Top state news stories in 2017

Members of the public lay flowers on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Street.jpg

Members of the public lay flowers on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Street after a man went on a rampage in a car through busy Bourke St mall yesterday in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

TOP STORIES in AUSTRALIAN STATES, 2017:

NSW

Terror Plane

An alleged conspiracy to bring down a plane with an improvised bomb after it took off from Sydney Airport in July was one of the most sinister terror plots to be thwarted by Australian authorities. Four men were arrested during a series of raids following a tip-off about the alleged scheme from foreign intelligence services. Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat were charged with planning a terror attack after being held for almost a week while officers rifled through their Sydney homes searching for evidence. It's alleged Khaled Khayat accompanied his brother Amer Khayat to Sydney's international airport on July 15 ahead of an Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi with luggage containing a military-grade explosive. Khaled Khayat left the airport with the luggage reportedly because it was too heavy and Amer Khayat flew to Abu Dhabi on an uneventful Etihad flight then travelled to Lebanon. Bomb components were sent from Turkey to Sydney by air cargo. When the first attempt was unsuccessful police allege an Islamic State controller then instructed the two on how to create a gas-dispersion device using the highly-toxic hydrogen sulfide. Lebanon's interior minister said that the IS controller was another Khayat brother, Tareq, who moved to Raqqa in Syria and become a commander in the jihadist group. Two other men were held under counter-terror laws and while one was released without charge the other, Khaled Merhi, was charged with possessing a prohibited weapon. The alleged scheme prompted airports to temporarily heighten security provisions.

VIC

Bourke St Fatalities

Six people were killed, 27 injured and 25 hospitalised after a car ploughed through pedestrians in Melbourne's Bourke Street mall on January 20. Among the people killed were three-month-old Zachary Bryant and 10-year-old Thalia Hakin. Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 27, who was shot and injured by police during the rampage, wass charged with six counts of murder and 28 counts of attempted murder. He has been in custody since the rampage and courts are assessing his mental state and whether he is fit to stand trial. The coroner is investigating all events in the lead up to the deaths, including police actions and a decision to release Gargasoulas on bail a week before the deadly rampage. The tragedy also prompted a shake-up of the Victoria's bail system: serious matters are no longer heard by volunteer bail justices and a new night court sits seven days a week. Temporary bollards have been installed at busy public places across the city to stop unauthorised vehicles from entering. Gargasoulas' case is still before the Melbourne Magistrates Court but prosecutors and defence counsel have been providing the Victorian Supreme Court with unprecedented progress updates.

Musk

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk focused international attention on Adelaide in 2017 when he first promised to build the world's biggest lithium-ion battery and then revealed his plans to have humans colonise Mars as early as 2024. His promise to help end SA's energy woes came from a much-publicised Twitter exchange with fellow tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes when the American agreed to build the 100-megawatt battery in 100 days or provide it free. Mr Musk made good on his promise and with the launch of the battery on December 1. His Tesla Powerpacks will be able to store 129-megawatt hours of energy, enough to power 30,000 homes for an hour on a full charge. The battery is three times larger than any previous storage device and has been paired to the existing Hornsdale wind farm operated by French renewable energy company Neoen near Jamestown in SA's mid-north. It has cost an estimated $50 million and could have a life of more than 30 years. As work on the battery was underway, Mr Musk flew into Adelaide to excite the global science community, outlining his plans to carry settlers to Mars. His SpaceX company is developing a new rocket and spaceship, code-named BFR (Big F***ing Rocket) that will carry more than 100 people on each flight. The BFR will stand 100 metres tall with 31 engines to lift a payload of more than 4000 tons. An added bonus could be using the same technology to transport people anywhere in the world, from Los Angeles to Sydney for example, in under 30 minutes.

QLD

State poll

Speculation about when the next state election would be dominated Queensland politics for much of 2017. After a surprise victory over Campbell Newman in 2015, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk asked Queenslanders to deliver her a majority. LNP leader Tim Nicholls struggled to get cut-through with voters or escape his past as Mr Newman's former treasurer. Although not a candidate, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson led the 'Battler Bus' as it made its way up and down the state to talk to disaffected voters. It became clear Ms Palaszczuk would be re-elected when the results of the November 25 poll started flowing in, but it took two weeks for the final result. Labor ended up with 49 seats, two more than it needed to govern with a majority in the new 93-seat parliament. The LNP secured just 39 seats, while Katter's Australian Party increased its representation to three and Mirani's Stephen Andrew became the sole One Nation candidate elected. The Greens had a historic victory in Maiwar, defeating shadow treasurer Scott Emerson, and independent Sandy Bolton won the seat of Noosa. Mr Nicholls fell on his sword following the LNP's loss. His decision sparked a party room vote that resulted in his deputy Deb Frecklington becoming leader.