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| Australia |
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About Australia
Brief About Australia
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Australia officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, formally founded on 7 February 1788 (although formal possession of the land had occurred on 26 January 1788). The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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 is a Commonwealth realm. The population is 22 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory.
A prosperous developed country, Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy. Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, OECD, APEC, Pacific Islands Forum and the World Trade Organization.
History & Culture
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History
The History of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by boat from the Indonesian archipelago between 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. They established among the longest surviving artistic, musical and spiritual traditions known on earth.
The first uncontested landing in Australia by Europeans was by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606. European explorers followed intermittently until, in 1770, James Cook charted the East Coast of Australia for Britain and returned with accounts favouring colonisation at Botany Bay (now in Sydney), New South Wales. A First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in January 1788 to establish a penal colony. Other colonies were established by Britain around the continent and European explorers sent deep into the interior throughout the 19th Century. Introduced disease and conflict with the British colonists greatly weakened Indigenous Australia throughout the period.
Gold rushes and agricultural industries brought prosperity and autonomous Parliamentary democracies began to be established throughout the six British colonies from the mid-19th century. The colonies voted by referendum to unite in a Federation in 1901, and modern Australia came into being. Australia fought on the side of Britain in the World Wars and became a long standing ally of the United States when threatened by Imperial Japan during World War II. Trade with Asia increased and a post-war multicultural immigration program received more than 6.5 million migrants from every continent. The population tripled in the six decades to around 21 million in 2010, with people originating from 200 countries sustaining the 14th biggest economy in the world.
Culture
The culture of Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique environment and geography of the Australian continent and by the diverse cultural input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the various waves of multi-ethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of Australia. While factors such as the predominance of the English language, the existence of a democratic Westminster system of government, the popularity of sports such as cricket and rugby, or the predominance of Christianity evidence a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage, Australia today hosts a great diversity of cultural practices and pursuits, and has contributed many artists to international pop and classical culture, from opera's Dame Joan Sutherland to hard rock's AC/DC.
Aboriginal people are believed to have begun arriving in Australia as early as 60,000 years ago, and evidence of Aboriginal art in Australia can be traced back at least 30,000 years. Several states had their origins as penal colonies, with the First Fleet of British convicts arriving at Sydney in 1788. Stories of outlaws have endured in Australian music, cinema and literature - Ned Kelly being the most famous of the bushrangers. The Australian gold rushes from the 1850s brought wealth as well as new social tensions to Australia, including the miners' Eureka Stockade rebellion, and the colonies established elected parliaments and rights for workers and women in advance of most other Western nations. Australian Federation in 1901 evidenced a growing sense of national identity - expressed in painting by the Heidelberg School and in prose by Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson. The World Wars profoundly altered Australia's sense of identity - with World War I introducing ANZAC and World War II seeing a reorientation from Britain to the United States as a major ally. After the second war, 6.5 million migrants from 200 nations brought immense new diversity and Australians grew increasingly aware of proximity to Asia.
Egalitarianism, informality and even irreverence have been common themes of Australian cultural commentary - exemplified by the works of C J Dennis, Barry Humphries and Paul Hogan. While fascination with the outback has persisted as a theme of Australian art, cinema and literature, and agriculture has been an important economic sector, the demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanized populations in the world, with more than 75 per cent of people living an urban lifestyle, largely in the capital cities along the coast. These comprise the melting pots of what has become known since the 1970s as multicultural Australia. The capital cities host such internationally renowned cultural institutions as the Sydney Opera House and National Gallery of Victoria. Australians also support or participate enthusiastically in a wide variety of sports, while the long coastline hosts a vibrant surf culture.
Indigenous Australia to Multicultural Australia
The oldest surviving cultural traditions in Australia – and some of the oldest surviving cultural traditions on earth – are those of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples. Their ancestors inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years, living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle until the arrival of Europeans two centuries ago began to alter their patterns of living. Today, Australia’s Indigenous population is estimated at around 2.3 per cent of the total population - approximately 483,000 people. The traditional belief system of Australia's aborigines is known as The Dreamtime. Conflict and reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians has been a source of much art and literature in Australia, and ancient Aboriginal artistic styles and iconic inventions such as the boomerang, the didgeridoo and Indigenous Australian music have been incorporated as symbols of modern Australia.
The rest of Australia’s population are descended from the more recent migrants who have arrived from around 200 countries since Britain established the first European settlement at Sydney in 1788. Australia remained a predominantly Anglo-Celtic society until the post-world war two immigration program removed ethnic restrictions on migration and introduced large numbers of Southern European, and later Asian and Middle Eastern migrants. The total population in 2008 was around 21 million people with more than 43 per cent of Australians either born overseas or having one parent who was born overseas.
Contemporary Australia hosts a pluralistic society rooted in liberal democratic traditions, in which tolerance, informality and egalitarianism are seen as key societal values. Heavily influenced by Anglo-Celtic origins the culture of Australia has also been shaped by multi-ethnic migration which has influenced all aspects of Australian life, including business, the arts, cooking, sense of humour and sporting tastes.
Climate & Environment
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Climate
The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors induce rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical predominantly summer rainfall (monsoon) climate. Just under three quarters of Australia lies within a desert or semi-arid zone. The southwest corner of the state has a Mediterranean climate. Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate.
Environment
Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic. Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.
Cuisine
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The Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy. Wine is produced in every state, with more than 60 designated wine regions totaling approximately 160,000 hectares; however Australia’s wine regions are mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country, with vineyards located in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. The wine regions in each of these states produce different wine varieties and styles that take advantage of the particular climatic differences and soil types. With the major varieties being predominantly Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. Wines are often labeled with the name of their grape variety, which must constitute at least 85 percent of the wine. In 2009 Australian wine initiative Australia’s First Families of Wine was established to raise the profile of Australian wine to the world, showcasing a representative of its landmark wines and to highlight the quality and diversity of Australian wine.
Economy
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Australia has a free-market economy with high GDP per capita and low rate of poverty. The Australian dollar is the currency for the nation, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. After the 2006 merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange is now the ninth largest in the world.
Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6% for over 15 years, in comparison to the OECD annual average of 2.5%. Australia was one of the few OECD nations to avoid falling into a technical recession during the late 2000s global financial downturn.
In January 2007, there were 10,033,480 people employed, with an unemployment rate of 5.1%.Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and the base intrest rate 5–6%. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for 69% of GDP. Although agriculture and natural resources account for only 3% and 5% of GDP respectively, they contribute |
substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.
| Largest Populated Areas in Australia |
| Rank |
City Name |
State |
Population |
Rank |
City Name |
State |
Population |
| 01. |
Sydney |
New South Wales |
4,504,469 |
01. |
Hobart |
Tasmania |
212,019 |
| 02. |
Melbourne |
Victoria |
3,995,537 |
02. |
Geelong |
Victoria |
175,803 |
| 03. |
Brisbane |
Queensland |
2,004,262 |
03. |
Townsville |
Queensland |
168,402 |
| 04. |
Perth |
Western Australia |
1,658,992 |
04. |
Cairns |
Queensland |
147,118 |
| 05. |
Adelaide |
South Australia |
1,187,466 |
05. |
Toowoomba |
Queensland |
128,600 |
| 06. |
Gold Coast-Tweed |
Queensland /
New South Wales |
577,977 |
06. |
Darwin |
Northern Territory |
124,760 |
| 07. |
Newcastle |
New Soulth Wales |
540,796 |
07. |
Launceston |
Tasmania |
105,445 |
| 08. |
Cenberra-Queanbeyan |
Autralian Capital Territory / New South Wales |
403,118 |
08. |
Albury- Wadonga |
New South Wales / Victoria |
104,609 |
| 09. |
Wollongong |
New South Wales |
288,984 |
09. |
Ballart |
Victoria |
94,088 |
| 10. |
Sunshine Coast |
Queensland |
245,309 |
10. |
Bendigo |
Victora |
89,995 |
Education
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School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia. All children receive 11 years of compulsory education from the age of 6 to 16 (Year 1 to 10), before they can undertake two more years (Years 11 and 12), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. A preparatory year prior to Year 1, although not compulsory, is almost universally undertaken. In the Programme for International Student Assessment, Australia regularly scores among the top five of thirty major developed countries (member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities; all but one is public. There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as TAFE Institutes, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians aged from 25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications, and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is the highest among OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries.
Government
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Government of Australia -- http://australia.gov.au/
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Australia’s formal name is the Commonwealth of Australia. The form of government used in Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy – ‘Constitutional’ because the powers and procedures of the Commonwealth Government are defined by a written constitution, and ‘Monarchy’ because Australia’s Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II.
Federation
The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 when six independent British colonies agreed to join together and become states of a new nation. The rules of government for this new nation were enshrined in the Australian Constitution, which defined how the Commonwealth Government was to operate and what issues it could pass laws on.
The birth of our nation is often referred to as 'federation'.
This is because the Constitution created a 'federal' system of government. Under a federal system, powers are divided between a central government and individual states. In Australia, power was divided between the Commonwealth Government and the six state governments.
For more information on Australia’s federal system, our Constitution, and the roles of the monarch and the Governor-General, see Australia's Federation1 .
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Commonwealth Government
The Commonwealth Government, also known as the Australian Government or the Federal Government, passes laws which affect the whole country. Section 51 of the Constitution defines a number of issues that the Commonwealth Government can make laws on.
There are three ‘arms’ of the Commonwealth Government:
the legislature (or parliament) is responsible for debating and voting on new laws to be introduced under the power of section 51.
the executive is responsible for enacting and upholding the laws established by the legislature. Certain members of the legislature (called ministers) are also members of the executive, with special responsibilities for certain areas of the law.
The judiciary is the legal arm of the Commonwealth Government. It is independent of the other two arms, and is responsible for enforcing the laws and deciding whether the other two arms are acting within their powers.
See Commonwealth Government2 for more information on the role and structure of the Commonwealth Government.
State and Territory Government
Although the six states joined together to form the Commonwealth of Australia and the Commonwealth Government, they still each retain the power to make their own laws over matters not controlled by the Commonwealth under Section 51 of the Constitution. State governments also have their own constitutions, as well as a structure of legislature, executive and judiciary.
Territories are areas within Australia’s borders that are not claimed by one of the six states. Territories can be administered by the Commonwealth Government, or they can be granted a right of self-government. Self-government allows a territory to establish its own government in a similar manner to a state. The Constitution of Australia allows territories to become states with the approval of the Commonwealth legislature.
For more information on the six state governments, the State-Commonwealth relationship, and the government of Australia’s territories, see State and Territory Government3 .
Local Government
Local governments are established by state and territory governments to take responsibility for a number of community services. Local government have a legislature and an executive but no judiciary. Their powers are defined by the state or territory government which established them. Local governments4 are also known as local councils.
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