Australia, a federation

The Australian federation consists of six States and two Territories. Most inland borders follow lines of longitude and latitude. The largest State, Western Australia, is about the same size as Western Europe.
Australia\'s system of government is based on the liberal democratic tradition, which includes religious tolerance and freedom of speech and association. Its institutions and practices reflect British and North American models but are uniquely Australian.

Australia's system of government 

responsible government

The Commonwealth of Australia was created in 1901 when former British colonies - now the six States - agreed to federate. Government is based on a popularly elected Parliament with two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ministers appointed from these chambers conduct executive government. Policy decisions are made in Cabinet meetings. Apart from the announcement of decisions, Cabinet discussions are not disclosed. Ministers are bound by the principle of Cabinet solidarity. This closely follows the British model of Cabinet government responsible to Parliament.

Although Australia is an independent nation, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is also formally Queen of Australia. The Queen appoints a Governor-General (on the advice of the elected Australian Government) to represent her. The Governor-General has wide powers, but by convention acts only on the advice of ministers on virtually all matters. 

a written constitution

 Like the United States and unlike Britain, Australia has a written constitution. The Australian Constitution defines the responsibilities of the federal government, which include foreign relations and trade, defence and immigration. Governments of States and Territories are responsible for all matters not assigned to the Commonwealth. State parliaments and Territory assemblies follow the principles of responsible government. In the States, the Queen is represented by Governors.

parliamentary sovereignty

The Australian Constitution sets out the powers of government in three separate chapters for the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, but insists that members of the executive must also be members of the legislature.

In practice, Parliament delegates wide regulatory powers to the executive.

frequent elections

A national general election must be held within three years of the first meeting of a new federal Parliament. The average life of parliaments is about two-and-a-half years. In practice, general elections are held when the Governor-General agrees to a request from the Prime Minister, who can pick the occasion to begin a campaign.

The governing party has changed about every five years on average since Federation in 1901, but length of hold on government has varied greatly. The Liberal Party led a coalition with the longest hold on government-23 years, from 1949 to 1972. Several governments have lasted less than a year.

voting

The Australian colonies inherited an electoral tradition from Britain that included limited franchise and public and plural voting. Abuses such as bribery and intimidation of voters stimulated electoral reform. Australia pioneered reforms that underpin the electoral practices of modern democracies.

In 1855 Victoria introduced the secret ballot, which became known throughout the world as \'the Australian ballot\'. In 1856, South Australia eliminated professional and property qualifications and gave the vote to all adult men, and in 1892 gave adult women the vote. In the 1890s the colonies adopted the principle of one vote per person, stopping the practice of plural voting.

parties

Major Australian political parties have structured ways to involve their members in developing party policies on issues. Elected politicians rarely vote against their parties in Parliament.

Although Australian commentators observe that elections have become more \'presidential\' in the sense that some American campaign methods are used, the basic structure of the Australian system tends to emphasise policy stances rather than the character of individual politicians.

As in other democracies, the cost of election campaigns and the source of funds for political activity are issues in Australia. Since 1984, a system of public funding (administered by the Australian Electoral Commission) and disclosure for election campaigns has been in place. Parties must receive at least four per cent of the valid vote in the elections they contest to receive this public funding.

Parties must disclose campaign expenditures and sources of donations of more than A$1500. Individual candidates must disclose sources of donations of more than A$200. Parties and individuals contesting consecutive elections must disclose gifts and donations received between the campaigns.

relations between levels of government

State parliaments are subject to the national Constitution as well as their State constitutions. A federal law overrides any State law not consistent with it.

In practice, the two levels of government cooperate in many areas where States and Territories are formally responsible, such as education, transport, health and law enforcement. Income tax is levied federally, and debate between the levels of governments about access to revenue and duplication of expenditure functions is a perennial feature of Australian politics. Local government bodies are created by legislation at the State and Territory level.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is a forum to initiate, develop and implement national policy reforms requiring cooperative action between the three levels of national, state/territory and local government. Its objectives include dealing with major issues by agreement and cooperating on structural reform of government and on reforms to achieve an integrated, efficient national economy and a single national market.

It comprises the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Chief Ministers of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory and the president of the Australian Local Government Association.

In addition, ministerial councils (comprising national, state and territory ministers; and, where relevant, representatives of local government and of the governments of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea ) meet regularly to develop and implement inter-governmental action in specific policy areas.
 

History

More than 60 000 years before the arrival of European settlers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited most areas of the Australian European settlement in 1788.

Until recently, Western historians focused on early European contact with the Australian continent during the 16th and 17th centuries.

In recent years this approach has been balanced by the recognition that Asian and Oceanic explorers and traders had contact with Indigenous Australian people long before the European expansion into the eastern hemisphere.

After the American War of Independence, Britain looked to establish new penal settlements to replace the north Atlantic colonies. The First Fleet of 11 ships with 1500 aboard, half of them convicts, arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788. Sydney grew from that first British penal settlement.

Transportation of British convicts to New South Wales ceased in 1840, but continued to Western Australia until 1868. About 160 000 convicts arrived over 80 years. That compares with free settler arrivals as high as 50 000 a year.

During the 1850s, settlement was boosted by gold rushes. Scarcity of labour, the vastness of the bush, and new wealth based on farming, mining and trade all contributed to the development of uniquely Australian social institutions and sensibilities.

In 1901 the Australian colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia. As in Canada, the British monarch remains the monarch of Australia, which is now an independent, democratic nation with a tradition of religious tolerance and free speech.

Minority parties often hold the balance of power in the Senate, which serves as a chamber of review for the decisions of the government. Senators are elected for a six-year term and in an ordinary general election only half the senators face the voters.

In all Australian parliaments questions can be asked without notice, and there is a strict alternation between government and Opposition questions to ministers during Question Time. The Opposition uses its questions to pursue the government. Government members give ministers a chance to put government policies and actions in a favourable light, or to pursue the Opposition.

Anything said in Parliament can be reported fairly and accurately without fear of a suit for defamation. The rough and tumble of parliamentary Question Time and debates is broadcast and widely reported. This has helped to establish Australia\'s reputation for robust public debate, and serves as an informal check on executive power.

Australia has been built by people from many races and many walks of life. Its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples belonged to many language groups and were themselves culturally diverse. But their lives were changed irrevocably after the British claimed Australia as a colony in 1788.

The first Europeans to settle in Australia were convicts transported from Britain. The convicts were joined by free immigrants from the early 1790s. The gold rush era of the 1850s brought people from many parts of the world. The largest non-European group was the Chinese.

The White Australia policy - embodied in the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 - was a result of conflict with non-European migrants. Its particular focus was on ending the employment of Pacific islanders brought in as cheap labour to work on sugar plantations in the north.

The policy was abolished gradually after World War II. But the emphasis on European immigration remained until 1966, when the government allowed the migration of \'distinguished\' non-Europeans. The last vestiges of the White Australia policy were discarded in 1973 by a new Labor Government.

From 1901 to the early 1970s, policies towards newcomers had been based on the concepts of assimilation and, later, integration. While the preference for British migrants remained, others were expected to shed their existing cultural identities, including their native languages, to promote their rapid absorption into the host population.

The integration policy, in effect from the mid-60s until 1972, recognised that large numbers of people whose first language was not English were suffering hardships in settling in Australia. Most were Europeans of non-British origin who had come to Australia after World War II.

By 1973, the word \'multiculturalism\' had been introduced and minority groups were forming local and national associations to promote their language and heritage within the mainstream. Now it has progressed to the point where it is central to Australian society.

the post-war years

The two world wars had a profound effect on Australia\'s migration program. The resettling of refugees and young people in the post-war periods, especially after World War II, were significant chapters in Australian immigration history.

Since the late 1940s over six million migrants from 200 countries have made Australia their home. The mass migrations of the immediate post-war decades have subsided according to changing circumstances, with the emphasis now on the entry of people with needed skills and expertise.

An echo of the postwar years occurred in 1999, when Australia responded to the plight of people displaced by the conflict in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. Acting on a request by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Government established temporary havens across Australia for 4000 people, granting special visas allowing them to stay until it was safe for them to return home. Later that year Australia provided temporary haven for displaced people from the former Indonesian province of East Timor after violence following its vote for independence.

Socially, migration has contributed to the emergence of Australia as one of the most cosmopolitan and dynamic societies in the world. It has meant the introduction of more than 100 languages into Australian life, while English remains the common language. It has also resulted in the growth of community language schools, ethnic media, businesses, diverse religious and cultural activities and variety in foods, restaurants, fashion, art and architecture. 
  

EMBLEMS

flags

The Australian National Flag symbolises Australia\'s historical links with Britain (Union Jack) and Australia\'s location in the Southern Hemisphere (stars of the Southern Cross). The larger seven-pointed star represents the six original states and the Territories of the Commonwealth.

When the Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, the Union Jack had been the official flag for 100 years. The birth of a new nation created an opportunity to develop an emblem which represented Australia alone.

Other flags of Australia include the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.

Coat of Arms

The Australian Coat of Arms was granted by King George V in 1912. It consists of a shield containing the badges of the six Australian States, enclosed by an ermine border. The shield is a symbol for the federation of the States, which took place in 1901.

The Crest, the device above the shield and helmet on a coat of arms, in this instance is a seven-pointed gold star on a blue and gold wreath. Six of the points represent each of the States of the Commonwealth, the seventh point represents the Commonwealth Territories. The Supporters are native Australian animals: the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) and the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Usually the Arms is depicted on a background of sprays of golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) with a scroll beneath it containing the word \' Australia \'. The wattle and scroll, however, are not part of the armorial design and are not mentioned in the Royal Warrant.

For many years, the motto \'Advance Australia\' appeared on unofficial Coats of Arms, even before the Federation of the States in 1901. It was included in the 1908 Arms, and was popularly accepted in association with the 19th century song \'Advance Australia Fair\'. A revised version of this song officially became Australia\'s national anthem in 1984.

Australia\'s National Colours

Green and gold were proclaimed Australia\'s national colours by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984. Prior to the proclamation Australia had no official colours. Three colour combinations traditionally had claimed to be Australia\'s national colours: red, white and blue; blue and gold; and green and gold.

The colours red, white and blue were featured in the first Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth in 1908 and are the colours of the Australian national flag.

The colours blue and gold have heraldic significance as they are the colours of the crest in the 1912 (present) Commonwealth Coat of Arms.

The colours green and gold gained wide popularity and acceptance as the traditional national colours in Australian and international sporting events since before Federation and have been associated with many great sporting achievements since.

Australia\'s Floral Emblem

The golden wattle was proclaimed the official national floral emblem in August 1988. It is a spreading shrub or small tree which grows in the understorey of open forest, woodland and in open scrub in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

In 1912, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Hon. Andrew Fisher,MP, wattle was included as the decoration surrounding the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and it has also been used in the design of Australian stamps and many awards in the Australian honours system.

To find out more about Australia, check Australia in Brief.