the worst fires seen in Australia since Ash Wednesday, and until the Black Saturday bushfires in February 2009. 17 January – West Australian Premier Geoff Gallop and the State Government decide to support a yes-yes vote in a referendum favouring extended late night and Sunday trading. 18 January – Mark Latham quits as Federal Opposition Leader, resigns his seat in Parliament. 28 January – The Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2005 takes place. Kim Beazley is the only contender and is elected unopposed as leader of the Federal Labor Party and of the Federal Opposition. February 8 February – Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone announces a closed inquiry to be headed by former AFP commissioner Mick Palmer, to investigate how Cornelia Rau came to be held in solitary confinement at Baxter Detention Centre and why she did not receive treatment despite having schizophrenia. Queensland Senator Santo Santoro raises the issue of abortion at the Coalition Party Room meeting in Canberra by circulating a policy paper with recommendations aimed at reducing the number of abortions, such as a Medicare-funded ultrasound for women contemplating an abortion, along with some Medicare-funded counselling. 9 February – Queensland Premier Peter Beattie releases an edited transcript of an interview between Cornelia Rau and officers at the Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre on 5 July 2003. 10 February – Queensland Premier Peter Beattie apologises for the failure of his agencies to properly care for Cornelia Rau. Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd denies allegations that his office was involved in a conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth over a one-and-a-half million dollar grant to dredge the Tumbi Creek on the New South Wales central coast. 11 February – Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone admits that criminals who have finished their prison sentences and are awaiting deportation are being held among asylum seekers at the Baxter Detention Centre. 13 February – Federal Treasurer Peter Costello breaks ranks with Prime Minister John Howard and says he and the government are sorry for the way Cornelia Rau was treated. 19 February – Prime Minister John Howard and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark meet for talks. 21 February – Health Minister Tony Abbott is reunited with what he believes to be his son, who was given up for adoption as a baby. 25 February – Parts of the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Fields erupt into rioting following the death of a 19-year-old in a police