Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Whaling

2011-04-02T05:19:20Z

Canadairish: /* History, Spain, Norway and Iceland */

'''Whaling''' is the hunting of [[whale]]s for their blubber (oil) and meat. It has an ancient history, but the efficiency of modern whaling techniques beginning in the [[20th century]] has driven many species of whales to the brink of extinction.

Today, whaling remains part of the cultures of [[Japan]], [[Norway]] and [[Iceland]], and in addition some aboriginal communities also hunt whales.

==History, Spain, Norway and Iceland==
[[File:Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen.jpg|thumb|[[Abraham Storck]], Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen.]]
By 1650 Europeans had already been whaling for the better part of a thousand years, with hunters from the Basque region of northern Spain taking the lead.

As early as 1611 the 50,000+ bowhead whales resident between the east coast of Greenland and the island of Spitzbergen were the subject of intensive commercial hunting effort by Dutch, German, and British whalers. By 1911 the bowheads were nearly extinct. The discovery in 1848 of the rich stock of bowhead whales in the Bering Strait region sparked an oil rush that resulted in more than 2,500 annual whaling cruises to the area between 1848 and 1899.<ref> Robert C. Allen, and Ian Keay, "Bowhead Whales in the Eastern Arctic, 1611-1911: Population Reconstruction with Historical Whaling Records." ''Environment and History'' 2006 12(1): 89-113. Issn: 0967-3407 </ref>

At first slow whales were caught by men hurling harpoons from small open boats. Early harpoon guns were unsuccessful until Norwegian Sven Foyn invented a new, improved version in 1863 that used a harpoon with a flexible joint between the head and shaft. Norway invented many new techniques and disseminated them worldwide. Cannon-fired harpoons, strong cables, and steam winches were mounted on maneuverable, steam-powered catcher boats. They made possible the targeting of large and fast-swimming whale species that were taken to shore-based stations for processing. Breach-loaded cannons were introduced in 1925; pistons were introduced in 1947 to reduce recoil. These highly efficient devices were too successful, for they reduced whale populations to the point where large-scale commercial whaling became unsustainable. The shore stations on the island of South Georgia were at the center of the Antarctic whaling industry, from its beginnings in 1904 until the late 1920's when pelagic whaling increased. The activity on the island remained substantial until around 1960, when Norwegian-British Antarctic whaling came to an end. Jesus never existed!

==History, U.S. and Canada==
American whaling's origins were in New England, especially Cape Cod, Massachusetts and nearby cities. The oil was in demand chiefly for lamps. Hunters in small watercraft pursued right whales from shore. By the 18th century, whaling in Nantucket had become a highly lucrative deep-sea industry, with voyages extending for years at a time and with vessels traveling as far as South Pacific waters. During the [[American Revolution]], the British navy targeted American whaling ships as legitimate prizes, while in turn many whalers fitted out as privateers against the British. Whaling recovered after the war ended in 1783 and the industry began to prosper, using bases at Nantucket and then New Bedford. Whalers took greater economic risks to turn major profits: expanding their hunting grounds and securing foreign and domestic workforces for the Pacific. Investment decisions and financing arrangements were set up so that managers of whaling ventures shared their risks by selling some equity claims but retained a substantial portion due to moral hazard considerations. As a result, they had little incentive to consider the correlation between their own returns and those of others in planning their voyages. This stifled diversity in whaling voyages and increased industry-wide risk.<ref> Eric Hilt, "Investment and Diversification in the American Whaling Industry." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2007 67(2): 292-314. Issn: 0022-0507 </ref>

When a lookout spotted the spray of a distant whale, the captain immediately lowered small wooden boats. When one of the 30-foot boats got alongside the 60-foot beast, its boatsteerer threw a harpoon (whalers called it an "iron") deep into the animal's flesh. It was the job of the boatheader to actually kill the whale when it tired from swimming and thrashing. The men towed the animal back to their ship and secured its carcass to the vessel's side. They stripped off the animal's blubber and then boiled it on deck in large iron pots set over fires in brick stoves, called tryworks. The processes of "cutting in" and "trying out" a whale could take several days and nights of nonstop work. When there were no whales in sight the men did scrimshaw work out of
whales' teeth and bone. At the end of the season they sailed home. New Bedford's greatest receipts from its far-flung fleet came in 1845, with 158,000 barrels of sperm oil, 272,000 barrels of whale oil, and 3,000,000 pounds of whalebone.

Ten thousand seamen manned the ships. More than three thousand African American seamen shipped out on whaling boats from New Bedford between 1800 and 1860, about 20% of the entire whaling force.

In port the most successful of the whaling merchants was Jonathan Bourne, who opened offices in New Bedford in 1848. Chandlery shops and storage rooms for whaling outfits occupied the first floor. Lofts and rigging lofts occupied the upper stories; the counting-rooms were on the second floor, with counters and iron railings fencing off the tall mahogany desks at which the bookkeepers stood up, or sat on high stools; about the walls were models of whaleships and whaling prints.

Whale oil was vital in illuminating homes and businesses throughout the world in the 1800s, and served as a dependable lubricant for the machines powering the Industrial Revolution. Baleen (the long keratin strips that hang from the top of whales' mouths) was used by manufacturers in the United States and Europe to make consumer goods such as buggy whips, fishing poles, corset stays and dress hoops.

New England ships began to explore and hunt in the southern oceans after being driven out of the North Atlantic by British competition and import duties. Ultimately, American entrepreneurs created a mid-19th-century version of a global economic enterprise. This was the golden age of American whaling.

An early winter in the north Pacific in September 1871 forced the captains of an American whaling fleet in the Arctic to abandon their ships. With 32 vessels trapped in the ice and provisions insufficient to weather the nine-month winter, the captains ordered the abandonment of the ships and the three million dollars' worth of property carried on board but in the process saved the lives of over 1,200 people.<ref> Julie Baker, "The Great Whaleship Disaster of 1871." ''American History'' 2005 40(4): 52-58. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

From the Civil War, when Confederate raiders targetted American whalers, through the early 20th century, the American whaling industry was overwhelmed by new, crippling economic competition, especially from kerosene, which was a superior fuel for lighting. New Bedford, once the fourth busiest port in the United States, gave up whaling.<ref> Dolin (2007)</ref>

Whale hunting became an important industry in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] around 1900, thanks to the introduction of Norwegian equipment and techniques. The industry was highly cyclical, with well-defined catch peaks in 1903–05, 1925–30, 1945–51, and 1966–72, after which world-wide bans shut it down.<ref> Anthony B. Dickinson and Chesley W. Sanger, ''Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador'' (2005).</ref>

After a hiatus of 70 years, in 1999, the Makah tribe, in Washington State caught and killed a 30-foot California gray whale. In capturing the whale the Makah revived their whaling practices and revitalized of this tradition that has made them and the related Nuu-chah-nulth tribe unique as whale hunters in North America. Soon the Nuu-chah-nulth people made a similar decision thereby reaffirming their identity as a whaling people and providing a symbol for tribal resiliency, adaptability, and cultural survival.<ref> Charlotte Cote, "The Whaling Indians: Legendary Hunters." ''American Review of Canadian Studies.'' 36#1 (2006) pp 177+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5016986138?title=The%20Whaling%20Indians%3a%20Legendary%20Hunters online edition]</ref>

==History, Japan and Australia==
The Japanese industry depended on the transfer of whaling technology, including equipment and techniques, from Norway from the late 19th century until the 1930s.<ref>Eldrid Mageli, "Norwegian-Japanese Whaling Relations in the Early 20th Century: a Case of Successful Technology Transfer." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 2006 31(1): 1-16. </ref>

Wolfe (2006) traces the rise of Australia's interest in the Antarctic in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, examining the efforts of individuals, private companies, and later the Australian government to promote and develop an Antarctic whaling industry. The market for whale products, the imperatives of politicians in Australia and abroad, the geography of both Australia and Antarctica, and the character of the Australian population helped to shape this ambition. Of equal importance were the effects of wars and economic depressions. In the end it was a failed ambition. Preoccupied with other priorities, Australia failed to understand and engage with the complexity of the international whaling industry. Swept aside by Japan and other whaling nations, Australia had few choices but to turn its back on Antarctic whaling. Instead, the country's political and economic resources were focused on developing a shore whaling industry on its own coasts.<ref> Adam Wolfe, "Australian Whaling Ambitions and Antarctica." ''International Journal of Maritime History'' 2006 18(2): 305-322. Issn: 0843-8714 </ref>

==International politics==
Transnational environmental actors played the central role in defining and instituting an international norm of antiwhaling, symbolized in the passage of the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982. This moratorium signaled a rejection of previously held attitudes toward the use of whales as natural resources and the embracing of a protectionist, hands-off approach. Support for this new stance, however, was not forthcoming from pro-whaling states Japan, Norway, and Iceland. Japan at first objected to the moratorium, then went into compliance, and then decided on the resumption of limited commercial whaling. While the Japanese government views the whaling dispute as a threat to resource security and also a danger to interstate respect for differences in custom and cuisine, the need to be perceived as a responsible member of international society exercises a major influence on the formation of Japan's whaling policy, conditioning its rule compliance and prohibiting the independent action pursued by other pro-whaling states.<ref> Amy L. Catalinac, and Gerald Chan, "Japan, the West, and the Whaling Issue: Understanding the Japanese Side." ''Japan Forum'' 2005 17(1): 133-163. Issn: 0955-5803 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>
==Basic further reading==
* Creighton, Margaret S. ''Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830-1870.'' (1995). 233 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Rites-Passages-Experience-American-1830-1870/dp/0521484480/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207603299&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Dolin, Eric Jay. ''Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America'' (2007) 480 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-History-Eric-Jay-Dolin/dp/0393060578/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207596886&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Dow, George Francis. ''Whale Ships and Whaling: A Pictorial History.'' (1925, reprinted 1985). 253 pp
* Ellis, Richard. ''Men and Whales.'' (1991). 542 pp.
* Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860'' (19221) 400pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=XnQ53JwFa6wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:The+intitle:Maritime+intitle:History+intitle:of+intitle:Massachusetts+intitle:1783-1860&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0 full text online]
* Stoett, Peter J. ''The International Politics of Whaling'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/57120862?title=The%20International%20Politics%20of%20Whaling online edition]
* Tonnesen, J. N. and Johnsen, A. O. ''The History of Modern Whaling.'' (1982). 789 pp.

==Advanced bibliography==
* Allen, Everett S. ''Children of the Light: The Rise and Fall of New Bedford Whaling and the Death of the Arctic Fleet.'' (1973). 302 pp.
* Bockstoce, John R. ''Whales, Ice, and Men: The History of Whaling in the Western Arctic.'' (1986). 400 pp.
* Busch, Briton Cooper. ''"Whaling Will Never Do for Me": The American Whaleman in the Nineteenth Century.'' (1994). 265 pp
* Creighton, Margaret S. ''Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830-1870.'' (1995). 233 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Rites-Passages-Experience-American-1830-1870/dp/0521484480/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207603299&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Davis, Lance E.; Gallman, Robert E.; and Gleiter, Karin. ''In Pursuit of Leviathan: Technology, Institutions, Productivity, and Profits in American Whaling, 1816-1906.'' (NBER Series on Long-Term Factors in Economic Development.) 1997. 550 pp. advanced quantitative economic history
* Dickinson, Anthony B. and Sanger, Chesley W. ''Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador.'' 2005. 254 pp.
* Dolin, Eric Jay. ''Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America'' (2007) 480 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-History-Eric-Jay-Dolin/dp/0393060578/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207596886&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Dow, George Francis. ''Whale Ships and Whaling: A Pictorial History.'' (1925, reprinted 1985). 253 pp
* Ellis, Richard. ''Men and Whales.'' (1991). 542 pp.
* Gidmark, Jill B. ''Melville Sea Dictionary: A Glossed Concordance and Analysis of the Sea Language in Melville's Nautical Novels'' (1982) [http://www.questia.com/read/10062939?title=Melville%20Sea%20Dictionary%3a%20A%20Glossed%20Concordance%20and%20Analysis%20of%20the%20Sea%20Language%20in%20Melville's%20Nautical%20Novels online edition]
* Henke, Janice S. "'Seeing Green': An Anthropological Perspective on the Process of International Conflict in the Whaling Issue." PhD dissertation State U. of New York, Buffalo 2005. 302 pp. DAI 2006 66(8): 2982-A. DA3185355 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
*James, C.L.R. ''Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: Herman Melville and the World We Live in.'' A reading of Melville's ''Moby Dick'' that connects its themes to the development of Stalinist totalitarianism and 1950s racial politics.
* Lytle, Thomas G. ''Harpoons and Other Whalecraft.'' New Bedford: Old Dartmouth Historical Society, 1984. 256 pp.
* Mageli, Eldrid. "Norwegian-Japanese Whaling Relations in the Early 20th Century: a Case of Successful Technology Transfer." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 2006 31(1): 1-16. Issn: 0346-8755 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Mawer, Granville Allen. ''Ahab's Trade: The Saga of South Seas Whaling.'' (1999) 418pp
* Morikawa, Jun. ''Whaling in Japan: Power, Politics, and Diplomacy'' (2009) 160 pages
* Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860'' (19221) 400pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=XnQ53JwFa6wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:The+intitle:Maritime+intitle:History+intitle:of+intitle:Massachusetts+intitle:1783-1860&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0 full text online]
* Proulx, Jean-Pierre. ''Whaling in the North Atlantic: From Earliest Times to the Mid-19th Century.'' (1986). 117 pp.
* Ross, W. Gillies. ''Whaling and Eskimos: Hudson Bay 1860-1915.'' Ethnology of the National Museum of Man, no. 10. Ottawa: Natlional Museum of Canada, 1975. 164 pp.
* Stoett, Peter J. ''The International Politics of Whaling'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/57120862?title=The%20International%20Politics%20of%20Whaling online edition]
* Tonnesen, J. N. and Johnsen, A. O. ''The History of Modern Whaling.'' (1982). 789 pp.
* Webb, Robert Lloyd. ''On the Northwest: Commercial Whaling in the Pacific Northwest, 1790-1967'' (1988) [http://www.questia.com/read/98023943?title=On%20the%20Northwest%3a%20Commercial%20Whaling%20in%20the%20Pacific%20Northwest%2c%201790-1967 online edition]
* Wolfe, Adam. "Australian Whaling Ambitions and Antarctica." ''International Journal of Maritime History'' 2006 18(2): 305-322. Issn: 0843-8714

====notes====
<references/>

==See also==
*[[Whale]]

[[category:industry]]

New Zealand

2011-04-02T05:18:44Z

Canadairish: /* History */

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'''New Zealand''' ([[Maori]]: '''Aotearoa''' - translates as ''Land of the Long White Cloud'') is an independent country in the southern [[Pacific Ocean]] comprising two large islands (North Island and South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands. It is named after Zeeland, a province of the Netherlands. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing, but in 'free association'; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's Antarctic territorial claim). New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometers (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are [[New Caledonia]], [[Fiji]], and [[Tonga]]. [[Wellington]] is the capital of New Zealand; [[Auckland]] is the largest city.

==People==
[[File:Maori people New Zealand.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Maori people.]]
Most of the 4 million New Zealanders are of British Isles origin. About 15% claim Maori descent although the number of full blooded Maori is negligible. Nearly 76% of the people, including a large majority of Maori, live on North Island. In addition, 265,974 Pacific peoples live in New Zealand, primarily in Auckland. During the late 1870s, natural increase permanently replaced immigration as the chief contributor to population growth and accounted for more than 75% of population growth in the 20th century. Nearly 85% of New Zealand's population lives in urban areas (with over one million in Auckland alone), where the service and manufacturing industries are growing rapidly. New Zealanders colloquially refer to themselves as "Kiwis," after the country's native bird.
*Population: 4,267,678.
*Annual growth rate (since December 2006): 0.7%.
*Ethnic groups: European 64.8%; Maori (or part Maori) 14%; Asian 8.8%; other Polynesian Pacific peoples 6.6%; Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African 0.9%; other 10.7%. (Note: People can choose to identify with more than one ethnic group.)
*Religions: Christian 50%, no religion 32.3%, not stated 7.3%, Hindu 1.6%, Buddhist 1.3%, Islam/Muslim 0.9%, Jewish 0.2%, Spiritualism/New Age 0.5%, other 0.6%.
*Languages: English, Maori, New Zealand Sign Language.
*Education: Years compulsory--ages 5-16. Attendance--100%. Literacy--99%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate (December 2006)--5.1/1,000. Life expectancy (December 2006)--males 77.9 yrs., females 81.9 yrs.
*Work force: 75.2% of 15-64 year olds or 2.057 million. Services and government--59%; manufacturing and construction--32%; agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining--8.9%.

==History==
Archaeological evidence indicates that New Zealand was populated by fishing and hunting people of East Polynesian ancestry perhaps 1,000 years before Europeans arrived. Known to some scholars as the Moa-hunters, they may have merged with later waves of Polynesians who, according to Maori tradition, arrived between 952 and 1150. Some of the Maoris called their new homeland "Aotearoa," usually translated as "land of the long white cloud."

In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator, made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. British explorer [[James Cook]] thoroughly explored the coastline during three South Pacific voyages beginning in 1769. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, lumbering, seal hunting, and [[whaling]] attracted a few European settlers to New Zealand. In 1840, the British established their sovereignty and signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs.
[[File:Paparoa National Bank building former New Zealand.jpg|thumb|left|270px|Former Paparoa National Bank building.]]
In the same year, British settlers began the colonization process. Expanding British settlement led to conflict with Maori, most notably in the Maori land wars of the 1860s. British and colonial forces eventually overcame determined Maori resistance. During this period, many Maori died from disease and warfare, much of it intertribal. Massive va.gina lips

Constitutional government began to develop in the 1850s. In 1867, the Maori won the right to a certain number of reserved seats in parliament. During this period, the livestock industry began to expand, and the foundations of New Zealand's modern economy took shape. By the end of the 19th century, improved transportation facilities made possible a great overseas trade in wool, meat, and dairy products.

By the 1890s, parliamentary government along democratic lines was well-established, and New Zealand's social institutions assumed their present form. Women received the right to vote in national elections in 1893. The turn of the century brought sweeping social reforms that built the foundation for New Zealand's version of the welfare state.

The Maori gradually recovered from population decline and, through interaction and intermarriage with settlers and missionaries, adopted much of European culture. In recent decades, Maori have become increasingly urbanized and have become more politically active and culturally assertive.

New Zealand was declared a dominion by a royal proclamation in 1907. It achieved full internal and external autonomy by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1947, although this merely formalized a situation that had existed for many years.

== Government ==
[[File:Municipal Offices Public Library Timaru NZ PD.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Municipal Offices, Public Library, Timaru.]]
New Zealand is a parliamentary [[democracy]]. Under the Royal Titles Act (1953), Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General, currently Anand Satyanand.

New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land have been occupied simultaneously by women: Queen [[Elizabeth II]], Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister [[Helen Clark]], Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias were all in office between March 2005 and August 2006.
New Zealand's first woman prime minister was Jenny Shipley, however Helen Clark lays claim to be the first ''elected'' woman prime minister, as Jenny Shipley was appointed to the role by the National Party Caucus to replace the Prime Minister of the time, Jim Bolger.

The New Zealand Parliament<ref>[http://www.govt.nz/ Official government site]</ref> has only one chamber, the House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament. Parliamentary general elections are held every three years under a form of [[proportional representation]] called Mixed Member Proportional. The 2005 General Election created an 'overhang' of one extra seat, occupied by the Māori Party, due to that party winning more seats in electorates than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it. The position of Prime Minister falls to the leader of the majority party in Parliament and may be changed at any time at the discretion of the majority party Caucus.
[[Image:Auckland - New Zealand.jpg|thumb|300px|Auckland]]
There is no written constitution: the Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The rules regulating the running of the country are primarily constitutional conventions which are not codified and subject to evolution. Despite this unconventional approach to governance New Zealand is yet to have any major constitutional crises. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be Members of Parliament, and most are also in Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the Prime Minister, who is also, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.

The current Prime Minister is [[John Key]], leader of the National Party. Following the 8th of November 2008 election, the National Party signed confidence and supply agreements with the ACT, the Maori Party and United Future, allowing them to form a government. This entitled some members of the above parties to ministerial positions outside of cabinet.

The Leader of the Opposition, is Labour Party leader Phil Goff. The Green party and the Progressive party are both also in in opposition.

The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. This was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act 2003, which also abolished the option to appeal to the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also includes the High Court, which deals with serious criminal offences, civil matters and judicial review. The court system also includes the Court of Appeal, and subordinate courts.

The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second. The defence forces hold commissions and warrants from the Queen, signed on her behalf by her representative the Governor General. However command of the armed forces is by order of Parliament, rather than by the Queen.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Chief of State--Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General--His Excellency Honourable Anand Satyanand
*Prime Minister--Rt. Hon. John Key
*Foreign Minister--Rt. Hon. Murray McCully
*Ambassador to the United Nations--Rosemary Banks

===Political Conditions===
The traditionally conservative National Party and left-leaning Labour Party have dominated New Zealand political life since a Labour government came to power in 1935. During its first 14 years in office, the Labour Party implemented a broad array of social and economic legislation, including comprehensive social security, a large-scale public works program, a 40-hour workweek, a minimum basic wage, and compulsory unionism. The National Party won control of the government in 1949 and adopted many welfare measures instituted by the Labour Party. Except for two brief periods of Labour governments in 1957-60 and 1972-75, National held power until 1984. After regaining control in 1984, the Labour government instituted a series of radical market-oriented reforms in response to New Zealand's mounting external debt.

At this time, the Labour government also enacted anti-nuclear legislation that effectively brought about New Zealand's suspension from the ANZUS security alliance with the United States and Australia. New Zealand's nuclear-free status has widespread support from the New Zealand public. An alleged comment by National Party leader Don Brash in 2004 to a group of American senators that NZ's anti-nuclear status would be 'gone by lunchtime' caused a minor political scandal.

In October 1990, the National Party again formed the government, for the first of three 3-year terms. In 1996, New Zealand inaugurated a mixed-member proportional (MMP) system to elect its parliament. The system was designed to increase representation of smaller parties in parliament and appears to have done so in the MMP elections to date. Since 1996, neither the National nor the Labour Party has had an absolute majority in parliament, and for all but one of those years, the government has been a minority one. The Labour Party won elections in November 1999 and again in July 2002. In 2002 Labour formed a coalition, minority government with the Progressive Coalition, an economically left-wing but socially conservative party holding two seats in parliament. The government relied on support from the centrist United Future Party to pass legislation.

Following a narrow victory in the September 2005 general elections, Labour formed a coalition with the one-seat Progressive Party. The government also entered into limited support agreements with the United Future New Zealand and NZ First Parties, whose leaders were respectively given the Revenue and Foreign Affairs ministerial positions outside of the cabinet. This gave Labour an effective one-seat majority with which to pass legislation in parliament. Labour also secured an assurance from the Green Party that it will abstain from a vote of confidence against the government. The 2005 elections saw the new Maori Party win four out of the seven reserved Maori seats. There are 121 current members of parliament, the additional seat the result of an overhang from 2005 elections. There are currently two independent members of parliament (MPs): a former Labour Party MP and a former United Future New Zealand MP, both of whom left their respective parties in 2007. The latest general election was held in November 2008 and resulted in a Minority National government led by John Key. The next election will be held in November 2011.

===Foreign Policy===
New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmental protection, human rights and free trade, particularly in agriculture.

New Zealand is a member of the following geo-political organisations: APEC, East Asia Summit, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD and the [[United Nations]]. It has signed up to a number of free trade agreements, most recently with [[Japan]], of which the most important is Closer Economic Relations with Australia.

For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on [[Germany]] on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Savage proclaimed "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand". Post WWII ties with America strengthened, but unlike close neighbour Australia, have never done so to the point that they may be considered stronger than the ties to the UK.

New Zealand has traditionally worked closely with Australia, whose foreign policy followed a similar historical trend. In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead.

The relationship between American and New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the [[Vietnam War]], the sinking of the [[Greenpeace]] vessel ''Rainbow Warrior'' by [[France]], and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.

Conversely, New Zealand sent troops to [[Afghanistan]] to aid the American Army.

===National Security===
[[File:Boer War Memorial, Dunedin, NZ soldiers.JPG|thumb|400px|Boer War Memorial, Dunedin.]]
New Zealand is a party to the ANZUS security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the US. While the treaty was once fully mutual between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, this is no longer the case. Since February 1985, New Zealand has refused nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships access to its ports. In 1986, the United States announced that it was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the United States' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand. Due to the US Navy policy of refusing to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear arms on any US Navy ship, the only US naval ships to enter NZ waters since that time have been unarmed auxiliary units with some exceptions where the US State Department have over-ruled the Naval policy for specific ships on visits.

In addition to the various wars between Maori tribes, and between the British settlers and certain tribes, New Zealand has fought in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency (and committed troops, fighters and bombers to the subsequent confrontation with Indonesia), the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Afghanistan War. New Zealand refused to participate in the Iraq War without UN sanction. However, they sent a unit of army engineers to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure for one year following the invasion.

The New Zealand military has three branches: the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest; it dismantled its air combat capability in 2001. New Zealand has contributed forces to recent regional and global peacekeeping missions, including those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia, the Iran/Iraq border, Bougainville and East Timor.

New Zealand has three defense policy objectives--defend New Zealand against low-level threats, contribute to regional security, and play a part in global security efforts. New Zealand has considered its own national defense needs to be modest. Its defense budget generally has provided for selected upgrades in equipment. Shortly after winning the 1999 election, the Labour government canceled a lease-to-buy agreement with the U.S. for 28 F-16 aircraft. However, Labour did embark on a significant defense upgrade and acquisition plan. All three services have benefited from the upgrades/acquisitions. In 2001, the government contracted to purchase 105 LAVIIIs for U.S. $300 million, with delivery completed in 2005. The Army also purchased 321 Light Operational Vehicles to make its forces more mobile. In 2002, New Zealand announced planned upgrades of its P3 and C-130 Hercules aircraft, and purchased two Boeing 757 aircraft for U.S. $100 million. In 2006 New Zealand contracted with NH Industries to purchase eight NH-90 aircraft to start delivery in 2009. In 2007 they entered an agreement to purchase 12 A-109 light helicopters from Agosta to also start delivery in 2009. The P-3s, C-130s, and B-757s are all currently being upgraded/modified. In 2007, the Navy began accepting delivery of the U.S. $250 million Project Protector program consisting of one multi-role vessel (MRV), two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), and four inshore patrol vessels (IPVs).

In May 2001, the government announced it was scrapping its combat air force. New Zealand states it maintains a "credible minimum force," although critics maintain that the country's defense forces have fallen below this standard. New Zealand still maintains the fleet of A-4 Skyhawk jets and Aerromacche jets left over from the scrapping of its combat air force. Its attempts to sell the jets have thus far failed.

With a claimed area of direct strategic concern that extends from Australia to Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, New Zealand necessarily places substantial reliance on its defense relationship with other countries, in particular Australia. However, acknowledging the need to improve its defense capabilities, the government in 2005 announced the Defense Sustainability Initiative allocating an additional NZ$4.6 billion (U.S. $3.19 billion) over 10 years to modernize the country's defense equipment and infrastructure and increase its military personnel. The funding represented a 51% increase in defense spending since the Labour government took office in 1999.

New Zealand is an active participant in multilateral peacekeeping. It has taken a leading role in trying to bring peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction to the Solomon Islands and the neighboring island of Bougainville. New Zealand maintains a contingent in the Sinai Multinational Force and Observers and has contributed to UN peacekeeping operations in Angola, Cambodia, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia. It also participated in the Multilateral Interception Force in the Persian Gulf. New Zealand's most recent peacekeeping operations experience has been in Timor-Leste, where it initially dispatched almost 10% of its entire defense force. New Zealand participated in Operation Enduring Freedom and has fielded a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, as well as having deployed a frigate to the Gulf of Oman. In support of the effort to reconstruct Iraq, New Zealand deployed an engineering team to the country.

New Zealand participates in sharing training facilities, personnel exchanges, and joint exercises with the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Tonga, and South Pacific states. It also exercises with its Five-Power Defense Arrangement partners--Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Singapore. Due to New Zealand's antinuclear policy, defense cooperation with the U.S., including training exercises, has been significantly restricted since 1986.

==Economy==
New Zealand's economy historically has been based on a foundation of exports from its very efficient agricultural system. Leading agricultural exports include dairy products, meat, forest products, fruit and vegetables, fish, and wool. New Zealand was a direct [[beneficiary]] of many of the reforms achieved under the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, with agriculture in general and the dairy sector in particular enjoying many new trade opportunities.

The country has substantial hydroelectric power and reserves of natural gas, although the largest natural gas condensate and oil field--supplying nearly 75% of the country's hydrocarbons--is expected to be tapped out by 2009. Leading manufacturing sectors are food processing, wood and paper products, and metal fabrication. Service industries, particularly financial, insurance, and business services, form a significant part of New Zealand's economy. As of September 2007 New Zealand had 1,505,100 Internet subscribers, amounting to approximately 65% of New Zealand households, ranking above Australia, the U.K., and the U.S.

Since 1984, government subsidies including for agriculture were eliminated; import regulations liberalized; tariffs unilaterally slashed; exchange rates freely floated; controls on interest rates, wages, and prices removed; and marginal rates of taxation reduced. Tight monetary policy and major efforts to reduce the government budget deficit brought the [[inflation]] rate down from an annual rate of more than 18% in 1987. The restructuring and sale of government-owned enterprises in the 1990s reduced government's role in the economy and permitted the retirement of some public debt. As a result, New Zealand is now one of the most open economies in the world.
[[File:Lyttelton_New_Zealand.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Lyttelton.]]
In the statistical year ending September 2007, the economy grew 2.7%, an increase over the 2.2% growth rate in 2006. Household spending was up 3.4%, and investment in new housing was up 2.2%. The demand for new housing is in part driven by immigration, but the net increase in new arrivals has begun to slow. The net permanent long-term migration inflow to New Zealand in the year ending February 2008 amounted to 4,600, down from a net inflow of 13,200 in 2007. The net outflow to Australia was 29,600 in the year ending February 2008, reaching the highest level since 2001, when it was 30,000. New Zealand did not experience the slowdown in growth seen in many other countries following the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent fall in overseas share markets. The prolonged period of good economic growth led the unemployment rate to drop from 7.8% in 1999 to 3.2% as of December 2007.

New Zealand's economy has been helped by strong economic relations with Australia. New Zealand and Australia are partners in "Closer Economic Relations" (CER), which allows for free trade in goods and most services. Since 1990, CER has created a single market of more than 22 million people, and this has provided new opportunities for New Zealand exporters. Australia is now the destination of 20% of New Zealand's exports, compared to 14% in 1983. Both sides also have agreed to consider extending CER to product standardization and taxation policy. New Zealand has had a free trade agreement with Singapore since 2001. In July 2005, both countries joined with Chile and Brunei to form a Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, liberalizing trade in goods and services between them. In April 2005, New Zealand initialed a free-trade deal with Thailand. In April 2008 New Zealand concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) with China and is negotiating an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). New Zealand held its first round of the New Zealand-GCC FTA in Wellington in July 2007 with representatives from the Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman).
[[File:New-Zealand-Malaysia-Free-Trade-Agreement.jpg|thumb|330px|New Zealand - [[Malaysia]] Free Trade Agreement.]]
New Zealand's top six trading partners from June 2006-June 2007 included Australia, the United States, Japan, the People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea. Australia continued as New Zealand's principal export market, worth $5.3 billion with exports to Australia rising by 6%. The United States and Japan were New Zealand's second- and third-largest export markets, receiving $3.3 billion and $2.6 billion worth of goods, respectively. New Zealand's fourth-largest export destination was China with exports worth $1.4 billion from June 2006 through June 2007.

The U.S. is the second-largest trading partner for New Zealand, with U.S. goods and services accounting for approximately 13% of all imports. With the New Zealand dollar reaching a 24-year high of over U.S. $0.80 in July 2007 (the highest since the New Zealand dollar was floated), there are greater opportunities for U.S. exporters in 2007-2008. New Zealand's total imports from the U.S., as of June 2007, amounted to U.S. $3.3 billion. The market-led economy offers many benefits for U.S. exporters and investors. Investment opportunities exist in chemicals, food preparation, finance, tourism, and forest products, as well as in franchising. The best sales and investment prospects are for whole aircraft and aircraft parts, medical or veterinary instruments, motor vehicles, information technology, hotel and restaurant equipment, telecommunications, tourism, franchising, food processing and packaging, and medical equipment. On the agricultural side, the best prospects are for fresh fruit, snack foods, and soybean meal.

New Zealand welcomes and encourages foreign investment without discrimination. The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) must give consent to foreign investments that would control 25% or more of businesses or property worth more than NZ$100 million. Restrictions and approval requirements also apply to certain investments in land and in the commercial fishing industry. OIO consent is based on a national interest determination. Foreign buyers of land can be required to report periodically on their compliance with the terms of the government's consent to their purchase. The OIO, part of Land Information New Zealand, took over the functions of the Overseas Investment Commission in August 2005. Full remittance of profits and capital is permitted through normal banking channels. As of March 2007, the U.S. accounted for 12% of all foreign direct investment in New Zealand, amounting to U.S. $7.76 billion.

A number of U.S. companies have subsidiary branches in New Zealand. Many operate through local agents, and some are in association in joint ventures. The American Chamber of Commerce is active in New Zealand, with its main office in Auckland.
*GDP (September 2007, current prices): U.S. $131 billion; (1996 prices) U.S. $103 billion.
*Real annual GDP growth rate (September 2007, current prices): 2.7%.
*Per capita income (September 2007): U.S. $30,994; (1996 prices) U.S. $24,545.
*Exchange rate (average for Jan. to May 2008): U.S. $1 = NZ $1.2646 (U.S. $0.79 = NZ $1).
*Natural [[resources]]: Timber, natural gas, iron sand, coal.
*Agriculture (4.9% of GDP): Products--dairy products, meat, forestry products.
*Industry (goods-producing industries 21.5% of GDP, service industries 68.1% of GDP): Types--finance, insurance, and business services; manufacturing; personal and community services; transport and communication; wholesale trade; construction; government administration and defense; fishing, forestry, and mining; electricity, gas, and water.
*Trade (September 2007): Exports to U.S.--$3.572 billion: frozen beef, casein, whey, timber, sheep meat, wine, unwrought aluminum, cheese, and butter. Imports from U.S.--$3.212 billion: consisting primarily of aircraft petroleum oils (crude), medical or veterinary instruments, motor vehicles, computers, aircraft parts, machinery, turbojets, insecticides, and telephone equipment. Major trading partners (rank ordered)--Australia, United States, Japan, People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.

==Sport==
[[Rugby union]] is the major sport in New Zealand, and the national team, the [[All Blacks]], are widely considered the greatest rugby union team.
The New Zealand [[cricket]] team (known as "The Black Caps") are currently seventh in world standings in tests and 4th in one day internationals.
New Zealand is also noted for its [[Hockey]] (The Black Sticks), [[Netball]] (The Silver Ferns) and mens Softball (Black Sox) teams. [[Scott Dixon]] became in 2008 the first New Zealand driver to win an Indy 500 race and has gone on to win 2 IRL Championships.

==International Rankings (2007)==
====Political and economic rankings====
*Political freedom ratings[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World_2006] - Free; political rights and civil liberties both rated 1 (the highest score available)
*Press freedom<ref>Reporters Without Borders. [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19391 Index methodology]</ref> - 19th freest, at 5.00
*GDP per capita - 27th highest, at I$24,769
*Human Development Index - 20th highest, at 0.933
*Income Equality - 54th most equal, at 36.2 (Gini Index)
*Literacy Rate - Equal first, at 99.9%
*Unemployment rate - 42nd lowest, at 3.8% <ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html CIA World Factbook]</ref>
*Corruption - 1st equal least corrupt, at 9.6 on index
*Economic Freedom - 9th equal freest, at 1.84 on index

====Health rankings====
*Fertility rate- 140th most fertile, at 1.79 per woman
*Birth rate - 140th most births, at 13.90 per 1000 people
*Infant mortality - 192nd most deaths, at 5.85 per 1000 live births
*Death rate - 115th highest death rate, at 7.52 per 1000 people
*Life Expectancy - 22nd highest, at 78.81 years
*Suicide rate - 35th highest suicide rate, at 19.8 for males and 4.2 for females per 100,000 people
*HIV/AIDS rate - 149th most cases, at 0.10%

====Other rankings====
*CO2 emissions - 42nd highest emissions, at 8.7 tonnes per capita
*Electricity Consumption - 48th highest consumption of electricity, at 37,030,000,000 kWh
*Broadband Internet access - 22nd highest uptake in OECD, at 11.7%
*Beer consumption - 16th highest, at 77.0 litres per capita
*Environmental Performance Index - Comprising; Environmental health, air quality, water resources, biodiversity and habitat, productive natural resources, sustainable energy - 1st out of 80 countries, at 88.0/100[14]

==Famous New Zealanders==
[[File:Sir Edmund Hillary.jpg|thumb|Sir Edmund Hillary.]]
*[[Sir Edmund Hillary]] - With Tensing Norgay, one of the first men to climb [[Mount Everest]]
*[[Ernest Rutherford|Lord Ernest Rutherford]] - Discovered that [[Atoms]] have a [[nucleus]] and was the first [[physicist]] to split the [[atom]]
*[[Peter Jackson]] - [[Director]] of the [[The Lord of the Rings film trilogy|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]]
*[[Harold Gillies]] - Widely regarded as the father of [[Plastic Surgery]]
*[[Sam Neill]] - [[Actor]]
*[[Lucy Lawless]] - [[Actress]]
*[[Bill "Willie" Apiata]] - NZ SAS Corporal and recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]]
*[[Burt Monro]] - Motorcycle racer and subject of the film The World's Fastest Indian
*[[Bruce McLaren]] - Car Designer and Inventor, founder of the McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 Racing Team
*[[Anna Paquin]] - Youngest person to ever win an [[Academy Award]]
*[[Richard Pearse]] - Thought to have flown before the [[Wright Brothers]] however this is disputed
*[[Scott Dixon]] - Winner of the [[Indy 500]] in 2008

==See also==
* [[Maori]]

==External links==
* Ministry for Culture and Heritage[http://www.mch.govt.nz/]
* Tourism New Zealand[http://www.newzealand.com/]
* New Zealand travel guide from Wikitravel[http://wikitravel.org/en/New_Zealand]

==Bibliography==
* Belich, James. ''The Victorian interpretation of racial conflict: the Maori, the British, and the New Zealand wars'' (1989) [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=acls;cc=acls;rgn=subject;sort=author;q1=New%20Zealand%20--%20History%20--%20New%20Zealand%20Wars%2C%201843-1847 in ACLS E-Book]
* Harding, Paul, Carolyn Bain, and Neal Bedford. ''Lonely Planet New Zealand'' (2002) guide book [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Zealand-Paul-Harding/dp/1740591968/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228220806&sr=8-16 excerpt and text search]
* Rice, Geoffrey W. ''The Oxford History of New Zealand'' (1993), standard scholarly history
* Salt, Laura. ''Oxford New Zealand Encyclopedia'' (1965)
* Sinclair, Keith. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of New Zealand'' (1998)
* Sinclair, Keith. ''A History of New Zealand'' (1960) 320 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/433660?title=A%20History%20of%20New%20Zealand%20%20(1960) online edition]
* Wood, Frederick Lloyd Whitfield. ''The New Zealand people at war: political and external affairs'' (1958), Second World War [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;cc=acls;view=toc;idno=heb03920.0001.001 ACLS E-Book]
* Wright, Harrison M. ''New Zealand, 1769-1840: early years of western contact'' (1959) [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=acls;cc=acls;rgn=subject;sort=author;q1=New%20Zealand%20--%20History%20--%20To%201840 in ACLS E-Book]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Oceanian Countries]]
[[Category:Islands]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:British Empire]]

Australia

2011-04-02T05:18:15Z

Canadairish: /* Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders */

{{Country
|name =''Commonwealth of Australia''
|map =Australia rel 1999.jpg
|map2 =Australia location.png
|flag =Flag of Australia.png
|arms =Australia coat-of-arms.jpg
|capital =Canberra
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =English
|king =
|queen =Elizabeth II
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Julia Gillard
|pm-raw =
|area =2,988,888 sq mi
|pop =21.8 million
|pop-basis =2009
|gdp =A$1.17 trillion
|gdp-year =2009
|gdp-pc =A$36,000
|currency =Australian dollar
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The [[Commonwealth]] of Australia is an independent nation that occupies the continent of Australia, with its west coast on the [[Indian Ocean]], east coast on the [[Pacific Ocean]] facing [[New Zealand]], southern coast on the [[Southern Ocean]] facing [[Antarctica]], and northern coast bordering [[Indonesia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Australia is considered geographically as part of [[Oceania]], but has been establishing its place politically and commercially in [[Southeast Asia]].

==Geography==
[[File:Sydney harbour bridge.jpg|thumb|370px|Sydney harbour bridge.]]
Australia is the only country to occupy an entire continent<ref>This refers just to the Australian mainland. Some authorities now include [[Papua New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]], and various other [[Pacific Ocean]] islands in the continent of "Oceania". See [http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref>, the smallest of the planet's seven continents.<ref>Some people count six, combining North and South America or Europe and Asia. See [http://worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/contnent.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref>
It is 2,400 miles, (3,860 km) from east to west and 2,000 miles (3,220 km) from north to south, and covers an area of 2,967,877 sq miles (7,686,810 sq km). The Australian coastline is 22,812 miles long (36,735 kilometers), roughly the size as the mainland 48 states of the USA.
{{Clear}}

====The States and Territories of Australia====
[[File:State Library of Victoria Australia.jpg|thumb|220px|Melbourne, State Library of Victoria.]]
Australia has six states and three internal territories. The states are: Pe.nis in a..ss and lic.k he an.us of my own
* [[New South Wales]]
* [[Victoria]]
* [[Queensland]]
* [[Western Australia]]
* [[South Australia]]
* [[Tasmania]]
The internal territories are:
* The [[Northern Territory]] (responsible government since 1978)
* [[Australian Capital Territory]] (responsible government since 1988) which is the location of Australia's capital city, [[Canberra]].
* [[Jervis Bay Territory]] (small, not much there, generally forgotten about)
The external territories are:
* [[Christmas Island]]
* [[Norfolk Island]]
* [[Australian Antarctic Territory]]
* [[Coral Sea Islands]]
* [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]]
* [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
* [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]]
{{Clear}}

====Low density====
80% of Australia's population, of just over 20,000,000 people, live on the coast line. It is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries (2.7 people per square kilometre)<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au ABS]</ref>. Water is scarce and some cities have some form of water restrictions in place.

====Weather====
Weather extremes are common in Australia with temperatures sometimes measured into the high 40s Celsius (45 degrees Celsius = 113 degrees Fahrenheit). The city of Darwin was heavily damaged by Cyclone Tracy on Dec. 25, 1974, killing 66 people, and destroying 80% of the buildings. Darwin's utilities were knocked out and 35,000 people were evacuated.

Bush fires often ravage the southern states - one of the worst occurring on Ash Wednesday in 1983 when over 2,000 homes were destroyed and over 70 people lost their lives in Victoria and South Australia. In 2009 severe fires hit much of Victoria, worsened by hot dry winds and a severe drought.

====Flora and fauna====
Australia is noted for its unique biodiversity. Many animals are found only in Australia, the most well known examples are the group of marsupials ([[kangaroo]]s, [[wombat]]s, [[wallaby|wallabies]] and [[koala]]s), and the only two [[monotremes]], the [[platypus]] and the [[echidna]]. Examples of plants that are native to Australia are the [[banksia]], [[yellow wattle]] and [[gum tree]].

Current evolutionary studies indicate that Australia's unique wildlife is the result of Australia becoming an island, being cut off from the Asian land bridge between 40,000 and 250,000 years ago on the [[Uniformitarianism (science)|uniformitarian timescale]].

==People==
===Demographics===
[[File:Australian fishing family.jpg|right|270px]]
Although Australia has scarcely more than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.
*Population (2010 est.): 22.27 million. <ref>http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 Australian Bureau of Statistics</ref>
*Annual population growth rate: 1.7%.
*Ethnic groups: European 92%, Asian 6%, Aboriginal 2%.
*Religions (2006): Catholic 26%, Anglican 19%, other Christian 19%, other non-Christian 1%, Buddhist 2.1%, Islam 1.7%, no religion 19%, and not stated 12%.
*Languages: English.
*Education: Years compulsory--to age 16 in all states and territories except New South Wales and the Northern Territory where it is 15, and Western Australia where it is 17. Literacy--over 99%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate--4.7/1,000. Life expectancy--males 78 yrs., females 83 yrs.
*Work force (10.8 million): Agriculture--3.3%; mining--1.5%; manufacturing--9.8%; retail trade--11.3%; public administration, defense, and safety--6%; construction--9.2%

===Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders===
Australia's indigenous inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people collectively referred to today as Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived more than 40,000 years ago. Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Indigenous population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population is estimated to have numbered between 318,000 and 750,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. In 2006 the indigenous population was approximately 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs, most recently with Prime Minister Rudd's historic apology to the indigenous people in February 2008. Huge co.ck in grandma's mouth

===Immigrants===
Immigration has been vital to Australia's development since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. For generations, most settlers came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin, with a culture and outlook similar to those of Americans. A "White Australia" policy operated from 1901 to the 1960s; it encouraged immigration by Europeans and blocked almost all other immigration.

The Chinese who arrived in the late 19th century to work in the gold mines left voluntarily or were expelled. Likewise most of the "Kanakas" --Polynesians--who came to work in the sugar fields were expatriated after 1901. Many Germans settled in South Australia, but those without Australian citizenship were put in camps during World War I and most were sent back to Germany after the war.

===Recent trends===
[[File:Sydney.jpg|thumb|left|320px|Sydney skyline from Taronga Zoo.]]
Since the end of World War II, Australia's population has more than doubled.

Non British/Irish immigration has increased significantly since World War II through an extensive, planned immigration program. Since 1945 around 6.6 million migrants have settled in Australia, including 690,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants. About 80% have remained; 24%--almost one in four--of Australians are foreign-born. Britain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the former Yugoslavia were the largest sources of post-war immigration, but New Zealand is closing on Britain as the largest source country for permanent migrants to Australia.

The barriers against Asians fell in the 1970s and thousands of immigrants from the Chinese diaspora resettled in Australia. Immigrants from India and the Philippines were numerous as well.

====Refugees====
Australia's humanitarian and refugee program of about 13,000 per year is in addition to other immigration programs. In recent years, refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia have comprised the largest element in Australia's refugee program.

====Religion====
Australia is a [[secular]] nation, in that it has no established religion associated with the Government.

According to the 2006 census, 64% of citizens consider themselves to be Christian, including 26% Roman Catholic, 19% Anglican, and 19% other Christian. Buddhists constitute 2.1% of the population, Muslims 1.7%, Hindus 0.7%, Jews 0.4%, and all others professing a religion 0.5%. Of Australia's 21 million people, about 1.5 million attend weekly religious services <ref>[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083| National Church Life Survey 2004]; U.S. State Department, "International Religious Freedom Report 2008" [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108400.htm online]</ref>.
[[File:Ballarat Hebrew Congregation Australia.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Ballarat Hebrew Congregation.]]
In 1911, during the first census, 96% identified themselves as Christian. In recent decades traditional Christian denominations have seen their total number and proportion of affiliates stagnate or decrease significantly, although from 2001 to 2006, the total number of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians increased by 12.9%. Over the past decade, increased immigration from Southeast Asia and the Middle East considerably expanded the numbers of citizens who identify themselves as Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations. Between 2001 and 2006, the numbers increased for Buddhists by 17% (to 418,000), Muslims by 21% (to 340,393), Jews by 6% (to 89,000), and Hindus by 55% (to 148,131). In 2006 approximately 18.7% of citizens considered themselves to have no religion, up from 17% in 2001, and 11.2% made no statement regarding religious affiliation. According to a 2002 survey, 23% of adults had participated in church or religious activities during the previous 3 months.

The Australian public school system is "free, secular and compulsory" with the secular meaning without favor to any particular religion - most primary schools, however, do offer some form of non-compulsory religious education according to the parents' wishes. The state systems of a number of states offer studies in religion at the senior level.

There is a large Catholic school system in Australia with most parishes having their own primary school and many hundreds of Catholic high schools across the country. There are also a large number of independent schools founded by various religions or denominations of the Christian faith - some hold that religious background to be more important than others. All schools, state or religious, receive government funding, as funding is provided for every student that is an Australian resident.

At the time of European settlement, aboriginal inhabitants followed religions that were animistic, involving belief in spirits behind the forces of nature and the influence of ancestral spirit beings. According to the 2006 census, 5,206 persons, or less than 0.03% of respondents, reported practicing aboriginal traditional religions, down from 5,244 in 2001. The 2006 census reported that almost 64% of Aborigines identify themselves as Christian and 20% listed no religion.

====Culture====
[[Image:Sidney opera house.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Sydney Opera House, an iconic symbol of the nation]]
Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia--film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts--have achieved international recognition.

Australian actors and comedians such as Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Hogan, Hugh Jackman, the late Heath Ledger, and Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) have achieved enormous popularity in the United States. Directors such as Peter Weir, Philip Noyes, and Russell Mulcahy, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and singers and musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Men At Work, The Wiggles, AC/DC, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Nellie Melba, and Kylie Minogue are well known.

Australian artists with international reputations include Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Pro Hart, and Arthur Boyd. Writers who have achieved world recognition include Thomas Keneally, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, Jill Ker Conway, Peter Carey, Robert Hughes, Germaine Greer, and Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.

====Sports====
[[File:Melbourne Cup Australia.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Melbourne]] Cup.]]
Australia is known as a sporting nation with success worldwide in [[swimming]], [[tennis]], [[rugby union]], [[cricket]], [[netball]],and [[basketball]]. Australians are very keen horse racers with the Melbourne Cup <ref>[http://www.melbournecup.com.au| Melbourne Cup]</ref> attracting up to 120,000 spectators at Flemington Race Course on the first Tuesday in November. There is a public holiday for the cup race in Melbourne, while the remainder of the country virtually pauses during the running.

Unique to Australia is a game known as [[Australian rules football]] or Aussie Rules, which is played on a [[cricket]] oval in winter. Australian rules football is the sport most attended in the states of [[Victoria]], [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]], and most attended overall in Australia; in 2006 2.5 million people had attended at least one Aussie Rules game in the preceding 12 months.[http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyCatalogue/1F8FAC9C2C7B1623CA2568A900139417?OpenDocument] Australian Rules Football was written by persons educated at the [[Rugby School]] in England and [[Cambridge University]] before the organisation of uniform football codes. It is not as popular in [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]] although premiership teams are based in these two states.

The other national football code is [[rugby league]]. Rugby league football is the most attended sport in New South Wales and Queensland with its premier club competition being the [[National Rugby League]].

====Tourism====
[[File:Anzac Memorial Sydney Australia 2007.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Anzac Memorial, Sydney, 2007.]]
Most tourists visit places such as Sydney Harbour, Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Australia and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. Other favourite destinations are the wine making areas of South Australia and northern Victoria, the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, the natural wonders of Tasmania and the huge outback expanses of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Some cattle stations in Australia rival Texas in size and the distance between towns in some areas is enormous.

==Government==
Australia became a federated nation on January 1, 1901 under the [[Constitution of Australia]], and all former British colonies became states. The parliament met in [[Melbourne]] until the infrastructure was built for the capital city, [[Canberra]].

Australia has a [[Parliament|parliamentary system]] of government based on the British system with a [[bicameral]] system meeting as the [[Parliament of Australia]], consisting of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] and the [[Australian Senate]]. Each state and territory also has its own parliament.

The two other branches of government under the Constitution are the Executive ([[Governor-General of Australia]] taking advice from the Ministers) and the [[High Court of Australia]].

Australia is a democracy which has allowed men of European descent to vote since federation, with women gaining the vote in 1902 and Aboriginal men and women gaining suffrage in 1962. Voting is compulsory for all citizens who are 18 years old and over (with a few exceptions.)

Australia's Head of Government is the [[Prime Minister of Australia]]. In June 2010, [[Julia Gillard]] became the first female Prime Minister after she defeated Rudd in a partyroom leadership challenge.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gillard ousts Rudd in bloodless coup |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/24/2935500.htm|accessdate=24 June 2010|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=24 June 2010}}</ref>

The Head of State is [[Queen Elizabeth II]], the Queen of Australia (who is the same person, but a different title, as the Queen of Great Britain.) Under the Constitution, and in practice, the authority of the Head of State is vested in the [[Governor-General of Australia]], currently Quentin Bryce AC, Previously Governor of [[Queensland]], who assents to acts of parliament, is the Commander in Chief of the military forces, and appoints all Ministers of the Government; all these various powers are normally exercised on advice from the Prime Minister.

The Government of Australia is exercised, day-to-day, by the Ministers through their various Departments of State.

====Voting====
{{main|Voting in Australia}}

Australia has [[preferential voting]], and voting is compulsory for adults (18 years and over), unless they have been deemed unfit to vote, either by mental illness or conviction for serious offenses. Preferential voting encourages a multiplicity of parties and independent candidates, and counting the votes and allocating preferences can take some time where the results are close.

====Terms====
A Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives is elected for a maximum of three years, but the timing of elections is decided by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par3cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part III |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> A Member of Parliament in the Senate is typically elected for six years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par2cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part II |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> The Prime Minister is normally a member of the House of Representatives, and the tenure is not limited by statute. Ministers may continue to serve for up to three months when not a Member or Senator, but must in that time be elected in order to continue. ([[John Gorton]] was a Senator when appointed leader of his party after the death of his predecessor. He immediately resigned from the Senate and stood for election to the House of Representatives, while remaining Prime Minister throughout.)

====Parliamentary political parties====
Currently, the main political parties in Australia are:
* [[Australian Greens]]
* [[Australian Labor Party]]
* [[Family First Party]]
* [[Liberal Party of Australia]]
* [[National Party of Australia]]
* One Nation Party
[[File:Australian house of representatives.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Australian house of representatives.]]
Despite the US connotation associated with the name, the Liberal Party is conservative in political stance. Robert Menzies helped found the Liberal Party in 1944 and was the Prime Minister from 1939 until 1941 and then again from 1949 until 1966.<ref> [http://www.liberals.net/liberalpartyhistory.htm History of the Liberal Party in Australia]</ref> The term "liberal" refers to the party's predominantly-[[free market|free-market]] approach to [[economics|economic management]].

The party currently in power is the [[Australian Labor Party]]. The Labor Party is also in government in all of the states and territories. The Prime Minister is Julia Gillard.

Conservative Queensland polititian and businesswoman, Pauline Hanson formed the One Nation party to give a conservative voice to voters that were not being effectivly represented by the major partys. One Nation has held seats in both the Federal Senate and Lower House, and have been the subject of ridicule by left-leaning media commentators.

Though the Labor party is "social democratic" and the Liberals are "liberal conservatives", some of the smaller parties are more left leaning or more conservative than Labor and Liberal respectively.

''See also a [[list of Prime Ministers of Australia]].''

The Prime Minister of Australia is the most senior elected person in the country. The role is normally filled by the parliamentary leader of the party which forms the government.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Governor General--Quentin Bryce
*Prime Minister--Julia Gillard
*Deputy Prime Minister--Wayne Swan
*Treasurer--Wayne Swan
*Foreign Minister--Kevin Rudd
*Defense Minister--Stephen Smith
*Trade Minister--Craig Emerson

===Political Conditions===
Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and its smaller coalition partner, The Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the more conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) nominally represents workers, trade unions, and left-of-center groups. While the ALP, founded by labor unions, traditionally had been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues, today it is best described as a social democratic party. All political groups are tied by tradition to welfare programs. Over the last decade, Australia has increased welfare payments to families while imposing obligations on those receiving unemployment benefits and disability pensions. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia's commitment to its alliance with the United States.
[[File:Protests in front of Parliament House Canberra Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
The ALP, under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, defeated the Liberal/National coalition, led by then-Prime Minister John Howard, in the November 24, 2007 election. The ALP now holds 83 seats in the House of Representatives, against 64 for the Liberal/National coalition, and 3 independents. The composition of the Senate is 37 seats for the coalition, 32 for the ALP, five seats for the Greens, one for Family First, and one independent.

Rudd and the ALP won the election with a message promising "new leadership" after 11 years of the Howard government. Rudd portrayed himself as an "economic conservative," while criticizing unpopular Howard government policies on workplace relations reform, climate change, and the war on Iraq. The Rudd government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is working with the international community on combating climate change. It is undoing some labor market reforms instituted by the Howard government, such as statutory individual contracts. The Australian government's foreign policy shows strong continuity with that of its predecessors, stressing relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Rudd government strongly supports U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and increased Australia’s troop contribution in Afghanistan. It withdrew Australia's combat troops from Iraq in 2008; it intends to end its military mission in Iraq on July 31, 2009.

Australia has been an active participant in international affairs since federation in 1901, and Australian forces have fought beside the United States and other Allies in every significant conflict since World War I. On January 8, 1940, the governments of the United States and Australia announced the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. In 1944, Australia concluded an agreement with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific (the ANZAC pact). After World War II, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations, the South Pacific Commission, and the Colombo Plan. In addition to contributing to UN forces in Korea--it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States--Australia sent troops to assist in putting down the 1948-1960 communist revolt in Malaya and later to combat the 1963-1965 Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand signed the ANZUS Treaty in 1951, which remains Australia's pre-eminent formal security treaty alliance. Australia sent troops to assist South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in Vietnam, and joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991, in Afghanistan in 2001, and in Iraq in 2003.

Australia has been active in the Australia-New Zealand-U.K. agreement and the Five-Power Defense Arrangements--successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia.

One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was last a member of the Security Council in 1985-86, a member of the Economic and Social Council for 1986-89, and a member of the UN Human Rights Commission for 1994-96 and 2003-2005. Australia recently declared its intention to seek a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2013-2014. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, nonproliferation and disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control. Australia also is active in meetings of the Commonwealth Regional Heads of Government and the Pacific Islands Forum, and has been a leader in the Cairns Group--countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations--and in founding the APEC forum. In 2002, Australia joined the International Criminal Court.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which promotes regional cooperation on security issues, and has been a member of the East Asia Summit since its inauguration in 2005. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory. In 2006, Australia participated in an international peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). Australia led a regional mission to restore law and order in Solomon Islands in 2003 and again in 2006. Australia is part of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which also includes the United States.

The government is committed to increasing official development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015-2016. Australia budgeted A$3.79 billion (U.S. $3.03 billion) for FY 2008-2009 and has budgeted A$3.82 billion (U.S. $3.05 billion) for FY 2009-2010. The Australian aid program is currently concentrated in Southeast Asia (Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are the largest recipients) and the Pacific Islands. Selected aid flows are allocated to Africa, South Asia, and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Contributions to multilateral organizations and other expenses account for about one-third of the foreign assistance budget.

===ANZUS and Defense===
The Australia, New Zealand, United States (ANZUS) security treaty was concluded at San Francisco on September 1, 1951, and entered into force on April 29, 1952. The treaty bound the signatories to recognize that an armed attack in the Pacific area on any of them would endanger the peace and safety of the others. It committed them to consult in the event of a threat and, in the event of attack, to meet the common danger in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The three nations also pledged to maintain and develop individual and collective capabilities to resist attack.
[[File:Canberra Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Canberra.]]
In 1984, the nature of the ANZUS alliance changed after the Government of New Zealand refused access to its ports by nuclear-weapons-capable and nuclear-powered ships of the U.S. Navy. The United States suspended defense obligations to New Zealand, and annual bilateral meetings between the U.S. Secretary of State and the Australian Foreign Minister replaced annual meetings of the ANZUS Council of Foreign Ministers. The first bilateral meeting was held in Canberra in 1985. At the second, in San Francisco in 1986, the United States and Australia announced that the United States was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. Since 1985, U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and the Australian Foreign and Defense Ministers have held 20 Australia-U.S. Ministerial consultations (AUSMIN), alternating between Australia and the United States. The next AUSMIN is scheduled to take place in Australia in 2010.

The U.S.-Australia alliance under the ANZUS Treaty remains in full force. AUSMIN meetings are supplemented by consultations between the U.S. Combatant Commander, Pacific and the Australian Chief of Defense Force. There also are regular civilian and military consultations between the two governments at lower levels.

ANZUS has no integrated defense structure or dedicated forces. However, in fulfillment of ANZUS obligations, Australia and the United States conduct a variety of joint activities. These include military exercises ranging from naval and landing exercises at the task-group level to battalion-level special forces training to numerous smaller-scale exercises, assigning officers to each other's armed services, and standardizing, where possible, equipment and operational doctrine. The two countries also operate joint defense facilities in Australia.

Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, then-Prime Minister Howard and U.S. President George W. Bush jointly invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time on September 14, 2001. Australia was one of the earliest participants in Operation Enduring Freedom. Australian Defense Forces participated in coalition military action against Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Australian combat forces began their withdrawal from Iraq in mid-2008 and forces are to be fully removed by July 2009. Australia has approximately 1,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan and also provides significant development and capacity building assistance to the country. Based on growing defense commitments, Australia decided to increase the Australian Army from 26,000 to 30,000 over the next several years. This will enable the reestablishment of two infantry battalions, as well as enabling troops, such as a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit.

The Australian Government has stated its intention to maintain its investment in future capability of the Australian Defense Force (ADF). To do so, the government has committed to a 3% annual growth in real defense funding through 2018--and 2.2% annual real growth beyond--to ensure the ADF can continue to meet capability and interoperability goals. The Australian Defense Force numbers about 54,000 active duty personnel, with planned increases to 57,000 within the next decade. The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) front-line fleet currently includes 12 frigates, including 4 of the Adelaide class and 8 Australian-built ANZAC class. In August 2004, Australia selected the Aegis Combat Control System for its three air warfare destroyers (AWD), which will start coming into service in 2014. The F/A-18 fighter, built in Australia under license from the U.S. manufacturer, is the principal combat aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force, backed by the U.S.-built F-111 strike aircraft. In October 2002, Australia became a Level III partner in the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Additionally, the Australian Government signed the JSF Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development MOU in 2006. Australia is projected to buy up to 100 JSF aircraft with deliveries starting in 2013 and running through 2020. The F-111 strike aircraft are scheduled to exit service by 2010 and will be replaced by 24 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters as an interim strike capability with deliveries commencing in 2010. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of the last aircraft in its buy of 4 Lockheed C-17 strategic airlift aircraft in 2008. In addition, Boeing will provide the Commonwealth of Australia's RAAF with an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system based on the Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft as the airborne platform. Recent U.S. sales to the Australian Army include the M1A1 AIM tank, as well as Hellfire and JAVELIN munitions. Future opportunities include CH-47 helicopter replacements, navy helicopter replacements, light and medium cargo aircraft replacements and artillery systems.

In May 2009, the Australian Government released its Defense White Paper, outlining Australia’s long-term strategic outlook. In addition to buying the JSF aircraft, the White Paper proposes to double Australia’s submarine fleet to 12, replace the ANZAC class frigates, and replace the army’s armored personnel carriers.

==Economy==
[[Image:Melbourne tram 250.jpg|thumb|220px|A Melbourne tram.]]
For more see: [[Australian economy]]

Since the 1980s, Australia has undertaken significant structural reform of its economy and has transformed itself from an inward-looking, highly protected, and regulated marketplace to an open, internationally competitive, export-oriented economy. Key economic reforms included unilaterally reducing high tariffs and other protective barriers to free trade, floating the Australian dollar, deregulating the financial services sector, including liberalizing access for foreign banks, increasing flexibility in the labor market, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency between the federal and state branches of government, privatizing many government-owned monopolies, and reforming the taxation system, including introducing a broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST) and large reductions in income tax rates.
[[File:Salamanca-Market-2008 Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
Australia enjoys a higher standard of living than any G7 country other than the United States. Australia's economic standing in the world is a result of a commitment to best-practice macroeconomic policy settings, including the delegation of the conduct of monetary policy to the independent Reserve Bank of Australia, and a broad acceptance of prudent fiscal policy where the government aims for fiscal balance over the economic cycle. Largely due to the fall in revenue as a result of the global economic downturn, net government debt is projected to reach about A$188 billion (U.S. $150.4 billion) in four years. The previous government, drawing from budget surpluses, created the “Future Fund” to provide for future liabilities resulting from the retirement of civil servants. The Government of Australia is predicting negative 0.5% growth in the 2009-2010 fiscal year; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted growth to be negative 1.4% for 2009.

Over 2008, unemployment has risen to around 5.5% from 4.2%, and the labor market participation has remained at around 65%. Both the federal and state governments have recognized the need to invest heavily in water, transport, ports, telecommunications, and education infrastructure to expand Australia's supply capacity. The largest river system in Australia, the Murray-Darling, and related coastal lakes and wetlands in South Australia are critically threatened and the government has developed a plan to improve irrigation infrastructure and efficiency and buy back unused water allocations along the river.
*GDP (2009-2010 estimate): A$1.17 trillion (U.S. $893.6 billion).
*Inflation rate (year to March 2009): 2.5% per annum.
*Reserve Bank official interest rate (May 2009): 3.00%.
*Trade: Exports ($178.9 billion, 2008 estimate)--coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment. Major markets--Japan, China, South Korea, U.S. ($10.7 billion), and New Zealand. Imports ($187.2 billion, 2008 estimate)--machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products. Major suppliers--China, United States ($23.96 billion), Japan, Singapore, and Germany.
*Exchange rate (2009): U.S. $1 = A$1.25.

====Energy====
[[File:Energy 500kv-power-lines Australia.jpg|right|400px]]
Australia is rich in natural resources with significant petroleum, natural gas and coal reserves. Australia’s energy consumption is dominated by coal, which fuels most of the country’s power generation. Petroleum accounts for a large share of energy consumption, but due to declining output, Australia is facing a growing dependence on petroleum imports. Over the past two decades, Australia has steadily consumed increasing amounts of natural gas, which is likely to continue over the medium term.<ref> See Energy Information Administration, "Australia" (2009) [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Australia/Background.html online]</ref>

Australia is one of the four countries (along with Norway, Canada and Mexico) belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that is a significant net energy exporter. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and is the fifth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Australia’s prospects for expanding energy exports in the future are promising as Asian demand for both coal and LNG rises. However, Australia can expect increasing export competition from China (coal) and Indonesia (coal and LNG).

In July 2005, the Australian government formed the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). The AER is responsible for economic regulation in Australian energy markets. In addition, the AER promotes investment in the energy sector to ensure supply security, while monitoring prices faced by end users. In 2006, Australia’s 13 government bodies transferred energy regulation responsibility to the AER. The AER is seeking $23 billion in infrastructure investments over the next 15 years.

====Comparing Australian and U.S. Economic and Health statistics====
Whilst the Australian society is similar in many aspects to those of the U.S., a comparison of key economic (in $U.S.) and health indicators highlights some interesting fundamental differences:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !!Australia!!U.S.
|-
| '''GDP Per Capita'''
| $32,900.00
| $43,500.00
|-
| '''Budget Deficit/Surplus''' Per capita
| $444.00 surplus. Australia has had budget surpluses every year since 2001
| $841.00 deficit
|-
| '''Public Debt'''
| 14.1% of GDP
| 64.7% of GDP
|-
| '''Military Expenditure'''
| 2.5 % of GDP
| 4.06% of GDP
|-
| '''Life Expectancy at Birth''' (combined male and female)
| 80.5 years
| 77.85 years
|-
| '''Infant Mortality Rates''' deaths/1,000 live births
| 4.63
| 6.43
|-
| '''HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rates'''
| 0.1% of population
| 0.6% of population
|}
Australia has a universal health scheme and significant subsidies on most prescription medications.

== History==
''See main article [[History of Australia]]''

Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.
[[File:Aboriginal art Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Aboriginal art.]]
On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the so-called '''First Fleet''' landed at Sydney and the Colony of New South Wales was established. Many, but by no means all, of the first settlers were convicts, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century convict transportation to Australia significantly declined; the last ship to arrive was in 1868. Many officers of the Royal Navy received grants and established large farms and ranches. Ranchers who used government lands for their herds of sheep were informally called "squatters"; despite the term, most were wealthy. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased immigration, wealth, and trade. A third of the new arrivals were Irish Catholics, and there emerged a political and cultural tension between them and the Protestant British.

The six colonies that became the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases.

Negotiations between Australians and the government in London led Parliament to create the '''Commonwealth of Australia''' in 1900, effective January 1, 1901.

Australia came of age in World War I, when it supported the British war effort, and imprisoned German citizens living their. he great defeat at Gallipoli focused Australia's heroes self image.
[[File:UNMCK Australia.jpg|left|280px]]
In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a planned city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942 (with effect as of September 3, 1939), which officially established Australia's complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years.<ref> The Australia Act (effective March 3, 1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council.</ref>

In World War II Australia again rallied to the British cause, but were left practically undefended when at fall of Singapore in 1942 the Japanese captured much of the Australian army. The rest of the army was rushed back from the Middle East to defend against a possible Japanese invasion. Britain was no help, so Australia turned, permanently, to the United States for its defense.

In practice the monarch is only symbolic--a symbol especially of ties to the [[British Empire]] that the Irish and new immigrants are unwilling to continue. In 1998,republicans were given a free hand to choose the form of republic they wanted. This was put to a referendum in 1999, and enjoyed strong support among the politicians and in the mainstream media. But a campaign led by a group, [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy ] resulted in the defeat of the referendum in all states and 72% of electorates. Republicans remain unable to agree on how to replace the present system--whether with a powerful elected president responsible directly to the people, or with a weak president chosen by the government (as in Germany), the model which was rejected in 1999 because of distrust of politicians.

== See also ==
* [[Australian dollar]]
* [[Currency#Australia|Currency: Australia]]

==Bibliography==

===References===
* Bambrick, Susan ed. ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia'' (1994)
* Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian History'' (2001) online at many academic libraries; also [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-History/dp/019551503X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* O'Shane, Pat et al. ''Australia: The Complete Encyclopedia'' (2001)
* Shaw, John, ed. ''Collins Australian Encyclopedia'' (1984)
* Serle. Percival, ed. ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'' (1949) [http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html online edition]
[[File:Aussie1.jpg|thumb|280px]]
===Guides===
* ''Australia For Dummies'' by Marc Llewellyn and Lee Mylne. (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Australia-Dummies-Travel-Marc-Llewellyn/dp/0470178345/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126338&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* '' Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin'' by Charles Rawlings-Way and Meg Worby (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Central-Australia-Adelaide-Darwin-Regional/dp/1741046637/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-17 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Australia 2009'' by Lee Mylne et al. (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Australia-2009-Complete/dp/0470345446/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126132&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Moon Living Abroad in Australia'' by James M. Lane (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Living-Abroad-Australia-James/dp/1598801392/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-24 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Rough Guide to Australia'' by Margo Daly et al. (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-Australia-Travel-Guides/dp/1848360738/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]
* Vaisutis, Justine et al. ''Lonely Planet Sydney & New South Wales'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Australia-Country-Guide-Justine-Vaisutis/dp/174179160X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126132&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]

===Economics and business===
* Kelly, Paul. ''The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia,'' (1994)
* McLean, Ian W. "Consumer Prices and Expenditure Patterns in Australia 1850-1914." ''Australian Economic History Review''(1999) 39(1): 1-28; includes a consumer price index (CPI) for the period 1850 to 1914. Issn: 0004-8992 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Moran, Anthony. ''Australia: Nation, Belonging, and Globalization'' Routledge, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108858937 online edition]
*Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ. ''Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment''.(2000)

===Environment and Geography===
* Appleton, Richard, and Barbara Appleton. ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Australian Places'' (1993)
* Dovers, Stephen. ''Australian Environmental History: Essays & Cases'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Environmental-History-Essays-Cases/dp/0195534824/ref=sr_1_8/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Garden, Don. ''Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific: An Environmental Hisory.'' ABC-CLIO, 2005. 398 pp.
* Hutton, Drew, and Libby Connors. ''History of the Australian Environment Movement'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/History-Australian-Environment-Movement-Hutton/dp/052145686X/ref=sr_1_4/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* Lines, William. ''Taming the Great South Land: A History of the Conquest of Nature in Australia'' (1992)
*Powell JM . ''An Historical Geography of Modern Australia: The Restive Fringe''. (1988)
*Robinson GM, Loughran RJ, and Tranter PJ. ''Australia and New Zealand: economy, society and environment''.(2000)

===History===
see [[History of Australia]] for more detaile guide
* Atkinson, Alan. ''The Europeans in Australia: A History. Vol. 2: Democracy.'' (2005). 440 pp.
* Barker, Anthony. ''What Happened When: A Chronology of Australia from 1788.'' Allen & Unwin. 2000. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108433410 online edition]
* Basset, Jan. ''The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary of Australian History'' (1998)
* Bolton, Geoffrey. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5: 1942-1995. The Middle Way'' (2005)
* Clarke, Frank G. ''The History of Australia'' (2002). [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101344125 online edition]
* Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian History'' (2001) online at many academic libraries; also [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-History/dp/019551503X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
* Day, David. ''Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia'' (2001);
* Edwards, John. ''Curtin's Gift: Reinterpreting Australia's Greatest Prime Minister,'' (2005) [http://www.questia.com/read/108661368 online edition]
* Hughes, Robert. ''The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding'' (1988). [http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Shore-Robert-Hughes/dp/0099448548/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Kemp, Rod, and Marion Stanton, eds. ''Speaking for Australia: Parliamentary Speeches That Shaped Our Nation'' Allen & Unwin, 2004 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110168653 online edition]
* Kingston, Beverley. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 3: 1860-1900 Glad, Confident Morning'' (1993)
* Kociumbas, Jan. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 2: 1770-1860 Possessions'' (1995)
* Macintyre, Stuart. ''The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 4: 1901-42, the Succeeding Age'' (1993)
* Macintyre, Stuart. ''A Concise History of Australia'' (2nd. ed. 2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Australia-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521735939/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126389&sr=1-14 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, A. W. ''Robert Menzies: A Life'' (2 vol 1993-99), online at ACLS e-books
* Megalogenis, George. ''The Longest Decade'' (2nd ed. 2009), politics 1990-2008
* Schreuder, Deryck, and Stuart Ward, eds. ''Australia's Empire'' (Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series) (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Australias-Empire-History-British-Companion/dp/0199273731/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226788019&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Serle. Percival, ed. ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'' (1949)[http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html online edition]
* Taylor, Peter. ''The Atlas of Australian History'' (1991)
* Welsh, Frank. ;;Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land'' (2008)

===International Relations and Military===
* Bridge, Carl ed., ''Munich to Vietnam: Australia's Relations with Britain and the United States since the 1930s,'' Melbourne University Press 1991
* Dennis, Peter, Jeffrey Grey, Ewan Morris, and Robin Prior. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History.'' 1996)
* Firth, Stewart. ''Australia in International Politics: An Introduction to Australian Foreign Policy'' (2005) [http://www.questia.com/read/108662470 online edition]
* Grant, Ian. ''A Dictionary of Australian Military History - from Colonial Times to the Gulf War'' (1992)
* Lee, David. ''Search for Security: The Political Economy of Australia's Postwar Foreign and Defence Policy'' (1995)
* McLean, David. "From British Colony to American Satellite? Australia and the USA during the Cold War," ''Australian Journal of Politics & History" (2006) 52 (1), 64–79. Rejects satellite model. [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2006.00408a.x online at Blackwell-Synergy]
* McLean, David. "Australia in the Cold War: a Historiographical Review." ''International History Review'' (2001) 23(2): 299-321. Issn: 0707-5332
* Murphy, John. ''Harvest of Fear: A History of Australia's Vietnam War'' (1993)
* Watt, Alan. ''The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy 1938–1965,'' Cambridge University Press, 1967

===Culture and society===
* Bebbington, Warren. ''A Dictionary of Australian Music'' (1999)
* Bennett, Bruce et al. ''The Oxford Literary History of Australia'' (1999)
* Bennett, Tony, and David Carter. ''Culture in Australia: Policies, Publics and Programs'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Australia-Reshaping-Australian-Institutions/dp/0521004039/ref=sr_1_47/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193533775&sr=8-47 excerpt and text search]
* Breward, Ian. ''A History of the Churches in Australasia.'' (2002). 474 pp.
* Carey, Hilary. ''Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Religions'' (1996)
* Horton, David. ''The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, Society and Culture'' (2001)
* Huggan Graham. ''Postcolonialism, Racism, Transnationalism'' (Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures) (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Literature-Postcolonialism-Transnationalism-Postcolonial/dp/0199274622/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-10 excerpt and text search]
* Jupp, James, ed. ''The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins'' (2nd ed. 2002) 960pp [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0521807891/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Jupp, James. ''The English in Australia'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0521542952/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Kleinert, Sylvia. and Margo Neale. ''The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture'' (2001)
* Leitner, Gerhard. ''Australia's Many Voices: Australian English--the National Language'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/3110181940/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Love, J.W. ed. ''Australia and the Pacific Islands'' (Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 9) (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Australia-Pacific-Islands-Garland-Encyclopedia/dp/0824060385/ref=sr_1_14/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193533487&sr=8-14 excerpt and text search]
* McAllister, Ian, Steve Dowrick, Riaz Hassan; ''The Cambridge Handbook of the Social Sciences in Australia'' Cambridge University Press, 2003 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108131347 online edition]
* McCulloch, Alan. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'' 2 vol (1984)
* McDonald, John. ''Federation: Australian Art and Society, 1901-2001. Natl. Gallery of Australia, 2002. 264 pp.
* Moran, Albert. ''Historical Dictionary of Australian Radio and Television'' (2007)
* Nile, Richard. ''The Making of the Australian Literary Imagination.'' (2002). 315 pp.
* Rickard, John, ''Australia: A Cultural History'' (1988)
* Webby, Elizabeth. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Australian-Literature-Companions/dp/0521658438/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]
* Wilde, William H. et al eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' (1995) online at [[OUP]] [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-Literature/dp/019553381X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Oxford Literary History of Australia.''
* Samuels, Selina, ed. ''Australian Writers, 1915-50.'' (2002). 510 pp.
* Sayers, Andrew. ''Australian Art'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Art-Oxford-History/dp/0192842145/ref=sr_1_7/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-7 excerpt and text search]
* Webby, Elizabeth, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2006)
* Wannan, Bill. ''A Dictionary of Australian Folklore: Lore, Legends, Myths and Traditions'' (1988)

==Primary sources==
* [http://samizdat.stores.yahoo.net/auslitandhis.html Australia: Literature and History 136 e-books]

==External links==
* [http://www.fed.gov.au Australian Government portal]
* [http://www.aph.gov.au Australian Parliament House (Reps & Senate) portal]
* [http://www.gg.gov.au Governor-General of Australia]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/oceania.htm Australia and Oceania]
* [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy]
* [http://www.crownedrepublic.com.au The Crowned Republic ]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Oceanian Countries]]
[[Category:Continents]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:British Empire]]
[[Category:Bibliographies]]

Australia

2011-04-02T05:17:00Z

Canadairish: /* The States and Territories of Australia */

{{Country
|name =''Commonwealth of Australia''
|map =Australia rel 1999.jpg
|map2 =Australia location.png
|flag =Flag of Australia.png
|arms =Australia coat-of-arms.jpg
|capital =Canberra
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =English
|king =
|queen =Elizabeth II
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Julia Gillard
|pm-raw =
|area =2,988,888 sq mi
|pop =21.8 million
|pop-basis =2009
|gdp =A$1.17 trillion
|gdp-year =2009
|gdp-pc =A$36,000
|currency =Australian dollar
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The [[Commonwealth]] of Australia is an independent nation that occupies the continent of Australia, with its west coast on the [[Indian Ocean]], east coast on the [[Pacific Ocean]] facing [[New Zealand]], southern coast on the [[Southern Ocean]] facing [[Antarctica]], and northern coast bordering [[Indonesia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Australia is considered geographically as part of [[Oceania]], but has been establishing its place politically and commercially in [[Southeast Asia]].

==Geography==
[[File:Sydney harbour bridge.jpg|thumb|370px|Sydney harbour bridge.]]
Australia is the only country to occupy an entire continent<ref>This refers just to the Australian mainland. Some authorities now include [[Papua New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]], and various other [[Pacific Ocean]] islands in the continent of "Oceania". See [http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref>, the smallest of the planet's seven continents.<ref>Some people count six, combining North and South America or Europe and Asia. See [http://worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/contnent.htm WorldAtlas.com].</ref>
It is 2,400 miles, (3,860 km) from east to west and 2,000 miles (3,220 km) from north to south, and covers an area of 2,967,877 sq miles (7,686,810 sq km). The Australian coastline is 22,812 miles long (36,735 kilometers), roughly the size as the mainland 48 states of the USA.
{{Clear}}

====The States and Territories of Australia====
[[File:State Library of Victoria Australia.jpg|thumb|220px|Melbourne, State Library of Victoria.]]
Australia has six states and three internal territories. The states are: Pe.nis in a..ss and lic.k he an.us of my own
* [[New South Wales]]
* [[Victoria]]
* [[Queensland]]
* [[Western Australia]]
* [[South Australia]]
* [[Tasmania]]
The internal territories are:
* The [[Northern Territory]] (responsible government since 1978)
* [[Australian Capital Territory]] (responsible government since 1988) which is the location of Australia's capital city, [[Canberra]].
* [[Jervis Bay Territory]] (small, not much there, generally forgotten about)
The external territories are:
* [[Christmas Island]]
* [[Norfolk Island]]
* [[Australian Antarctic Territory]]
* [[Coral Sea Islands]]
* [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]]
* [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
* [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]]
{{Clear}}

====Low density====
80% of Australia's population, of just over 20,000,000 people, live on the coast line. It is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries (2.7 people per square kilometre)<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au ABS]</ref>. Water is scarce and some cities have some form of water restrictions in place.

====Weather====
Weather extremes are common in Australia with temperatures sometimes measured into the high 40s Celsius (45 degrees Celsius = 113 degrees Fahrenheit). The city of Darwin was heavily damaged by Cyclone Tracy on Dec. 25, 1974, killing 66 people, and destroying 80% of the buildings. Darwin's utilities were knocked out and 35,000 people were evacuated.

Bush fires often ravage the southern states - one of the worst occurring on Ash Wednesday in 1983 when over 2,000 homes were destroyed and over 70 people lost their lives in Victoria and South Australia. In 2009 severe fires hit much of Victoria, worsened by hot dry winds and a severe drought.

====Flora and fauna====
Australia is noted for its unique biodiversity. Many animals are found only in Australia, the most well known examples are the group of marsupials ([[kangaroo]]s, [[wombat]]s, [[wallaby|wallabies]] and [[koala]]s), and the only two [[monotremes]], the [[platypus]] and the [[echidna]]. Examples of plants that are native to Australia are the [[banksia]], [[yellow wattle]] and [[gum tree]].

Current evolutionary studies indicate that Australia's unique wildlife is the result of Australia becoming an island, being cut off from the Asian land bridge between 40,000 and 250,000 years ago on the [[Uniformitarianism (science)|uniformitarian timescale]].

==People==
===Demographics===
[[File:Australian fishing family.jpg|right|270px]]
Although Australia has scarcely more than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world's most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.
*Population (2010 est.): 22.27 million. <ref>http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 Australian Bureau of Statistics</ref>
*Annual population growth rate: 1.7%.
*Ethnic groups: European 92%, Asian 6%, Aboriginal 2%.
*Religions (2006): Catholic 26%, Anglican 19%, other Christian 19%, other non-Christian 1%, Buddhist 2.1%, Islam 1.7%, no religion 19%, and not stated 12%.
*Languages: English.
*Education: Years compulsory--to age 16 in all states and territories except New South Wales and the Northern Territory where it is 15, and Western Australia where it is 17. Literacy--over 99%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate--4.7/1,000. Life expectancy--males 78 yrs., females 83 yrs.
*Work force (10.8 million): Agriculture--3.3%; mining--1.5%; manufacturing--9.8%; retail trade--11.3%; public administration, defense, and safety--6%; construction--9.2%

===Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders===
Australia's indigenous inhabitants, a hunting-gathering people collectively referred to today as Aborigines and Torres Straits Islanders, arrived more than 40,000 years ago. Although their technical culture remained static--depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons--their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Indigenous population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles in the arid interior. When Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Great Britain in 1770, the native population is estimated to have numbered between 318,000 and 750,000 in as many as 500 tribes speaking many different languages. In 2006 the indigenous population was approximately 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population. Since the end of World War II, the government and the public have made efforts to be more responsive to aboriginal rights and needs, most recently with Prime Minister Rudd's historic apology to the indigenous people in February 2008.

===Immigrants===
Immigration has been vital to Australia's development since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. For generations, most settlers came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin, with a culture and outlook similar to those of Americans. A "White Australia" policy operated from 1901 to the 1960s; it encouraged immigration by Europeans and blocked almost all other immigration.

The Chinese who arrived in the late 19th century to work in the gold mines left voluntarily or were expelled. Likewise most of the "Kanakas" --Polynesians--who came to work in the sugar fields were expatriated after 1901. Many Germans settled in South Australia, but those without Australian citizenship were put in camps during World War I and most were sent back to Germany after the war.

===Recent trends===
[[File:Sydney.jpg|thumb|left|320px|Sydney skyline from Taronga Zoo.]]
Since the end of World War II, Australia's population has more than doubled.

Non British/Irish immigration has increased significantly since World War II through an extensive, planned immigration program. Since 1945 around 6.6 million migrants have settled in Australia, including 690,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants. About 80% have remained; 24%--almost one in four--of Australians are foreign-born. Britain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and the former Yugoslavia were the largest sources of post-war immigration, but New Zealand is closing on Britain as the largest source country for permanent migrants to Australia.

The barriers against Asians fell in the 1970s and thousands of immigrants from the Chinese diaspora resettled in Australia. Immigrants from India and the Philippines were numerous as well.

====Refugees====
Australia's humanitarian and refugee program of about 13,000 per year is in addition to other immigration programs. In recent years, refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia have comprised the largest element in Australia's refugee program.

====Religion====
Australia is a [[secular]] nation, in that it has no established religion associated with the Government.

According to the 2006 census, 64% of citizens consider themselves to be Christian, including 26% Roman Catholic, 19% Anglican, and 19% other Christian. Buddhists constitute 2.1% of the population, Muslims 1.7%, Hindus 0.7%, Jews 0.4%, and all others professing a religion 0.5%. Of Australia's 21 million people, about 1.5 million attend weekly religious services <ref>[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083| National Church Life Survey 2004]; U.S. State Department, "International Religious Freedom Report 2008" [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108400.htm online]</ref>.
[[File:Ballarat Hebrew Congregation Australia.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Ballarat Hebrew Congregation.]]
In 1911, during the first census, 96% identified themselves as Christian. In recent decades traditional Christian denominations have seen their total number and proportion of affiliates stagnate or decrease significantly, although from 2001 to 2006, the total number of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians increased by 12.9%. Over the past decade, increased immigration from Southeast Asia and the Middle East considerably expanded the numbers of citizens who identify themselves as Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, and increased the ethnic diversity of existing Christian denominations. Between 2001 and 2006, the numbers increased for Buddhists by 17% (to 418,000), Muslims by 21% (to 340,393), Jews by 6% (to 89,000), and Hindus by 55% (to 148,131). In 2006 approximately 18.7% of citizens considered themselves to have no religion, up from 17% in 2001, and 11.2% made no statement regarding religious affiliation. According to a 2002 survey, 23% of adults had participated in church or religious activities during the previous 3 months.

The Australian public school system is "free, secular and compulsory" with the secular meaning without favor to any particular religion - most primary schools, however, do offer some form of non-compulsory religious education according to the parents' wishes. The state systems of a number of states offer studies in religion at the senior level.

There is a large Catholic school system in Australia with most parishes having their own primary school and many hundreds of Catholic high schools across the country. There are also a large number of independent schools founded by various religions or denominations of the Christian faith - some hold that religious background to be more important than others. All schools, state or religious, receive government funding, as funding is provided for every student that is an Australian resident.

At the time of European settlement, aboriginal inhabitants followed religions that were animistic, involving belief in spirits behind the forces of nature and the influence of ancestral spirit beings. According to the 2006 census, 5,206 persons, or less than 0.03% of respondents, reported practicing aboriginal traditional religions, down from 5,244 in 2001. The 2006 census reported that almost 64% of Aborigines identify themselves as Christian and 20% listed no religion.

====Culture====
[[Image:Sidney opera house.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Sydney Opera House, an iconic symbol of the nation]]
Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia--film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts--have achieved international recognition.

Australian actors and comedians such as Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Hogan, Hugh Jackman, the late Heath Ledger, and Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) have achieved enormous popularity in the United States. Directors such as Peter Weir, Philip Noyes, and Russell Mulcahy, the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and singers and musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Men At Work, The Wiggles, AC/DC, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Nellie Melba, and Kylie Minogue are well known.

Australian artists with international reputations include Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Pro Hart, and Arthur Boyd. Writers who have achieved world recognition include Thomas Keneally, Colleen McCullough, Nevil Shute, Morris West, Jill Ker Conway, Peter Carey, Robert Hughes, Germaine Greer, and Nobel Prize winner Patrick White.

====Sports====
[[File:Melbourne Cup Australia.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Melbourne]] Cup.]]
Australia is known as a sporting nation with success worldwide in [[swimming]], [[tennis]], [[rugby union]], [[cricket]], [[netball]],and [[basketball]]. Australians are very keen horse racers with the Melbourne Cup <ref>[http://www.melbournecup.com.au| Melbourne Cup]</ref> attracting up to 120,000 spectators at Flemington Race Course on the first Tuesday in November. There is a public holiday for the cup race in Melbourne, while the remainder of the country virtually pauses during the running.

Unique to Australia is a game known as [[Australian rules football]] or Aussie Rules, which is played on a [[cricket]] oval in winter. Australian rules football is the sport most attended in the states of [[Victoria]], [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]], and most attended overall in Australia; in 2006 2.5 million people had attended at least one Aussie Rules game in the preceding 12 months.[http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyCatalogue/1F8FAC9C2C7B1623CA2568A900139417?OpenDocument] Australian Rules Football was written by persons educated at the [[Rugby School]] in England and [[Cambridge University]] before the organisation of uniform football codes. It is not as popular in [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]] although premiership teams are based in these two states.

The other national football code is [[rugby league]]. Rugby league football is the most attended sport in New South Wales and Queensland with its premier club competition being the [[National Rugby League]].

====Tourism====
[[File:Anzac Memorial Sydney Australia 2007.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Anzac Memorial, Sydney, 2007.]]
Most tourists visit places such as Sydney Harbour, Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Central Australia and the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. Other favourite destinations are the wine making areas of South Australia and northern Victoria, the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, the natural wonders of Tasmania and the huge outback expanses of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Some cattle stations in Australia rival Texas in size and the distance between towns in some areas is enormous.

==Government==
Australia became a federated nation on January 1, 1901 under the [[Constitution of Australia]], and all former British colonies became states. The parliament met in [[Melbourne]] until the infrastructure was built for the capital city, [[Canberra]].

Australia has a [[Parliament|parliamentary system]] of government based on the British system with a [[bicameral]] system meeting as the [[Parliament of Australia]], consisting of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] and the [[Australian Senate]]. Each state and territory also has its own parliament.

The two other branches of government under the Constitution are the Executive ([[Governor-General of Australia]] taking advice from the Ministers) and the [[High Court of Australia]].

Australia is a democracy which has allowed men of European descent to vote since federation, with women gaining the vote in 1902 and Aboriginal men and women gaining suffrage in 1962. Voting is compulsory for all citizens who are 18 years old and over (with a few exceptions.)

Australia's Head of Government is the [[Prime Minister of Australia]]. In June 2010, [[Julia Gillard]] became the first female Prime Minister after she defeated Rudd in a partyroom leadership challenge.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gillard ousts Rudd in bloodless coup |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/24/2935500.htm|accessdate=24 June 2010|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=24 June 2010}}</ref>

The Head of State is [[Queen Elizabeth II]], the Queen of Australia (who is the same person, but a different title, as the Queen of Great Britain.) Under the Constitution, and in practice, the authority of the Head of State is vested in the [[Governor-General of Australia]], currently Quentin Bryce AC, Previously Governor of [[Queensland]], who assents to acts of parliament, is the Commander in Chief of the military forces, and appoints all Ministers of the Government; all these various powers are normally exercised on advice from the Prime Minister.

The Government of Australia is exercised, day-to-day, by the Ministers through their various Departments of State.

====Voting====
{{main|Voting in Australia}}

Australia has [[preferential voting]], and voting is compulsory for adults (18 years and over), unless they have been deemed unfit to vote, either by mental illness or conviction for serious offenses. Preferential voting encourages a multiplicity of parties and independent candidates, and counting the votes and allocating preferences can take some time where the results are close.

====Terms====
A Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives is elected for a maximum of three years, but the timing of elections is decided by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par3cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part III |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> A Member of Parliament in the Senate is typically elected for six years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/par2cha1.htm |title=Parliament of Australia: Senate: Constitution - Chapter 1 Part II |accessdate=2010-10-13}}</ref> The Prime Minister is normally a member of the House of Representatives, and the tenure is not limited by statute. Ministers may continue to serve for up to three months when not a Member or Senator, but must in that time be elected in order to continue. ([[John Gorton]] was a Senator when appointed leader of his party after the death of his predecessor. He immediately resigned from the Senate and stood for election to the House of Representatives, while remaining Prime Minister throughout.)

====Parliamentary political parties====
Currently, the main political parties in Australia are:
* [[Australian Greens]]
* [[Australian Labor Party]]
* [[Family First Party]]
* [[Liberal Party of Australia]]
* [[National Party of Australia]]
* One Nation Party
[[File:Australian house of representatives.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Australian house of representatives.]]
Despite the US connotation associated with the name, the Liberal Party is conservative in political stance. Robert Menzies helped found the Liberal Party in 1944 and was the Prime Minister from 1939 until 1941 and then again from 1949 until 1966.<ref> [http://www.liberals.net/liberalpartyhistory.htm History of the Liberal Party in Australia]</ref> The term "liberal" refers to the party's predominantly-[[free market|free-market]] approach to [[economics|economic management]].

The party currently in power is the [[Australian Labor Party]]. The Labor Party is also in government in all of the states and territories. The Prime Minister is Julia Gillard.

Conservative Queensland polititian and businesswoman, Pauline Hanson formed the One Nation party to give a conservative voice to voters that were not being effectivly represented by the major partys. One Nation has held seats in both the Federal Senate and Lower House, and have been the subject of ridicule by left-leaning media commentators.

Though the Labor party is "social democratic" and the Liberals are "liberal conservatives", some of the smaller parties are more left leaning or more conservative than Labor and Liberal respectively.

''See also a [[list of Prime Ministers of Australia]].''

The Prime Minister of Australia is the most senior elected person in the country. The role is normally filled by the parliamentary leader of the party which forms the government.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Governor General--Quentin Bryce
*Prime Minister--Julia Gillard
*Deputy Prime Minister--Wayne Swan
*Treasurer--Wayne Swan
*Foreign Minister--Kevin Rudd
*Defense Minister--Stephen Smith
*Trade Minister--Craig Emerson

===Political Conditions===
Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and its smaller coalition partner, The Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the more conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) nominally represents workers, trade unions, and left-of-center groups. While the ALP, founded by labor unions, traditionally had been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues, today it is best described as a social democratic party. All political groups are tied by tradition to welfare programs. Over the last decade, Australia has increased welfare payments to families while imposing obligations on those receiving unemployment benefits and disability pensions. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia's commitment to its alliance with the United States.
[[File:Protests in front of Parliament House Canberra Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
The ALP, under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, defeated the Liberal/National coalition, led by then-Prime Minister John Howard, in the November 24, 2007 election. The ALP now holds 83 seats in the House of Representatives, against 64 for the Liberal/National coalition, and 3 independents. The composition of the Senate is 37 seats for the coalition, 32 for the ALP, five seats for the Greens, one for Family First, and one independent.

Rudd and the ALP won the election with a message promising "new leadership" after 11 years of the Howard government. Rudd portrayed himself as an "economic conservative," while criticizing unpopular Howard government policies on workplace relations reform, climate change, and the war on Iraq. The Rudd government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is working with the international community on combating climate change. It is undoing some labor market reforms instituted by the Howard government, such as statutory individual contracts. The Australian government's foreign policy shows strong continuity with that of its predecessors, stressing relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Rudd government strongly supports U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and increased Australia’s troop contribution in Afghanistan. It withdrew Australia's combat troops from Iraq in 2008; it intends to end its military mission in Iraq on July 31, 2009.

Australia has been an active participant in international affairs since federation in 1901, and Australian forces have fought beside the United States and other Allies in every significant conflict since World War I. On January 8, 1940, the governments of the United States and Australia announced the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations. In 1944, Australia concluded an agreement with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific (the ANZAC pact). After World War II, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch. Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations, the South Pacific Commission, and the Colombo Plan. In addition to contributing to UN forces in Korea--it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States--Australia sent troops to assist in putting down the 1948-1960 communist revolt in Malaya and later to combat the 1963-1965 Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak. The United States, Australia, and New Zealand signed the ANZUS Treaty in 1951, which remains Australia's pre-eminent formal security treaty alliance. Australia sent troops to assist South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in Vietnam, and joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991, in Afghanistan in 2001, and in Iraq in 2003.

Australia has been active in the Australia-New Zealand-U.K. agreement and the Five-Power Defense Arrangements--successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia.

One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It was last a member of the Security Council in 1985-86, a member of the Economic and Social Council for 1986-89, and a member of the UN Human Rights Commission for 1994-96 and 2003-2005. Australia recently declared its intention to seek a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2013-2014. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, nonproliferation and disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control. Australia also is active in meetings of the Commonwealth Regional Heads of Government and the Pacific Islands Forum, and has been a leader in the Cairns Group--countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations--and in founding the APEC forum. In 2002, Australia joined the International Criminal Court.

Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which promotes regional cooperation on security issues, and has been a member of the East Asia Summit since its inauguration in 2005. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory. In 2006, Australia participated in an international peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). Australia led a regional mission to restore law and order in Solomon Islands in 2003 and again in 2006. Australia is part of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which also includes the United States.

The government is committed to increasing official development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015-2016. Australia budgeted A$3.79 billion (U.S. $3.03 billion) for FY 2008-2009 and has budgeted A$3.82 billion (U.S. $3.05 billion) for FY 2009-2010. The Australian aid program is currently concentrated in Southeast Asia (Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are the largest recipients) and the Pacific Islands. Selected aid flows are allocated to Africa, South Asia, and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Contributions to multilateral organizations and other expenses account for about one-third of the foreign assistance budget.

===ANZUS and Defense===
The Australia, New Zealand, United States (ANZUS) security treaty was concluded at San Francisco on September 1, 1951, and entered into force on April 29, 1952. The treaty bound the signatories to recognize that an armed attack in the Pacific area on any of them would endanger the peace and safety of the others. It committed them to consult in the event of a threat and, in the event of attack, to meet the common danger in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The three nations also pledged to maintain and develop individual and collective capabilities to resist attack.
[[File:Canberra Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Canberra.]]
In 1984, the nature of the ANZUS alliance changed after the Government of New Zealand refused access to its ports by nuclear-weapons-capable and nuclear-powered ships of the U.S. Navy. The United States suspended defense obligations to New Zealand, and annual bilateral meetings between the U.S. Secretary of State and the Australian Foreign Minister replaced annual meetings of the ANZUS Council of Foreign Ministers. The first bilateral meeting was held in Canberra in 1985. At the second, in San Francisco in 1986, the United States and Australia announced that the United States was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. Since 1985, U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and the Australian Foreign and Defense Ministers have held 20 Australia-U.S. Ministerial consultations (AUSMIN), alternating between Australia and the United States. The next AUSMIN is scheduled to take place in Australia in 2010.

The U.S.-Australia alliance under the ANZUS Treaty remains in full force. AUSMIN meetings are supplemented by consultations between the U.S. Combatant Commander, Pacific and the Australian Chief of Defense Force. There also are regular civilian and military consultations between the two governments at lower levels.

ANZUS has no integrated defense structure or dedicated forces. However, in fulfillment of ANZUS obligations, Australia and the United States conduct a variety of joint activities. These include military exercises ranging from naval and landing exercises at the task-group level to battalion-level special forces training to numerous smaller-scale exercises, assigning officers to each other's armed services, and standardizing, where possible, equipment and operational doctrine. The two countries also operate joint defense facilities in Australia.

Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, then-Prime Minister Howard and U.S. President George W. Bush jointly invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time on September 14, 2001. Australia was one of the earliest participants in Operation Enduring Freedom. Australian Defense Forces participated in coalition military action against Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Australian combat forces began their withdrawal from Iraq in mid-2008 and forces are to be fully removed by July 2009. Australia has approximately 1,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan and also provides significant development and capacity building assistance to the country. Based on growing defense commitments, Australia decided to increase the Australian Army from 26,000 to 30,000 over the next several years. This will enable the reestablishment of two infantry battalions, as well as enabling troops, such as a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit.

The Australian Government has stated its intention to maintain its investment in future capability of the Australian Defense Force (ADF). To do so, the government has committed to a 3% annual growth in real defense funding through 2018--and 2.2% annual real growth beyond--to ensure the ADF can continue to meet capability and interoperability goals. The Australian Defense Force numbers about 54,000 active duty personnel, with planned increases to 57,000 within the next decade. The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) front-line fleet currently includes 12 frigates, including 4 of the Adelaide class and 8 Australian-built ANZAC class. In August 2004, Australia selected the Aegis Combat Control System for its three air warfare destroyers (AWD), which will start coming into service in 2014. The F/A-18 fighter, built in Australia under license from the U.S. manufacturer, is the principal combat aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force, backed by the U.S.-built F-111 strike aircraft. In October 2002, Australia became a Level III partner in the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Additionally, the Australian Government signed the JSF Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development MOU in 2006. Australia is projected to buy up to 100 JSF aircraft with deliveries starting in 2013 and running through 2020. The F-111 strike aircraft are scheduled to exit service by 2010 and will be replaced by 24 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters as an interim strike capability with deliveries commencing in 2010. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took delivery of the last aircraft in its buy of 4 Lockheed C-17 strategic airlift aircraft in 2008. In addition, Boeing will provide the Commonwealth of Australia's RAAF with an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system based on the Next-Generation 737-700 aircraft as the airborne platform. Recent U.S. sales to the Australian Army include the M1A1 AIM tank, as well as Hellfire and JAVELIN munitions. Future opportunities include CH-47 helicopter replacements, navy helicopter replacements, light and medium cargo aircraft replacements and artillery systems.

In May 2009, the Australian Government released its Defense White Paper, outlining Australia’s long-term strategic outlook. In addition to buying the JSF aircraft, the White Paper proposes to double Australia’s submarine fleet to 12, replace the ANZAC class frigates, and replace the army’s armored personnel carriers.

==Economy==
[[Image:Melbourne tram 250.jpg|thumb|220px|A Melbourne tram.]]
For more see: [[Australian economy]]

Since the 1980s, Australia has undertaken significant structural reform of its economy and has transformed itself from an inward-looking, highly protected, and regulated marketplace to an open, internationally competitive, export-oriented economy. Key economic reforms included unilaterally reducing high tariffs and other protective barriers to free trade, floating the Australian dollar, deregulating the financial services sector, including liberalizing access for foreign banks, increasing flexibility in the labor market, reducing duplication and increasing efficiency between the federal and state branches of government, privatizing many government-owned monopolies, and reforming the taxation system, including introducing a broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST) and large reductions in income tax rates.
[[File:Salamanca-Market-2008 Australia.jpg|left|320px]]
Australia enjoys a higher standard of living than any G7 country other than the United States. Australia's economic standing in the world is a result of a commitment to best-practice macroeconomic policy settings, including the delegation of the conduct of monetary policy to the independent Reserve Bank of Australia, and a broad acceptance of prudent fiscal policy where the government aims for fiscal balance over the economic cycle. Largely due to the fall in revenue as a result of the global economic downturn, net government debt is projected to reach about A$188 billion (U.S. $150.4 billion) in four years. The previous government, drawing from budget surpluses, created the “Future Fund” to provide for future liabilities resulting from the retirement of civil servants. The Government of Australia is predicting negative 0.5% growth in the 2009-2010 fiscal year; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted growth to be negative 1.4% for 2009.

Over 2008, unemployment has risen to around 5.5% from 4.2%, and the labor market participation has remained at around 65%. Both the federal and state governments have recognized the need to invest heavily in water, transport, ports, telecommunications, and education infrastructure to expand Australia's supply capacity. The largest river system in Australia, the Murray-Darling, and related coastal lakes and wetlands in South Australia are critically threatened and the government has developed a plan to improve irrigation infrastructure and efficiency and buy back unused water allocations along the river.
*GDP (2009-2010 estimate): A$1.17 trillion (U.S. $893.6 billion).
*Inflation rate (year to March 2009): 2.5% per annum.
*Reserve Bank official interest rate (May 2009): 3.00%.
*Trade: Exports ($178.9 billion, 2008 estimate)--coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment. Major markets--Japan, China, South Korea, U.S. ($10.7 billion), and New Zealand. Imports ($187.2 billion, 2008 estimate)--machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products. Major suppliers--China, United States ($23.96 billion), Japan, Singapore, and Germany.
*Exchange rate (2009): U.S. $1 = A$1.25.

====Energy====
[[File:Energy 500kv-power-lines Australia.jpg|right|400px]]
Australia is rich in natural resources with significant petroleum, natural gas and coal reserves. Australia’s energy consumption is dominated by coal, which fuels most of the country’s power generation. Petroleum accounts for a large share of energy consumption, but due to declining output, Australia is facing a growing dependence on petroleum imports. Over the past two decades, Australia has steadily consumed increasing amounts of natural gas, which is likely to continue over the medium term.<ref> See Energy Information Administration, "Australia" (2009) [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Australia/Background.html online]</ref>

Australia is one of the four countries (along with Norway, Canada and Mexico) belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that is a significant net energy exporter. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter and is the fifth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Australia’s prospects for expanding energy exports in the future are promising as Asian demand for both coal and LNG rises. However, Australia can expect increasing export competition from China (coal) and Indonesia (coal and LNG).

In July 2005, the Australian government formed the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). The AER is responsible for economic regulation in Australian energy markets. In addition, the AER promotes investment in the energy sector to ensure supply security, while monitoring prices faced by end users. In 2006, Australia’s 13 government bodies transferred energy regulation responsibility to the AER. The AER is seeking $23 billion in infrastructure investments over the next 15 years.

====Comparing Australian and U.S. Economic and Health statistics====
Whilst the Australian society is similar in many aspects to those of the U.S., a comparison of key economic (in $U.S.) and health indicators highlights some interesting fundamental differences:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !!Australia!!U.S.
|-
| '''GDP Per Capita'''
| $32,900.00
| $43,500.00
|-
| '''Budget Deficit/Surplus''' Per capita
| $444.00 surplus. Australia has had budget surpluses every year since 2001
| $841.00 deficit
|-
| '''Public Debt'''
| 14.1% of GDP
| 64.7% of GDP
|-
| '''Military Expenditure'''
| 2.5 % of GDP
| 4.06% of GDP
|-
| '''Life Expectancy at Birth''' (combined male and female)
| 80.5 years
| 77.85 years
|-
| '''Infant Mortality Rates''' deaths/1,000 live births
| 4.63
| 6.43
|-
| '''HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rates'''
| 0.1% of population
| 0.6% of population
|}
Australia has a universal health scheme and significant subsidies on most prescription medications.

== History==
''See main article [[History of Australia]]''

Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.
[[File:Aboriginal art Australia.jpg|thumb|300px|Aboriginal art.]]
On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the so-called '''First Fleet''' landed at Sydney and the Colony of New South Wales was established. Many, but by no means all, of the first settlers were convicts, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century convict transportation to Australia significantly declined; the last ship to arrive was in 1868. Many officers of the Royal Navy received grants and established large farms and ranches. Ranchers who used government lands for their herds of sheep were informally called "squatters"; despite the term, most were wealthy. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased immigration, wealth, and trade. A third of the new arrivals were Irish Catholics, and there emerged a political and cultural tension between them and the Protestant British.

The six colonies that became the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases.

Negotiations between Australians and the government in London led Parliament to create the '''Commonwealth of Australia''' in 1900, effective January 1, 1901.

Australia came of age in World War I, when it supported the British war effort, and imprisoned German citizens living their. he great defeat at Gallipoli focused Australia's heroes self image.
[[File:UNMCK Australia.jpg|left|280px]]
In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a planned city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942 (with effect as of September 3, 1939), which officially established Australia's complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years.<ref> The Australia Act (effective March 3, 1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council.</ref>

In World War II Australia again rallied to the British cause, but were left practically undefended when at fall of Singapore in 1942 the Japanese captured much of the Australian army. The rest of the army was rushed back from the Middle East to defend against a possible Japanese invasion. Britain was no help, so Australia turned, permanently, to the United States for its defense.

In practice the monarch is only symbolic--a symbol especially of ties to the [[British Empire]] that the Irish and new immigrants are unwilling to continue. In 1998,republicans were given a free hand to choose the form of republic they wanted. This was put to a referendum in 1999, and enjoyed strong support among the politicians and in the mainstream media. But a campaign led by a group, [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy ] resulted in the defeat of the referendum in all states and 72% of electorates. Republicans remain unable to agree on how to replace the present system--whether with a powerful elected president responsible directly to the people, or with a weak president chosen by the government (as in Germany), the model which was rejected in 1999 because of distrust of politicians.

== See also ==
* [[Australian dollar]]
* [[Currency#Australia|Currency: Australia]]

==Bibliography==

===References===
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* Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian History'' (2001) online at many academic libraries; also [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-History/dp/019551503X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search]
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[[File:Aussie1.jpg|thumb|280px]]
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* ''Australia For Dummies'' by Marc Llewellyn and Lee Mylne. (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Australia-Dummies-Travel-Marc-Llewellyn/dp/0470178345/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254126338&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
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* Day, David. ''Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia'' (2001);
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* Welsh, Frank. ;;Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land'' (2008)

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* Bridge, Carl ed., ''Munich to Vietnam: Australia's Relations with Britain and the United States since the 1930s,'' Melbourne University Press 1991
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===Culture and society===
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* McAllister, Ian, Steve Dowrick, Riaz Hassan; ''The Cambridge Handbook of the Social Sciences in Australia'' Cambridge University Press, 2003 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108131347 online edition]
* McCulloch, Alan. ''Encyclopedia of Australian Art'' 2 vol (1984)
* McDonald, John. ''Federation: Australian Art and Society, 1901-2001. Natl. Gallery of Australia, 2002. 264 pp.
* Moran, Albert. ''Historical Dictionary of Australian Radio and Television'' (2007)
* Nile, Richard. ''The Making of the Australian Literary Imagination.'' (2002). 315 pp.
* Rickard, John, ''Australia: A Cultural History'' (1988)
* Webby, Elizabeth. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Australian-Literature-Companions/dp/0521658438/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]
* Wilde, William H. et al eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' (1995) online at [[OUP]] [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Australian-Literature/dp/019553381X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209696680&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Oxford Literary History of Australia.''
* Samuels, Selina, ed. ''Australian Writers, 1915-50.'' (2002). 510 pp.
* Sayers, Andrew. ''Australian Art'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Art-Oxford-History/dp/0192842145/ref=sr_1_7/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193540375&sr=1-7 excerpt and text search]
* Webby, Elizabeth, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature'' (2006)
* Wannan, Bill. ''A Dictionary of Australian Folklore: Lore, Legends, Myths and Traditions'' (1988)

==Primary sources==
* [http://samizdat.stores.yahoo.net/auslitandhis.html Australia: Literature and History 136 e-books]

==External links==
* [http://www.fed.gov.au Australian Government portal]
* [http://www.aph.gov.au Australian Parliament House (Reps & Senate) portal]
* [http://www.gg.gov.au Governor-General of Australia]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/oceania.htm Australia and Oceania]
* [http://www.norepublic.com.au Australians for Constitutional Monarchy]
* [http://www.crownedrepublic.com.au The Crowned Republic ]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Oceanian Countries]]
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[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
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[[Category:Bibliographies]]

Dog

2011-04-02T05:15:39Z

Canadairish: /* Scientific details */

{{Taxonomy|image = akitadog.jpg|kingdom = Animalia|phylum = Chordata|subphylum = Vertebrata|class = Mammalia|order = Carnivora|suborder = Caniformia |family = Canidae|genus = Canis|species = lupus|sub = C. l. familiaris (Domesticated dog)}}

'''Dogs''' are one of the most well-known domesticated species, with archaeological and historical records showing that they have lived in a mutually beneficial relationship with humans for thousands of years.

Offspring are called ''pups'' (or ''puppies'') until around a year old. The collective noun for a group of offspring is a ''litter''.
Breeders refer to male dogs as a ''dog'', while a female is called a ''bitch''.

Research has shown that it is probable that the first settlers respectively of the [[America]]s and [[Australia]] brought dogs of some sort with them.

== Scientific details ==
Dogs (scientific name ''Canis lupus familiaris'') are a subspecies of [[wolf|wolves]], divided into a multitude of different breeds all in principle capable of interbreeding (though in some cases, physical relations between representatives of two breeds are unlikely or problematic - Chihuahuas and Great Danes, for example).

Fossils of canine skulls smaller than those of wolves have been found with human artifacts, with dates based on evolutionary assumptions estimated to between 130,000 and 190,000 years ago.<ref name="DK">Kingsley, Danny, [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s513072.htm Humans live a dog's life]</ref> whilst DNA evidence has been used to suggest that dogs diverged from wolves between 100,000 and 135,000 years ago.<ref name="DK" /> huge pe.nis in the a.ss of jesus make me s.uck his c.ock and swallow his warm c.um
<ref>Vila, Carles; Carles Vila, Peter Savolainen, Jesus E. Maldonado, Isabel R. Amorim, John E. Rice, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Keith A. Crandall, Joakim Lundeberg, Wayne, Robert F. (1997-01-30; accepted 1997-04-14). [http://www.mnh.si.edu/GeneticsLab/StaffPage/MaldonadoJ/PublicationsCV/Science_Dog_Paper.pdf Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog], ''Science'' 276: 1687-1689. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.</ref>
Secular archeology has placed the earliest known domestication at potentially 12,000 BC-10,000 BC and with certainty at 7,000 BC. <ref>Scott, John Paul (1965), Dog behavior: The genetic basis, University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-74338-1.</ref>

Dogs are also viewed as being the single most genetically diverse species on Earth - largely thanks to human-imposed selective breeding, the vast array of dog breeds surpasses any other creature on the planet. Due to selective breeding by man, however, many breeds of dog have significant [[gene|genetic]] disorders. These include hip dysplasia (common with German Shepherds), and respiratory problems caused by shortening of the face, as seen with Boxer dogs and the Bulldog's lip. To overcome the prevalence of genetic disorders rendered common by inbreeding, many breeders regularly practice outcrossing, or introducing new material into a breed line via mating with other kinds of dog. This restores vigor to a breed and can decrease the likelihood of genetic disorders manifesting.

== Bites ==
Despite being colloquially known as "man's best friend", every 40 seconds, someone in the [[United States of America|United States]] seeks medical help for a dog bite, with approximately 800,000 such bites per year requiring medical attention.<ref>http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html</ref>
Due to the high cost of dog bite liability claims, some [[insurance]] companies have blacklisted certain breeds and refuse to provide homeowners insurance to those who own these dog breeds. <ref>http://www.dogbitelegalcenter.com/resources/common-dogs.html</ref>

== Uses ==

Dogs are used for many purposes:
[[File:Divot the Therapy Dog.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Divot was a therapy dog at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, [[Florida]]]]
*Guarding property and livestock
*Herding [[sheep]] and [[cow|cattle]]
*Tracking by scent, carrying messages, and mountain and water rescue
*Pursuing, flushing and retrieving game, and killing [[vermin]]
*Providing assistance to people with disabilities
*Military and police duties including guarding, tracking, interrogation, and attacking. In [[World War II]], the [[Soviet Union]] attempted to train dogs to place explosive charges under German [[tank]]s
*To detect cadavers, explosives, or illegal drugs (German Shepherds are commonly trained to do so by police)
*As a beast of burden, or for drawing sledges, sleighs, and dogcarts
* As a performing animal. [[Circus]] dogs have been trained to dance, ride bicycles, speak, and walk the tightrope
* For fighting, now illegal in most places, e.g. everywhere in USA
*As food. Dog is still considered a delicacy in [[China]], [[Korea]] and parts of [[Africa]] today

Today most dogs in western countries are kept for [[pet|companionship]] only. Stray and feral dogs cause many problems, spreading diseases such as [[rabies]], and attacking people and [[livestock]].

==Further reading==
* [http://www.mastiffexperts.com Mastiff Experts]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Nb_zl_canines}}
{{Working dogs}}
{{Hounds}}
{{Sporting dogs}}
{{Non-sporting dogs}}
{{Toy dogs}}
{{Terriers}}
[[Category:Canines]]
[[Category:Biblical Animals]]
[[Category:Domestic Animals]]
[[Category:Animals]]