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The brief History of Australia
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there
at least 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a
half million to a full million Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia.
Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. The British arrived in 1688, but it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales. A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there until the system was suspended in 1839.
Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786), Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other minerals. Sheep farming and grain soon grew into important economic enterprises. The
six colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated British parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions. Australia became known for its liberal legislation: free compulsory education, protected trade unionism with industrial conciliation and arbitration, the secret ballot, women's suffrage, maternity
allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions.
Australia fought alongside Britain in World War I, notably with the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in the Dardanelles campaign (1915). Participation in World War II helped Australia forge closer ties to the United States. Parliamentary power in the second half of the 20th century shifted between three political parties: the Australian Labour Party, the Liberal Party, and the National Party. Australia relaxed its discriminatory immigration laws in the 1960s and 1970s, which favored Northern Europeans. Thereafter, about 40% of its immigrants came from Asia, diversifying a population that was predominantly of English and Irish heritage. An Aboriginal movement that grew in the 1960s gained full citizenship and
improved education for the country's poorest socioeconomic group.
In March 1996, the opposition Liberal Party–National Party coalition easily won the national elections, removing the Labour Party after 13 years in power. Pressure from the new, conservative One Nation Party threatened to reduce the gains made by Aborigines and to limit immigration.
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there
at least 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a
half million to a full million Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today about 350,000 live in Australia.
Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. The British arrived in 1688, but it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales. A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there until the system was suspended in 1839.
Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786), Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other minerals. Sheep farming and grain soon grew into important economic enterprises. The
six colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated British parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions. Australia became known for its liberal legislation: free compulsory education, protected trade unionism with industrial conciliation and arbitration, the secret ballot, women's suffrage, maternity
allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions.
Australia fought alongside Britain in World War I, notably with the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in the Dardanelles campaign (1915). Participation in World War II helped Australia forge closer ties to the United States. Parliamentary power in the second half of the 20th century shifted between three political parties: the Australian Labour Party, the Liberal Party, and the National Party. Australia relaxed its discriminatory immigration laws in the 1960s and 1970s, which favored Northern Europeans. Thereafter, about 40% of its immigrants came from Asia, diversifying a population that was predominantly of English and Irish heritage. An Aboriginal movement that grew in the 1960s gained full citizenship and
improved education for the country's poorest socioeconomic group.
In March 1996, the opposition Liberal Party–National Party coalition easily won the national elections, removing the Labour Party after 13 years in power. Pressure from the new, conservative One Nation Party threatened to reduce the gains made by Aborigines and to limit immigration.
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Goverment
The Federal government has a House of Representatives consisting of 147 members who represent all states and territories of the country. The Senate has 12 representatives from each state and 2 representatives from each territory. The Senate members are elected through a proportional representation system. The party which earns a majority in the House of Representatives provides ministers from its members in both houses and the Prime Minister will be a part of the House of Representatives. The main
parties are the Australian Labour Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Elections are conducted for the House of Representatives every three years but can be moved forward with the permission of the Governor-General. Each minister will have his own department and will often work closely with other ministers.
Australia has a system of compulsory voting and there is an electoral commission in place to ensure that elections are fair. If you are 18 or over you need to vote or you must have a valid reason for not voting. There are penalties for those who do not vote. This is $20 in the first instance but if you still fail to provide a good reason for not voting then this will be increased to $50 if the matter has to be dealt with in court. Voters must be Australian citizens or a British citizen who appeared on an electoral roll in 1984. You must have lived at your Australian address for a minimum of one
month. Those who are 17 when an election date is announced but expect to be 18 by the time that the election takes place can register to vote in advance to
ensure that they receive all the relevant paperwork in time.
The Federal government has a House of Representatives consisting of 147 members who represent all states and territories of the country. The Senate has 12 representatives from each state and 2 representatives from each territory. The Senate members are elected through a proportional representation system. The party which earns a majority in the House of Representatives provides ministers from its members in both houses and the Prime Minister will be a part of the House of Representatives. The main
parties are the Australian Labour Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Elections are conducted for the House of Representatives every three years but can be moved forward with the permission of the Governor-General. Each minister will have his own department and will often work closely with other ministers.
Australia has a system of compulsory voting and there is an electoral commission in place to ensure that elections are fair. If you are 18 or over you need to vote or you must have a valid reason for not voting. There are penalties for those who do not vote. This is $20 in the first instance but if you still fail to provide a good reason for not voting then this will be increased to $50 if the matter has to be dealt with in court. Voters must be Australian citizens or a British citizen who appeared on an electoral roll in 1984. You must have lived at your Australian address for a minimum of one
month. Those who are 17 when an election date is announced but expect to be 18 by the time that the election takes place can register to vote in advance to
ensure that they receive all the relevant paperwork in time.
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Geography
The continent of Australia, with the island state of Tasmania, is approximately equal in area to the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Mountain ranges run from north to south along the east coast, reaching their highest point in Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m). The western half of the continent is occupied by a desert plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills near the west coast. The Great Barrier Reef, extending about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast coast. The island of
Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800 sq km) is off the southeast coast.
The continent of Australia, with the island state of Tasmania, is approximately equal in area to the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Mountain ranges run from north to south along the east coast, reaching their highest point in Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m). The western half of the continent is occupied by a desert plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills near the west coast. The Great Barrier Reef, extending about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast coast. The island of
Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800 sq km) is off the southeast coast.