Australia

Australia's neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Pacific Islands to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. The shortest border distance is between the mainlands of Papua New Guinea and Australia at about 150 km; however, the nearest inhabited island, Boigu Island, is about 5 km from Papua New Guinea. This has led to a complicated border arrangement allowing access for 'traditional' uses of the waterway across the border by Papua New Guinean people and Torres Strait Islanders.

Australia has been continually inhabited for at least 50,000 years by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Eastern Australia was claimed by the British in 1770, and offically settled as a British colony on January 26, 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored six self-governing Crown Colonies were established within Australia. On 1 January 1901 the colonies agreed to form a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was established. Since federation Australia has had a stable democratic political system and it remains a Commonwealth Realm.

Origin and history of the name

The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (that is terra australis incognita). The British explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis which was later abbreviated to the current form. Previously, when the Dutch explored the area they named it Nova Hollandicus or New Holland.

Flinders later renamed the land Australia in a chart compiled in 1804 whilst he was held prisoner by the French in Mauritius. When he returned to England and published his works in 1814 he was forced to change the name to Terra Australis by the British Admiralty. Governor Macquarie of New South Wales became aware of Flinders' preference for the name Australia and used it in his dispatches to England. In 1824 the British Admiralty finally accepted that the continent should be known officially as Australia.

The word "Australia" is pronounced locally as either /əˈstɹæɪljə/ or /əˈstɹæɪjə/ (IPA).

History

Main article: History of Australia

The exact date of the first human habitation of Australia is still a subject of considerable research. There is strong scientific evidence for a presence around 50,000 years ago, a period of massive ecological upheaval in Australia which is believed to be consistent with human colonisation. However, there is some speculation about considerably earlier arrivals, even as many as 100,000 or more years ago. These first Australians were the remote ancestors of the current Australian Aborigines, and arrived via land bridges and navigation of significant sea crossings from present-day south-east Asia.

The sharing of animal and plant species between adjacent parts of Australia, the island of New Guinea, and nearby Indonesian islands is another consequence of the early land bridges, which closed when sea levels rose. The traditional movement of people between these places in primitive sailing craft for trade and fishing indicates the possibility of Arab and Chinese traders to the northern islands learning of and then visiting the shores of the southern continent from as early as the 9th century. Maps compiled in Europe from the late 1400s show parts of the coastline.

The land is believed to have been first discovered by Europeans in 1522 by the Portuguese explorer Cristóvão de Mendonça, but it was only in the 17th century that the island continent became the subject of European exploration, with several expeditions sighting Terra Australis: the Dutch explorer Willem Jansz (1606), the Portuguese explorer Luis Vaez de Torres in Spanish service (1607), and the Dutch explorers Jan Carstensz (1623), Dirk Hartog and Abel Tasman (1642), after whom is named the island of Tasmania, but which he himself originally named van Diemenslandt (Van Diemen's Land) after Anthony van Diemen.

The first English explorers were William Dampier on the west coast of the continent in 1688, and Lieutenant James Cook who, in 1770, claimed the eastern two-thirds of the continent for Britain, despite orders from King George III to first conclude a treaty with the indigenous population. His report to London that Australia was unowned land (see Terra nullius) provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there following the loss of the American colonies.

The British Crown Colony of New South Wales began by the establishment of a settlement (later to become Sydney) in Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip on January 26, 1788. This date was later to become Australia's national day, Australia Day. Van Diemen's Land (the present day Tasmania) was settled in 1803, and became a separate colony in 1825. The rest of the continent, what is now Western Australia, was formally claimed by the United Kingdom in 1829. Following the spread of British settlement, separate Colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851 and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded, as part of the Province of South Australia, in 1863.

During the period of 1855-1890, the six Crown Colonies each successively became self-governing colonies, which managed most of their own affairs. British law was adopted in each colony at the time of the granting of responsible government, and was subsequently modified by the individual legislatures. The British government retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. Despite its heavily rural-based economy, Australia remained significantly urbanised, centred particularly around the cities of Melbourne and Sydney. In the 1880s 'Marvellous Melbourne' was the second largest city in the British Empire. Australia also gained a reputation as a 'working man's paradise' and as a laboratory for social reform, with the world's first secret ballot and first labour party government. Universal suffrage was also granted comparatively early in most colonies.

On 1 January 1901, Federation of the Colonies was achieved after a 10-year gestation period, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a dominion of the British Empire. The Australian Capital Territory was formed from New South Wales in 1911, to provide a neutral place for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (the initial capital being Melbourne from 1901 to 1929). Although Australia had become independent in many respects, the British government retained some powers until the Statute of Westminster of 1931 was ratified by Australia in 1942, and the theoretical authority of the British Parliament over the Commonwealth Constitution and those of individual states was not completely severed until the passing of the Australia Act in 1986. The original constitution gave the federal government power to make laws relating to any race of people except Aborigines. In 1967, a referendum supported by more than ninety per cent of voters gave the federal government the right to enact laws to protect Aboriginal people and to count them in the census.

Politics

Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role distinct and separate from her position as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and she is generally considered to be the head of state, although that term is found nowhere in the Constitution. The Queen is nominally represented by the Governor-General; in practice virtually the entire constitutional role of a monarch is performed independently by the Governor-General. Although the Constitution theoretically gives extensive executive power to the Governor-General, these powers are seldom used directly, and by convention, are exercised only on advice from the Prime Minister.

Government is undertaken by three inter-connected arms of government:

• Legislature: Commonwealth Parliament
• Executive: the Federal Executive Council (Governor-General, Prime Minister and all other Ministers)
• Judiciary: High Court of Australia and subsidiary Federal courts.

The Australia Act 1986 and associated legislation in the parliament of the United Kingdom removed the possibility of Australian court cases being referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for final appeal. With this act of parliament, Australian law was made unequivocally the law in the nation, and the High Court of Australia was confirmed as the single highest court of appeal. The theoretical possibility of the British Parliament enacting laws to override the Australian Constitution was also removed. (Act:pdf) In 1999 a referendum was held on the question of constitutional change to a republic, with an appointed President replacing the Queen as head of state, but this was rejected. Various surveys conducted before and since the referendum suggest that the majority of Australians favour some form of republic, and hence many people ascribe the negative result of the referendum to dissatisfaction with the particular republican model that was proposed.

Australia has a bicameral federal Parliament, comprising a Senate (the upper house) with 76 Senators, and a House of Representatives (the lower house) with 150 Members. Members of the lower house are elected on a population basis from single-member constituencies, known technically as 'divisions' but more commonly, as 'electorates' or 'seats'. The more populous the state, the more members it will have in the House of Representatives. There is a minimum of 5 members for each state. In the Senate, each state regardless of population is represented by twelve Senators, and each mainland territory by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years, usually with only one half of the Senate being eligible for re-election, as the Senators have overlapping terms of six years each. The government is formed in the lower house, and the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives is the Prime Minister. On only one short-lived occasion has a Senator become Prime Minister.

There are three major political parties in Australia, the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party, and the National Party of Australia. Other parties with nationwide representation include the Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats. The Liberal Party/National Party Coalition has been is power since the 1996 election, the Coalition also won control of the Senate in the 2004 election. At present, politics at the state level is dominated by the Labor Party, with the Party in Government in every state and also in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

States and Territories

Main article: Australian States and Territories

Australia consists of six states and several territories. The states are New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria (VIC) and Western Australia (WA). The two major territories are the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT also incorporates a separate area within New South Wales known as Jervis Bay Territory which serves as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. The ACT and Australias capital city Canberra were founded as a compromise between the two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, at Federation.

Each of these states and territories have their own bicameral parliaments, aside from Queensland and the two territories, which have unicameral parliaments. The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house the Legislative Council. The parliaments have powers to raise revenue from taxes and to legislate on a wide variety of matters. Notably the states and territories of Australia have their own law enforcement agencies and courts and regulate education within their borders.

Australia also has several inhabitated external territories -Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands – and several largely uninhabited external territories – Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Australia

By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid — 40% of the land mass is covered by sand dunes. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, and the flattest. The highest mountain in Australia is Mawson Peak on Heard Island, at 2745 metres. The highest mountain on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko, located on the Great Dividing Range, with a height of 2228 metres. 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 rainforest, part grasslands, and part desert. The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 1,200 kilometres. Uluru (until 1986 known as Ayers Rock), is the second largest monolith in the world and is located in central Australia (the largest being Mount Augustus in Western Australia).

Ecology

Main articles: Australian fauna, Australian flora, Invasive species in Australia

Although most of the continent is desert or semi-arid, Australia nevertheless includes a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age and consequent low fertility of the continent, its very variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85 per cent of flowering plants, 84 per cent of mammals, more than 45 per cent of birds, and 89 per cent of inshore, temperate-zone fish are endemic.[1]. Recent classification of Australian biodiversity, indicated that there are at least 85 biogeographic ecoregions in Australia [2].

Many of Australia's ecoregions and the species within those regions are threatened by human activities, introduced plant and animal species, land clearing and degradation. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is used at the National level for the identification and protection of threatened species. Australia ranked 13th in the World on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

Well-known Australian fauna include the monotremes (the platypus and the echidna) as well as a host of marsupials including the koala, kangaroos, wombats and the emu, a large bird related to the ostrich.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Australia

Australia's economic development was slow at first and based on the export of wool. This all changed with the discovery of gold in 1851 and mining has, overall, been the most important sector of the Australian economy. By the late 20th century, Australia had a prosperous Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant Western European economies, and ranked third on the 2004 Human Development Index. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn, with steady growth. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia's emphasis on reforms is another key factor behind the economy's strength. In the 1980s, the Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating, played a crucial role in modernizing Australia's economy.

Since 1996, the Coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Howard, has continued to implement microeconomic reform policies. Some have claimed that the deregulation of the labour market during this period has resulted in a needed flexibility in the labour force. Others have criticised these deregulations as having a negative impact on workers' wages, safety and health grounds. Legislation introduced during this period sought to reduce union involvement and power, and has preferred to emphasise enterprise bargaining (a tendency towards wage bargaining). Also during this period, the Coalition government deregulated numerous other industries, including the telecommunications sector, and privatised many of the pre-existing monopolies.

Since the recession of the early 1990s, described by then Prime Minister Paul Keating as the recession that "Australia had to have", the Australian economy has not suffered a recession in over 13 years. Even the downturn of the early 2000s did not affect its consistent GDP growth. As of October 2004, unemployment had fallen to a level of 5.2%, the lowest level since the late 1970s. The price of shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange has also grown significnatly since the early 1990s.

Many raw materials (including resources postulated to exist but yet to be discovered) remain mostly unexploited. Australia is often referred to by economists as the "world's farm", but despite this emphasis on the agriculture sector, in recent years the Australian government has been focusing on the tourism, education and technology markets. The Australian government funds scientific research and development through universities, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and through joint ventures between the public and private sectors called Cooperative Research Centres.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Australia

In recent decades Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the United States, throught the historic Australia, New Zealand, United States security treaty, and developing relationships with Asia through regional bodies such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the South Pacific through the Pacific Islands Forum. It maintains ties to the Commonweath by way of the Commonwealth Heads of Government. Much of Australias diplomatic energy is focussed on international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation the Cairns Group and APEC and is a member of the OECD, and the WTO. Australian has also initiated many bilateral free trade agreements including the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Australia is a founding member of the United Nations. It has participated in numerous peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor. 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.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Australia

Population and migration

The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at about 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years due to infectious disease and policies of ethnic cleansing like those that existed in Tasmania. The 2001 census states that the Indigenous population (including Torres Strait Islanders, who are of Melanesian descent) is 410,003 (2.2% of total pop.), a significant increase from the 1977 census when the population was 115,953. The Indigenous population has a much younger age structure than that of the total Australian population, which is a the result of high fertility and high mortality among the Indigenous population. Although comparatively more rural than the general population, the Aboriginal population is increasingly becoming more urbanised, with some two-thirds living in cities.

Most of the estimated 20,180,878 Australians descend from 18th and 19th century immigrants, most from Britain] and Ireland to begin with, but from other sources in later years. Although the Australian colonies were founded as a penal colonies (except for South Australia and Western Australia – with the latter receiving convicts), the transportation of British convicts to Australian colonies was gradually phased out between 1840 and 1868. During the "gold rush" of the late 19th century, the convicts and their descendants were rapidly outnumbered by free settlers from many different countries: for example, in the 1850s about two per cent of the combined populations of Britain and Ireland emigrated to New South Wales and Victoria.

Australia's population has more than doubled since the end of World War I, spurred by an ambitious postwar immigration program. In the 18th century, Australia enacted strong measures to prevent immigration by non-whites. After World War II, immigration from Greece, Turkey, Italy, and other countries increased Australia's cultural diversity. In 1973, Australia officially ended discriminatory immigration policies, and substantial Asian immigration followed. By 1988 about 40 per cent of immigration to Australia was from Asia, and by 1997 Asians constituted about 5 per cent of the population.

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more people retiring and fewer people of working age. Similarly, a large number of Australian citizens (950,000 as of 2004) live outside of their home country. This number (almost 5%) represents a higher per capita percentage of overseas residents than many other countries including the United States. Because of the ageing population, Australia maintains one of the most active immigration programs in the world, absorbing tens of throusands of immigrants from all over the world every year. In recent years the Australian government has made strict policy to deal with illegal immigration, creating laws for mandatory detention of illegal entrants including children, and instuting the Pacific Solution. Immigration policy and the treatment of Australia's Indigenous people are two areas criticised by human rights organisations, for further information see human rights in Australia.

Language

Main article: Australian English

English is the main official and spoken language in Australia – 80 per cent of the population speak only English at home according to the 2001 census [3]. The three most common languages other than English spoken at home are Chinese languages (2.1%), Italian (1.9%) and Greek (1.4%). A considerable number of first and second-generation migrants are bilingual. Australia is home to a number of indigenous languages. Estimates usually put the number of Australian Aboriginal languages at between 200 and 300 at the time of first European contact, with the number of surviving languages now around 70, with all but 20 considered endangered languages. The total number of Australians whose main language at home is an Aboriginal Language is around 45,000 (0.02%). Australia also has a deaf sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 Australians.

Religion

The Australian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state; there is no state religion in Australia. Although few are active church-goers, three-quarters of Australians are nominally Christian, mostly Catholic or Anglican. A diverse range of other religions are also practised across Australia.

Education

Main article: Education in Australia

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania), and for this reason the adult literacy rate is assumed to be 100 per cent in Australia. However, an OECD report Literacy in the Information Age shows that all member countries have problems with adult literacy and in Australia one in five adults do not have the literacy skills to effectively participate in daily life [4].

Government grants have aided in the establishment of numerous state universities including the universities of Sydney (1850), Melbourne (1853), Adelaide (1874), Tasmania (in Hobart, 1890), Queensland (in Brisbane, 1909), and Western Australia (in Perth, 1911). ABS figures show that approximately 58 per cent of Australians between the age of 25 and 64 have a vocational or tertiary qualification [5].

Military

Main article: Australian Defence Force

Australia's armed forces are known as the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The ADF is comprised of the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping, disaster relief, and armed confilct including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Chief of the Defence Force is appointed by the Prime Minister from one of the armed services. The current Chief of the Defence Force is General Peter Cosgrove. In 2005–06 Australian Defence budget is $17.5 billion.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Australia

Much of Australia's culture has developed from European and more recently American roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, Aboriginal culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbours. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia—films, opera, music, painting, theatre, dance, and crafts—are achieving international recognition.

Australia has had a significant school of painting since the early days of European settlement, and Australians with international reputations include Sir Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira. There are excellent art galleries; a rich tradition in ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann; a strong national opera company, Opera Australia, made prominent by the world renowned diva Dame Joan Sutherland; and symphony orchestras in all capital cities, in particular the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras. In this field, conductor Sir Charles Mackerras has achieved international renown.

Writers who have achieved world recognition include Thomas Keneally, Les Murray, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, Tim Winton, Jill Ker Conway, Booker Prize winners D.B.C. Pierre and Peter Carey, David Malouf and Nobel Prize for Literature winner Patrick White.

In the popular music sphere Australian bands and musicians have had considerable international success. Some notable examples include the 1960s successes of The Easybeats and the folk-pop group The Seekers, through the heavy rock of AC/DC, the disco of the English-born Bee Gees, the slick pop of INXS and more recently Silverchair and Savage Garden. In the new millennium, garage rock bands Jet and The Vines have achieved popular success locally and in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the work of both featuring prominently in films and advertising.

Sport

Sport is a part of the lifestyle of many Australians. An estimated 3.51 million Australians over the age of 15 (23.5%) participate in organised sporting activities [6], and 62 per cent of children aged 5–14 participate in organised sport [7].

At the national and international level the following team sports are played, Australian Rules football, baseball, basketball, cricket, hockey, netball, Rugby League, Rugby Union, soccer, and softball. Water sports are very popular – in 1983 the Australian yacht Australia II was the first foreign yacht to win the Americas Cup. Australia has also produced men's and women's surfing world champions, and has nationally televised surf life saving and triathlon events. Australia hosts a Grand Slam tennis event, the Australian Open. Motor sports are also popular – Australia hosts a number of international motor sports events and Australians compete internationally.

Australia is one of only two countries (the other being Greece) to have participated in every summer Olympic Games of the modern era, and she hosted the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics. Australian athletes have won many of their Olympic medals in swimming events. Australia has also participated in every Commonwealth Games. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and élite athletes is common in Australia. Televised sport is also popular, some of the highest rating television programming includes the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football competitions [8].

Media

Main article: Media in Australia

Newspapers are dominated by two companies, News Corporation and John Fairfax Holdings. News Corporation publishes the only national daily newspaper, The Australian, as well as a daily newspaper in every capital city except Perth. Its holdings include The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), Herald Sun (Melbourne), The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) and The Advertiser (Adelaide). News Corporation was founded in Adelaide and its first newspaper was The News which was later merged with The Advertiser. John Fairfax Holdings owns The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne) and the most prominent financial newspaper, The Australian Financial Review. Rural and regional media is dominated by Rural Press Limited, with significant holdings in all States and Territories. Titles include The Canberra Times as well as The Land (New South Wales), Queensland Country Life, Stock and Land (Victoria), Stock Journal (South Australia) and Farm Weekly (Western Australia). Rural Press also has significant holdings in New Zealand and the United States.

Australia has three major commercial television networks, the Nine Network, the Seven Network and Network Ten. It also has two public broadcasters, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC and colloquially Channel 2) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). Australia also has Pay TV services including the two major cable networks Foxtel and Optus Television.

According to Reporters Without Borders in 2004, Australia is in 41st position on a list of countries ranked by Press Freedom; well behind New Zealand (9th) and United Kingdom (28th).

Related topics

External links

• Commonwealth Government Online
• Australian Governments Entry Portal
• Australian Tourist Commission
• National Library of Australia
• National Museum of Australia
• Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Study in Australia
• Department of Immigration
• DFAT: Country Information
• Australia Photos