Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Australia

Specialty Definition: Australia

Top     

Specialty Definition: Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Australia is both the name of the world's smallest continent, and the short form of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The Commonwealth of Australia is the sixth largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in Australasia. New Zealand is to the southeast; and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor to its north. The name 'Australia' comes from the Latin phrase terra australis incognita ("unknown southern land", see Terra Australis).

Commonwealth of Australia

(In Detail)
National motto: None
Official language	English
Capital	Canberra
Largest City	Sydney
Queen	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Michael Jeffery
Prime Minister	John Howard
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 6th 7,686,850 km² 1%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 53rd 19,993,204 3/km²
Independence -Constitution Act -Australia Act	From the UK: 1 January 1901 3 March 1986
Currency	Australian dollar
Time zone	UTC +8 to +11
National anthem	Advance Australia Fair
Internet TLD	.AU
Calling Code	61

History

Main article: History of Australia

Australia has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years, since the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aborigines arrived from present-day Southeast Asia. The land was not discovered by Europeans until the 17th century, when it was sighted and visited by several expeditions. The eastern two-thirds of the continent was claimed for the United Kingdom in 1770, and first colonised in New South Wales on 26 January 1788 as an British penal colony. The rest was claimed by the United Kingdom in 1829. Most of the states that later federated to form Australia were not penal colonies.

On 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth, or federation of Australia was born, as a dominion, within the British Empire. Australia was now independent, although the last legal ties with the United Kingdom were not severed until 1986). Australia is a Constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II reigning as 'Queen of Australia'. In 1999, a referendum was held on consitutional change to a republic, with an appointed President replacing the Queen as head of state, but this was rejected.

See also: Australian Constitutional History

Politics

Main article: Politics of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy: the Queen of Australia is the official head of state and is represented by the Governor General. In practice the role of the Crown (and thus that of the Governor General) is largely ceremonial. The executive power theoretically vested in the Crown is exercised by an elected cabinet headed by a prime minister.

The prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, the 150-seat lower house of the bicameral Commonwealth Parliament. Members of the House of Representatives, or MHRs, are elected from single-member constituencies, known as divisions. The upper house is the 76-seat Senate, in which each state is represented by twelve Senators, regardless of population size, and each territory by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years, usually with one half of the Senate being eligible for reelection.

See also: Republicanism in Australia

States and Territories

Main article: Australian States and Territories

Australia is divided into six states and several territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia; the territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

Australia also has an additional minor internal territory, Jervis Bay Territory (a naval base in New South Wales), several inhabitated external territories (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and several largely uninhabited external territories: Coral Sea Islands Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Australian Capital Territory was created at the chosen site of the capital city Canberra. Canberra was founded as a compromise between the two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Australia

By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-desert—40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate: part is tropical rainforests, part grasslands, and part desert. The Great Barrier Reef, by far the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast.

See also: Protected areas of Australia

Flora and Fauna

Main articles: Australian fauna, Australian flora

Although most of the continent is desert or semi-desert, Australia nevertheless includes a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age of the continent, its very variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique.

See also: Australian birds

Economy

Main article: Economy of Australia

Australia has a prosperous Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant Western European economies. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn, with steady growth.

See also: Australian dollar

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Australia

Most of the Australian population descends from 19th and 20th century immigrants, most from the United Kingdom and Ireland to begin with, but from other sources in later years. Many inhabitants are of Greek, Italian or Asian descent. Descendants of the original population, the Australian Aborigines, make up 2.2% of the population, according to the 2001 Census. In common with many other developed countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retired people and fewer of working age.

English is the spoken language in Australia, although some of the surviving Aboriginal communities maintain their native languages, and a considerable number of first and sometimes second-generation migrants are bi-lingual. Although the nation is broadly secular and few are church-goers, three-quarters of Australians are nominally Christian, mostly Catholic or Anglican. A diverse range of other religions is practised.

See also: List of cities in Australia

Culture

Main article: Culture of Australia

Related topics:

• Cinema of Australia
• Music of Australia

See also: Australian public holidays

Miscellaneous topics

• List of Australians
• Communications in Australia
• Transportation in Australia
• Foreign relations of Australia
• Military of Australia
• List of Australian Awards
• Australian of the Year Award

External links

• Australian Tourist Commission
• Australian History -- from the Washington Embassy
• Country of Australia -- Sunnybank web directory
• Worldwide press freedom index - Ranked 12 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
• Gallery of Australia Photographs Attractions primarily in Queensland and the Northern Territory
• Guide to Australia Provides essential information about Australia

---

Countries of the world  |  Oceania

simple:Australia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australia."

Top     

Australian English

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Australian English is the form of the English language used in Australia.

Differences with other variations of English

Australian English is similar in many respects to British English, but there are a few cases where Australian English is closer to American English. For example: Australian English uses the American English truck instead of the British English lorry and the American English freeway instead of British English motorway. Like American English and unlike British English, Australian English uses singular verbs with singular collective nouns. The British English use of the plural verb - for example, "the Government are committed" - sounds quite odd to an Australian (or American) ear.

Many Americans struggle to distinguish an Australian English speaker from a New Zealand English speaker, or even a British speaker (just as Canadian and other North American English speakers are often indistinguishable to Australasian ears and are only identified as American). The difference between Australian English and New Zealand English is immediately obvious to a speaker from either country. Australian English is sometimes called "Strine" and New Zealand English "Newzilid" - "strine" being the way "Australian" is pronounced with a heavy Australian accent, and "Newzilid" the equivalent for New Zealand - which embodies the essential pronunciation differences. Where Australian English has the lax vowel notated in SAMPA as /I/, New Zealand usually has the unstressed vowel of Standard English about, even in stressed positions, hence the frequent joke among Australians that New Zealand speakers like "sux buts of fush and chups".

Due to the predominence of foreign mass media products in Australia, most Australians are familiar with at least some of the variants of modern British English and American English, and many have adopted some of the distinctive vocabulary and idioms of those languages. The exposure to the different spellings of British and American English leads to a certain amount of spelling confusion - for instance, "organize" as opposed to "organise". Generally, either variant is accepted. Some other differences are less known to both cultures e.g. behavior/behaviour and this does provide a dilemma for any Australians (or English) who communicate with Americans, since most Americans are even less aware of these variations and (ironically) presume the non-Americans are poor spellers.

In 1981 the Macquarie Dictionary of Australian English was published after 10 years of research and planning. Editions have been published ever since.

Unique Australian traits

Australian English also incorporates several uniquely Australian terms, such as outback to refer to remote regional areas, walkabout to refer to a long journey of uncertain length and bush to refer to native forested areas, but also to regional areas as well. Fair dinkum can mean are you telling me the truth? this is the truth!, or this is ridiculous! depending on context - the disputed origin (see http://www.anu.edu.au/ANDC/Ozwords/November_98/7._dinkum.htm ) dates back to the gold rush in the 1850s, "dinkum" being derived from the Chinese word for "gold": "fair dinkum" is the genuine article. G'day is well known as a stereotypical Australian greeting - it is worth noting that "G'day" is not synonymous with the expression "Good Day", and is never used as an expression for "farewell". Many of these terms have been adopted into British English via popular culture and family links.

Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for the indigenous flora and fauna (e.g. Dingo, Kangaroo), as well as extensive borrowings for place names. Beyond that, very few terms have been adopted into the wider language. A notable exception is Cooee (a musical call which travels long distances in the bush and is used to say 'is there anyone there?'). Though often thought of as an Aboriginal word, Didgeridoo/Didjeridu (a well known wooden musical instrument) is actually an onomatopoeic term coined by an English settler.

Australian English has a unique set of diminutives formed by adding -o or -ie to the ends of (often abbreviated words). There does not appear to be any particular pattern to which of these suffixes is used. Examples with the -o ending include abo (aborigine - now considered very offensive), arvo (afternoon), fisho (fishmonger), fruito (fruiterer), servo (service station/gas station), devo (deviant/pervert), ambo (ambulance office) and bottle-o (bottle shop/liquor store). Examples of the -ie ending include barbie (barbeque), aggie (student of agricultural science), beautie (beautiful, stereotypically pronounced and even written bewdy), bikkie (biscuit), blowie (blowfly), and bookie (bookmaker). Occasionally, a -za diminutive is used, usually for personal names. Barry becomes Bazza, Karen becomes Kazza and Sharon becomes Shazza.

Phonetics of Australian English

The "cultivated" and "general" accents use 24 consonants, 11 vowels and 8 diphthongs. (The "broad" accents employ a myriad of different vowels and diphthongs). IPA symbols of the sounds are as follows (where similar or no characters can be provided in unicode, names of the symbols are included for clarification):

Consonants:

    plosives/stops: p, b, t, d, k, g
    fricatives: f, v, θ, ð, s, z, S (esh), Z (yogh), h
    affricates: tS (tee-esh), dZ (dee-yogh)
    nasals: m, n, ŋ
    semivowels: j, w
    liquids: l, r

Vowels:

    short vowels: I (small capital i), æ, ε, A (inverted v), υ, @ (turned cursive a)
    long vowels: i, a, u, 3 (reversed epsilon), ) (open o)
    special status: ə

The symbols /e/ and /o/ are also used, but only in diphthongs.

Diphthongs:

    aI, eI, )I, aυ, oυ, Iə, εə, υə

Note: /ə/ is the only short vowel that appears at the end of a word

Allophones:

    There are many allophones in Australian English.  Here are some examples:

    "Noeline's notes"
    /oυ/ -> [)υ], [əυ]

    "I can open the can"
    /æ/ -> [æ] or [ə], [æ:]

Vocabulary

• abo - derogatory term for Aborigine
• Anglo-Celtic - Australian of British or Irish descent
• banana bender - Queenslander
• Asian - usually East Asian rather than South Asian
• division - parliamentary constituency
• dob - to tell on
• dole bludger - workshy person living on welfare
• 'crow eater- South Australia (seen on car number plates)
• footy - football, Rugby League in New South Wales or Queensland, Australian Rules in other states, but not soccer
• New Australian - Immigrant, usually from continental Europe
• Pom- (also pommy) mildly derogatory word for English person. Origin uncertain.
• Premier - elected head of a state government
• rort - scam
• sandgroper - Western Australian
• 'tothersider - someone from eastern Australia (used by Western Australians)
• tall poppy - someone who gets ideas above his station
• wog - derogatory term for Italian, Greek or other southern European

Spoken Australian English

According to stereotype, spoken Australian English is thought to be highly colloquial, possibly more so than other spoken variants. Various publishers have produced "phrase books" to assist visitors. These phrasebooks reflect a highly exaggerated and outdated style of Australian colloquialisms and they should be regarded as amusements rather than accurate usage guides. Perception has it that a common trait is the frequent use of long-winded similes, such as "Slow as a wet weekend", "Built like a brick shit-house", "mad as a cut snake" or "flat out like a lizard drinking". Whether this perception is based in reality or has been produced by popular culture items of fiction such as television series Neighbours and the films of Paul Hogan remains in question.

A substantial collection of unique or unusual words are in common spoken usage - e.g. "dacks" (trousers), "dag" (unfashionable person), "bludge" (to shirk), "ute" (a utility vehicle or pickup truck). Another well-known Australianism, "wowser" (a killjoy), has now fallen out of use. An even larger vocabulary is derived from recognisable words with entirely new meanings - "to bag" (to criticise), "blue" (either a fight or heated argument, or an embarrassing mistake), "crook" (unwell, also unfair), "to wag" (to play truant), "cactus" (non-functional), "cut" (angry) and especially "root" (a euphemism for sexual intercourse, which has caused social embarrassment for American women who innocently declare that they "root" for a particular sports team). Note that the slang term "root" was common in the 1970s but is rarely heard today. Also, the term Australians use for "fanny pack" is "bum bag" since in Australia fanny is a slang term for a woman's vagina.

Spoken Australian English is also generally far more tolerant of expletives than other variants: the former Prime Minister Paul Keating would openly refer to his parliamentary opponents as as "mangy maggot piss ants".

Australians are known for ther directness or "calling a spade a spade", which can lead to misunderstanding and offence on the part of Australia's Asian neighbours. Prime Minister Keating's description of the Prime Minister of Malaysia as "recalcitrant" in 1993 caused considerable offence in that country.

Another notable trait of Australian English usage, inherited from Britain, is the use of deadpan humour, in which the joker will make an outrageous or ridiculous statement without explicitly indicating they are joking. Americans visiting Australia have gained themselves a reputation for gullibility and a lack of a sense of humour by not recognising that tales of kangaroos hopping across the Sydney Harbour Bridge are examples of this propensity.

Myths about Australian English

Negative evaluations of Australian English, like those of many other English dialects, tend to centre on the belief, or come from the perspective that other forms of English (especially RP British English) are superior for some reason. These evaluations of Australian English are simple value judgments and essentially meaningless.

Australian English is sometimes described as "high-pitched", "nasal", and often "lazy" or "drawling". It is a matter of opinion whether high pitch is inherently undesirable, and the charge of nasality is simply not true. Linguistic laziness is impossible to test objectively: the assertion is simply based on prejudice. If anything, the tendency for Australians to turn pure vowels into diphthongs requires more work from the speech organs rather than less.

Talking about food

With foodstuffs Australian English tends to be more closely related to the British vocabulary, eg. biscuit for the American cookie. However in a few cases such as zucchini, snow pea and eggplant Australian English uses the same terms as the Americans, whereas the British use the equivalent French terms courgette, mange-tout and do not care whether eggplant or aubergine is used. This is possibly due to a fashion that emerged in mid-19th Century Britain of adopting French nouns for foodstuffs, and hence the usage changed in Britain while the original terms were preserved in the (ex-)colonies. For some uncertain reason, Australia uses the botanical name capsicum for what both the British and the Americans would call (red or green) peppers.

Regional variation

It is sometimes claimed that regional variations in pronunciation exist, but if present at all they are very small compared to those of British and American English - sufficiently so that linguists are divided on the question.

However, there used to be a significant regional variation in Australian English vocabulary between different states. For example, Queenslanders say "port" while New South Walians and Victorians say "school bag". "Football" refers to the most popular code in the state. Western and South Australians start a game of Australian rules football with a "bounce down", New South Walians and Queenslanders start a game of Rugby League with a "ball up". The steadily increasing affect of centralised film, TV and even radio production, however, is rapidly blurring these distinctions.

Regional Phonetic Variation

Studies have shown that there are limited regional variations in Australian English. This chart shows the percentage of speakers from different capital cities who pronounce words in a certain way, concentrating on the usage of /æ/ vs. /a/.

              Hobart               Melbourne            Brisbane             Sydney               Adelaide

    graph     græf (100%)          græf (70%)           graf (56%)           graf (70%)           graf (86%)

    chance    tSæns (100%)         tSans (60%)          tSæns (75%)          tSans (80%)          tSans (86%)

    demand    dəmænd (90%)         dəmand (78%)         dəmand (78%)         dəmand (90%)         dəmand (100%)

    dance     dæns (90%)           dæns (65%)           dæns (89%)           dæns (60%)           dans (86%)

    castle    kasl (60%)           kæsl (70%)           kæsl (67%)           kasl (100%)          kasl (86%)

    grasp     grasp (90%)          grasp (89%)          grasp (89%)          grasp (95%)          grasp (100%)

    contrast  kəntrast (100%)      kəntrast (100%)      kəntrast (100%)      kəntrast (100%)      kəntrast (71%)

Source: David Crystal, Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Cambridge UP, 1995

See also: Distinguishing accents in English#Australia for accent description.

External links

• Macquarie Dictionary

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian English."

Top     

Australian House of Representatives

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the parliament of Australia. The other is the Senate.

The 150 members of the house are elected from single-member geographic districts (popularly known as "seats" but officially known as "Commonwealth Electoral Divisions") which are intended to represent reasonably contiguous regions, with relatively equal population in each of about 80 000 people. Voting is by the preferential system.

According to Australia's Constitution, the powers of both houses are nearly equal with the consent of both houses needed to pass legislation. In practice, however, the "House" or "Lower House" as it is called, is far stronger in some ways, and far weaker in others.

By convention, the party or coalition in the lower house with a majority is invited by the Governor-General to form government, and thus the leader of the party in the lower house becomes the Prime Minister of Australia and his senior colleagues ministers responsible for various government departments. Bills appropriating money can also only be introduced or modified in the lower house. Thus, only parties in the lower house can govern. However, in the rigid Australian party system, this ensures that virtually all contentious votes are along party lines, and the government always has a majority in those votes. The Opposition's only real role in the House is to present arguments why the government's policies and legislation are wrong, and attempt to embarrass the government as much as possible by asking difficult questions at question time. The Senate, by contrast, has not had any single party or coalition holding a majority in many years, so votes in the senate are actually meaningful. The House's parliamentary committee system is also embryonic as compared to the well-established Senate committee system.

In a reflection of the color scheme of the House of Commons, the House of Representatives is decorated in green.

See also:

• List of members of the Australian House of Representatives
• Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
• List of longest-serving members of the Australian House of Representatives

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian House of Representatives."

Top     

Australian national cricket team

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Australian national cricket team is today regarded as the dominant team in world cricket. They are the World Champions, 1987, 1999 and 2003 and are considered to be almost unbeatable today.

Note: This page shall also refer to Australian women's national cricket team, and junior teams (representing Australia) but unless explicitly mentioned, it refers to the senior (main) national cricket team

History

Important dates in history of Australian cricket

• 15th March, 1877: Test Debut
• 28th December, 1934: Women's test team debut
• 5th January, 1971: ODI Debut
• 23rd June, 1973: Women's ODI team debut
• 8th November, 1987: Won 4th edition of Cricket World Cup by defeating England in the final match at Eden Gardens, Calcutta.
• 20th June, 1999: Steve Waugh lifts the World Cup
• 23rd March, 2003: Ricky Ponting lifts the World Cup

The 1880s

Test tours

Australia toured England 5 times during the 1880s and played 27 test matches against them losing 15 of them.

Note: Balls per over: 4
16 of them were timeless matches while 11 were 3 day test matches

• 1880, September: 1 test
• 1882: 1 test
• 1884: 3 tests
• 1886: 3 tests
• 1888: 3 tests

List of Australian test captains in the 1880s

1. Murdoch
2. Horan
3. Massie
4. Blackham
5. Scott
6. McDonnell

List of top Australian test runscorers in the 1880s

1. McDonnell 950
2. Murdoch 860
3. Bannerman 745

List of top Australian test wickettakers in the 1880s

1. Spofforth 94 wickets at an average of 18.41 runs per over
2. Palmer 78 wickets at an average of 21.51 runs per over

The 1890s

Test tours

Australia toured England 4 times during the 1890s and played 26 test matches against them. (won 10, lost 10)

''Note: Half the tests had 5 balls per over and half had 6 balls per over.
Half of them were 3 day test matches and half were timeless test matches.''

• 1890: 2 tests
• 1893: 3 tests
• 1896: 3 tests
• 1899: First 5 test tour

List of Australian test captains in the 1890s

1. Murdoch
2. Blackham
3. Giffen
4. Trott
5. Darling

List of top Australian test runscorers in the 1890s

1. Darling 1139

List of top Australian test wickettakers in the 1890s

1. Giffen 74
2. Trumble 63
3. Jones 56
4. Turner 51

See: List of Australian test batsmen who have scored over 5000 test runs

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian national cricket team."

Top     

Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act is the primary constitutional text of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The constitution was enacted as an Act of the United Kingdom in 1900. It provided the new system of government for the new federation, which consisted at its inception on 1 January 1901 of

• New South Wales
• Victoria
• South Australia
• Queensland
• Tasmania
• Western Australia

Head of State

The Act vested authority in the Queen, making her the Australian head of state similar to other Commonwealth Realms. In 1973, the monarch was formally designated as 'Queen of Australia'. A representative of the Queen was provided for, known as the Governor-General, who in practice fulfils most of the roles normally possessed by a head of state. Some consider the Governor-General of Australia to be the de facto head of state as the British monarch rarely excercises the reserve powers that the constitution grants to the Crown; however the constitution makes clear that the Governor-General is in no sense a head of state, merely a head of state's representative who in the name of the head of state, or in his own name as representative of the head of state, carries out specified functions and exercises certain powers.

Parliament

Section 1 (of Chapter I) provided that the legislative power was to be vested in Federal parliament, known as the 'Parliament of the Commonwealth', consisting of the Queen, an upper house, called the Senate, and a lower house, called the 'House of Representatives.

Executive Authority

According to Section 61 (of Chapter II),

The executive power of the Commonweath is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and the laws of the Commonweath.

Article 62 provided for a Federal Executive Council to 'advise' the Governor-General in the governance of the Commonwealth. Though the language indicated that the Executive Council was answerable to the Governor-General, in reality it is answerable to the House of Representatives, though the fact that the Senate possesses the power to withdraw Supply complicates the situation, given that loss of Supply in parliamentary democracies has the most severe implications for a government, given that it in theory should either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution, should Supply be lost or not granted.

The Judiciary

The judicial power of the Commonweath was vested by Section 71 of Chapter III in a federal supreme court to be called the High Court of Australia. It was to be presided over by a Chief Justice.

The States

Section 106 of Chapter V provided for the continuation of the constitutions of the various states, subject to the provisions of the federal constitution.

Amendments to the Constitution

Section 128 of Chapter VIII provided that constitutional amendments required

• an absolute majority in both houses of the federal parliament

and

• the approval in a plebiscite of the proposed amendment by a majority of electors nationwide, and a majority in a majority of the states.

The 'Other' Constitution

Alongside the Act, other aspects of the Australian constitution include

• Letters Patent issued by the Crown
• Conventions which evolved over the decades, defining how various constitutional articles should be viewed

While the constitution does not formally create the office of Prime Minister of Australia, such an office developed a de-facto existence as head of the cabinet.

Australia Act

Under British constitutional theory, the parliament of the United Kingdom possessed the legal right to legislate for the Commonwealth of Australia. Though this did not happen for decades, unless specifically requested by the Commonweath, it remained the theory until the enactment in 1986 by both Australia and the United Kingdom of the Australia Act, which 'repatriated' the Australian constitution and gave Australia absolute ownership of its lawmaking, to the complete and final exclusion of Britain.

The Federal Republic of Australia?

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s support grew for the amendment of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to replace the Queen and Governor-General by a native president. In 1999 a referendum took place to make the change, replacing the monarch and governor-general by an appointed president. For a complex series of reasons, the referendum was defeated. A further referendum may revisit the issue.

Related topics

• Constitutional history of Australia
• Commonwealth of Nations
• History of Australia
• Republic Advisory Committee
• Statute of Westminster

External links

• site on the origins, development & structure & evolution of the Australian Constitution

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act."

Top     

Culture of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The original culture of Australia can only be surmised: cultural patterns among the remote descendants of the first Australians cannot be assumed to be unchanged after 53,000 years of human habitation of the continent. Much more is known about the richly diverse cultures of modern Aboriginal Australians, or at least of those few who survived the impact of European colonisation. (For more on this, see Australian Aborigine and related entries.) Although the effect of the arrival of Europeans on Aboriginal culture was profound and catastrophic, the reverse is not the case: broadly speaking, mainstream Australian culture has been imported from Europe, the United Kingdom in particular, and has developed since that time with very little input from Aboriginal people.

Australian culture: schools of thought

As to culture in the narrow sense - culture as voluntary, often non-economic activity - there are several schools of thought. One maintains that Australia has no real culture outside of second-hand imports from Europe and the USA. Proponents of this view point to the predominance of foreign books, music, and art, and claim that home-grown products are largely derivative.

For years, many Australians suffered from an inferiority complex or "cultural cringe" about other countries, particularly European ones, believing that anything from overseas was inherently superior to anything Australian. This was especially true in Australia's relationship with Britain, but as Australians have travelled more widely, and their country has been exposed to cultural influences from other countries, this has waned. Australians still have "love-hate" relationship with Britain. On the one hand, they ridicule the so-called 'Old Country' as snobbish, class-obsessed and backward-looking. On the other, there is a large Australian expatriate population in London, including the writers Germaine Greer and Clive James, who are sometimes better known in the UK than they are in Australia.

Others seize eagerly on each small point of difference, and brandish relatively small parts of the Australian cultural experience (such as the poetry of Henry Lawson, Australian Rules football, or the pie floater) as if these were sufficient to demonstrate that a new and vital culture has emerged in the two centuries since European settlement.

Somewhere in between these two views may be found the great central thread of debate about Australian culture: the perennial attempt to ask and answer the question, "Does Australia 'have' a culture, and if so what is it?" The obsessive preoccupation with this question has lasted decades, and shows no sign of fading.

Finally, there is what might be termed a culturally agnostic view, which holds that endlessly debating Australian culture is futile and pointless, and that the important thing is to simply get on with living and creating it. This last viewpoint is expressed in intellectual terms from time to time, but is mostly evident in the practical activities of Australians in a wide range of fields.

"Popular culture" vs "high culture"

Traditional European "high culture" is little valued by most Australians, but thrives nevertheless, with excellent galleries (even in surprisingly small towns); a rich tradition in ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann; a strong national opera company based in Sydney; and good symphony orchestras in all capital cities--the Melbourne and sometimes Sydney symphony orchestras are said to be worthy of comparison with any. Despite the excellence to be found in these activities, most Australians pay them no attention.

In Australia, popular culture rules supreme: in particular the film and television industries (now both seriously threatened by proposed changes to trade laws), and the music industry, which can make at least some claim to developing an indigenous style. Until the late 1960s, Australian popular music was barely distinguishable from imported music: British to begin with, then gradually more and more American in the post-war years. The sudden arrival of the Sixties underground movement into the mainstream in the early 1970s changed Australian music permanently: the Skyhooks were far from the first people to write songs in Australia, by Australians, about Australia, but they were the first ones ever to make money doing it. The two best-selling albums ever made (at that time) put Australian music on the map. Within a few years, the novelty had worn off and it became commonplace to hear distinctively Australian lyrics and sometimes sounds side-by-side with the imitators and the imports.

Diversity of influences

In practice, however, it is difficult to discern much about Australian culture by examining the isolated peaks of music, dance or literature. Just as the Australian landscape is defined not by the small mountains in the south, but by the vast barren plains elsewhere, Australian culture is best defined by looking at the less prominent, by considering the more subtle and pervasive aspects.

First, there is the initial European heritage, followed by an overwhelmingly city-based society that although British in origin now receives all but a small proportion of its cultural communication from either Hollywood and American TV networks, or from home-grown imitations of either of them. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), like the BBC in Britain, is a non-commercial public service broadcaster, showing many BBC or ITV productions from Britain. Debate about the role of the ABC continues, as many assign it a marginal role, and claim that American-influenced commercial TV and radio stations are far more popular choices. These critics claim that Australian children grow up watching Sesame Street and The Simpsons, eating fries at McDonalds, wearing baseball caps, speaking American slang , and many have never heard of Blinky Bill or the Magic Pudding. Television ratings are cited as backing this view, but it less clear that these ratings tell the whole view. Certainly there have been many local television shows that have been wildly successful, such as Neighbours and Home and Away, which have sometimes been even more successful abroad. Although it holds sway to a lesser extent than in the United States, there is a belief in Australia is that bigger is better, be it houses, often with a swimming pool in the back, or cars, such as the best selling models, Ford's Falcon or GM's Holden Commodore.

Then there is the great post-war influx of non English-speaking migrants from the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Middle East, and finally South-East Asia. Australia's cities are melting pots of different cultures and the influence of the longer-established southern European communities in particular has been pervasive. The publicly funded Special Broadcasting Service carries TV and radio programmes in a variety of languages, as well as world news and documentary programming in English, and is seen as less highbrow than the ABC. SBS does have a small following, having the distinction of being the TV channel most likely to show soccer, a minority sport in Australia.

Myths and contradictions

On top of this, are Australia's myths - shared beliefs and as such have a cultural significance quite independent of their empirical truth or falsehood. Australians, according to myths, are relaxed, tolerant, easy-going and yet cling dearly to the fundamental importance of common-sense justice, or to use the classic expression, a "fair go". It is the land of the long weekend: a country that declares a universal holiday for a horse race, that pioneered the eight hour working day, that takes pride in never working too hard and yet idolises the "little Aussie battler" who sweats away for small reward. Australians respect "hard yakka"; to be "flat out like a lizard drinking" is to be extremely busy, or sometimes the exact opposite. Australians, according to myth, make great sportsmen and superb soldiers. To outsiders it seems quite extraordinary that a nation with several major military victories should chose to forget them and celebrate the bloody defeat of Gallipoli instead. Clearly, the myth is contradictory (as most of the best myths are).

Australian language is contradictory too: it combines a mocking disrespect for established authority, particularly if it is pompous or out of touch with reality, with a distinctive upside-down sense of humour: Australians take delight in dubbing a tall man "Shorty", a silent one "Rowdy" a bald man "Curly" - and a redhead, of course, is "Blue". Politicians, or "pollies", be they at state or federal level, are universally disliked and distrusted. Ironically, the failure of the 1999 referendum on becoming a republic was more about the prospect of a President chosen by and from the "pollies", than about any vestigial loyalty to the British monarchy.

Australia's myths come from the outback, from the drovers and the squatters and the people of the barren, dusty plains, yet very few Australians little of the outback, or even of the milder countryside that is never more than an hour or two's drive from the cities that they live in. This was true even of the Australia of a century ago - since the gold rush of the 1850s, most Australians have been city-bound. Nevertheless, after a century or more spent absorbing the bush yarns of Henry Lawson and the poetry of Banjo Patterson from the comfort of armchairs in the suburbs, the myths are real. Lawson himself - the iconic poet of the outback - was himself a city boy.

Relevant articles

• Music of Australia
• Cinema of Australia

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Culture of Australia."

Top     

Flag of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The flag of Australia is blue with the flag of the UK (the Union Jack) in the upper hoist-side quadrant, and a large seven-pointed star (representing the seven main states and territories in Australia) in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.

The flag was proclaimed by the monarch in 1904 after a design competition (for which the rules implied that a British ensign flag was required). This flag was mainly intended for naval use. Throughout the first fifty years of the Australian colony, the Union Jack was widely used, as was the "Red Ensign" - the same design with a red background. It was not until 1954 that this flag became the official Australian flag, and it was not until well into the 1960's that the national flag usurped the Union Jack completely in public consciousness.

Some Australians dislike the presence of the Union Jack on the current flag, and its very close similarity to the flag of New Zealand has also posed practical problems on occasion. However, the flag retains majority support for the moment and debate on the matter is unlikely to resume seriously until after the issue of republicanism in Australia is resolved definitively one way or the other.

The Red Ensign is used by Australian merchant ships, and there is also a white Naval Ensign and a light blue Air Force Ensign.

External links:

• http://www.ausflag.com.au - site advocating a change to a new Australian flag, but good information on history.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Flag of Australia."

Top     

Foreign relations of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Australia has been active in international affairs since World War II. Its first major independent foreign policy action was to conclude an agreement in 1944 with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific (the ANZAC pact). After the war, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch (1945-49). Australia was one of the founders of both the United Nations and the South Pacific Commission (1947), and in 1950, it proposed the Colombo Plan to assist developing countries in Asia. In addition to contributing to UN forces in Korea--it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States--Australia sent troops to assist in putting down the communist revolt in Malaya in 1948-60 and later to combat the Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak in 1963-65. Australia also sent troops to assist South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in Vietnam and joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991. Australia has been active in the Australia-New Zealand-U.K. agreement and the Five-Power Defense Arrangement--successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia.

One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was a member of the Security Council in 1986-87, a member of the Economic and Social Council for 1986-89, and a member of the UN Human Rights Commission for 1994-96. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control. Australia also is active in meetings of the Commonwealth Regional Heads of Government and the South Pacific Forum, and has been a leader in the Cairns Group--countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations--and in the APEC forum.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)--Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei--and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which promotes regional cooperation on security issues. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory.

Australia has a large bilateral aid program (about $1.3 billion for 1997-98, mostly in the form of grants) under which some 60 countries receive assistance. Papua New Guinea (PNG), a former Australian trust territory, is the largest recipient of Australian assistance. In 1997, Australia contributed to the IMF program for Thailand and assisted Indonesia and PNG with regional environmental crises. From 1997-99 Australia contributed to IMF program for Thailand and assisted Indonesia and PNG with regional environmental crisis and drought relief efforts.

Australia is party to the Australia, New Zealand, United States security treaty (ANZUS).

See also Transnational issues

Disputes - international: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)

Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

See also:

• Australia
• Australian contribution to the 2003 Gulf War

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Foreign relations of Australia."

Top     

Governor-General of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Governor-General's flag

The Governor-General of Australia is the highest constitutional officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Governor-General is the representative in Australia of the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, who resides in the United Kingdom. Although not a head of state, the Governor-General fulfils many of the functions of a ceremonial head of state. (For the history of the office of Governor-General in countries other than Australia, see Governor-General).

The main official residence of the Governor-General is Government House in Canberra, commonly known as Yarralumla. There is a a second official residence, Admiralty House in Sydney. When the Governor-General visits the other states, he is usually a guest at the Government Houses in the state capitals.

Creation of the office

The office of Governor-General was created when the Australian Constitution entered into force on January 1, 1901. The Governor-General was originally intended to be the personal representative of the Sovereign, and was envisaged as one of the great offices of the British Empire, on a par with the Viceroy of India. But the office never attracted candidates of the seniority originally envisaged, and Australian public opinion never accepted the idea of the Governor-General as an imperial pro-consul. Governors-General who were seen as "too grand" soon became unpopular.

The first Governor-General, the Earl of Hopetoun, was British, as were all his successors until 1931. An Australian did not become Governor-General until the appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs. The appointment of a non-Briton was denounced by the major conservative party of the time, the Nationalist Party of Australia as being "practically republican". Between 1931 and 1965 the issue of Australians as Governor-General was a party political one: Labor governments appointed Australians (although the Curtin government appointed the Duke of Gloucester in 1945), conservative governments appointed British Governors-General.

Since 1965, when the Menzies government appointed Lord Casey, the office has been only held by Australians. Since 1965 nine Australian Governors-General have been appointed. Of these three have been former politicians (Casey, Hasluck and Hayden), three have been judges (Kerr, Stephen and Deane), one has been an academic (Cowen), one a clergyman (Hollingworth) and one a professional soldier (Jeffery). In contrast to Canada and New Zealand, there has never been a female Governor-General, nor an Aboriginal, nor a citizen of any ethnic minority (there have however been two Jewish Governors-General).

Most of the British Governors-General were peers: of the two who were not, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson was a knight and Field Marshall Sir William Slim, was both a knight and a serving Field-Marshall. Of the Australian Governors-General, Casey was a peer and all the others were knights until the appointment of Hayden in 1988. All Governors-General down to Stephen were members of the British Privy Council and thus had the additional title "Right Honourable." This title was abolished in Australia in 1983. Hayden is thus the only Governor-General to have had no title at all. A strong feeling persists that the Governor-General ought to have a title of some sort: this was one reason why Hollingworth obtained a doctorate from the Archbishop of Canterbury shortly before assuming office, and why Jeffery is officially referred to as "Major-General Jeffery" even though he has retired from the Army and ought to be called "Mr Jeffery."

Selection, appointment and role

Today the Governor-General is appointed by the Sovereign on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia. Until 1930, however, the Governor-General was appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the British Prime Minister, and the Australian government was merely asked, as a matter of courtesy, whether they approved of the choice or not. In 1930 Prime Minister James Scullin established the right of the Australian Prime Minister to advise the Sovereign directly, and also the right to appoint an Australian as Governor-General, although this did not become the established practice until 1965.

Until the 1920s the Governor-General represented both the Crown and the British Government, and was expected to exercise a supervisory role over the Australian Government in the manner of a colonial Governor. The Governor-General had the right to "reserve" legislation passed by the Parliament of Australia: in other words, to ask the Colonial Office in London for an opinion before giving the Royal Assent. This power was used several times.

As a result of decisions made at the Imperial Conference of 1926, the Governor-General ceased to be the diplomatic representative of the British Government (this role being taken over by a High Commissioner), and the British right of supervision over Australian affairs was abolished. This left the representation of the Crown as the sole official role of the Governor-General. Since the 1950s, however, and particularly since the office has come to filled solely by Australians, the role of the Governor-General has again expanded. The Governor-General has come to be seen as, and to behave as, a de facto ceremonial head of state. Governors-General, for example, now represent Australia abroad, something that would been unthinkable at the time the office was created.

On the resignation, death or incapacity of the Governor-General, or his absence from Australian territory, an Administrator of the Commonwealth assumes his powers: this is by convention the longest-serving state governor, who holds a dormant commission for this purpose. Only one Governor-General has died in office: Lord Dunrossil in 1961. In May 2003 a new situation arose when the Governor-General, Dr Peter Hollingworth, stood aside temporarily while allegations against him were resolved, and the letters patent of the office were amended to take account of this. The senior state governor, Sir Guy Green of Tasmania, assumed office of Administrator when Hollingworth stood aside, and continued in this office when Hollingworth formally resigned.

One unresolved issue is the forced removal of a Governor-General before their term is complete - an event that has not yet occurred. It is generally accepted that the Monarch would agree to dismiss the Governor-General on the written advice of the Australian Prime Minister, and replace them with the Prime Minister's nominee. However, it is unclear how quickly the monarch would act on such advice in a constitutional crisis, where a race could theoretically emerge between a Governor-General and the Prime Minister to dismiss the other. This was apparently the reason why Kerr did not warn Whitlam of his intention to dismiss him in 1975.

Constitutional powers, functions and duties

The office of Governor-General is provided for by Sections 2 to 5 of the Constitution. These state:

''2. A Governor-General appointed by the Queen shall be Her Majesty's representative in the Commonwealth, and shall have and may exercise in the Commonwealth during the Queen's pleasure, but subject to this Constitution, such powers and functions of the Queen as Her Majesty may be pleased to assign to him.

''3. There shall be payable to the Queen out of the Consolidated Revenue fund of the Commonwealth, for the salary of the Governor-General, an annual sum which, until the Parliament otherwise provides, shall be ten thousand pounds. The salary of the Governor-General shall not be altered during his continuance in office.

''4. The provisions of this Constitution relating to the Governor-General extend and apply to the Governor-General for the time being, or such person as the Queen may appoint to administer the Government of the Commonwealth; but no such person shall be entitled to receive any salary from the Commonwealth in respect of any other office during his administration of the Government of the Commonwealth.

5. The Governor-General may appoint such times for holding the sessions of the Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also from time to time, by Proclamation or otherwise, prorogue the Parliament, and may in like manner dissolve the House of Representatives.

In addition, Section 68 of the Constitution provides that:

The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative.

In an administrative sense, the office of Governor-General is regulated by the Governor-General Act 1974.

The Governor-General, following the usages of the Westminster System, grants (or, in theory, may decline to grant) the Royal Assent to all Acts of the Australian Parliament, and many (though not all) Regulations made under those Acts. The Governor-General issues writs for the calling of elections, appoints (and may dismiss) the Prime Minister, and chairs meetings of the Executive Council, a body which gives legal effect to the decisions of the Cabinet. In practice, however, all these functions are carried out on the advice of the Prime Minister or other Cabinet ministers.

As well as the formal constitutional role, the Governor-General has a ceremonial role, though the extent and nature of this role has depended on the expectations of the time, the individual in office at the time and their reputation in the wider community. Governors-General generally become patrons of various charitable institutions, present honours and awards, host functions for various groups of people, and travel widely throughout Australia - replicating the actions of the Sovereign in the United Kingdom, or those of a ceremonial president such as the Republic of Ireland's. Sir William Deane described one of his functions as "Chief Mourner" at prominent funerals.

This role can become controversial, however, if the Governor-General becomes unpopular with sections of the community for whatever reason. The public role of Sir John Kerr was curtailed somewhat after the constitutional crisis of 1975, Sir William Deane's public statements on political issues produced some hostility towards him among conservatives, and some charities disassociated themselves from Dr Hollingworth after the issue of his management of sex abuse cases during his time as Archbishop of Brisbane became a matter of controversy.

The issue of becoming a republic (removing the constitutional ties with the British monarchy) continues to be raised in Australia, although the idea was defeated in a nationwide referendum held in 1999. In most of the proposed republican models, the office and functions of the Governor-General are effectively preserved (in the practical sense described above), although the title is changed to President.

The reserve powers

The Governor-General is not entirely a ceremonial figure. The Governor-General retains all the reserve powers of the British Crown, whose representative in Australia he is. These powers include the power to dismiss a Prime Minister, for any reason or no reason, and appoint another one. The fact that these powers have not been used in Britain since 1834 does not mean they have been abolished. The doctrine that the Crown must always act on the advice of a Prime Minister who has the confidence of Parliament has reduced the circumstances in which the reserve powers might be used, but they are still there.

This was shown very clearly in 1975, when Sir John Kerr dismissed the government of Gough Whitlam, despite the fact that Whitlam retained the confidence of the House of Representatives. When the Senate denied supply to the government, Kerr determined that he had both the right and the duty to intervene, dismiss the government, and commission a new government that would recommend a dissolution of the Parliament. The apparent endorsement of his action by the electorate at the 1975 elections established the continued existence and legitimacy of the reserve powers.

Governors-General of Australia

• John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun: 1 January 1901 to 9 January 1903
• Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson: 9 January 1903 to 21 January 1904
• Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote: 21 January 1904 to 9 September 1908
• William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley: 9 September 1908 to 31 July 1911
• Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman: 31 July 1911 to 18 May 1914
• Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson: 18 May 1914 to 6 October 1920
• Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster of Lepe: 6 October 1920 to 8 October 1925
• John Baird, 1st Baron Stonehaven: 8 October 1925 to 21 January 1931
• Sir Isaac Isaacs: 21 January 1931 to 23 January 1936
• Alexander Hore-Ruthven, Baron Gowrie: 23 January 1936 to 30 January 1945
• Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester: 30 January 1945 to 11 March 1947
• Sir William McKell: 11 March 1947 to 8 May 1953
• Field Marshall Sir William Slim: 8 May 1953 to 2 February 1960
• William Morrison, Viscount Dunrossil: 2 February 1960 to 3 February 1961
• William Sidney, Viscount De L'Isle: 3 August 1961 to 7 May 1965
• Richard Casey, Baron Casey of Berwick: 7 May 1965 to 30 April 1969
• Sir Paul Hasluck: 30 April 1969 to 11 July 1974
• Sir John Kerr: 11 July 1974 to 8 December 1977
• Sir Zelman Cowen: 8 December 1977 to 29 July 1982
• Sir Ninian Stephen: 29 July 1982 to 16 February 1989
• Bill Hayden: 16 February 1989 to 16 February 1996
• Sir William Deane: 16 February 1996 to 29 June 2001
• Rt Rev Dr Peter Hollingworth: 29 June 2001 to 28 May 2003
• Major-General Michael Jeffery: from 11 August 2003

Related articles

• History of Australia
• Constitutional history of Australia
• British Empire
• Governor-General (links to other countries which have Governors-General)

Further reading

• Christopher Cunneen, Kings' Men: Australia's Governors-General from Hopetoun to Isaacs, Allen and Unwin, 1983

External link

• The Office of the Governor-General

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Governor-General of Australia."

Top     

History of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This article is the top of the History of Australia series.

History of Australia before 1901

History of Australia since 1901

Constitutional history of Australia

History of Australia before 1901

Main article: History of Australia before 1901

Australia has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years, since the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aboriginal people arrived from Southeast Asia. The land was not discovered by Europeans until the 17th century. It was claimed for the Britain in 1770, and first colonised in 1788 as a penal colony. Five other colonies, some penal and some free, were founded in the early 19th century.

History of Australia since 1901

Main article: History of Australia since 1901

In 1901, Australia adopted a federal constitution and became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. Australian troops took part in both world wars. Since World War Two Australia has been transformed by a massive immigration programme. Australia remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state: a referendum to establish a republic was defeated in 1999.

Related entries

• Australia
• history of Oceania
• history of present-day nations and states

• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Queensland
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Australian Capital Territory
• Northern Territory

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "History of Australia."

Top     

List of Australian television channels

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

List of Australian television channels

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Seven network
• Nine network
• Ten network
• SBS

All of these are broadcast in the major capital cities with varying programs. The commercials 'Seven', 'Nine' and 'Ten', are not available on Satellite, even though for a country like Australia, such would seem like an ideal solution. Digital Television is slowly being introduced with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

Regional areas have, after the deregulation a set of varying reagional broadcasters that have strong affiliations with the capital city networks.

These include:

• WIN
• GWN
• Imparja
• Prime Television
• NBN
• Southern Cross

No new Free-to-air stations will be licensed by the Australian Broadcasting Authority until 2007, although this restriction is to be revised in 2005.

Multichanneling is also prohibited.

Broadcasters need a special license for Datacasting.

See also: Lists of television channels

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Australian television channels."

Top     

List of cities in Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of cities in Australia, arranged by state:

Australian Capital Territory

• Canberra

New South Wales

• Albury-Wodonga (NSW-Victoria border)
• Armidale
• Bathurst
• Gosford
• Lake Macquarie
• Newcastle
• Orange
• Sydney
• Tamworth
• Wagga Wagga
• Wollongong

Northern Territory

• Alice Springs
• Darwin
• Palmerston

Queensland

• Brisbane
• Cairns
• Gold Coast
• Mackay
• Rockhampton
• Toowoomba
• Townsville

South Australia

• Adelaide

Tasmania

• Burnie
• Devonport
• Hobart
• Launceston
• Swansea

Victoria

• Ballarat
• Bendigo
• Geelong
• Mildura
• Melbourne

Western Australia

• Perth

See also: List of cities, Australian Local Government Areas

map

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of cities in Australia."

Top     

Politics of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Government

The Commonwealth government was created with a constitution patterned partly on the United States Constitution. The powers of the Commonwealth are specifically defined in the constitution, and the residual powers remain with the states. (See Australian Constitutional History.)

Australia is an independent nation within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign and since 1973 has been officially styled "Queen of Australia." The Queen is represented throughout Australia by a governor general and in each state by a governor.

The federal Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a 76-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. Twelve senators from each state and two from each territory are elected for 6-year terms using a single transferable vote system, with half elected every 3 years. The members of the House of Representatives are allocated among the states and territories roughly in proportion to population. In ordinary legislation, the two chambers have coordinate powers, but all proposals for appropriating revenue or imposing taxes must be introduced in the House of Representatives. Under the prevailing Westminster parliamentary system, the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that wins a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives is named prime minister. The prime minister and the cabinet wield actual power and are responsible to the Parliament, of which they must be elected members. General elections are held at least once every 3 years; the last general election was in November 2001.

Each state is headed by a premier, who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the lower house of the state legislature. Australia also has two self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory (where Canberra is located) and the Northern Territory, with political systems similar to those of the states.

At the apex of the court system is the High Court of Australia. It has general appellate jurisdiction over all other federal and state courts and possesses the power of constitutional review.

Political Conditions

Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum: the Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business-related groups; the National Party (NP), nominally representing rural interests; and the Australian Labor Party (ALP), nominally representing the trade unions and liberal groups. Although embracing some leftists, the ALP traditionally has been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues. All political groups are tied by tradition to domestic welfare policies, which have kept Australia somewhere near the forefront of societies offering extensive social welfare programs. Australia's social welfare safety net has been reduced in recent years, however, in response to budgetary pressures and a changing political outlook. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues.

The Liberal Party/National Party coalition came to power in the March 1996 election, ending 13 years of ALP government and electing John Howard as Prime Minister. Re-elected in October 1998 and November 2001, the coalition now holds 82 seats (69 Liberal/13 National) in the House of Representatives, against 65 for the ALP and 3 independents. In the Senate, the Liberal/National coalition holds 35 seats, against 28 for the ALP, 8 for the Australian Democrats, 2 for the Greens, 1 for One Nation, 1 for the Country Labor Party, and 1 Independent. Lacking a majority in the Senate, the Liberal/National coalition has relied on the smaller parties and independents to enact legislation. Howard's conservative coalition has moved quickly to reduce Australia's government deficit and the influence of organised labor, placing more emphasis on workplace-based collective bargaining for wages. The Howard government also has accelerated the pace of privatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation. The Howard government has continued the foreign policy of its predecessors, based on relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia.

Political Data

Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia

Government type: democratic, federal-state system recognizing the British monarch as sovereign

Capital: Canberra

Administrative divisions: 6 states:

• New South Wales,
• Queensland,
• South Australia,
• Tasmania,
• Victoria,
• Western Australia;

and 2 territories:

• Australian Capital Territory;
• Northern Territory.

Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island

Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)

Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC (Retd)(since 11 August 2003).

Institutions

Executive Branch

head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since NA)
cabinet: Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: The monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term
note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party

Legislative Branch

A bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives

Elections:

Senate and House of Representatives - last held Saturday, 10 November 2001
Election results:
House of Representatives- percent of vote by party:
Liberal Party 37.08
National Party 5.61
Australian Labor Party 37.84
Northern Territory Country Liberal Party 0.32
Australian Democrats 5.41
Australian Greens 4.96
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party 4.34
Unity - Say No To Hanson 0.21
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) 0.57
Other 3.67

House of Representatives - seats by party:
Liberal Party 68
National Party 13
Australian Labor Party 64
Northern Territory Country Liberal Party 1
Australian Democrats 0
Australian Greens 1
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party 0
Unity - Say No To Hanson 0
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) 0
Other (Independent) 3

(Source: Australian Electoral Commission)

Political Parties

Significant political parties (and their federal leaders):

• Australian Democrats Andrew Bartlett;
• Australian Labor Party Mark Latham;
• Green Party Bob Brown;
• Liberal Party of Australia John Howard;
• National Party of Australia John Anderson;
• One Nation Party Len Harris

Formerly significant parties:

• Australia Party
• Democratic Labor Party
• Protectionist Party
• Free Trade Party

Judicial branch

The High Court, comprising the Chief Justice and six other justices are appointed by the Prime Minister through the Governor-General

International organization participation

ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Flag description:
See: Flag of Australia

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

See also : Australia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Politics of Australia."

Top     

Prime Minister of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia.

By convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party or coalition which has the most seats in the lower house of the Federal Parliament, the House of Representatives. In times of constitutional crisis, however, this convention can be broken if necessary; this has occurred twice. At the time of Federation, no parliament had yet been established, so Edmund Barton was temporarily appointed as Prime Minister until elections were held. More controversially, during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, Malcolm Fraser was appointed to replace Gough Whitlam.

By convention, the Prime Minister is always a member of the lower house of parliament. The Prime Minister can remain in office for as long as he retains the majority support of the lower house of parliament and retains his own seat in Parliament. In the rare event that the Prime Minister's party wins an election but the Prime Minister loses his seat, it is possible for the Governor-General to appoint someone other than a member of Parliament a Minister (and hence Prime Minister) for up to three months. During this time a member of the Prime Minister's party with a safe seat would be forced to resign, and the Prime Minister would then be elected as member for that seat.

The constitutional crisis of 1975 shows that a Prime Minister may be removed if seriously opposed in the Senate, even though he may have the support of the majority of the House. This however only applies if the Senate refuses to pass essential Government legislation, like the Budget. (See Loss of Supply). The Senate in recent years has frequently refused to pass major (though non-essential) government legislation.

The formal holder of executive power in the Commonwealth is the Governor-General. However, by convention the Governor-General can only act with the Prime Minister's consent. The Governor-General appoints and can dismiss the Prime Minister and the other ministers, though his power to do so is heavily circumscribed by convention.

The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen; by convention she appoints the person recommended to her by the Prime Minister. The Queen can also sack the Governor-General, which by convention she would do if the Prime Minister requested it. Since the Governor-General can sack the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister can (by advising the Queen to do so) sack the Governor-General, the possibility arises of a race between the two to see who can sack the other first. However, thus far this has been a largely theoretical possibility, though it might have happened during the constitutional crisis of the 1970s, had the events at the time played out differently.

The office of Prime Minister is nowhere mentioned in the Australian Constitution, although it does provide for the Governor-General to be advised by ministers. However, since the framers of the Australian constitution from the beginning intended it to largely follow the Westminster system, the office of Prime Minister has existed since the earliest days of the Commonwealth.

The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet, a council of ministers where executive decision-making occurs, which can dictate its views on any aspect of government policy allowed by ministerial discretion. Like the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is nowhere explicitly provided for in the Australian Constitution. The intention nonetheless was for it always to exist, again following the Westminster model.

The Australian Constitution does explicitly provide for the Executive Council, which is composed of the Governor-General and the Ministers. (Former Ministers are also technically members, although only current members are permitted to attend its meetings.) The Executive Council makes no real decisions, serving mainly to rubber stamp decisions of Cabinet. This separation between the Executive Council and the Cabinet is similar to that existing between the Privy Council and Cabinet in the United Kingdom, or between the Canadian Privy Council and the Cabinet in Canada.

The power of the Prime Minister is subject to a number of limitations. If a Prime Minister acts against the interests of his parliamentary supporters he may be removed as leader of his party and thus lose the support of the lower house. If this occurs, he must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General, in accordance with convention. The Prime Minister must receive the support of both houses of Parliament to pass any legislation (though secondary legislation, called Regulations, can be made by ministerial decree). While the Prime Minister normally will have a majority in the House of Representatives, attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult, since there the Government will often be in a minority.

So, while the Prime Minister's formal powers are minimal, his practical powers as chief spokesperson for the government and leader of the strongest party in parliament in the relatively rigid Australian party system are very considerable.

The Prime Minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra.

List of Prime Ministers of Australia

(N.B. below list counts persons who were PM multiple times only once, but lists them for each time.)

• Edmund Barton, (1901 - 1903), Protectionist Party, 1st PM
• Alfred Deakin, (1903 - 1904), Protectionist Party, 2nd PM
• Chris Watson, (1904), Labor Party, 3rd PM
• George Reid, (1904 - 1905), Free Trade Party, 4th PM
• Alfred Deakin, (1905 - 1908), Protectionist Party, second time as PM
• Andrew Fisher, (1908 - 1909), Labor Party 5th PM
• Alfred Deakin, (1909 - 1910), third time as PM
• Andrew Fisher, (1910 - 1913), Labor Party, second time as PM
• Joseph Cook, (1913 - 1914), Australian Liberal Party, 6th PM
• Andrew Fisher, (1914 - 1915), Labor Party, third time as PM
• Billy Hughes, (1915 - 1916), Labor Party and (1916 - 1923), Nationalist Party of Australia, 7th PM
• Stanley Bruce, (1923 - 1929), Nationalist Party of Australia, 8th PM
• James Scullin, (1929 - 1931), Labor Party, 9th PM
• Joseph Lyons, (1931 - 1939), United Australia Party, 10th PM
• Earle Page, (1939), Country Party of Australia, 11th PM
• Robert Menzies (1939 - 1941), United Australia Party, 12th PM
• Arthur Fadden, (1941), Country Party of Australia, 13th PM
• John Curtin, (1941 - 1945), Labor Party, 14th PM
• Frank Forde, (1945), Labor Party, 15th PM
• Ben Chifley, (1945 - 1949), Labor Party, 16th PM
• Robert Menzies (1949 - 1966), Liberal Party, (second time as PM)
• Harold Holt (1966 - 1967), Liberal Party, 17th PM
• John McEwen, (1967 - 1968), Country Party of Australia, 18th PM
• John Gorton, (1968 - 1971), Liberal Party, 19th PM
• William McMahon, (1971 - 1972), Liberal Party, 20th PM
• Gough Whitlam (1972 - 1975), Labor Party, 21st PM
• Malcolm Fraser (1975 - 1983), Liberal Party, 22nd PM
• Bob Hawke (1983 - 1991), Labor Party, 23rd PM
• Paul Keating (1991 - 1996), Labor Party, 24th PM
• John Howard (1996 - present), Liberal Party, 25th PM

External link

• Australia's Prime Ministers (National Archive of Australia)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Prime Minister of Australia."

Top     

Protected areas of Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Protected areas of Australia are maintained by Parks Australia within Environment Australia, with the exception of the Great Barrier Reef, which is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

NOTE - this is only a small portion of the quote of protected areas in Australia. Each state is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the areas within its boundaries. Environment Australia is responsible only for the Commonwealth and off-shore parks in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, the Christmas Island Territory, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Territory, the Norfolk Island Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Protected areas of Australia

Botanical Gardens

• Australian National
• Booderee
• Norfolk Island
• Royal

Historic Shipwrecks

• Aarhus
• Cato
• Clonmel
• Emden
• Foam
• Gothenburg
• HMS Pandora
• HMS Porpoise
• I-24
• Lady Darling
• Llewellyn
• SS Dunkenfeld
• SS Yongala
• Zuytdorp

Marine National Nature Reserves

• Ashmore Reef
• Coringa-Herald
• Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs
• Lihou Reef (Coral Sea and Island territory)
• Mermaid Reef

Marine Parks

• Great Australian Bight
• Great Barrier Reef
• Lord Howe Island
• Macquarie Island
• Ningaloo

Marine Reserves

• Cartier Island
• Solitary Islands
• Tasmanian Seamounts

National Parks

• Booderee
• Christmas Island
• Kakadu
• Norfolk Island
• Pulu Keeling
• Uluru-Kata Tjuta

Specially Protected Areas

(part of the Antarctic Treaty Areas)

• No. 1
• No. 2
• No. 3
• Heard and McDonald Islands

Special Scientific Interest Sites

(part of the Antarctic Treaty Areas)

• No. 7
• No. 16
• No. 17
• No. 25

For areas managed on state/territory level see:

• Protected areas of the Australian Capital Territory
• Protected areas of New South Wales (Australia)
• Protected areas of the Northern Territory (Australia)
• Protected areas of Queensland (Australia)
• Protected areas of South Australia
• Protected areas of Tasmania (Australia)
• Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)
• Protected areas of Western Australia

See also:

• Protected area

External Links

• Environment Australia
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Protected areas of Australia."

Top     

SAS Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Australian SAS regiment, based on the British original, is based in Perth, Western Australia.

The SAS were involved in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The details of their involvement in both operations were kept secret. However, it is known that they operated in small groups, mostly performing surveillance and calling in air strikes. As far as the Iraq campaign went, media claims that they were involved in preventing the use of Iraqi Scud missiles were made but not confirmed.

Perhaps their most politically controversial use was in mid-2001 when they were involved in the seizure of the MS Tampa, a Norwegian cargo vessel that had picked up asylum-seekers whose boat had sunk and was taking them to Australia.

Official information relating to this and other Australian Defence Force Units is available on www.defence.gov.au.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "SAS Australia."

Top     

Transportation in Australia

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Railways:
total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)
broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge
dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999)

The Great Southern Railway, owned by Serco Asia Pacific, operates three trains: the Indian Pacific (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth), The Ghan (Adelaide-Alice Springs, to be extended to Darwin in 2004 after the AustralAsia Railway has been completed) and the Overland (Melbourne-Adelaide) [1].

V/Line operates trains and buses in Victoria [1].

Cities with underground railway systems:

• Melbourne (simply known as the 'City Loop' because it is a simple circuit of the central business district with five stations)
• Sydney (Sydney subways)

Highways:
total: 913,000 km
paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways)
unpaved: 559,669 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft

Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km

Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville

Merchant marine:
total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,657,194 GRT/2,206,574 DWT
ships by type: bulk 28, cargo 4, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquified gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll-on/roll-off 6 (1999 est.)

Airports: 408 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 265
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 115
914 to 1,523 m: 120
under 914 m: 8 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 143
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 113
under 914 m: 12 (1999 est.)

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

See also : Australia

railway maps

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Transportation in Australia."

Top     

Abbreviations & Acronyms: Australia

Top     

Top     

Top     

Modern Usage: Australia