM ended with winning the Hidden Valley round. Tim Macrow made a brief return to the series he won in 2007, contesting a single round with Astuti Motorsport, winning at Sydney Motorsport Park.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship
Cooper won the National Class, for cars built between 1999 and 2004, over fellow Queensland and BF Racing teammate Ben Gersekowski. Lochie Marshall finished third.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship, Race calendar
The championship was contested over a seven-round series, with two Sprint Races and a Feature Race at each round.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 Australian Drivers' Championship. Entries sourced in part from:


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship, Classes
There were no competitors in the Invitation Class in the 2012 championship.


2012 Australian Drivers' Championship, Points system
Points towards the National Class award were allocated on the same basis as used for the outright championship.


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship
The 2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It was the 43rd national series for Formula Fords to be held in Australia and the 20th to carry the Australian Formula Ford Championship name. The championship was contested over an eight round series which began on 16 March at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and ended on 18 November at Winton Motor Raceway. Australian Formula Ford Management Pty. Ltd. was appointed as the Category Manager by CAMS for the series, which was officially known as the "2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship for the Ford Fiesta Cup".


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship
The championship was won by Jack Le Brocq driving a Mygale SJ12A for the CAMS Rising Stars / Minda Motorsport team.


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship. All teams and drivers were Australian-registered.


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Teams and drivers
All cars were fitted with a 1600cc Ford Duratec engine, as required by the regulations.


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Calendar
The championship was contested over an eight round series with three races per round. All races were held in Australia.


2012 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 classified finishers in each race. An additional point was awarded to the driver gaining pole position for the first race at each round.


2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Results
Note: The driver who attained pole position for race one of the round is indicated by bold font applied to his race one result.


2012 Australian GT Championship
The 2012 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to GT style closed production based sports cars which were either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs.


2012 Australian GT Championship
It was the 16th Australian GT Championship, the twelfth to be contested over a multi-event championship, and the eighth to be contested since the title was revived in 2005.


2012 Australian GT Championship
The series had a new owner for 2012, with seasoned GT racer Tony Quinn taking over the series towards the end of the 2011 season.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Divisions
After consolidation from three divisions to two in 2011, the 2012 series saw an expansion to four divisions, based on vehicle eligibility and specification.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 Australian GT Championship.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Season summary (as at the end of Round 3)
After the first three rounds of the series Porsche driver Klark Quinn leads the Championship Division by just one point over Mercedes driver Peter Hackett. Quinn started the series well winning both races at the Adelaide Street Circuit while Hackett won both races at Round 3 at Winton as well as taking Race 1 at Round 2 Phillip Island. Dodge Viper driver Greg Crick took the other win in the wet at Phillip Island where Hackett's team mate James Brock crashed. Brock had been second but now sits fifth having driven a Mosler at Winton while his Mercedes was repaired. Crick is fourth while Ferrari driver Peter Edwards sits third, thanks to the help of co-drivers Allan Simonsen, John Bowe and Jonny Reid.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Season summary (as at the end of Round 3)
Lamborghini drivers dominate the Trophy class with Andrew Taplin leading the co-driving pair of Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes by six points with Porsche driver Jordan Ormsby third.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Season summary (as at the end of Round 3)
Porsche driver Jan Jinadasa, the only driver to attend all three rounds, leads Challenge over fellow Porsche driver Peter Boylan and Ferrari driver Brenton Griguol.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Season summary (as at the end of Round 3)
Darren Berry's Ginetta has been the only entrant in the Sports class.


2012 Australian GT Championship, Points system
Points were awarded in each division for each qualifying session and each race at each round according to the following table. Points were allocated according to positions attained in each division rather than for outright positions.


2012 Australian GT Championship, 2012 Australian Tourist Trophy
The 2012 Australian Tourist Trophy was awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the driver accumulating the highest aggregate points total from the Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park rounds of the Australian GT Championship. The title, which was the 23rd Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by Peter Hackett driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.


2012 Australian Goldfields Open
The 2012 Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 9–15 July 2012 at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia. It was the second ranking event of the 2012/2013 season.


2012 Australian Goldfields Open
Stuart Bingham was the defending champion, but he lost in the first round 4–5 against Matthew Selt.


2012 Australian Goldfields Open
Barry Hawkins won his first ranking title by defeating Peter Ebdon 9–3 in the final.


2012 Australian Goldfields Open, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2012 Australian Goldfields Open, Qualifying
These matches were held between 12 and 15 June 2012 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, England.


2012 Australian Grand Prix
The 2012 Australian Grand Prix (formally, the 2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2012 as the opening round of the 2012 Formula One season. It was the 77th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928, and the 17th time the event has been held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park.


2012 Australian Grand Prix
The 58-lap race was won by McLaren driver Jenson Button who took his third victory at the Albert Park Circuit. Reigning double World Champion Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull Racing, finished in second place, while polesitter and Button's McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton completed the podium.


2012 Australian Grand Prix
Australian Mark Webber was fourth, his best result in his home Grand Prix. Webber's fourth place was the best finish by an Australian in an Australian Grand Prix since Alfredo Costanzo finished fourth in 1984, the last time the race was run under Australian domestic rules before becoming a round of the World Championship in 1985.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
With Vitantonio Liuzzi unable to secure a seat for 2012 and Jarno Trulli being replaced at Caterham during the pre-season, the race was the first Grand Prix since the 1973 German Grand Prix not to feature an Italian driver on the grid. It was also the first Grand Prix to feature six current and former Formula One World Champions taking part in the race. It was the first Australian Grand Prix to feature two Australians on the grid.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
After using one Drag Reduction System (DRS) zone in 2011, the circuit featured two zones for the 2012 race. These were located along the main straight and between Turns 2 and 3, with a single detection point for both zones—similar to the format trialled at the 2011 Canadian and European Grands Prix—located at the entry to Turn 14. Other modifications to the circuit included the introduction of thicker, spongier astroturf on the exit of several corners to discourage drivers from driving beyond the limits of the circuit.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Mercedes were the subject of an investigation by the scrutineers over the use of a "radical" rear wing concept on the F1 W03. Charlie Whiting, the FIA's technical delegate, examined the car on the Thursday before the race and declared it to be legal.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
HRT experienced problems with the #22 chassis to be driven by Pedro de la Rosa on Thursday. Having completed a shakedown of the car to be driven by Narain Karthikeyan in Barcelona just two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix, the team were unable to complete work on de la Rosa's car in time for scrutineering on Thursday afternoon. The team requested a delay to the scrutineering process, with the FIA agreeing and allowing HRT until 11 am local time to work on the car before presenting it to race stewards. The team ultimately passed scrutineering, allowing de la Rosa to take part in practice and the race, but they failed to have the car ready on time to take part in the first session.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Several drivers made their Formula One debut along with others taking part in their first Australian Grand Prix as full-time drivers. The French duo of Charles Pic and Jean-Éric Vergne made their Formula One debut driving for Marussia and Toro Rosso respectively. While Swiss-born Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Perth-born Australian Daniel Ricciardo came to Australia for the first time as full-time drivers for Lotus and Toro Rosso respectively, Grosjean had last raced in Abu Dhabi for the Renault F1 team in 2009 as teammate to Fernando Alonso. Ricciardo had never raced at his home Grand Prix.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its white-banded medium compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound, whereas the previous year the "prime" compound was the silver-banded hard compound tyre.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
The first hour of the first practice session saw very little running, as the circuit was considered too wet for slick tyres, but too dry for intermediates. Consequently, most drivers only completed installation laps in the first hour, before emerging later in the session once a dry line began to appear. Kamui Kobayashi and the Mercedes pair of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher set the pace, which was briefly interrupted by Karthikeyan's HRT cutting out on the approach to Turn 13, the engine automatically shutting itself off when the oil overheated.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
With de la Rosa's car not yet ready to take to the circuit, HRT finished the session without recording a single lap time. On his return to Formula One, Kimi Räikkönen experienced technical problems that limited him to just eight laps – later described by team personnel as making adjustments to the steering rack – while Felipe Massa spun out at Turn 9. Jenson Button finished the session fastest, with a late lap from Lewis Hamilton enough for second, and Schumacher half a second slower in third. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel ultimately finished the session eleventh overall.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Rain between the first and second session meant that the circuit was declared wet at the start of the second Friday session, with the water washing away the rubber than had been laid down by the first session and support events. The Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers were the first out, gathering data on the performance on wet tyres. A dry line began to appear after forty minutes, and it was Sergio Pérez who set the first representative time of the day.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
The final fifteen minutes of the session were dominated by drivers running on the soft tyres, with Michael Schumacher besting Nico Hülkenberg's fastest time by one tenth of a second on his final lap. Several drivers, including Heikki Kovalainen, Mark Webber and Pastor Maldonado went off the circuit, but the session passed without interruption. Kamui Kobayashi spun at the final corner and narrowly avoided the wall, whilst Narain Karthikeyan once again came to a halt on the circuit, this time at Turn 6 after the session had ended. With the team having successfully completed his car in time for the second session, Pedro de la Rosa was further paralysed by hydraulics issues.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
The third session was warm and sunny (21 °C air temp, 29 °C track temp) and stayed much the same for the remainder of the weekend, allowing for significant running by all teams. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were once again the early leaders before Romain Grosjean set the fastest time in the final twenty minutes, only to be surpassed by Lewis Hamilton in the final minute. There was much attention given to Red Bull Racing, following team principal Christian Horner's claims that the team had not done any qualifying simulations.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Their plans were thrown into disarray when Sebastian Vettel spun off at Turn 5 shortly after switching to soft tyres, and Mark Webber's fastest lap was ruined when Michael Schumacher spun off at Turn 9. Pedro de la Rosa managed to set his first timed lap of the weekend, but was forced to return to the pits with power steering problems. Projected lap times at the end of the session suggested that HRT would fail to qualify for the race for the second consecutive year.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
As a result of a six-car pile-up in a V8 Supercars support race held shortly after FP3, the exit of Turn 3 was covered with sand and fire-retardant foam. The accident resulted in a twenty-five-minute delay to the restart of the race, and although commentators noted that the cars would move the debris off the racing line, the shortened race format meant that sand was still visible on the circuit at the start of qualifying.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The first qualifying period was marked by heavy traffic, with several drivers cited for blocking. Chief among them was Narain Karthikeyan, who impeded other, faster cars on three separate occasions. The expected running order was soon shaken up as the session ended with Kamui Kobayashi fastest ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne and Sergio Pérez. Felipe Massa was in danger of being eliminated until a late lap secured his place in Q2. When the chequered flag fell, it was Kimi Räikkönen who found himself in eighteenth place and eliminated from qualifying.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Räikkönen ran wide on the exit of Turn 12, glancing the sandtrap and compromising his final flying lap. Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov finished in nineteenth and twentieth respectively, ahead of Marussia drivers Timo Glock and Charles Pic, both of whom were comfortably inside the 107% margin. The HRTs of Pedro de la Rosa and Karthikeyan were not, however; de la Rosa was 1.2 seconds away from the cut-off, while Karthikeyan was 1.4 seconds short.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The second period was marked by a second shock elimination, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Five minutes into the period, Alonso crossed the outer edge of the circuit in the braking zone for the first turn and spun into the gravel. As he was unable to return his car to the circuit under its own power, he was prevented from taking any further part in the session. Consequently, the session was red flagged for approximately four minutes while his car was removed; eight minutes and twenty-two seconds remained on the clock for the session.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
He had been placed third at the time, but gradually fell down the order and was eliminated, ultimately qualifying in twelfth behind Vergne. Felipe Massa in the sole remaining Ferrari could do no better than sixteenth, culminating in Ferrari's first failure to advance at least one car to Q3 (in a dry qualifying session) since the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Conversely, Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean both reached Q3 for the first time in their respective careers.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Despite setting the early pace in Q1, Kamui Kobayashi was unable to duplicate his time and finished thirteenth, ahead of Bruno Senna and Paul di Resta in fifteenth. Kobayashi's teammate Pérez did not set a time during the period owing to a gearbox fault, and so finished the session in seventeenth. At the conclusion of Q2, Rosberg set the fastest time of the weekend so far to lead an all Mercedes powered top four with Schumacher, Hamilton and Button following.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The final period began with Rosberg and Schumacher attempting to set a time on used soft tyres. Rosberg made an early mistake, and while Schumacher briefly held provisional pole, he was soon unseated by Hamilton. Hamilton's time, the first and only lap of the weekend under one minute and twenty-five seconds, would remain unchallenged for the remainder of the period, despite a late effort from teammate Jenson Button.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Button ultimately finished a tenth of a second behind Hamilton, locking out the front row of the grid; the result was the first time since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix that two British drivers occupied the front row of the grid, and the first time since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix in which a Red Bull car failed to qualify on the front row of the grid.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Schumacher's second flying lap was set on fresh rubber, and while he initially looked set to take third place, he had to settle for fourth after a surprise lap from Romain Grosjean placed the Lotus driver behind Button. Mark Webber qualified fifth ahead of reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who deliberately left his pit garage last so as to set the final time of the session, a habit he developed during the 2011 season. However, his final flying lap was not enough for anything more than sixth place, eight-tenths of a second behind Hamilton. After making a mistake on his first flying lap, Rosberg made a second error while running on fresh tyres, and qualified seventh, with Pastor Maldonado in eighth and Nico Hülkenberg in ninth. Daniel Ricciardo finished tenth overall, having elected not to complete a timed lap.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-qualifying
Both HRT cars failed to qualify within 107% of the fastest time set in Q1. Consequently, both cars failed to qualify for the race.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-qualifying
Despite team principal Luis Pérez-Sala's prediction that the team would be unlikely to qualify for the race (and that they may not be able to qualify for the Malaysian Grand Prix), the team requested a special dispensation to race from the stewards on the grounds that, as both cars were not fully prepared to take part in the Grand Prix until the final practice session, the times set during qualifying were not fully representative of the car's ability to qualify for the race. The FIA later confirmed that neither car would be granted permission to start the race, meaning that the team failed to qualify for the Australian Grand Prix for the second consecutive year.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-qualifying
Several drivers, including Narain Karthikeyan, Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo were called before the stewards to answer to charges of blocking during the first qualifying period. However, no action was taken against any driver.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Post-qualifying
Despite Mercedes' rear wing concept being declared legal on Thursday, representatives from Red Bull Racing and Lotus F1 approached the race stewards and requested that the FIA review the original verdict after qualifying, claiming that the front wing system was in violation of Articles 3.15 and 3.18, which govern the use of DRS and driver-operated aerodynamic devices.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Jenson Button made the better start away from the line, leading the field into the first corner. Lewis Hamilton slotted in behind him in second place. Romain Grosjean was overwhelmed at the first corner and fell from third to sixth, while Mark Webber fell down the order after making contact and getting sandwiched in between Jean-Éric Vergne and Nico Hülkenberg. The contact was heavy enough to end Hülkenberg's race.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Additionally, at the first corner Sergio Pérez, after gaining several positions from at the start, was unable to avoid the rear wing of his Sauber teammate, Kamui Kobayashi, leaving Kobayashi's rear wing damaged for the remainder of the race. Meanwhile, Bruno Senna's Williams was turned sideways with two wheels airborne above Daniel Ricciardo's front wing, as a consequence both cars pitted on lap 1 leaving them effectively last in 19th and 20th respectively. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg settled into third and fourth before Rosberg was passed by Vettel.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Grosjean made contact with Pastor Maldonado at Turn 13, the impact snapping Grosjean's steering arm and retiring the French driver on the spot. Fernando Alonso clawed his way up from twelfth to seventh. The minor placing benefited from the retirement of Schumacher on lap 10, when he ran wide across the run-off outside Turn 1 as he tried to nurse a gearbox problem, and he was seen limping down the approach to Turn 3. This left Vettel, who had been quickly catching Schumacher, in third place behind the two McLarens.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The first round of stops began with Felipe Massa on lap 14, the Ferrari driver complaining of a loss of grip in his rear tyres. Several other drivers pitted around the same time, foreshadowing a switch to a three-stop strategy. Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez went in the opposite direction; having started the race on the harder prime tyre, the Mexican driver stayed out longer than anyone else, once again aiming for the one-stop strategy he had used throughout the 2011 season.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Button briefly yielded the race lead to Lewis Hamilton, but immediately took it back when Hamilton pitted on the very next lap. Hamilton's stop was significant as he emerged behind Pérez, who was matching Button's pace despite his older and harder tyres. This would ultimately leave Hamilton vulnerable to the third-placed Vettel. A radio transmission from Räikkönen broadcast where he asked why the blue light was flashing on his steering wheel. There was actually a problem with the computer program controlling the blue flags during the race. Jenson Button was getting some as well, and his race engineer confirmed that there was a slight malfunction on the race organizer's end.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Due to a steering problem, Vitaly Petrov retired his Caterham on the start/finish straight beside the pit wall. The position of the car was dangerous so the safety car was deployed on lap 37 to allow a truck to recover it. This led to a round of pit stops which, significantly, allowed Vettel to take second place from Hamilton. With the new rules allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves, Button now had to contend with Vettel, Hamilton, Webber and Alonso behind him.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
With the safety car returning to the pits after lap 41, Button opened up a three-second gap at the restart. Hamilton was unable to overtake Vettel for second place, and fell into the clutches of Webber in fourth. Pastor Maldonado harried Alonso for fifth, with a radio transmission from the Ferrari pit revealing that Alonso's tyres were quickly degrading. Maldonado was unable to find a way past Alonso, and ultimately crashed out on the final lap when he applied too much throttle too soon while still on the astroturf through the apex of turn 7.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
As a result of pushing hard in pursuit of Alonso and ten world championship points, his Williams was forced into a spin which he could not correct. He made heavy contact with the wall, but was not injured, and was ultimately classified thirteenth as he had completed 90% of the race distance.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Further down the order, Felipe Massa made contact with Bruno Senna at Turn 3, with the Ferrari and Williams continuing on for some distance as they tried to untangle themselves from one another. Both cars developed punctures, and retired from the race as a result. Senna was able to remain out on the circuit long enough to complete 90% of the race distance, and he was classified sixteenth as a result.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Jenson Button went on to win the race, his third at the Albert Park Circuit in four years. Vettel crossed the line second, two seconds behind Button, while Hamilton held Webber off long enough to finish third. Webber crossed the line fourth, his best result at his home Grand Prix. Maldonado's accident meant that Fernando Alonso finished the race a lonely fifth, with Kamui Kobayashi scoring eight points for sixth place.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Going into the final lap of the race, Pérez in seventh led Rosberg ahead of Räikkönen – who had recovered from seventeenth on the grid to be running ninth – and Jean-Éric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo and Paul di Resta. Rosberg made contact with Pérez on the approach to the fast chicane at turns 11 and 12, allowing Räikkönen to overtake both of them. Vergne made a mistake at turn 13, opening the door for di Resta and Ricciardo to pass him, and the two fought over ninth place in a fierce sprint to the line.


2012 Australian Grand Prix, Report, Race
In fact, the racing was so unpredictable 8th to 11th position was separated by less than 0.4s. Räikkönen finished seventh ahead of Pérez (who like last year managed to complete the race with only a single pitstop), with Ricciardo finishing ninth ahead of di Resta in tenth, leaving Vergne to settle for eleventh. Rosberg, who had a left rear puncture from his earlier contact with Pérez, limped to the line in twelfth, twenty seconds behind Vergne. Maldonado's accident left him thirteenth, with Timo Glock in the sole surviving Marussia in fourteenth and one lap down on the leader.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of government in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 February 2012 at 10 am AEDT, followed by a ballot. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced the spill at a press conference on 23 February 2012, following the resignation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd, from his cabinet position after months of speculation that he intended to challenge Gillard for the leadership. Rudd announced his intention to seek the leadership at a press conference on 24 February.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
At the leadership ballot, Gillard won by a vote of 71 to 31.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Kevin Rudd led the Labor Party to a landslide victory at the 2007 federal election, becoming Prime Minister on 3 December. On the same day, Julia Gillard was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
On 23 June 2010 Gillard publicly requested that Rudd call a leadership election for the following day. Despite declaring that he would stand in the election at a press conference, it quickly became apparent that Rudd did not have the necessary support to remain in his position. Hours before the vote on 24 June, Rudd resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labor Party, allowing Gillard to assume both offices unopposed.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Gillard announced a snap election to be held on 21 August 2010 but, despite Labor leading the polls at the start of the campaign, the result was the first hung parliament since 1940. In the days following the election, Gillard successfully negotiated the support of one Green MP and three Independent MPs in order to allow Labor to rule as a minority government. The Second Gillard Ministry was sworn in on 14 September 2010 by Governor-General Quentin Bryce, with Rudd accepting an offer from Gillard to become Minister for Foreign Affairs.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
For several months, beginning in September 2011, many stories and opinion pieces began to appear in the press speculating that Rudd intended to challenge Gillard for the leadership, although it was generally believed that his support in the Labor Party was relatively low and hence a challenge would be unsuccessful. Rudd denied these rumours publicly, stating that he was happy being Foreign Minister and that Gillard had his full support as Prime Minister. By February 2012, it was suggested by some journalists that Rudd himself had been giving "background briefings" in his office to the press. Several senior ministers, including Simon Crean, reacted to this by openly accusing Rudd of disloyalty, demanding that Gillard sack him.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
On 22 February 2012 Rudd, who had been on government business overseas, gave a press conference from the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. announcing his resignation as Minister for Foreign Affairs, citing the attacks on him by Crean and others he described as "faceless men" within the party, as well as Gillard's unwillingness to condemn the attacks when given the opportunity. He said he would return to Australia the following day and consult with family and parliamentary colleagues before announcing his next move.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
A number of senior ministers spoke to the press later that evening attacking Rudd, while Bruce Hawker and Senator Doug Cameron gave interviews supporting Rudd. Rudd himself held a second press conference the following morning, outlining his policy vision for Australia and saying that he wished to "save" Australia from a Tony Abbott-led government. Rudd stated, "I do not believe that Prime Minister Gillard can lead the Australian Labor Party to success in the next election."


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
In response to these developments, Gillard called a news conference in Adelaide on 23 February, at which she announced that a spill of leadership positions would be held at 10.00am on Monday 27 February, at which she would re-nominate herself as Labor Leader. She strongly defended her performance as Prime Minister, citing her health agreement between the states, the structural separation of Telstra vital to the implementation of the National Broadband Network and, as achievements, noted that these had not been achieved under Rudd's leadership. Gillard stated that if she was defeated by Rudd in the ballot, she would retire to the backbenches and renounce any further claims to the leadership.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
In their initial responses to the announcement, senior ministers launched stinging attacks on Rudd's legacy as Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan criticised Rudd as "dysfunctional"; Tony Burke said of Rudd's term in office that "the stories that were around of the chaos, of the temperament, of the inability to have decisions made, they are not stories"; Nicola Roxon declared she could not work with Rudd again; and Stephen Conroy said that Rudd had had "contempt" for his colleagues, the Parliament and the public.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Ministers Tanya Plibersek, Stephen Smith, Bill Shorten and Greg Combet were more circumspect, but also declared their support for Gillard. Senator Doug Cameron and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen came out in support of Rudd and called on their colleagues to show him respect. Ministers Robert McClelland and Martin Ferguson also declared for Rudd, saying that they didn't believe Gillard would win against Tony Abbott. Minister Kim Carr also declared for Rudd. Labor MP Nick Champion resigned as caucus secretary in order to back Rudd.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Gillard portrayed Rudd's time as Prime Minister as "chaotic and dysfunctional" and implied that he viewed the ballot process as "an episode of Celebrity Big Brother". Rudd called for "people power" to support his challenge for the leadership, as well as accusing Gillard of betraying him in 2010 and questioning her trustworthiness.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Background
Prior to the vote, Rudd promised that if he lost he would initiate no further challenges against Gillard, although he did not rule out being drafted as Labor Leader at any later date.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Caucus support
102 of the 103 members of the Labor caucus from the House of Representatives and the Senate were eligible to vote, with 52 votes needed to win. Several ministers and members of the Labor caucus publicly stated ahead of time who they intended to support in the event of a ballot. Michelle Rowland was not able to vote as she was on maternity leave but had made it known that she would have voted for Prime Minister Gillard.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Result
Gillard overwhelmingly defeated Rudd in the leadership ballot, by 71 votes to 31. Rudd returned to the backbenches as he had promised, and pledged his loyalty to Gillard until the next election. Rudd's strategist, Bruce Hawker, left open the possibility of Rudd being drafted as Leader in an emergency situation if Gillard's polling did not improve.


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Result
Following the vote, Senator Mark Arbib, a factional leader and a key backer of Gillard in 2010, announced that he would be resigning in order to help the party "heal" in the wake of the leadership dispute. Gillard described the events leading up to the ballot as "ugly" but said that the leadership issue was now "determined".


2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill, Result
Despite winning 31 votes, Rudd was estimated to have as high as 45 votes although Gillard supporters said it was lower, prior to Gillard calling the spill.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship
The 2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing championship for modified production touring cars. The Manufacturers Championship was determined by a series pointscore for the manufacturers of the competing vehicles although the manufacturers themselves did not directly compete. The series also incorporated the 2012 Australian Production Car Championship, the 2012 Australian Production Car Endurance Championship and the 2012 Australian Endurance Championship, each of which was a drivers' title.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship
The 2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was the 27th manufacturers title to be awarded by CAMS and the 18th to be contested under the Australian Manufacturers' Championship name.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Class structure
There was little change from the 2011 class structure, although one new class, Class F for Hybrid/Alternative Energy vehicles was included. Despite its name however, the only eligible vehicles were existing diesel powered cars which had been moved from other classes into the new class.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
Each manufacturer could score class points towards the Australian Manufacturers' Championship title from the two highest placed automobiles of its make, in any class (excluding Class I). The title was awarded to the manufacturer that scores the highest total number of class points over all rounds of the championship.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
Points towards the Australian Production Car Championship outright title were awarded to drivers based on outright finishing positions attained in each race. Points were awarded using the same two scales as used for the Australian Manufacturers' Championship with the addition of two points for the driver setting the fastest qualifying lap in each class at each round.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
Points towards the Australian Production Car Championship class titles were awarded to drivers based on class finishing positions attained in each race. Points were awarded using the same two scales as used for the Australian Manufacturers' Championship with the addition of two points for the driver setting the fastest qualifying lap in each class at each round.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Points system
Drivers of Class I Invitational cars were not eligible to score points in any of the championships, and points were allocated in all cases as though Class I cars had not competed in the race.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Results, Australian Production Car Championship, Outright
Note: Drivers of Class I Invitational cars were not eligible to score points in any of the championships and points were allocated in all cases as though Class I cars were not competing in the race.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Results, Australian Endurance Championship
The Australian Endurance Championship was awarded to the drivers scoring the most points at Round 2 of the championship.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Results, Australian Endurance Championship
Whilst Jim Pollicina and Ryan Simpson were the winners of Round 2, a 60-point penalty was applied to the two drivers at that round. The 2012 Australian Endurance Championship was therefore awarded to Stuart Kostera and Ian Tulloch, who placed second at Round 2.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Results, Australian Production Car Endurance Championship
The Australian Production Car Endurance Championship was awarded to the drivers scoring the most points at Round 2 of the championship.


2012 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, Results, Australian Production Car Endurance Championship
Whilst Jim Pollicina and Ryan Simpson were the winners of Round 2, a 60-point penalty was applied to the two drivers at that round. The 2012 Australian Production Car Endurance Championship was therefore awarded to Stuart Kostera and Ian Tulloch, who placed second at Round 2.


2012 Australian Open
The 2012 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia from 16 to 29 January 2012. It was the 100th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournament consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players competed in singles and doubles tournaments.


2012 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his title after he defeated Rafael Nadal in the longest grand slam final in history. The 2012 final passed the 2008 Wimbledon final for the record, finishing after 5 hours and 53 minutes of play. Kim Clijsters was the defending champion for the women's singles, but lost to Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals. Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova for her first Grand Slam title; and over took Caroline Wozniacki as the number one ranked player on the WTA Tour. In the doubles Leander Paes and Radek Štěpánek won the title. Paes completed a career Grand Slam with the title while Štěpánek won his first Slam. On the women's side an all Russian duo of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva took the title. The mixed event was won by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecău.


2012 Australian Open, Tournament
The 2012 Australian Open took place in January 2012 at Melbourne Park. The men's singles was staged for the 100th time. There have been 59 different previous winners and the 100th staging of the event was marked by a special coin and the 2012 Champion received a special medallion. The tournament also marked 50 years since Rod Laver won his first Grand Slam. For the first time Hawk-Eye ball tracking system was used on the Margaret Court Arena, while Ken Fletcher was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.


2012 Australian Open, Points and prize money, Point distribution
Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.


2012 Australian Open, Points and prize money, Prize money
The 2012 Australian Open was the richest Grand Slam tournament in history, with the singles champions pocketing 2.3 million dollars. All prize money is in Australian dollars (AUD); doubles prize money is distributed per pair.


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion and won in the final 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 against Rafael Nadal entering the season as reigning world number 1 for the first time of his career. It was the longest match in the history of the Australian Open, and in fact, the longest ever singles final in the Open Era in Grand Slam history; clocked at 5 hours and 53 minutes and ending after midnight with Nadal memorable saying after the match "good morning." It marked the fifth Grand Slam of Djokovic's career and his 3rd Australian Open.


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Men's Singles
It also marked the first time that he had defended a Grand Slam title. After winning the 2012 Australian Open, Djokovic had an opportunity to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time, after winning the previous two in 2011. Nadal became the first player to lose in the final of three consecutive Grand Slams in the Open Era.


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Men's Singles
Championship match result Novak Djokovic defeated  Rafael Nadal, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Women's Singles
Victoria Azarenka won her first Grand Slam title, becoming the first Belarusian player to win a Grand Slam in singles, by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. She also became the 21st player to be ranked World No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association on 30 January 2012 as a result of this win. It was Azarenka's 2nd title of the year and 10th of her career.


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Women's Singles
Championship match result Victoria Azarenka defeated  Maria Sharapova, 6–3, 6–0


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Leander Paes /  Radek Štěpánek defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan, 7–6(7–1), 6–2


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Svetlana Kuznetsova /  Vera Zvonareva defeated  Sara Errani /  Roberta Vinci, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3


2012 Australian Open, Events, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands /  Horia Tecău defeated  Elena Vesnina /  Leander Paes, 6–3, 5–7, [10–3]


2012 Australian Open, Events, Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Liam Broady /  Joshua Ward-Hibbert defeated  Adam Pavlásek /  Filip Veger, 6–3, 6–2


2012 Australian Open, Events, Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Gabrielle Andrews /  Taylor Townsend defeated  Irina Khromacheva /  Danka Kovinić, 5–7, 7–5, [10–6]


2012 Australian Open, Events, Other events, Wheelchair Men's Doubles
Ronald Vink /  Robin Ammerlaan defeated  Stéphane Houdet /  Nicolas Peifer, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1


2012 Australian Open, Events, Other events, Wheelchair Women's Doubles
Esther Vergeer /  Sharon Walraven defeated   Aniek van Koot /  Marjolein Buis, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4


2012 Australian Open, Events, Other events, Wheelchair Quad Doubles
Andrew Lapthorne /  Peter Norfolk defeated  David Wagner /  Noam Gershony, 6–4, 6–2


2012 Australian Open, Broadcast
The host broadcaster of the event was the Seven Network which ran all day and night coverage on its primary channel and its digital channel 7Two from 11 am until the close of play around midnight Melbourne time. 2012 is the first year Seven has aired live primetime play across the entire country, switching coverage to 7Two for various live news and Today Tonight broadcasts in different time zones of Australia. Associated media partnership Yahoo!7 (co-owned by Seven and Yahoo!) saw more than 100 000 viewers check into live match coverage via the Fango mobile app, with check-ins peaking during the Hewitt vs. Djokovic match in the Open's fourth round.


2012 Australian Open, Broadcast
The event was also shown in Australia on Fox Sports which broadcast secondary matches live.


2012 Australian Open, Players, Seniors, Singles Seeds
Seeds and Rankings are as of 9 January 2012 and Points are as of 16 January 2012.


2012 Australian Open, Players, Withdrawals
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries.


2012 Australian Open, Players, Juniors
Below is a list of the sixteen seeds for the boys and girls singles and the eight qualifiers for each event.


2012 Australian Open, Players, Wheelchair Tennis
The field consisted of top seven ranked players in the men's and women's singles, the three top three ranked players in the quad singles category and one wildcard was chosen for each draw.


2012 Australian Open – Boys' Doubles
Filip Horanský and Jiří Veselý were the defending champions but were both ineligible to compete.


2012 Australian Open – Boys' Doubles
Liam Broady and Joshua Ward-Hibbert won the title, defeating Adam Pavlásek and Filip Veger in the final 6–3, 6–2.


2012 Australian Open – Boys' Singles
Jiří Veselý was the defending champion, but he was ineligible to compete this year. World number one, Luke Saville of Australia led the field. The Aussie junior tennis player headed up the top ten seeds which included Thiago Monteiro, 2011 Wimbledon junior finalist Liam Broady, Kaichi Uchida, Frederico Ferreira Silva, Andrew Harris, Kyle Edmund, Stefano Napolitano, Nikola Milojević and Adam Pavlásek.


2012 Australian Open – Boys' Singles
The start of the 2012 Australian Open saw all the seeds apart from Monteiro, Cagnina and Farren made it to the second round. The biggest upset of the first round was Brazilian Thiago Monteiro losing to Australian wild card Jack Schipanski. Julien Cagnina lost to French Mathias Bourgue and American Connor Farren went to French Laurent Lokoli. The second round witnessed all the seeds go through except Broady lost to Robin Staněk, Napolitano to Joshua Ward-Hibbert and Kyrgios to Marek Routa. The third round is also where the seeds meet for the first time.


2012 Australian Open – Boys' Singles
Kimmer Coppejans and Hossam exited to higher seeds. Seventh seeded Edmund defeated eleventh seeded Coppejans and No. 1 seeded Saville defeated sixteenth seeded Hossam. The biggest upset of the third round was tenth seeded Pavlásek defeating fifth seeded Silva and sixth seeded Harris losing to American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald. Milojevic lost to Joshua Ward-Hibbert and Pöllänen to Staněk. The quarter finals saw Saville end Edmund's run and Pavlásek end Uchida's run successfully making their way into the semifinals. The semifinals witnessed Saville taking out Pavlásek while Filip Peliwo overcame McDonald. In the final, Luke Saville defeated Filip Peliwo to claim his first Junior Boys' Singles Australian Open title and second grand slam title of his career.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (16 January)
In Men's Singles, on the opening day, play began with Local hope Bernard Tomic struggling in the beginning two sets but later working hard in the next three sets, defeating Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Juan Martín del Potro also had to earn victory by losing the first set but later winning the next three sets defeating Adrian Mannarino. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal overcomes Alex Kuznetsov. Spaniard Pere Riba had to defeat compatriot Albert Montañés whereas Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky had to defeat his compatriot Illya Marchenko to advance to the second round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (16 January)
Florent Serra advanced to the second round after Steve Darcis was forced to retire in the third set, leading two sets to love, because of leg cramps. Other seeds such as Tomáš Berdych, Mardy Fish, Nicolás Almagro, Alexandr Dolgopolov, John Isner, Stanislas Wawrinka and Kevin Anderson along with Marcos Baghdatis, Olivier Rochus, Tommy Haas, Andreas Beck and Grigor Dimitrov all progressed comfortably into the second round while Juan Mónaco, Ivan Ljubičić and Jürgen Melzer were sent crashing out in the first round. In the evening, Roger beats Alexander Kudryavtsev in three straight tiebreakers and David Nalbandian advanced to the second round after Jarkko Nieminen was forced to retire in the second set because of stomach cramps.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (16 January)
In Women's Singles, on the opening day, play began with Victoria Azarenka taking out Heather Watson in straight sets. Later, the defending champion, Kim Clijsters gets past qualifier Maria João Köhler. Li Na had an easy win over Ksenia Pervak and Francesca Schiavone square off in two straight easy sets defeating Laura Pous Tió. Wild card Casey Dellacqua overcomes Bojana Jovanovski and Jelena Janković cruise into second round defeating qualifier Laura Robson. Mona Barthel advanced to the second round after Anne Keothavong was forced to retire after the first set because of foodborne illness.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 1 (16 January)
Other seeds such as Agnieszka Radwańska, Peng Shuai, Daniela Hantuchová, Julia Görges, Monica Niculescu and Petra Cetkovská along with Anna Tatishvili, Romina Oprandi, Pauline Parmentier, wild card Olivia Rogowska, Eleni Daniilidou, Tsvetana Pironkova, Olga Govortsova and Alberta Brianti all progressed comfortably into the second round while Flavia Pennetta, Lucie Šafářová and Yanina Wickmayer were sent crashing out in the first round. In the evening, top seeded Caroline Wozniacki dismantles Anastasia Rodionova in two straight sets advancing to the second round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (17 January)
In Men's Singles, day two play began with Novak Djokovic dismantling Italian Paolo Lorenzi in three straight sets. Andy Murray lost the first set but later won the next three sets defeating Ryan Harrison. Andy Roddick overcomes Robin Haase and David Ferrer had an easy win over Rui Machado. Gaël Monfils defeats local wild card Marinko Matosevic. Frederico Gil advanced to the second round after Ivan Dodig was forced to retire in the fourth set because of shoulder and back injuries.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (17 January)
Also, Édouard Roger-Vasselin advanced to the second round after Xavier Malisse was forced to retire after the first set because of an arm injury. Other seeds such as Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, Kei Nishikori, Marcel Granollers and Juan Ignacio Chela along with Matthew Ebden, James Duckworth, Santiago Giraldo, Thomaz Bellucci, Tatsuma Ito, Julien Benneteau and Ryan Sweeting all progressed comfortably into the second round while Radek Štepánek was sent crashing out in the first round. In the evening, Lleyton Hewitt beats Cedrik-Marcel Stebe and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outlasts Denis Istomin both advancing to the second round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (17 January)
In Women's Singles, day two play began with Petra Kvitová easing through to the Third round in Rod Laver Arena in straight sets by defeating Vera Dushevina. Maria Sharapova had an easy win advancing to the third round by defeating Gisela Dulko. Fellow compatriot Maria Kirilenko defeats Jarmila Gajdošová. Jelena Dokić overcomes protected ranking Anna Chakvetadze. Svetlana Kuznetsova outlasts Chanelle Scheepers.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 2 (17 January)
Other seeds such as Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli, Sabine Lisicki, Dominika Cibulková, Ana Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber along with Jamie Hampton, Sloane Stephens, Ekaterina Makarova, Shahar Pe'er, Aleksandra Wozniak, Zheng Jie, Lucie Hradecká, Gréta Arn, Stéphanie Dubois and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová all progressed comfortably into the second round while Sorana Cîrstea impresses in the fourth round by defeating sixth seeded and US Open defending champion Samantha Stosur. In the evening, five-time champion Serena Williams advances to the second round by defeating Tamira Paszek.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (18 January)
Men's Singles on day 3 began with Nadal having straight sets easy win on protected ranking Haas. Berdych wins over Rochus while Dolgopolov knocked out Tobias Kamke. Roger received a walkover into the third round after Andreas Beck withdrew from the tournament because of a lower back injury. Nalbandian puts up a fight but Isner advances to the third round. Philipp Kohlschreiber advanced to the third round after Pere Riba was forced to retire in the second set because of a left foot injury.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (18 January)
Other seeds such as Nicolás Almagro, Juan Martín del Potro, Feliciano López and Kevin Anderson along with qualifier Lukáš Lacko, Lu Yen-hsun and Ivo Karlović advance to the third round except Mardy Fish who lost to Colombian Alejandro Falla. Later in the evening, Tomic outlasts Querrey while Stanislas Wawrinka beats Marcos Baghdatis moving into the third round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 3 (18 January)
Women's Singles on day 3 began with Li Na taking out local home wild card Rogowska in straight sets. Clijsters also progressed overcoming Stéphanie Foretz Gacon. Azarenka too had an easy win in straight sets over local wild card Casey Dellacqua. Janković outlasts qualifier Chang Kai-chen while top seeded dane Wozniacki beat Tatishvili cruising into third round. Hantuchová defeated Lesia Tsurenko after losing the first set. Julia Görges advanced to the third round after Eleni Daniilidou was forced to retire during the second set because of a neck injury. Other seeds such as Agnieszka Radwańska, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Monica Niculescu along with Christina McHale, Nina Bratchikova and Galina Voskoboeva advanced to the third round. The second round witnessed all the seeds go through except Schiavone went out to compatriot Oprandi, Peng to Benešová and Cetkovská to Barthel.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (19 January)
The fourth day in Men's Singles, began with seeded number one, Djokovic easing through to the third round in Rod Laver Arena in straight sets defeating Santiago Giraldo. Tsonga takes out Ricardo Mello progressing in straight sets while Murray also had an easy win over Édouard Roger-Vasselin. Janko Tipsarević after losing the first set beat local wild card James Duckworth while another local Matthew Ebden puts up a fight winning first two sets but Kei Nishikori advances defeating him in later three sets. Gaël Monfils knocks out Thomaz Bellucci.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (19 January)
Richard Gasquet advanced to the third round after Andrey Golubev was forced to retire in the third set because of injury. Gilles Simon went out to compatriot Julien Benneteau. Other seeds such as David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Juan Ignacio Chela along with Nicolas Mahut advance to the third round while Viktor Troicki, Marcel Granollers and Alex Bogomolov, Jr. were sent crashing out in the second round. In the evening, local hope Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the third round after Andy Roddick was forced to retire in the third set because of a hamstring injury.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (19 January)
The fourth day in Women's Singles, began with Sharapova having an easy win over qualifier Jamie Hampton and Serena easing through to the third round in Rod Laver Arena in straight sets defeating Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. Ana Ivanovic outlasts Michaëlla Krajicek while Petra Kvitová overcomes Carla Suárez Navarro to reach the second round. Vera Zvonareva defeated Lucie Hradecká. Other seeds such as Sabine Lisicki, Maria Kirilenko and Angelique Kerber along with Sorana Cîrstea advance to the third round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 4 (19 January)
The second round witnessed all the seeds go through except Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Dominika Cibulková, Roberta Vinci, Kaia Kanepi and Nadia Petrova were sent crashing out in the second round. In the evening, the last home contingent, Jelena Dokić lost in the second round to Marion Bartoli while Sloane Stephens lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (20 January)
On the fifth day, in Men's Singles, Nadal beats qualifier Lukáš Lacko in three straight sets while Federer defeats Ivo Karlović. Feliciano López wins five-set thriller over John Isner. Tomáš Berdych outlasts Kevin Anderson while Nicolás Almagro overcomes Stanislas Wawrinka. Alejandro Falla losses to Philipp Kohlschreiber. In the evening, thirteenth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov went out to Bernard Tomic and Juan Martín del Potro overwhelms Lu Yen-hsun, both advancing to the fourth round.


2012 Australian Open – Day-by-day summaries, Day 5 (20 January)
In Women's Singles, Jelena Janković rolls by Christina McHale while Azarenka gets past Mona Barthel advancing to the fourth round. Seeded number one dane, Wozniacki outlasts Monica Niculescu while Galina Voskoboeva losses to Agnieszka Radwańska and Romina Oprandi went to Julia Görges. Iveta Benešová takes out qualifier Nina Bratchikova in straight sets. In the evening, Li Na advanced to the fourth round after Anabel Medina Garrigues was forced to retire during the first set because of a right ankle injury while Kim Clijsters defeats Daniela Hantuchová advancing to the fourth round.


2012 Australian Open – Girls' Doubles
An-Sophie Mestach and Demi Schuurs were the defending champions but neither of them were eligible to participate in 2012. American couple Gabrielle Andrews and Taylor Townsend won the title, defeating Irina Khromacheva and Danka Kovinić in the final, 5–7, 7–5, [10–6].


2012 Australian Open – Girls' Singles
An-Sophie Mestach was the defending champion, but she withdrew before the tournament began.


2012 Australian Open – Girls' Singles
Taylor Townsend won the tournament, defeating Yulia Putintseva in the final, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries
The 2012 Australian Open Wildcard Playoffs and Entries are a group of events and internal selections to choose the 8 men and women wildcard entries for the 2012 Australian Open. Tennis Australia will award eight wildcards for the men's and women's professional singles competitions. Former Australian Grand Slam champions, Pat Rafter and Todd Woodbridge will help to select the four discretionary wildcards in the men's draw. In an agreement with the United States Tennis Association, Tennis Australia will give one man and one woman from the United States a wildcard into the Australian Open.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries
Tennis Australia also has a similar agreement with the French Tennis Federation. The Australian Open is promoted as "the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific"; one male and one female player from this geographical area will be awarded a wildcard. The final wildcard will be awarded to the winner of the Australian Open wildcard playoff, a tournament between Australian players, who do not receive direct entry into the draw. Tennis Australia may also decide to give doubles wildcards to Asian participants, based on need and availability.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Wildcard Entries
These are the wildcard qualifiers, from both internal selections and playoffs.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Men
The Australian playoffs were run by Tennis Australia, with the top 24 men's Australian players who would not be direct qualifiers, or those already selected for an internal wildcard into the main draw, competing.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women
The Australian playoffs were run by Tennis Australia, with the top 16 women's Australian players who would not be direct qualifiers, or those already selected for an internal wildcard into the main draw, competing.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women, Finals
The top player in each group moves to the final stage.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women, Blue Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 3) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 4) Steering Committee decision.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women, Magenta Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 3) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 4) Steering Committee decision.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women, Green Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 3) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 4) Steering Committee decision.


2012 Australian Open – Main Draw Wildcard Entries, Australian Playoffs - Women, Yellow Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 3) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 4) Steering Committee decision.


2012 Australian Open – Men's Doubles
Bob and Mike Bryan were the three-time defending champions, but lost to the unseeded pair Leander Paes and Radek Štěpánek, 7–6(7–1), 6–2, in the final. With this win Paes completed the career grand slam in Men's doubles.


2012 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his title, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2012 Australian Open. It was Djokovic's third Australian Open title and his fifth major title overall. The final lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, which is the longest match in duration in Australian Open history and the longest major singles final in duration in the Open Era. It is considered by many to be among the greatest in tennis history, and marked Nadal's third consecutive major final loss to Djokovic, with Nadal becoming the first man to lose three consecutive major finals in the Open Era.


2012 Australian Open – Men's Singles
This was the last major for former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubičić. It was the last Australian Open for former world No. 1's Andy Roddick & Juan Carlos Ferrero, and former world No. 3 David Nalbandian.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final
The 2012 Australian Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 Australian Open between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, at the time ranked the number 1 and 2 players in the world, respectively. Djokovic defeated Nadal 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 to win the tournament. It was the longest Grand Slam final match (by duration) in history, lasting 5 hours 53 minutes, overtaking the record previously set by the 1988 US Open final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final
It is considered to be one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. With both players operating at their highest levels, the match was regarded as a war of attrition with impeccable quality and duration of play. Before this match, Djokovic played an epic semifinal against Andy Murray which also went to five sets, lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Match
Nadal won the first set 7–5, gaining a break of serve after a long attritional battle. The second set was equally close, with Djokovic breaking first, losing the advantage, and breaking back to win the set 6–4 and level the match at one set each. The third set was the shortest of the match, as Djokovic broke Nadal twice to take the set 6–2. Nevertheless it was a grueling set that ran 45 minutes, longer than an average set. In this set, Djokovic dropped only two points on serve and broke again in game eight with a crushing forehand to lead for the first time.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Match
Nadal won the fourth set tiebreak, 7-5 after trailing within the set and also down during the closely contested tiebreak; Djokovic had led 5–3 before Nadal took the next four points. The final set saw a return of the intense play seen in the opening sets. Nadal broke in the sixth game to take a 4–2 lead; Djokovic then broke back to level at 4–4.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Match
Finally, Djokovic made a decisive break of serve to win what is, in terms of duration, both the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era and also the longest match in the history of the Australian Open. The match finished at 1:37am the following morning. Due to exhaustion, both players were given chairs to sit during the trophy presentation speeches.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Legacy
This match is central to the Djokovic–Nadal rivalry. Nadal called it the toughest loss of his career, but the best match he ever played. Djokovic said it was the finest win in his career and also commented on the high level of tennis played. Not only was this the longest Grand Slam final, but according to Tennis Channel and the Australian Open TV networks, this was one of the most-watched finals, despite ending late into the night locally.


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Djokovic and Nadal about the match
After the match, Nadal said that "His [Djokovic's] return probably is one of the best in history" and "[He makes it] almost every time". "This one was very special," Nadal said. "But I really understand that was a really special match, and probably a match that's going to be in my mind not because I lost, no, because the way that we played."


2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final, Djokovic and Nadal about the match
Djokovic said, "It was obvious on the court for everybody who has watched the match that both of us, physically, we took the last drop of energy that we had from our bodies, we made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn't be two winners".


2012 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Katarina Srebotnik and Daniel Nestor were the defending champions, but they chose not to participate together. Srebotnik was scheduled to play with Nenad Zimonjić, but the pair were forced to withdraw from their first round match after Srebotnik was injured during her 2nd round doubles match. Nestor was scheduled to play with Maria Kirilenko, but the pair withdrew after Kirilenko sustained an injury during her 3rd round singles match.


2012 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecău won the mixed doubles title at the 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament, defeating Elena Vesnina and Leander Paes in the final 6–3, 5–7, [10–3].


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Doubles
The 2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Doubles is a tennis tournament featuring 8 paraplegic men tennis players, which is part of the NEC Tour. The tournament takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 25 January to 28 January 2012, it is the 10th edition of the Australian Open men's wheelchair event and the first Grand Slam event of 2012. The tournament is played on Plexicushion Prestige AO hard courts, which is rated a medium-fast pace by the ITF. The competition is organised by the International Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Doubles
Shingo Kunieda and Maikel Scheffers are the defending champions. Shingo Kunieda did not return to defend his title. Ronald Vink and Robin Ammerlaan won the tournament.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Singles
The 2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Singles is a tennis tournament featuring 8 paraplegic men tennis players, which is part of the NEC Tour. The tournament takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 25 January to 28 January 2012, it is the 10th edition of the Australian Open men's wheelchair event and the first Grand Slam event of 2012. The tournament is played on Plexicushion Prestige AO hard courts, which is rated a medium-fast pace by the ITF. The competition is organised by the International Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Singles
Shingo Kunieda was the defending champion, but did not return to defend his title.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Men's Singles
Maikel Scheffers won the title, by defeating Nicolas Peifer 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–0.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Quad Doubles
Andrew Lapthorne and Peter Norfolk were the defending champions and confirmed their title.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Quad Singles
David Wagner was the defending champion but lost the final to Peter Norfolk 4–6, 6–4, 6–2.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Quad Singles, Draw, Round Robin
Standings are determined by: (1) Number of wins; (2) Number of matches; (3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; (4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; (5) Steering Committee decision.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Doubles
The 2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Doubles is a tennis tournament featuring 8 paraplegic men tennis players, which is part of the NEC Tour. The tournament takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 25 January to 28 January 2012, it is the 10th edition of the Australian Open women's wheelchair event and the first Grand Slam event of 2012. The tournament is played on Plexicushion Prestige AO hard courts, which is rated a medium-fast pace by the ITF. The competition is organised by the International Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Doubles
Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven were the defending champions and confirmed their title.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Singles
The 2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Singles is a tennis tournament featuring 8 paraplegic women tennis players, which is part of the NEC Tour. The tournament takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 25 January to 28 January 2012, it is the 10th edition of the Australian Open women's wheelchair event and the first Grand Slam event of 2012. The tournament is played on Plexicushion Prestige AO hard courts, which is rated a medium-fast pace by the ITF. The competition is organised by the International Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia.


2012 Australian Open – Wheelchair Women's Singles
Dutchwoman Esther Vergeer is the defending champion. Vergeer defended her title, defeating Aniek van Koot 6–0, 6–0 in the final.


2012 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
The 2012 Australian Open – Women's Doubles was a tournament that took place during the 2012 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia


2012 Australian Open – Women's Doubles
Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta were the defending champions, but lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva in the third round. The unseeded Russian pair went on to defeat Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, for the title.


2012 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Victoria Azarenka won her maiden Grand Slam title, beating 2008 champion Maria Sharapova 6–3, 6–0 in the final to capture the Women's Singles tennis title at the 2012 Australian Open. Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but was defeated in the semifinals by eventual champion Azarenka.


2012 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Azarenka became the new WTA No. 1 singles player for the first time in her career following the tournament by reaching the final. Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitová and Sharapova were also in contention for the No. 1 ranking at the start of the tournament.


2012 Australian Open – Women's Singles
For the first time since the start of the women's singles tournament in 1922, all of the quarterfinalists were European. This was also the first Grand Slam main draw appearance for future two-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, losing in the first round to Georgian Anna Tatishvili.


2012 Australian Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw for the women's singles event at the 2012 Australian Open.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
The 2012 Hi Tech Oils Australian Swift Series is the third running of the series in Australia. It will be based around eight rounds in four different states, featuring for the second year the Suzuki Swift Sport RS416 model.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 1 at Sydney's Eastern Creek Grand Prix Circuit saw Queenslander and reigning champion Allan Jarvis take pole position and win all three races. Second for the weekend was Country Music singer Adam Brand with rookie Reece Murphy third.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 2 was held at Mallala Motor Sport Park in South Australia the week after Easter. Current Champion Allan Jarvis won race 1 with newcomer Reece Murphy winning races 2 and 3 and also took the round victory. Second for the weekend was Rob Jarvis with his son Allan Jarvis third.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
In between Mallala and Winton, a Non-Championship round was held at Queensland's Lakeside Raceway. Championship leader Allan Jarvis won the weekend with newcomers Dale Corbett second and Brandon Porch third.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 3 held at Winton Raceway proved a difficult weekend for drivers with Friday and Saturday being dry and race day Sunday wet. Series regular Reece Murphy clawed his way back into contention for the title with a consistent drive to finish second for the round behind newcomer Damian Ward. Third went to veteran Rob Jarvis with his son Allan finishing fifth and holds onto the championship lead by only two points.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 4 rolled into Sydney Motorsport Park in New South Wales under sunny skies. Brooke Leech withdrew after a breaking her knee in a karting accident and Perth's Brett Stewart also after competing in Townsville the week before. Former V8 Supercar driver Richard Mork rejoined the series as did Production Car veteran Brendon Cook. Series regular Reece Murphy had his way for most of the weekend with two wins and a second place pushing him to the lead of the championship. Defending champion Allan Jarvis was second with Adam Brand third.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 5 moved to Queensland Raceway in August for the first time. Defending series champion Allan Jarvis hit back with a win by one point over Round 4 winner Reece Murphy. Damian Ward rounded out the podium. Brooke Leech returned to the series after recovering from her karting accident.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series
Round 6 moved to New South Wales' Wakefield Park, a short drive from the nation's capital of Canberra. Damian Ward won the weekend with two race wins from Reece Murphy and current champion Allan Jarvis. The final round will be held at Sandown, Victoria.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series, Calendar
The 2012 Australian Swift Series will be contested over eight rounds, starting at Eastern Creek in March and finishing at Sandown in November.


2012 Australian Suzuki Swift Series, Driver standings, Points system
Points are awarded to the driver or drivers of a car that start any race.


2012 Australian Swimming Championships
The 2012 Australian Swimming Championships were held from 15 March until 22 March 2012 at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. They double up as the national trials for the 2012 Summer Olympics.


2012 Australian Swimming Championships, Medal winners, Men's events
Legend: WR – World record; CR – Commonwealth record; OR – Oceanian record; AR – Australian record; ACR – Australian All Comers record; Club – Australian Club record


2012 Australian Swimming Championships, Medal winners, Women's events
Legend: WR – World record; CR – Commonwealth record; OR – Oceanian record; AR – Australian record; ACR – Australian All Comers record; Club – Australian Club record


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series
The 2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series was an Australian motor racing competition for modified Touring Cars. The series was open to cars manufactured between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1973 and to specific models manufactured between 1 January 1974 and 31 December 1976. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a National Series with Australian Classic Touring (3D) Cars Pty Ltd appointed by CAMS as the Category Manager. The series was the sixth annual Touring Car Masters.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series
John Bowe (Ford Mustang) won Class A - Outright and Chris Stillwell (Ford Mustang) won Class B - Pro Sportsman.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Calendar
Note: The results for each round of the Series were determined by the number of points scored by each driver in each Class at the round.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Classes & points system
Each competing car was classified into one of two classes.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Classes & points system
Series points were awarded on the following basis within each class at each race.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Classes & points system
The driver gaining the highest points total from his/her best seven round results was declared the winner of that class.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Classes & points system
Any points scored by a driver within a class were not transferred if that driver changed classes.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Series standings, Class A - Outright
Note: Points shown within brackets in the above table could not be counted towards the drivers series total.


2012 Australian Touring Car Masters Series, Series standings, Class B - Pro Sportsman
Note: Points shown within brackets in the above table could not be counted towards the drivers series total.


2012 Australian V8 Ute Racing Series
The 2012 V8 Ute Racing Series was a motor racing series for Ford Falcon and Holden utilities (or "utes") built and conforming to V8 Utes series regulations and those holding valid licences to compete as issued by series organisers Spherix and Australian V8 Ute Racing Pty. Ltd. It was the twelfth running of a national series for V8 Utes in Australia. The series began on 1 March 2012 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and ended on 4 December at the Homebush Street Circuit after 8 rounds. It was won by Ryal Harris, driving a Ford FG Falcon XR8 Ute.


2012 Australian V8 Ute Racing Series, Race calendar
The 2012 V8 Utes Series was contested over eight rounds, all of which were held on the support programmes of V8 Supercars Championship events.


2012 Australian federal budget
The 2012 Australian federal budget for the Australian financial year ended 30 June 2013 was presented on 8 May 2012 by the Treasurer of Australia, Wayne Swan, the fifth federal budget presented by Swan, and the second budget of the Gillard Government. The budget was described as a "battlers" budget with benefits geared towards families and low income earners. It forecast a surplus of $1.5 billion in the financial year ended 30 June 2013.


2012 Australian federal budget
The Gillard Government has emphasised the importance of returning the budget to a surplus so that the Reserve Bank of Australia may be in a better position to cut interest rates and thereby generate positive consumer sentiment. Swan was at pains to emphasise that the Bank would set rates independently. Swan had also stated it important for the confidence of sovereign debt investors following the 2007–2012 global financial crisis.


2012 Australian federal budget
The budget set up funding for a new National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Measures to improve public dental health care, one of the conditions of support made by the Australian Greens with the Gillard Government were addressed with more than $500 million worth of funding. Carbon pricing and the Minerals Resource Rent Tax were both introduced in July 2012.


2012 Australian federal budget, Forecasts, Surplus
The budget was expected to produce a surplus. The return to surplus has been criticised as a political imperative rather than an economic necessity. The Institute of Chartered Accountants believes that targeted public expenditure was still needed to sustain the Australian economy. Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bernie Fraser has dismissed the notion that delivering a surplus is critical, describing it as "a dud policy".


2012 Australian federal budget, Forecasts, Surplus
The surplus follows a projected $44 billion deficit for the 2011/12 financial year, up from the previous estimate of $36 billion. By abolishing the Education Tax Refund and bringing forward payments to families into the 2011/12 fiscal year, the Government was able to forecast its surplus for 2012/13.


2012 Australian federal budget, Forecasts, Surplus
The 2011/12 expanded deficit moves the Government's net debt position to 9.6% of GDP. Despite the spike in debt, the budget has not affected the nation's Triple A international credit rating.


2012 Australian federal budget, Forecasts, Shortfall
In October 2012, Wayne Swan announced a budget update which revealed revenue downgrades worth $21 billion from projected tax revenue and $4 billion from the current financial year. Lower commodity prices and falling tax receipts reduced the current forecast surplus to $1.1 billion. Spot prices for iron ore, thermal coal and coking coal decreased by 15 to 35% since the budget was released in May. The update also showed the cost of processing asylum seekers has increased by $1.1 billion.


2012 Australian federal budget, Forecasts, Shortfall
New spending cuts and extra charges worth $16 billion were announced. Visa application fees will increase, the baby bonus payment will decrease for second and subsequent children and the Medicare teen dental program was cancelled. Starting in 2014 companies with an annual turnover greater than $1 billion will have to pay tax in monthly instalments instead of quarterly.


2012 Australian federal budget, Revenue mix
Before the budget was released Swan had warned that the government revenues would see a downgrade by $5 billion in both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 financial years.


2012 Australian federal budget, Revenue mix, Taxation
$2 billion worth of lost tax revenue was due to a decline in company tax collections. $1 billion has been lost to weak collections from superannuation funds and a further $750 million of revenue was lost due to lower than expected collections of customs and excise duties.


2012 Australian federal budget, Revenue mix, Taxation
High income earners on $300,000 or more are to have their superannuation contributions taxed at 30% instead of 15%. The Minerals Resource Rent Tax, a 30% tax on coal and iron ore companies worth more than $75 million, is being introduced. It is expected to generate $11 billion over three years, which will be used to support superannuation boosts, infrastructure costs and offset business tax cuts. Small business tax was expected to be reduced by 1% from 1 July. However this measure was abandoned.


2012 Australian federal budget, Revenue mix, Taxation
The budget will introduce a small business "loss carryback" option as recommended by the Henry Tax Review. This will allow businesses to claim losses of up to $1 million against tax they have paid previously and will cost $700 million across three years.


2012 Australian federal budget, Revenue mix, Taxation
The inbound duty-free allowance for cigarettes and tobacco was reduced from 250 to 50 cigarettes, bringing savings of $600 million.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, General government
The cost for managing asylum seeker boat arrivals has increased to $1.003 billion from an earlier estimate of $739 million. The number of asylum seekers entering Australia by boat is currently at its highest level ever.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, General government
Funding for the Australian Bureau of Statistics is being reduced by $255 million and the CSIRO is set to lose $25 million. Smaller cuts are also planned for the Australian National Library, National Film and Sound Archive and the National Museum of Australia.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Social security and welfare
The budget allocated $131.6 billion to social security and welfare spending. On 30 April 2012, Julia Gillard announced the budget will fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme starting from July 2013. The scheme is planned to assist 10,000 people with significant and permanent disabilities.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Social security and welfare
From July 2013, single, unemployed parents who claimed the parenting payment before 2007 will lose their parenting support payments when their youngest child turns eight, instead of the previous threshold of age sixteen. Welfare recipients who travel overseas for more than six weeks will have their payments reduced.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Social security and welfare
1.5 million families will see an increase family tax benefits starting from 1 July. Other families will lose Family Tax Benefit A because the eligibility age for children in this category is being reduced from 21 to under 18.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Infrastructure, transport and energy
$3.56 billion is being spent on the complete duplication of the Pacific Highway. The funding is being provided on the condition that a similar figure is spent on the highway by the New South Wales government. Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay has claimed there was an existing agreement based on an 80–20 funding split. The New South Wales state budget, which was handed down in June 2012, only allocated 20% of the cost for an upgrade.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Education
The budget is introducing the Schoolkids Bonus, a replacement for the under-used Education Tax Refund. Under the scheme, eligible families are able to claim $820 for each high school student and $410 for each primary school student. The bonus is expected to assist 2.2 million families.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Education
$11.7 million worth of funding has been allocated for a one-off boost to the One Laptop Per Child in Australia, which will provide laptops for 50,000 students.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Defence
More than $4 billion of spending on defence projects is being reduced or deferred. The purchase of 12 Joint Strike Fighters will be delayed by two years and plans to equip the army with self-propelled artillery have been cancelled.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Defence
There is $214 million worth of funding for a number of international studies to select a new submarine to replace the Collins class submarines. 1,000 civilian positions at the Department of Defence are to be trimmed over the next four years.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Health
The public dental waiting list is being targeted with an injection of $345 million to reduce the backlog. Also being introduced in the budget are measures to reduce the lack of dental healthcare professionals in rural and remote areas and the co-ordination of dental work for disadvantaged people.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Health
A 2011 report from the Productivity Commission suggested the aged care sector needed drastic reform and an investment plan to deal with a rapidly ageing population. The budget included $3.7 billion to reform the aged care system. Only $577 million of this is new funding spread across five years. $49.7 million has been allocated to support the national bowel cancer screening program.


2012 Australian federal budget, Expenditure mix, Community services and culture
$63 million is being provided to SBS for the production of a new free-to-air national Indigenous television channel.


2012 Australian federal budget, Opposition and crossbench response
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has said the surplus was created by "cooking the books" and that it was confused. Tony Abbott was troubled by the debt ceiling being raised to $300 billion and said that a surplus was only the result of forward spending.


2012 Australian federal budget, Reception
Innes Willox from the Australian Industry Group claimed the budget undermined businesses ability to make long-term investments. Jennifer Westacott at the Business Council of Australia appreciated a return to surplus but also wanted a comprehensive audit of government spending. Brendan Lyon from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia described the budget as a "lost opportunity" and lamented that instead of directing funding to infrastructure projects, the budget directed funding to families.


2012 Australian football code crowds
Australia is home to four professional football codes. This is a comprehensive list of crowd figures for Australian football codes in 2012. It includes several different competitions and matches from Australian rules football, Association football (Soccer), rugby league and rugby union and International rules football which is hybrid game played between Australian & Ireland which takes aspect from Australian rules football & Gaelic football. Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have teams represented in all four codes. Hobart and Darwin are Australia's only capital cities without a professional football team though they are home to professional games of Australian Football.


2012 Australian football code crowds
There are two changes to the professional clubs across the four competitions, with the addition of Greater Western Sydney Giants to the AFL, bringing that competition to a total of 18 Australian clubs, and the addition of the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League replacing the now defunct Gold Coast United.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, National competitions
Several football codes have national (domestic) competitions in Australia, the following are taken into consideration:


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, National competitions
Two of these leagues, specifically the NRL and A-League, have one club each in New Zealand, while only five of the fifteen Super Rugby franchises are located in Australia, with the other ten are split evenly between New Zealand and South Africa. Attendance figures for non-Australian clubs are not taken into account in the figures on this page.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, Other competitions
Other competitions, such as international and representative competitions, included are:


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, Other competitions
Note: For these competitions, only figures for games that take place in Australia are taken into account.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, Other competitions
No Rugby League Four Nations competition is scheduled for 2012 to provide players with a break in the lead up to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, Non-competition games
Some non-competition matches (such as friendly and exhibition matches) are also included:


2012 Australian football code crowds, Included competitions, Non-competition games
Note: this list will be updated as more games are scheduled. The 2012 ANZAC Test was held in Auckland, New Zealand with a crowd of 35,329.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Competitions not included
There are several notable semi-professional regional and state based competitions which draw notable attendances and charge an entry fee that are not listed here. These are worth mentioning as some of their attendances rival those of national competitions and compete for spectator interest.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Competitions not included
As the attendance figures for some of these competitions can be difficult to obtain (many don't publish season figures and some play matches as curtain raisers to other events), they have not been included in the official lists.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Code
In order to directly compare sports, the total attendances for each major code are listed here. The colour-coding of the different codes is used throughout the article.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Code
Note that only the competitions that appear on this page excluding those specifically not included are considered, there are many other (generally smaller) competitions, leagues and matches that take place for all of the football codes, but these are not included. The following are included:


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by League
Some codes have multiple competitions, several competitions are compared here.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Team
Total home attendances for domestic league competitions are listed here.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Match
Attendances for single matches are listed here. Note that not all matches are necessarily included.


2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Match, Representative Competitions
These are matches that are part of a regular representative competition.