outages, including Melbourne, Geelong and Bendigo, after bushfires knock out power transmission lines connecting the state to the national electricity grid. 23 January – John Howard reshuffles his federal cabinet. Such changes include the sacking of the Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone. 26 January – Organisers of the Big Day Out in Sydney plead with event-goers not to bring Australian flags with them, fearing outbreaks of racial violence. The plea is ignored, and the day passes without incident. 31 January – A report commissioned by the Government of New South Wales predicts large temperature rises and a decrease in rainfall of up to 40 per cent over the next 70 years. February 5 February – The first inquest into the deaths of the Balibo Five begins. 7 February – James Hardie announces it has approved long-term compensation arrangements for asbestos victims. 11 February – Prime Minister John Howard causes a diplomatic stir when he publicly criticises U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama for his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. March 3 March – Liberal Senator Ian Campbell resigns his cabinet portfolio as Minister for Human Services after it is revealed that he, like Kevin Rudd, had met with disgraced former Premier of Western Australia, Brian Burke. 4 March – At the request of president Xanana Gusmão and prime minister José Ramos-Horta, Australian Special Air Service troops raid a rebel stronghold in Same, East Timor, in an attempt to capture rebel leader Alfredo Reinhado. Four Timorese men are killed in the battle, and Reinhado escapes. 6 March – The Australian government approves a proposed A$11.1 billion sale of the national airline Qantas to an international consortium after the Foreign Investment Review Board finds that the sale would not breach foreign ownership laws. 7 March – Five Australians are killed when Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 crashes and explodes in Java: a journalist, two Australian Federal Police officers, an Australian embassy official and a foreign aid worker. 8 March – Two people are killed when Severe Tropical Cyclone George makes landfall near Port Hedland, Western Australia. A third death occurs three days later when a man dies of head injuries sustained in the cyclone. 9 March – Shadow Attorney-General Kelvin Thomson resigns from the Opposition front bench after it is revealed that he wrote a positive character reference for Melbourne gangland figure and fugitive Tony Mokbel six years ago. 14 March – An