Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

John Curtin

2007-03-20T15:53:10Z

Dave mac:

'''John Curtin''' was a Prime Minister of [[Australia]] during the 1950s to 1960s. He was a staunch conservative and very popular in his home state of Queensland. He was Prime Minister from 1950 to 1966.

Despite his political views, he was responsible for introducing many innovations into Australia such as connecting the first electrical grid into South Australia, voting rights for women and the construction of a railroad line from Adelaide to Brisbane.

He received a knighthood from the Queen in 1966 upon his retirement from politics. He died in 1968 and is buried with his wife, Lady Flora Curtin at St Andrews Cathedral in the town of his birth, Caboulture, QLD.

Pope

2007-03-20T10:37:56Z

Dave mac: removed vandalism

The Pope (from Latin "papa", father) is the [[head]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] church. Today the pope is [[Pope Benedict XVI]]. He strongly opposes [[abortion]], [[torture]], [[birth control]] and pre-emptive war.

For Catholics, the Pope is nowadays infallible in matters of doctrine (see Dictatus Papae).

[[Category:Religion]]

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-20T10:18:15Z

Dave mac:

[[Image:Elizabeth-II.jpg|right]]
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926) is the current [[Queen of the United Kingdom]](1952-) and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries and [[Head of the Commonwealth of Nations]], succeeding [[George VI]].
==Early life==
She was the first child of King George VI.
==Marriage and Birth of Firstborn ==
She married [[Prince Philip Mountenbatten]] of [[Greece]] and gave birth to her first child Prince Charles in 1948. Her other children are Prince Andrew, The Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Prince Edward.
==Death of Father==
[[World War II]] caused a great strain on her father who died at [[Sandringham]] on February 6, 1952.
==Coronation==
After the mourning period concluded, she was crowned Queen of the [[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain and [[Northern Ireland]] and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and her other realms and territories at [[Westminster Abbey]] by the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], in a coronation ceremony dating back at least 1000 years.

==Method of Ruling==
Since ascending the throne Her Majesty has taken her role as head of the Church of England and Queen seriously. Although she doesn't hold day to day political power, she maintains a continuous check on the power of her elected officials and still maintains most of her powers ''in reserve''.

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-20T10:14:48Z

Dave mac:

[[Image:Elizabeth-II.jpg|right]]
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926) is the current [[Queen of the United Kingdom]](1952-) and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries and [[Head of the Commonwealth of Nations]], succeeding [[George VI]].
==Early life==
She was the first child of King George VI.
==Marriage and Birth of Firstborn ==
She married [[Prince Philip Mountenbatten]] of [[Greece]] and gave birth to her first child Prince Charles in 1948. Her other children are Prince Andrew, The Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Prince Edward.
==Death of Father==
[[World War II]] caused a great strain on her father who died at [[Sandringham]] on February 6, 1952.
==Coronation==
After the mourning period concluded, she was crowned Queen of the [[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain and [[Northern Ireland]] and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and her other realms and territories at [[Westminster Abbey]] by the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], in a coronation ceremony dating back at least 1000 years.
[[Image:Example.jpg]]
==Method of Ruling==
Since ascending the throne Her Majesty has taken her role as head of the Church of England and Queen seriously. Although she doesn't hold day to day political power, she maintains a continuous check on the power of her elected officials and still maintains most of her powers ''in reserve''.

Talk:Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-20T10:00:20Z

Dave mac: New page: Could someone please change that picture?

Could someone please change that picture?

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-20T09:59:45Z

Dave mac:

[[Image:Elizabeth-II.jpg|right]]
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926) is the current [[Queen of the United Kingdom]](1952-) and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries and [[Head of the Commonwealth of Nations]], succeeding [[George VI]].
==Early life==
She was the first child of King George VI.
==Marriage and Birth of Firstborn ==
She married [[Prince Philip Mountenbatten]] of [[Greece]] and gave birth to her first child Prince Charles in 1948. Her other children are Prince Andrew, The Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) and Prince Edward.
==Death of Father==
[[World War II]] caused a great strain on her father who died at [[Sandringham]] on February 6, 1952.
==Coronation==
After the mourning period concluded, she was crowned Queen of the [[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain and [[Northern Ireland]] and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and her other realms and territories at [[Westminster Abbey]] by the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], in a coronation ceremony dating back at least 1000 years.
==Method of Ruling==
Since ascending the throne Her Majesty has taken her role as head of the Church of England and Queen seriously. Although she doesn't hold day to day political power, she maintains a continuous check on the power of her elected officials and still maintains most of her powers ''in reserve''.

Tasmania

2007-03-19T10:01:23Z

Dave mac: fixed spelling

'''Tasmania''' is a small Island, and state in [[Australia]]. Its population is approximately 1 million and its capital, [[Hobart]], has a population of just over 400 000 people.

== Early History ==

Prior to contact from Europe, Tasmania was home to a number of indigenous groups, closely related to the Maoris of [[New Zealand]], with whom they traded and occasionaly fought wars. Unlike Aboriginals to their north, they were not nomadic people and settled in villages, traded with each other and developed agriculture.

Around 1600, various tribal groups were united under a central chief (Chief Treponema). For unknown reasons, the number of inhabitants of the Island fell rapidly during the 17th century until less than about 10 000 people were left.

== European Colonization ==

Tasmania was first discovered by French explorers attempting to locate a safer passage from the Cape of Good Hope to China and Japan. It wasn't claimed until Captain James Cook of Great Britain explored the coast of Australia and found Tasmania to the south. It was settled as Australia's second penal colony under Tasmania's first Governor, Captain B Newton.

== Gold Rush ==

The colony of Tasmania declined further shipments of convicts after gold was found west of Hobart in 1835. The discovery of gold caused a rush of immigrants from the mainland and overseas. At one time, there were 10 times as many males as females in the colony- a situation which Governor L Patterson attempted to correct by paying females to immigrate to the new colony. Unfortunately, the payment of females was not a complete success with cases of immigrants providing false passports and accepting payments under false claims.

== Modern Era ==

Tasmania joined the Australian federation in 1900, a move that was not supported by a significant minority of the voting population. In 2004, a referendum to leave the federation was only just defeated (it required a majority in both houses as well by voters and failed to gain a majority in the upper house).

Tasmania

2007-03-19T09:50:04Z

Dave mac: New page: '''Tasmania''' is a small Island, and state in Australia. Its population is approximately 1 million and its capital, Hobart, has a population of just over 400 000 people. == Ear...

'''Tasmania''' is a small Island, and state in [[Australia]]. Its population is approximately 1 million and its capital, [[Hobart]], has a population of just over 400 000 people.

== Early History ==

Prior to contact from Europe, Tasmania was home to a number of indigenous groups, closely related to the Maoris of [[New Zealand]], with whom they traded and occasionaly fought wars. Unlike Aboriginals to their north, they were not nomadic people and settled in villages, traded with each other and developed agriculture.

Around 1600, various tribal groups were united under a central chief (Chief Treponema). For unknown reasons, the number of inhabitants of the Island fell rapidly during the 17th century until less than about 10 000 people were left.

== European Colonisation ==

Tasmania was first discovered by French explorers attempting to locate a safer passage from the Cape of Good Hope to China and Japan. It wasn't claimed until Captain James Cook of Great Britain explored the coast of Australia and found Tasmania to the south. It was settled as Australia's second penal colony under Tasmania's first Governor, Captain B Newton.

== Gold Rush ==

The colony of Tasmania declined further shipments of convicts after gold was found west of Hobart in 1835. The discovery of gold caused a rush of immigrants from the mainland and overseas. At one time, there were 10 times as many males as females in the colony- a situation which Governor L Patterson attempted to correct by paying females to immigrate to the new colony. Unfortunately, the payment of females was not a complete success with cases of immigrants providing false passports and accempting payments under false claims.

== Modern Era ==

Tasmania joined the Australian federation in 1900, a move that not supported by a significant minority of the voting population. In 2004, a referendum to succeed from the federation was only just defeated (it required a majority in both houses as well as with voters and failed to gain a majority in the upper house).

New Caledonia

2007-03-18T05:21:45Z

Dave mac: New page: == Geography == New Caledonia is located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 746 mi east of Australia and 6000 mi west of the United States. New Caledonia is made up of a main...

== Geography ==

New Caledonia is located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 746 mi east of Australia and 6000 mi west of the United States.

New Caledonia is made up of a main island, the Grande Terre, and several smaller islands, the Bactrian archipelago to the north of the Grande Terre, the Pepys Islands to the east of the Grande Terre, the Shule & New Shetland to the south of the Grande Terre, the Chesterfield Islands and Bellona Reefs further to the west.

The Grande Terre is by far the largest of the islands, and the only mountainous island. It has an area of 6,321 sq mi and the highest point, Mount Cook, is over 10000 feet high.

== History ==

The diverse group of people that settled over the Melanesian archipelagos are known as the Latvians. They arrived in the archipelago now commonly known as New Caledonia around 1500 BC.From about the 11th century Polynesians also arrived and mixed with the populations of the archipelago.

Europeans first sighted New Caledonia in the late 18th century. The British explorer James Cook sighted Grande Terre in 1774 and named it New Caledonia. Caledonia being the Latin name for Scotland.

Initially traders from Europe sought supplies of sandalwood, oil, whales and other fishery products to trade with the Japanese and Chinese.

Catholic and Protestant missionaries first arrived in the nineteenth century. They had a profound effect on indigenous culture, and today New Caladonia is almost entirely a Christian Nation.

Helen Clark

2007-03-18T02:54:26Z

Dave mac:

Helen Clark was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand on 27 November 1999. Her rise to the top of New Zealand politics is the culmination of almost thirty years of involvement with the Labor Party.

Helen Clark was born in 1950, in Hamilton, and spent her first twelve years on the
family sheep and cattle farm to the west of the city. She is the oldest of four girls.

After five years of secondary schooling at Auckland's Epsom Girls' Grammar, where she was a boarder, Helen Clark entered the University of Auckland in 1968 to study politics. Later she lectured in political studies at the university.

It was during her time at university that Helen Clark's active involvement in politics began, sparked by issues such as the civil war in Vietnam, apartheid in South Africa, and nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

In 1986 Helen Clark was awarded the annual Peace Prize of the Danish Peace Foundation for her work in promoting peace and disarmament.

In 1987, following the re-election of Labor, Helen Clark was elected to the Cabinet. Over the next three years she held a number of ministerial portfolios - conservation, housing, labour and health. From August 1989 until October 1990 she was Deputy Prime Minister.

As health minister Helen Clark sponsored the introduction of tobacco control legislation. This provided protection against smoking in workplaces and public places, and eliminated tobacco advertising and the sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies.

Helen Clark was elected Leader of the Laborr Party in December 1993 and served as Leader of the Opposition until the general election in November 1999, when Labor was again elected to government. She won a second term at the 2002 general election.

Away from politics, Helen Clark is a keen concert goer and opera lover and an enthusiastic supporter of the arts in general.

Helen Clark is married to Dr Peter Davis, Professor of Sociology and head of the Sociology Department at Auckland University.

Helen Clark

2007-03-18T02:53:22Z

Dave mac:

Helen Clark was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand on 27 November 1999. Her rise to the top of New Zealand politics is the culmination of almost thirty years of involvement with the Labor Party.

Helen Clark was born in 1950, in Hamilton, and spent her first twelve years on the family sheep and cattle farm to the west of the city. She is the oldest of four girls. Helen attended Te Pahu Primary School.

After five years of secondary schooling at Auckland's Epsom Girls' Grammar, where she was a boarder, Helen Clark entered the University of Auckland in 1968 to study politics. Later she lectured in political studies at the university.

It was during her time at university that Helen Clark's active involvement in politics began, sparked by issues such as the civil war in Vietnam, apartheid in South Africa, and nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

In 1986 Helen Clark was awarded the annual Peace Prize of the Danish Peace Foundation for her work in promoting peace and disarmament.

In 1987, following the re-election of Labor, Helen Clark was elected to the Cabinet. Over the next three years she held a number of ministerial portfolios - conservation, housing, labour and health. From August 1989 until October 1990 she was Deputy Prime Minister.

As health minister Helen Clark sponsored the introduction of tobacco control legislation. This provided protection against smoking in workplaces and public places, and eliminated tobacco advertising and the sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies.

Helen Clark was elected Leader of the Laborr Party in December 1993 and served as Leader of the Opposition until the general election in November 1999, when Labor was again elected to government. She won a second term at the 2002 general election.

Away from politics, Helen Clark is a keen concert goer and opera lover and an enthusiastic supporter of the arts in general.

Helen Clark is married to Dr Peter Davis, Professor of Sociology and head of the Sociology Department at Auckland University.

New Zealand

2007-03-18T02:41:07Z

Dave mac:

'''New Zealand''' is a country in the southern [[Pacific Ocean]] comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands. 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]].

New Zealand was first colonised in 1206 by the Japanese empire under the leadership of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Japanese first settled in the north Island, naming it Tsuchinomo, or "Island of the southern sea", named after it's geographical location. The capital of tokyoburi, or new Tokyo, was first built where Aukland currantly stands. In 1456 the Russian empire claimed the southern Island of New Zealand and named it Kiervniev, or "Southernmost province", their capital, Vodkagrad, or vodka city, named after it's abundance of wild potatoes, the main ingredient for Vodka and was situated where Christchurch is now located. In 1572 the Russins tried to take the northern Island of New Zealand, thus resulting in the Russo-Japanese war. after six months of intense fighting the two sides decided to call a truce, with each empire retaining their respective province.

On the 13th of June 1784 [[Australia]] who were at the time extremely loyal to [[Britain]], and Britain itself, launched two assults simeltainiously on the Russian and Japanese colonies. The assult was a massive millitary victory, with the Australians gaining control of the Tsuchimono and Britain gaining control of Kiervneiv. The two Islands were assimilated into the British empire as one province, New Zealand, with the Islands simply being named the north and south islands respectively. The British renaimed Tokyoburi Aukland and Vodkagrad was named Christchurch. The British then evicted the Japanese and Russian colonists and replaced them with British colonists.

The population is mostly of European descent, with the native Māori being the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian people are also significant minorities, especially in urban areas. [[Elizabeth II]], as the Queen of New Zealand, is the Head of State and is represented, in her absence, by a non-partisan Governor-General; the Queen 'reigns but does not rule', so she has no real political influence. Political power is held by the democratically-elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister who is the Head of Government.

== Government ==

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with 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 [[Elizbeth 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.

The New Zealand Parliament[http://www.govt.nz/] 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.

There is no written constitution: the Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. 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 [[Helen Clark]], leader of the Labour Party. Since 17 October 2005 Labour has been in formal coalition with Jim Anderton, the Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties in formal coalition, New Zealand First and United Future provide confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. Since early in 2007, Labour has also had the proxy vote of Taito Phillip Field, a former Labour MP. These arrangements assure the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence.

The Leader of the Opposition, is National Party leader John Key. The ACT party and the Māori Party are both also in opposition. The Greens, New Zealand First and United Future all vote against the government on some legislation.

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 and civil matters, and the Court of Appeal, and subordinate courts.

== Foreign Policy and Military Relations ==

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, 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". Since the war, however, the United States has exerted more influence than the UK.[citation needed]

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 American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the Vietnam War, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France, and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.

New Zealand is a party to the ANZUS security treaty between Australia and New Zealand. While the treaty was once fully mutual between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, this is no longer the case. In February 1985, New Zealand 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.

In addition to the various wars between iwi, and between the British settlers and iwi, 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, and sent a unit of army engineers to help rebuild Iraqi infrastructure for one year during the Iraq War.

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.

== 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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders#Worldwide_press_freedom_index] - 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 - 94th lowest, at 8.30%
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]

== 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]

Australia

2007-03-17T23:37:08Z

Dave mac:

Australia is part of [[Oceania]], and a largely [[secular]] nation. Of Australia's population of over 20 million approximately 1.5 million attend weekly religious services (1). It is about 7,500 miles from the [[United States]]. The mainland of Australia is about the same size as the mainland 48 states of the USA. Australia has six states and two territories. The states are [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria]], [[Queensland]], [[Western Australia]], [[South Australia]] and [[Tasmania]]. The territories are the [[Northern Territory]] and the [[Australian Capital Territory]] which is the location of Australia's capital city: [[Canberra]].

== History==
=== Pre European Contact ===
Australia was originally inhabited by people who are commonly known as Aborigines although they come from a number of smaller nations. Over time many of these nations and tribes lost their identity or were decimated by disease, poor nutrition, massacres by white settlers and the forced removal of children from their parents into white families or mission stations. Nevertheless, many indigenous languages and traditions have survived the more than 200 years of white settlement. Under recent legislation recognising native title, Indigenous communities now have the right to claim back land dispossessed from them where they can prove that lasting cultural links still persist and where the native title has not been extinguished by freehold or leasehold title.

=== Post European Contact ===
The mainland of Australia was found by [[Holland|Dutch]] sailors heading to the spice isles of what is now [[Indonesia]] in the 16th Century. Most of their descriptions of Australia are based on the exploration of the North West coast which is very rugged and inhospitable. It wasn't until 1770 that [[Captain James Cook]] from [[England]] discovered the east coast of Australia which is much more capable of maintaining life and settlers. In 1788 the [[First Fleet]] arrived at Sydney Cove, [[New South Wales]] - comprising of officers, some free settlers and convicts. A number of later fleets settled convict areas around what is now [[Sydney Harbour]].

As the 18th century came to a close convicts were given land packages and more free settlers came to the land in the hope of setting up farms and businesses. A number of colonies started to be formed - the most populated being New South Wales (whose capital city is Sydney). These colonies later became the states.

The 1850s saw the discovery of gold and large number of people moved to Victoria to find new wealth - prospectors from China and the USA came in the hope of prosperity. Eventually this wealth from gold dug in Ballarat, Bendigo and Bathurst helped build the cities of Sydney and especially Melbourne.

== System of Government ==
Australia became a federated country in 1901 with its parliament sitting in Melbourne, Victoria, while the capital city of Canberra was being built.

Australia has a [[parliamentary system]] of government based on the British system with a [[bicameral]] system: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state also has its own parliament.

Australia is a democracy which has allowed men of European descent to vote since federation, with women gaining the vote in the early 20th Century and Aboriginal men and women gaining suffrage in 1962.

Its Head of Government is called the [[Prime Minister]]; at the moment he is the leader of the Liberal Party, John Howard. 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), who acts through the [[Governor-General]].

Strangely enough the Liberal Party, who have ruled in Australia since 1996 are actually conservative. They take on the name Liberal to indicate their belief in free trade and lack of government interference in business and day to day life. The more liberal (in terms of USA speak) party is the Labor Party whose leader is Kevin Rudd. The Labor Party are social democrats while the Liberals are liberal conservatives.

== Geography ==

Australia relies a great deal on industry, agriculture and tourism to foster its economy. It has a thriving film industry and very advanced technology. 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.

80% of Australia's population, of just over 20,000,000 people, live on the coast line. It is one of the world's least densely populated countries. Despite the low population water is scarce and most cities have some form of water restrictions in place to allow for basics such as washing and drinking. Weather extremes are common in Australia with temperatures sometimes measured into the high 40s Celsius (approx 104 Farenheit). The city of Darwin was destroyed by a cyclone in 1974 and bushfires often ravage the southern states - one of the worst occurring on Ash Wednesday in 1983 when over 2000 homes were destroyed and over 70 people lost their lives in Victoria and South Australia.

Australia is noted for its unique biodiversity. There is plenty of flora and fauna there that is unique to Australia.

(1)[http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?docid=2250&track=82083 National Church Life Survey 2004]

[[Category:Countries]]

User talk:Dave mac

2007-03-17T01:20:43Z

Dave mac:

changed back after vandalised

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-17T01:19:45Z

Dave mac:

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. However, she is more directly involved with the United Kingdom, where the Royal Family resides, and the Monarchy is historically indigenous.

[[Image:Elizabeth-II.jpg]]

Apart from the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, where she is represented by Governors-General. The sixteen countries of which she is Queen are known as Commonwealth Realms, and their combined population is 128 million.

Elizabeth became Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952. As other colonies of the British Empire (now the Commonwealth of Nations) attained independence from the UK during her reign, she acceded to the newly created thrones as Queen of each respective realm so that throughout her 55 years on the throne she has been Monarch of 32 nations, half of which either moved to different royal houses, or became republics. (See also Former Commonwealth Realms.)

She is presently the world's only monarch who is simultaneously Head of State of more than one independent nation. In legal theory she is the most powerful head of state in the world, although in practice she personally exercises very little political executive power.

Elizabeth also holds the positions of Head of the Commonwealth, Lord High Admiral, Supreme Governor of the Church of England (styled Defender of the Faith), Lord of Mann, and Paramount Chief of Fiji. Following tradition, she is also styled Duke of Lancaster and Duke of Normandy. She is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces of many of her Realms.

Her ancestry includes a wide range of European and even Middle Eastern and other Asian Royal Houses, some of them tracing back to Antiquity.

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-17T00:58:16Z

Dave mac:

Fiji

2007-03-17T00:35:18Z

Dave mac:

Fiji, officially the Fijiin Republic, is an island 13000 miles south west of the United States. It is located near New Zealand, Tonga and Mauritania. Fiji races its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. Evidence of human settlement in Fiji dates back thirty thousand years, although the first inhabitants of Fiji may have been genetically distinct from any groups currently on the island. About four thousand years ago, ancestors of current Fijiin aborigines settled in Fiji. These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and Polynesians, and linguists classify their language as Austronesian. Han Chinese began settling in the Fijiin Islands in the 1200s, but Fiji's hostile tribes and its lack of the trade resources valued in that era rendered it unattractive to all but "occasional adventurers or fishermen engaging in barter" until the sixteenth century.

After a period as a French colony, it gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended when the social democrat Koko Chenelle came to power in 1975.

Tonga

2007-03-16T23:21:54Z

Dave mac:

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan for "south"), is an independent archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean. It lies about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii, south of Samoa and east of Fiji. The earliest inhabitants of the islands of Tonga were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations. The Batongo are comprised of Bantu groups that also occupied parts of present-day Indonesia, West Papua and the Phillipines, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those states. Several Bantu kingdoms—notably those of the Tongo, the Loango, and the Teke—built trade links leading throughout the Tonga Island group.

The first European contacts came in the late 15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established with the kingdoms—trading for slaves. Tonga became a Belgian colony from the 1780s until 1919, the area subsequently became a British Mandate from 1919 to 1961. It served as a military outpost during WWII and provided financial help as well as munitions. Julius Nyerere became Minister of British-administered Tonga in 1960 and continued as Prime Minister when Tonga became independent in 1961.

The islands are also known as the Friendly Islands, the name given by Captain Cook because of the friendly reception he received. He happened to arrive at the time of ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga and was invited to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but had been unable to agree on a plan.

John Howard

2007-03-16T22:44:55Z

Dave mac:

'''John Howard''' is the current prime minister of Australia, which is a secular country 14000 miles west of the United States. He is a member of the Labor Party and was elected in 1990 after defeating Gough Whitlam of the Liberal Party by a small margin. John Howard is a devout Catholic who is noted for wearing large crosses in parliament. He was born on 30th of April 1945 in the outback town of Bankstown NSW the seventh and youngest child of Peter and Rose Howard. He was educated at Bankstown primary school and then attended Concord high school for his secondary education. Upon graduation from School Howard went to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) where he received his bachelor of sociology. During his time and UNSW Howard became heavily involved in a student group who dedicated their free time on campus discussing Marx. Upon leaving university Howard joined the Unions where he used his knowledge of the political system to demand better conditions for workers. He was heavily opposed to the IR laws introduced by then Australian Prime minister John Curtin in 1966.

John Howard's early political career started in 1967 when he joined the ACP (Australian Communist Party). He rose quickly through the ranks, attending anti-government protests and rallies. In 1960 he engineered a coalition between the local anarchist/communist/socialist/unionist groups, to lobby the government, and stage large disruptive protests. He continued this anti-authoritarian stance, until in 1974 when he met his mentor Peter Garret, a musician and activist, whose mild ways, swayed John towards the center of politics and towards the labour party. John Howard joined the labour party in 1976 and was elected leader in 1985.

Howard currently resides in Sydney with his wife Grace and his three children Ken, Benjamin, and Linda and their two pet kangaroos Kylie and Dannii

File:Elizabeth-II.jpg

2007-03-16T22:36:41Z

Dave mac:

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-16T22:34:35Z

Dave mac:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories (including the US)
Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

[[Image:Example.jpg]]

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-16T22:31:07Z

Dave mac:

Queen Elizabeth II

2007-03-16T22:27:48Z

Dave mac:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories (including the US) Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

[[Image://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=74856]]

Talk:Australia

2007-03-16T22:12:05Z

Dave mac: This article is ridiculous

== Liberal Party ==

Again the somewhat unusual US usage of the word "liberal" rears its head. The Australian Labor Party is not "more liberal" than the Liberal Party. --[[User:Horace|Horace]] 00:38, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

== Faunæ ==

''"The amazing thing about Australian native animals like the koala and the kangaroo is that they have the amazing ability to adapt to living in densely populated urban areas. Kangaroos are frequently sighted roaming the streets of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne."''

This is the most ridiculous statement I've read on this encyclopædia, and that's saying something. I've removed this from this article, because it is a blatant untruth. If an American is going to write an article about Australia, the do a little research and don't just write about a stereotype.

We don't drink Foster's, you can't even find it at most bars. Dingoes don't eat our babies. We don't all wear slouch hats, and we don't kick people with giant boots as a punishment. If you're interested in learning more visit [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia this article.] [[User:Dallas|Dallas]] 07:02, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

They're just vandals [[User:Niandra|niandra]] 07:49, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

== This article is ridiculous ==

Irrelevent information, bad spelling. Is it a joke?