Australia: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:53, 4 August 2005

Revision as of 12:04, 4 August 2005

Line 3:

-->

{{Infobox Australia}}

The '''Commonwealth of Australia''' is a country in the [[southern hemisphere]] comprising the world's smallest continent —Australia— and a number of islands, the largest of which is [[Tasmania]]. Australia has been inhabited for about 50,000 years by [[Australian Aborigine|Aboriginal]] and [[Torres Strait Islander]] peoples. Eastern Australia was claimed by the [[United Kingdom|British]] in [[1770]], and officially settled as a British [[penal colony]] on [[26 January]], [[1788]]. As the population grew and new areas were explored, six largely self-governing [[Crown Colony|Crown Colonies]] were established within Australia over the course of the 19th century. On [[1 January]] [[1901]] the six colonies [[Federation of Australia|federated]] and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has had a stable [[liberal democracy|liberal democratic]] political system and remains a [[Commonwealth Realm]].

Australia's neighbouring countries include [[Indonesia]], [[East Timor]], and [[Papua New Guinea]] to the north, the [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Vanuatu]] to the north-east, and [[New Zealand]] to the south-east. The shortest distance from the Australian mainland to a neighbouring country is about 150 km, across the [[Torres Strait]] that lies between the coasts of New Guinea and Australia. Australia currently has a population of about 20 million, concentrated mainly in the coastal cities of [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Brisbane]], [[Adelaide]] and [[Perth, Australia|Perth]].

Line 19:

{{main|History of Australia}}

[[Image:Endeavour replica in Cooktown harbour.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Lieutenant [[James Cook]] charted the East coast of Australia on the HM Bark ''Endeavour'' claiming the land for Britain in [[1770]]. This replica was built in 1988 for Australia's bicentennial.]]

The date of the first human habitation of Australia is estimated to be between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.{{mn|Gillespie2002|1}} The first Australians were the ancestors of the current [[Australian Aborigine]]s, and arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day [[Southeast Asia|south-east Asia]]. Most of these people were [[hunter-gatherers]], with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the [[Dreamtime (mythology)|Dreamtime]]. The [[Torres Strait Islander]]sIslanders, ethnically [[Melanesia]]n, inhabited the [[Torres Strait Islands]] and parts of far-north [[Queensland]]; they had distinct cultural practices and practised subsistence agriculture.

The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator [[Willem Jansz]], who sighted the coast of [[Cape York]] in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called [[New Holland]], but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, [[James Cook]] sailed along the east coast of Australia, which he named [[New South Wales]] and claimed for Britain. His discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a [[penal colony]] there following the loss of the American colonies.

Line 29:

[[Image:Anzac1.JPG|right|thumb|160px|The [[Last Post]] is played at an [[ANZAC Day]] ceremony in [[Port Melbourne, Victoria]], [[25 April]] [[2005]]. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.]]Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained [[responsible government]], managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the [[British Empire]]. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. On [[1 January]] [[1901]], [[Federation of Australia|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]] 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). The [[Northern Territory]] was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in [[World War I]];{{mn|Bean1941|4}} many Australians regard the defeat of the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]] (ANZACs) at [[Battle of Gallipoli|Gallipoli]] as the birth of the nation—its first major military action. The casualties suffered in Australia were the highest ''per capita'' of any Allied nation, and the war had a profound effect on the national character.

The [[Statute of Westminster]] of 1931 formally ended the constitutional links between Australia and Britain, other than the Crown, but Australia continued to regard itself an essentially British country until [[World War II]], and did not adopt the Statute until 1942. The shock of Britain'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, and since the 1970s and the abolition of the [[White Australia Policy]] from Asia and other parts of the world; radically transforming Australia's demography, culture and image of itself. Although Australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in 1999 by a 55% majority,{{mn|AEC|5}} Australia's links to its British past are increasingly tenuous. Since the election of the [[Gough Whitlam|Whitlam governmentGovernment]] in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the Asia-Pacific region.

==Politics==

Line 35:

{{Mainpl|''[[Government of Australia]], [[Politics of Australia]]''}}

The Commonwealth of Australia is a [[constitutional monarchy]] and has a [[parliamentary system]] of government. [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] is the [[Queen of Australia]], a role that is distinct from her position as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Queen is nominally represented by the [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]]; although the [[Constitution of Australia|Constitution]] gives extensive [[executive branch|executive powers]] to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's [[reserve powers]] outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam governmentGovernment in the [[Australian constitutional crisis of 1975|constitutional crisis of 1975]].{{mn|PL1997|6}}

There are three arms of government.

Line 42:

*The judiciary: the [[High Court of Australia]] and other [[Australian court hierarchy|federal courts]]. The judiciary became officially independent from that of the [[United Kingdom]] when the ''[[Australia Act]]'' was passed in 1986.

Australia has a bicameral federal Parliamentparliament, comprising a [[Australian Senate|Senate]] (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. The more populous a state, the more members it returns to the lower house, with a minimum of five members per state. In the Senate, each state, regardless of population, is represented by 12 senators, and each mainland territory by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; typically only half of the Senate seats are put to each election, because senators have overlapping six-year terms. The government is formed in the lower house, and the leader of the majority party or coalition in the House of Representatives is the Prime Minister.

There are three major political parties: the [[Australian Labor Party]], the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]], and the [[National Party of Australia]]. The Liberal/National Coalition has been in power since the [[Australian legislative election, 1996|1996 election]]; the Coalition won control of the Senate in the [[Australian legislative election, 2004|2004 election]]. At present, the Labor Party is in power in every state and territory.

Line 59:

Australia consists of six states and several territories. The states are [[New South Wales]], [[Queensland]], [[South Australia]], [[Tasmania]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Western Australia]]. The two mainland territories are the [[Northern Territory]] and the [[Australian Capital Territory]]; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the [[Jervis Bay Territory]], as a naval base and sea port for the national capital.

In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in [[Section 51 of the Australian Constitution|Section 51]] of the [[Constitution of Australia|constitutionConstitution]]; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government. This is in direct contrast with the Canadian arrangement, in which provincial powers are constitutionally defined, and federal powers are largely residual. Since federation, the power of government in Australia has become gradually more centralised in Canberra; this also contrasts with the Canadian experience of a decentralising of federal power to its provinces.

Each state and territory has its own [[bicameral]] [[Parliaments of the Australian states and territories|parliament]] ([[unicameral]] in the case of Queensland and the mainland territories). 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 [[head of government|heads of the governments]] in each state and territory are called [[Premiers of the Australian states|premiers]] and [[Chief Minister|chief ministers]], respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a [[Governors of the Australian states|governor]]; an [[Administrator of the Northern Territory|administrator]] in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.