The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising
the world's smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and
Pacific Oceans. On 1 January 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since
federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system
and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra although the current
population of around 20.5 million is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities
of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
Economy
Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly
higher than those of the UK, Germany and France. The country was ranked third in
the United Nations' 2005 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide
quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient
in the face of global economic downturn. Rising output in the domestic economy has
been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust.
The Australian economy has not suffered a recession since the early 1990s. As of
January 2006, unemployment was 5.3% with 10,034,500 persons employed.[14] The service
sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, comprises
69% of GDPAgriculture 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.[16] Areas
of concern to some economists include the high current account deficit and also
high levels of net foreign debt.
Demographics
Most Australians live in urban areas; Sydney is the most populous city in Australia.
The trend towards urbanisation is also stronger in Australia than many other parts
of the world Most of the estimated 20.4 million Australians are descended from nineteenth-
and twentieth-century immigrants, the majority from Great Britain and Ireland. Australia's
population has quadrupled since the end of World War I spurred by an ambitious immigration
program. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 27.4% of Australians who were born
overseas were from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China. 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. Australia’s population has increased by about 60 times since
European settlement.
Fewer than 15% of Australians live in rural areas.
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. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03)live outside
their home country. Australia has maintained one of the most active immigration
programs in the world to boost population growth. Most immigrants are skilled; the
quota includes categories for family members and refugees. English is the official
language, A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are
bilingual. Australia has no state religion. The 2001 census identified that 68%
of Australians call themselves Christian: 27% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic
and 21% as Anglican. Australians that identify themselves as followers of non-Christian
religions number 5%. A total of 16% were categorised as having "No Religion" (which
includes non theistic beliefs such as Humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism)
and a further 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation.
As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship
is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million,
about 7.5% of the population.
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. There is a state-based
system of vocational training colleges, known as TAFE Institutes, and many trades
conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians
between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications.
Politics
The Commonwealth of Australia has a parliamentary system of government There are
three branches of government.
- The legislature: the Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate,
and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General,
who in practice exercises little or no power over the Parliament.
- The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by
the executive councillors); in practice, the councillors are the prime minister
and ministers of state.
- The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts. The State courts
became formally independent from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when
the Australia Act was passed in 1986.
There are three major political parties: the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and
the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties — including the
Greens, Family First and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation
in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses, although their influence has
been marginal. Since the 1996 election, the Liberal/National Coalition led by the
Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the 2004 election,
the Coalition won control of the Senate, the first time that a party (or coalition
of governing parties) has done so while in government in more than 20 years. The
Labor Party is in power in every state and territory.
States And Territories
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 two major mainland territories are the Northern
Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. 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 Constitution;
all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including
powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport
and local government.
Each state and territory has its own legislature (unicameral in the case of the
Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states).
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.
The heads of the governments in each state and territory are called premiers and
chief ministers, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a governor;
an administrator in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT,
have analogous roles.
Geography And Climate
Australia's 7,686,850 square kilometers (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 kilometers
(16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250
square kilometers (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include
the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Average weather per Capital Cities
Sydney
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
19 |
26 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
15 |
22 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
8 |
16 |
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
13 |
22 |
Melbourne
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
18 |
26 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
8 |
24 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
6 |
15 |
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
8 |
22 |
Adelaide
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
16 |
29 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
13 |
23 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
7 |
15 |
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
11 |
22 |
Brisbane
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
21 |
29 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
17 |
27 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
10 |
21 |
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
16 |
26 |
Canberra
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
13 |
28 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
7 |
20 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
0 |
11 |
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
6 |
19 |
Hobart
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
12 |
21 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
9 |
17 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
|
|
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
8 |
17 |
Perth
|
Average Temperature (C) |
Min |
Max |
|
Summer (Dec/Feb) |
18 |
30 |
|
Autumn (Mar/May) |
14 |
25 |
|
Winter (Jun/Aug) |
9
|
18
|
|
Spring (Sept/Nov) |
12 |
22 |