Australia
Australia is the only country that is also
a continent. In area, Australia ranks
as the sixth largest country and
smallest continent. Australia is located
between the South Pacific Ocean and
the Indian Ocean. The part of the Indian
Ocean that is south of Australia
is called the Southern Ocean in the country.
Australia is about 7,000
miles (11,000 kilometers) southwest of North America
and about 2,000 miles
(3,200 kilometers) southeast of mainland Asia. Australia
is often referred to
as being "down under" because it lies entirely
within the Southern
Hemisphere. The name Australia comes from the Latin word
australis, which
means southern. The official name of the country is the
Commonwealth of
Australia. Australia is a dry, thinly populated land. Only a few
areas along
or near the coasts receive enough rainfall to support a large
population. The
southeastern coastal region has the most people by far.
Australia's two
largest cities--Sydney and Melbourne--lie in this region.
Canberra, the
national capital, lies only a short distance inland. The huge
interior of
Australia is mostly desert or dry grassland and has few settlements.
The
country as a whole averages only six persons per square mile (two persons
per
square kilometer). Australia is famous for its vast open spaces,
bright
sunshine, enormous numbers of sheep and cattle, and unusual wildlife.
Kangaroos,
koalas, platypuses, and wombats are only a few of the many unusual
animals that
live in Australia. The country was once a group of British
colonies, and most of
the Australian people are of British ancestry. When
people moved to Australia
from Britain, they took many British customs with
them. For example, Australians
drive on the left side of the road, as do
British drivers. Tea is the favorite
hot drink in Australia, as it is in
Britain. English, the official language of
Australia, includes many
British terms. But Australians have developed a way of
life all their own.
Australia has a warm, sunny climate. The people can
therefore spend much of
their free time out of doors. Australians love outdoor
sports and outdoor
living in general. Australia is one of the world's developed
countries. It
has busy cities, modern factories, and highly productive farms and
mines.
Australia is the world's leading producer and exporter of wool and
bauxite
(the ore from which aluminum is made). It also produces and exports
large
amounts of other minerals and farm goods. The income from these exports
has
made it possible for most of the people of Australia to have a high
standard
of living. In the past, Britain was Australia's most important
trading partner.
Today, Australia trades most with Japan and the United
States. The first
Australians were a dark-skinned people known today as
Aborigines (pronounced ab
uh rihj uh neez). The Aborigines had lived in
Australia for at least 40,000
years before the first white settlers arrived.
Britain settled Australia as a
prison colony in 1788. Since then, the number
of whites has steadily increased
and the total number of Aborigines has
declined. Today, the vast majority of
Australians are white. Government
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation
of states. The nation is
administered under a written constitution. The
Australian Constitution
gives certain powers to the federal government and
leaves all other
government powers to the states. Australia has six states. They
are New South
Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and
Western
Australia. Each state has its own government. Australia also has two
mainland
territories--the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern
Territory.
Each territory is responsible for its own administration, the first
step
toward statehood. But until the territories become states, the
federal
government must approve major policy changes. Australia has a
parliamentary
system of government. Under the parliamentary system, the
national government is
controlled by the political party or the coalition
(combination) of parties with
a majority of seats in the lower house of the
parliament. The leader of the
majority party or the coalition heads the
government as prime minister.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy like
Britain. The British monarch, Queen
Elizabeth II, is also queen of
Australia and the country's head of state.
However, the queen has little
or no power in the Australian government. She
serves mainly as a symbol of
the historical tie between the two countries.
Australia is a member of
the Commonwealth of Nations, the association formed by
Britain and a
number of its former colonies that are now independent countries.
The
federal government of Australia is officially headed by a governor
general,
who represents the queen. The queen appoints the governor general on
the
recommendation of the Australian prime minister. The governor general's
role,
like the queen's, is mainly symbolic. In 1975, however, the governor
general
used his power to remove the prime minister from office. See the
History section
of this article for details. The prime minister, Australia's
head of government,
is normally responsible only to the majority party or
coalition. If the party or
coalition chooses a new leader, that person
becomes prime minister. The prime
minister appoints members of Parliament to
head the government departments. The
department heads, called ministers, and
the prime minister make up the Cabinet.
The Cabinet establishes major
government policies. The federal Parliament has an
upper and a lower house.
The upper house is called the Senate and the lower
house is called the House
of Representatives. Most bills are introduced in the
House. The Senate
reviews bills passed by the House and can reject them. The
Australian
Senate has 76 members. Each state elects 12 senators, and each
mainland
territory elects 2. Membership in the 148-member House of
Representatives
is divided among the states and mainland territories according
to population.
Senators are elected to six-year terms, and representatives to
three-year
terms. Elections for the House must be held at least every three
years. But
the prime minister may ask the governor general to dissolve the House
and
call for new elections at any time. All Australians 18 years of age or
older
must vote in parliamentary and state elections. Those who do not vote
may be
fined. The federal courts. The High Court of Australia decides
constitutional
questions. It also serves as the nation's court of final
appeals. Other federal
courts deal with bankruptcy cases, family law,
industrial disputes, and
violations of federal law. State and local
government. Each Australian state has
its own parliament, court system, head
of government, and governor. The heads of
state governments are called
premiers. The governor of each state represents the
queen. Australia's states
do not operate as independently of the federal
government as do, for example,
the states of the United States. The Australian
states have heavy
administrative responsibilities in certain areas, such as
local law
enforcement, public education, and the building of roads. But the
federal
government collects nearly all the nation's taxes. Each state receives
a
share of the federal tax income. But this allowance is usually not enough
to
finance major new public works. By granting or denying a state's requests
for
additional funds or loans, the federal government strongly influences
the
services that the state
provides.