Australian Demographics o Population 20 600 856 o

Australian Demographics o Population: 20, 600, 856 o Most people are 15 -64 years old o Life expectancy: Male: 78 years old Female: 83 years old o Ethnic Groups: White 92%, Asian 7%, Aboriginal and other 1% o Religions: Catholic 26. 4%, Anglican 20. 5%, Other Christians 20. 5%, Buddhist 1. 9%, Muslim 1. 5% o Language: English 79. 1% o Literacy Rate: 99% o Government Type: Federal parliamentary democracy o Unemployment Rate: 4. 4%

History o 68, 000 BC – 40, 000 BC ~ Aboriginal tribes arrive o 1606 ~ Dutch spot Australian mainland o 1770 ~ English Lieutenant James Cook explores Eastern coast and claims it for Britain o 1778 ~ First fleet from England arrives and founded first European settlement and colony at Sydney o 1808 ~ The Rum Rebellion o 1829 ~ The whole of Australia is claimed as British territory o 1891 ~ First attempt at Federal Constitution is drafted o 1891 ~ Severe depression o 1898 ~ The convention agrees on a final draft o 1901 ~ Australia becomes a Federation

History – cont. o 1902 ~ Franchise Act guarantees women the right to vote o 1903 ~ High Court of Australia is established o 1914 ~ Takes part in WWI o 1939 ~ Australia enters WWII o 1950 ~ Korean War o 1963 ~ Indigenous Australians are given full rights as citizens o 1972 ~ The first Labor Government is elected since 1942 under the leadership of Gough Whitlam o 1987 ~ Hoddle Street Massacre and Queen Street Massacre o 1999 ~ A referendum to changing to a Republic is unsuccessful o 2007 ~ Labor Party elected – Kevin Rudd is PM

Aborigines o Aborigine: People who were here from the beginning o Account for 2% of Australia’s population o Migrated from somewhere in Asia around 30, 000 years ago o Believe in a close relationship between humans and land o By the late 1880’s most Aborigines had joined the white, rural and urban communities o Land property rights fueled an important civil rights movement in the 1970’s o Aborigines spoke out for land rights that had been taken by British settlers

Executive Branch o Chief of State: Queen of Australia Elizabeth II who is represented by Governor General Major General Michael Jeffery o Head of Government: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd o Deputy Prime Minister: Julia Gillard o Cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the government general to serve as government ministers o Elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general

Prime Minister – Kevin Rudd o Most powerful political office in Australia o Always the leader of the political with the majority in the House o Kevin Rudd is the leader of the Labor Party o The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General o Has a Cabinet and a Federal Executive Council o Can be voted out by a vote of no confidence

The Governor General o The representative in Australia of the British monarch o Currently Michael Jeffery representing Queen Elizabeth II o Exercises supreme executive power o Appoints ministers, ambassadors and judges o Gives royal assent to legislation o President of the Federal Executive Council o Acts only on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia o Mostly a ceremonial role

Preferential Voting o Voters rank a list or group of candidates in order of preference o Voter writes #1 by first choice, #2 by second, etc. o Used in instant run-off voting and single transferable vote system

Legislative Branch o Bicameral Federal Parliament o Consists of the Senate and House of Representatives o Most Recent Election Results: o Senate Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37 Australian Labor Party, 32 Australian Greens, 5 Family First Party, 1 Other, 1 o House of Reps Australian Labor Party, 83 Liberal Party, 55 National Party, 10 Independents, 2

Parliament – House of Reps. o House of Rep (150) o 3 year term o Represent a separate electoral division – instant run-off voting o The party with majority support in the House forms the government o Members may have other functions in the Parliament o Have a Question Time o They are involved in law making, committee work and in representing their electors

Parliament - Senate o Senate (76) o 12 elected for each State and 2 for each territory o State senators 6 year term and Territory senators 3 year term o Proportional representation – single transferable vote o In order for a bill to become a law, must agree with House o Highly developed committee system o Senators spend much time on committee work

Parties of Australia o Australian Labor Party o o o Liberal Party The Nationals Australian Democrats Australian Greens One Nation

Australian Labor Party o Oldest political party – formed in 1890 o Continuously represented in the House since 1901 o Experienced 3 splits and in turn lost seats in the Parliament o A lot of government spending for businesses o Pro Union

Liberal Party of Australia o Formed in 1910 o Liberal party has governed in coalition with the National Party for 36 of the last 52 years o Economy is based on private economy, free enterprise and competitive markets o Government should not provide services that can be better delivered by competitive enterprise o Limited government o Similar to American Republican Party

The Nationals o Originally known as the Country Party o Has held seats in Parliament since 1919 o Rural-based party o Believe in security for the nation o Want strong economy built on private industry o Seek better health care o Support Australian farming

Australian Democrats o Formed in 1977 by Don Chipp o Most successful minor political party o Have elected 5 different women as leaders o Want uniform healthcare system o In favor of tax increase o Expenses paid education o Very concerned about the environment

Australian Greens o The newest party, launched in 1992 o Started because of environmental conflict in the 1980’s o Big emphasis on environment o Health care and human rights platforms are abundant o Emphasis on farming and agricultural development

One Nation o Representing the people of Australia who are concerned that their will is being ignored by the two-party system o Global warming is not an issue o Focus on foreign affairs

Judicial Branch o o Highest court is the Australian High Court Chief Justice and 6 other Justices are appointed by the Governor General Common Law system There are 3 other Federal courts: o o o o The Federal Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia The Federal Magistrates Court The High Court has judicial review and interprets the Constitution of Australia All Federal judges and magistrates can serve until they are 70 years old The High Court was constituted by the Judiciary Act of 1903

The Bureaucracy o Not the strongest part of the government in Australia o Many civil service offices are present but they aren’t very well represented o The Australians don’t seem to like the bureaucracy very much

Economy of Australia o GDP is on par with the four dominant Western European economies o Extremely strong currency o Agricultural products are main exports o Budget has been in surplus since 2002 due to strong revenue growth o Unemployment rate 4. 4% o Main industries are mining, industrial and transportation equipment, and food processing o Currency is the called the Australian Dollar

Political Culture o British influence is extremely important o Voter turn out is high due to fining if one does not participate in voting o Women received the right to vote in the nations history o Decline of cleavages o The biggest cleavages are class and gender o Australians do believe that women should have equal rights o Most Australians support their government and what it does o The Question Time for the government helps to improve legitimacy and trust from the people

Foreign Policy o Large supporters of the U. S. o Close ties with Britain o Tend to take the side of Britain during wartime o Main goal is to start new relationships with other countries and develop coalitions of mutual interests o Looking to form free trade agreements with Singapore, Thailand, and the U. S. o The ANZUS Treaty says that Australia and the U. S. are allies during wartime o Working to expand security o Many goals for the South-Pacific region

Australian Capital Territory o It is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia o It’s the smallest self-governing internal territory o It is an inland enclave in New South Wales o Conceived during the federation conventions of the late 1800 s o Following the Federation of 1901, land would be given to the new Federal Government o The capital is Canberra, since 1913

Electoral Map of New South Wales & the ACT Liberal Party (LP) Australian Labor Party (ALP) National Party (NP) Independent (IND) Northern Territory Country Liberal Party (CLP)

Australian Defence Force o Established in 1976 o Consists of the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force o Relatively small but it’s the largest military in Oceania o Their priority is to maintain the capability to defend Australian territory o Working with other countries on peace keeping operations o Contribute to international coalitions of forces outside of Australia’s immediate region