Australia - Origin and history of the name, History, Politics, States and territories, Foreign relations and the military

Official name Commonwealth of Australia

Local name Australia Timezone GMT +8 (Western Australia); GMT +10 (New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory); GMT +9·5 (South Australia, Northern Territory) Area 7 692 300 km²/2 969 228 sq mi population total (2002e) 19 702 000 Status Independent state within the Commonwealth Date of independence 1901 Capital Canberra Language English (official) Ethnic groups European descent (95%), Asian and Pacific (2%), Aboriginal (1) Religions Christian (74%, including Roman Catholic 27%, Anglican 24%) Physical features Variously viewed as the smallest continent or largest island; consists largely of plains and plateaux, most of which average 600 m/ 2000 ft above sea level; four main regions: Western Craton (or Western Shield), the Great Artesian Basin, the Great Dividing Range (or Eastern Uplands), and the Flinders-Mt Lofty ranges; W Australian Plateau occupies nearly half of the country; MacDonnell Ranges lie in the centre, highest point Mt Liebig, 1525 m/5000 ft; most of the plateau is dry, barren desert; Nullarbor Plain in the S is crossed by the Trans-Australian Railway; Great Dividing Range parallel to the Great Barrier Reef, rising to 2228 m/7310 ft at Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's highest point; Great Barrier Reef off NE coast stretches for over 1900 km/ 1200 mi; island of Tasmania rises to 1617 m/5305 ft at Mt Ossa; separated from the mainland by the Bass Strait; longest river is the Murray; chief tributaries, the Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan; Lake Eyre occupies 8800 km²/3400 sq mi; c.18% of area forested; c.6% arable. Climate More than a third of Australia receives under 260 mm/10 in mean annual rainfall; less than a third receives over 500 mm/20 in; prolonged drought and frequent heatwaves in many areas; average daily temperature 26–34°C (Nov) and 19–31°C (Jul) in N; rainfall varies from 286 mm/15·2 in (Jan) to zero (Jul); fertile land with a temperate climate and reliable rainfall only in the lowlands and valleys near the E and SE coast, and a small part of the SW corner; Tasmania and Mt Kosciuszko have snowfields in winter; Mar 2006, NE coast hit by Cyclone Larry and NW by Cyclone Glenda . Currency 1 Australian Dollar (AUD) = 100 cents Economy Free-enterprise economy; world's largest wool producer, and a top exporter of veal and beef; most important crop is wheat; major mineral producer; petroleum reserves. Coal, bauxite, nickel, lead, zinc, copper, tin, uranium, iron ore, and other minerals in early 1960s; manufacturing industry expanded rapidly since 1945, especially engineering, shipbuilding, car manufacture, metals, textiles, clothing, chemicals, food processing, wine; self-sufficient in lumber; marine fishing (especially tuna) important, as are tourism and winter sports; Ghan railway linking Alice Springs to Darwin opened early 2004, completing the rail route from Adelaide. GDP (2002e) $525·5 bn, per capita $26 900 Human Development Index (2002) 0·939 History Aboriginal people thought to have arrived in Australia from SE Asia c.40 000 years ago; first European visitors were the Dutch, who explored the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606 and settled in 1616; became known as New Holland in 1644; Captain James Cook arrived in Botany Bay in 1770, and claimed the E coast for Britain; New South Wales established as a penal colony in 1788; gold discovered in New South Wales and Victoria in 1851, and in Western Australia in 1892; transportation of convicts to E Australia ended in 1840, but continued until 1853 in Tasmania and 1868 in Western Australia; during this period the colonies drafted their own constitutions and set up governments: New South Wales (1855), Tasmania and Victoria (1856), South Australia (1857), Queensland (1860), and Western Australia (1890); Commonwealth of Australia established in 1901, with Canberra subsequently chosen as capital (1901); policy of preventing immigration by non-whites remained in force from the end of the 19th-c until 1974; the issue of Aboriginal civil rights has been a major issue since the 1960s. Northern Territory self-governing since 1978; divided into six states and two territories: each state has its own legislature, government, and constitution; legislature comprises a bicameral Federal Parliament with a Prime Minister and Cabinet; British monarch is Head of State, represented by a Governor-General; republican movement growing since the late 1980s; proposal on the issue rejected by referendum, late 1999.

Commonwealth of Australia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: None
Anthem: Advance Australia Fair Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
Capital	Canberra 35°15′S 149°28′E
Largest city	Sydney
Official languages	English (de facto 1)
Government	Constitutional monarchy (federal)
- Queen	Elizabeth II
- Governor-General	Michael Jeffery
- Prime Minister	John Howard
Independence	from the UK
- Constitution	1 January 1901
- Statute of Westminster	11 December 1931
- Australia Act	3 March 1986
Area
- Total	7,741,220 km² (6th) 2,988,888 sq mi
- Water (%)	1
Population
- 2006 estimate	20,555,3002 (53rd)
- 2001 census	18,972,350
- Density	2.6/km² (224th) 6.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
- Total	$674.9 billion (17th)
- Per capita	$32,220 (World Bank) (14th)
HDI  (2006)	0.957 (high) (3rd)
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)
Time zone	various3 (UTC+8 to +10)
- Summer (DST)	various3 (UTC+8 to +11)
Internet TLD	.au
Calling code	++61
1 English does not have de jure official status (source) 2 mid-2006 population projection using Series B (medium variant) from 3 There are minor variations from these three time zones, see Time in Australia.

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

The mainland of the continent of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a Federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm.

Origin and history of the name

The name Australia is derived from the Latin Australis, meaning of the South. The first use of the word "Australia" in the English language was a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1692 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur. In 1793, George Shaw and Sir James Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland."

The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work A Voyage to Terra Australis by the navigator Matthew Flinders, who was the first recorded person to circumnavigate Australia. Despite its title, which reflected the view of the British Admiralty, Flinders used the word "Australia" in the book, which was widely read and gave the term general currency. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.

The word "Australia" in Australian English is pronounced as /ə.ˈstɹæɪ.ljə/, /ə.ˈstɹæɪ.liː.ə/ or /ə.ˈstɹæɪ.jə/.

History

The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Britain. This date was later to become Australia's national day, Australia Day. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory (NT) was founded in 1863 as part of the Province of South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province" — that is, it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1864.

The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at about 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease combined with forced re-settlement and cultural disintegration. This debate is known within Australia as the History Wars. Traditional ownership of land — native title — was not recognised until the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius at the time of European occupation.

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a Dominion of the British Empire. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the capital from 1901 to 1927). Australia willingly participated in World War I;

The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom when Australia adopted it in 1942. The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged mass immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and image of itself were radically transformed. Final constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom were severed in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council Australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in 1999 by a 55% majority.

Politics

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth Realms. The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses, although their influence has been marginal.

States and territories

Western
Australia Northern
Territory South
Australia Queensland New
South
Wales Australian
Capital
Territory Victoria Tasmania Indian
Ocean Timor
Sea Gulf of
Carpentaria Arafura Sea Great
Australian
Bight Tasman
Sea Bass Strait Coral
Sea ● ● ● ● ● ● South
Pacific
Ocean Southern Ocean ● ● Great
Barrier
Reef

Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house is known as the Legislative Council.

Australia also has several minor territories; In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Foreign relations and the military

Over recent decades, Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the United States, through the ANZUS pact and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. Much of Australia's diplomatic energy is focused on international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation of the Cairns Group and APEC, and is a member of the OECD and the WTO. Australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Australia is a founding member of the United Nations, and maintains an international aid programme under which some 60 countries receive assistance.

Australia's armed forces — the Australian Defence Force (ADF) — comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), numbering about 51,000 .

Geography

Australia's 7,686,850 square kilometres (2,967,909 sq. mi) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 kilometres (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). The world's largest monolith, Mount Augustus, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 ft).

By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least fertile soils. Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.

Flora and fauna

Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced plant and animal species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the country's Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and preserve Australia's unique ecosystems, 64 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked thirteenth in the World on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index. Australia has a rich variety of endemic legume species that thrive in nutrient-poor soils because of their symbiosis with Rhizobia bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi.

Economy

Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly higher than the UK, Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity. Current areas of concern to some economists include Australia's high current account deficit and also the high levels of net foreign debt owed by the private sector. Substantial reform of the indirect tax system was implemented in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax, which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that still characterises Australia's tax system. Agriculture and natural resources comprise 3% and 5% of GDP but contribute substantially to Australia's export performance. Australia's largest export markets include Japan, China, the United States, South Korea and New Zealand. More recently, rising prices for Australia's commodity exports and increasing tourism has to some extent alleviated this criticism. Nevertheless, Australia has developed the world's third largest current account deficit in absolute terms (in relative terms over 7% of GDP). This has been considered problematic by some economists, especially as it has coincided with high prices for Australia's exports and low interest rates which keeps the cost of servicing the foreign debt unusually low. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I, spurred by an ambitious immigration program. Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism.

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. Australia has maintained one of the most active immigration programmes in the world to boost population growth. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 deaf people.

Australia has no state religion.

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania, and 17 years in Western Australia), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities, and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in OECD countries.

Culture

The primary basis of Australian culture until the mid-20th century was Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and indigenous culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. The vigour and originality of the arts in Australia — films, opera, music, painting, theatre, dance, and crafts — achieve international recognition.

Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Dame Joan Sutherland; The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism.

Australia has two public broadcasters (the ABC and the multi-cultural SBS), three commercial television networks, three pay TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Australia's film industry has achieved critical and commercial successes. According to Reporters Without Borders in 2006, Australia was in thirty fifth position on a list of countries ranked by press freedom, behind New Zealand (19th) and the United Kingdom (27th) but ahead of the United States. This ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia. At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in cricket, hockey, netball, rugby league, rugby union, and performs well in cycling, rowing and swimming. Australia has participated in every summer Olympic Games of the modern era, and every Commonwealth Games. Australia has hosted the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Australia has also hosted the 1938, 1962, 1982 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, annual international cricket matches and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and elite athletes is common in Australia.