Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Australia shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Australia offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Australia at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Australia? Wrong! If the Australia is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Australia then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Australia? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Australia and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Australia wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Australia then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Australia site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Australia, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Australia, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Country or territory| native_name = Commonwealth of Australia| common_name = Australia| image_flag = Flag_of_Australia.svg| image_coat = Australian Coat of Arms.png| image_map = Location Australia.svg| national_anthem = Advance Australia Fair ] (de facto )]| Gemstone = opal| government_type = | leader_title1 = [Monarchy in Australia| leader_title2 = Governor-General of Australia| leader_title3 = Prime Minister of Australia| leader_name1 = Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom| leader_name2 = Michael Jeffery| area_rank = 6th| area_magnitude = 1 E12| area_km2 = 7741220| area_sq_mi = 2988888 -->| population_density_rank = 224th| sovereignty_type = Independence| established_event1 = [Constitution of Australia| established_event2 = Statute of Westminster 1931| established_event3 = Australia Act 1986| established_date1 = 1 January 1901 [1931 (Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 9 September 1939)] 1986| currency_code = AUD| time_zone = [Time in Australia | utc_offset = +8 to +10.5| time_zone_DST = Time in Australia | utc_offset_DST = +9 to +11.5| demonym = Australian| cctld = .au in the [southern hemisphere comprising the Australia (continent) of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the 17th century, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely Self-governance British overseas territory were established during the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a Federation of Australia, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democracy political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. The population is 21 million, and is concentrated in the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Western Australia, and Adelaide.

Etymology , the site where Sydney was established, taken from the South Head. (From A Voyage to Terra Australis.)The name "List of country name etymologies#A#Australia" is derived from the Latin language Australis, meaning "Southern". Legends of an "unknown land of the south" (Terra Australis) dating back to Roman times were commonplace in mediæval geography, but were based on no actual knowledge of the continent. The first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625 — the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus.Purchas, vol. iv, p. 1422–32, 1625. The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used by Dutch East India Company officials in Jakarta to refer to the newly discovered land to the south in 1638. "Australia" was used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1692 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur.Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966. Alexander Dalrymple then used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1771), to refer to the entire South Pacific region. In 1793, George Shaw and James Edward Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland (Australia)."

The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work A Voyage to Terra Australis by the navigator Matthew Flinders, the first recorded person to circumnavigate Australia. Despite its title, which reflected the view of the Admiralty, Flinders used the word "Australia" in the book, which was widely read and gave the term general currency. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of New South Wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to England, and on 12 December 1817 recommended to the Colonial Office that it be officially adopted)Weekend Australian, 30-31 December 2000, p. 16. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as "Australia".

The word "Australia" in Australian English is pronounced .

History The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.Gillespie, R. (2002). Dating the first Australians. Radiocarbon 44:455–72 These first Australians were possibly the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they may have arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day South-East Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex Oral tradition and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; their cultural practices were and remain distinct from those of the Aborigines. charted the east coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Great Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1988; photographed in Cooktown Harbour where Cook spent seven weeks.The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland (Australia), but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there.

The British British overseas territory of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788. This date was later to become Australia's National Day, Australia Day. Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria (Australia) in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province" — that is, it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. Convict Records Public Record office of Victoria State Records Office of Western Australia The transportation of Convictism in Australia to the colony of New South Wales ceased in 1848 after a campaign by the settlers. Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998 Special Article - The State of New South Wales

was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at 350,000 at the time of European settlement,Smith, L. (1980), The Aboriginal Population of Australia, Australian National University Press, Canberra declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease combined with forced re-settlement and cultural disintegration. Smallpox Through History The Stolen Generation from their families, which some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by some definitions,{{cite web|url = http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/rsrch/rsrch_dp/genocide.htm|title = Genocide in Australia|accessdate = 2007-09-13|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20050808002313/http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/rsrch/rsrch_dp/genocide.htm|archivedate = 2005-08-08-->may have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some Right Wing commentators as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.Windschuttle, K. (2001). The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, [The New Criterion Vol. 20, No. 1, September 20. This debate is known within Australia as the History Wars. Following the Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals), the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land — native title — was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court of Australia case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius ("empty land") at the time of European occupation.

is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Such ceremonies are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. On 1 January 1901, Federation of Australia of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born as a Dominion of the British Empire. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed from a part of New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in World War I.Bean, C. Ed. (1941). Volume I - The Story of Anzac: the first phase, First World War Official Histories, Eleventh Edition. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Battle of Gallipoli as the birth of the nation — its first major military action. The Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.

The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom when Australia Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 in 1942. The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other non-European parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and self-image have been radically transformed. The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy council.Australia Act text In 1999, Australian voters rejected by a majority of less than 5% a move to become a republic with a president appointed by Parliament.Australian Electoral Commission (2000). 1999 Referendum Reports and Statistics, accessed 28 July 2007 Since the election of the Gough Whitlam in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the Pacific Rim.

Politics in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the Old Parliament House, Canberra opened in 1927.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General of Australia at Federal level and by the Governors at State level. Although the Constitution of Australia gives extensive Executive (government) to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975.Parliamentary Library (1997). The Reserve Powers of the Governor-General

There are Separation of powers:

• The legislature: the Parliament of Australia, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, whose powers are limited to assenting to laws.
• The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the Executive Councillors); in practice, the councillors are the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.
• The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other Australian court hierarchy. The State courts became formally independent from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when the Australia Act was passed in 1986.

The Bicameralism Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Australian Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a Australian House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population, with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. In the Senate, each state is represented by 12 senators, and the territories (the ACT and the NT) by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; Senators have overlapping six-year terms, and only half of the seats are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister.

There are three major political parties: the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. Since the Australian federal election, 1996, the Coalition (Australia) led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the Australian federal election, 2004, the Coalition won control of the Senate - the first time in more than 20 years that a party (or coalition) has done so while in government. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Compulsory voting for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level; such enrolment is compulsory in all jurisdictions but South Australia.

States and territories {| align="right" style="margin-left:1em;"||}Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia) and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in Section 51 of the Australian Constitution of the Constitution of Australia; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government.

Each state and territory has its own Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, which are Unicameralism in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states. The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house is known as the Legislative Council. The head of government in each state and territory are called Premiers of the Australian states and Chief Minister, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a Governors of the Australian states; an Administrator of the Northern Territory in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.

Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Foreign relations and the military Over recent decades, Foreign relations of Australia have been driven by a close association with the United States through the ANZUS, and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. Australia has energetically pursued the cause of international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation of the Cairns Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the WTO. Australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Australia is a founding member of the United Nations, and maintains an international aid programme under which some 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005–06 budget provides A$2.5 bn for development assistance;Australian Government. (2005). Budget 2005–2006 as a percentage of GDP, this contribution is less than that of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Australia's armed forces — the Australian Defence Force (ADF) — comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), numbering about 51,000.Nation Master All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping (most recently in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Sudan), disaster relief, and armed conflict, including the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The government appoints the Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) from one of the armed services; the current Chief of the Defence Force is Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. In the 2006–07 Budget, defence spending is $22 billion.Australian Department of Defence (2006). Portfolio Budget Statements 2006–07.Page 19.

Geography .Australia's 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,299 sq. mi) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea seas. Australia has a total 34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands) and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi). Mount Augustus National Park claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 ft).

By far the largest part of Australia is Deserts of Australia or semi-arid. Australia is the flattest continent, has the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. Most of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The landscapes of the northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, consist of rainforest, woodland, grassland, mangrove swamps and desert. The climate is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. No more drought: it's a 'permanent dry' Australia's epic drought: The situation is grim

Flora and fauna and the eucalyptus forming an iconic Australian pair.Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a Megadiverse Countries. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota (ecology) is unique and biodiversity. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of List of Australian birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are Endemic (ecology).{{cite web|url = http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html|title = About Biodiversity|accessdate = 2007-09-18|publisher = Department of the Environment and Heritage|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070205015628/www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html|archivedate = 2007-02-05015628--> Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and Invasive species in Australia plant and animal species. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is a legal framework for the protection of threatened species. Numerous Protected areas of Australia have been created under the national Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 64 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 13th in the world on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

Most Australian woody plant species are evergreen and many are adapted to fire and drought, including many eucalyptus and acacias. Australia has a rich variety of endemic legume species that thrive in nutrient-poor soils because of their symbiosis with Rhizobia bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. Well-known Australian fauna include monotremes (the platypus and echidna); a host of marsupials, including the kangaroo, koala, wombat; and birds such as the emu and kookaburra. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 Common Era.Savolainen, P. et al. 2004. A detailed picture of the origin of the Australian dingo, obtained from the study of mitochondrial DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101:12387–12390 PMID Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have become extinct since European settlement, among them the Thylacine.

Economy in Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest Open-pit mining gold mine

Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita Gross domestic product slightly higher than those of the UK, Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2006 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. The absence of an export-oriented manufacturing industry has been considered a key weakness of the Australian economy. More recently, rising prices for Australia's commodity exports and increasing tourism have made this criticism less relevant. Nevertheless, Australia has the world's fourth largest current account deficit in absolute terms (in relative terms it is more than 7% of GDP). This is considered problematic by some economists, especially as it has coincided with the high terms of trade and low interest rates that make the cost of servicing the foreign debt low.Colebach, T. We're on a long and slippery slide to disaster, March 2 2005, The Age

The Bob Hawke started the process of economic reform by Floating exchange rate the Australian dollar in 1983, and partially deregulating the financial system.Macfarlane, I. J. (1998). Australian Monetary Policy in the Last Quarter of the Twentieth Century. Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, October The Howard government has continued the process of microeconomic reform, including a WorkChoices and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the Communications in Australia industry.Parham, D. (2002). Microeconomic reforms and the revival in Australia’s growth in productivity and living standards. Conference of Economists, Adelaide, 1 October The indirect tax system was substantially reformed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax (Australia), which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that characterises Australia's tax system.

As of January 2007, there were 10,033,480 people employed, with an unemployment rate of 4.6%.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Labour Force Australia. Cat#6202.0 Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and base interest rates 5–6%. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, comprises 69% of GDP.Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2003). Advancing the National Interest, Appendix 1 Agriculture in Australia and natural resources comprise 3% and 5% of GDP but contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets include Japan, China, the US, South Korea and New Zealand.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005

Demography {{USCensusPop|1900 = 3765400|1910 = 4525100|1920 = 5411000|1930 = 6501000|1940 = 7078000|1950 = 8307000|1960 = 10392000|1970 = 12663000|1980 = 14726000|1990 = 17169000|2000 = 19169000| estimate= 21106778| estyear= 2007| estref=| footnote=http://populstat.info/Oceania/australc.htm-->

is the most populous city in the country.

Most of the estimated 21 million Australians are descended from 19th and 20th century European settlers, the majority from the British Isles. As of 2006, around 90% of Australia's population was of European descent. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I,{{cite web]|format = Excel file programme. Following [World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born overseas. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 23.1% of Australians who were born overseas were from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 Australian Population: Ethnic Origins Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism.{{cite web] and Oceania. Settler numbers on the rise Migration target for 2006–07 was 144,000. Inflow of foreign-born population by country of birth, by year Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 20. Migration Program Planning Levels

The Indigenous population — mainland Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islands — was 410,003 (2.2% of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from the 1976 census, which showed an indigenous population of 115,953. Indigenous Australians have higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education and life expectancies for males and females that are 17 years lower than those of other Australians.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005

wine producing region of South Australia.In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03Parliament of Australia, Senate (2005). Inquiry into Australian Expatriates) live outside their home country.

English is the national language,{{cite web|url = http://www.immi.gov.au/multicultural/_inc/publications/confer/04/speech18b.htm|title = Pluralist Nations: Pluralist Language Policies?|accessdate = 2007-09-18|year = 1995|publisher = Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20050717200122/http://www.immi.gov.au/multicultural/_inc/publications/confer/04/speech18b.htm|archivedate = 2005-07-17-->and is spoken and written in a distinct variety known as Australian English. According to the 2001 census, English language is the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Chinese (2.1%), Italian (1.9%) and Greek (1.4%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are Multilingualism. It is believed that there were between 200 and 300 Australian Aboriginal languages at the time of first European contact. Only about 70 of these languages have survived, and all but 20 of these are now endangered languages. An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.25%) people. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 deaf people.

Australia has no state religion. The 2006 census identified that 64% of Australians call themselves Christianity: 26% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic Church in Australia and 19% as Anglican Communion. Australians who identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions number 5%. A total of 19% were categorised as having "No Religion" (which includes non-theistic beliefs such as secular humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism) and a further 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population. NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance, National Church Life Survey, Media release, 28 February 2004

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania, and 17 years in Western Australia), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities, and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. There is a state-based system of vocational training colleges, known as Technical and Further Education, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualificationsAustralian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is highest of OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries. Education at Glance 2005 by OECD: Percentage of foreign students in tertiary education.

Culture in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.Since 1788, the primary basis of Australian culture has been Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and Australian Aborigine culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. The vigour and originality of the arts in Australia — literature, cinema, opera, music, painting, theatre, dance, and crafts — have achieved international recognition.

Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the Cave painting and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. From the time of European settlement, a common theme in Art of Australia has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the Dreamtime (mythology). Australian Aboriginal music, dance and Australian Aboriginal art have a palpable influence on contemporary Australian visual and performing arts. Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council for the Arts. There is a Orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Joan Sutherland; Music of Australia includes classical, jazz, and many popular genres.

Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century. Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English.

was developed in Victoria in the late 1850s and is played at amateur and professional levels. It is the most popular spectator sport in Australia, in terms of annual attendances and club memberships.Australia has two public broadcasters (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the multicultural Special Broadcasting Service), three commercial television networks, several pay TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Cinema of Australia has achieved critical and commercial successes. Each major city has daily newspapers, and there are two national daily newspapers, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. According to Reporters Without Borders in 2006, Australia was in 35th position on a list of countries ranked by freedom of the press, behind New Zealand (19th) and the United Kingdom (27th) but ahead of the United States. This low ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia; in particular, most Australian Publishing are under the control of News Corporation and John Fairfax Holdings.

Sport plays an important part in Australian culture, assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities; 23.5% Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organised sporting activities.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in cricket, field hockey, netball, rugby league, rugby union, and performs well in cycling, rowing and swimming. Nationally, other popular sports include Australian rules football, horse racing, football (soccer) and motor racing. Australia has participated in every summer Olympic Games of the modern era, and every Commonwealth Games. Australia hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Australia has also hosted the 1938 British Empire Games, 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, 1982 Commonwealth Games and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam (tennis) tennis tournaments, annual international cricket matches and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and elite athletes is common in Australia. Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programmes include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football (various codes) competitions.Australian Film Commission. What are Australians Watching?, Free-to-Air, 1999–2004 TV

See also Notes

Australia also has a Royal anthem, God Save the Queen, which is played in the presence of a member of the British Royal Family when they are in Australia. In all other appropriate contexts, the National anthem of Australia, Advance Australia Fair, is played. It's an Honour - Symbols - Australian National Anthem and DFAT - "The Australian National Anthem";

English does not have de jure official status. Department of Immigration and Citizenship

There are minor variations from these three time zones, see Time in Australia.

Australia describes the body of water south of its mainland as the Southern Ocean, rather than the Indian Ocean as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). In 2000, a vote of IHO member nations defined the term "Southern Ocean" as applying only to the waters between Antarctica and 60 degrees south latitude.

References {{Infobox Country or territory| native_name = Commonwealth of Australia| common_name = Australia| image_flag = Flag_of_Australia.svg| image_coat = Australian Coat of Arms.png| image_map = Location Australia.svg| national_anthem = Advance Australia Fair ] (de facto )]| Gemstone = opal| government_type = | leader_title1 = [Monarchy in Australia| leader_title2 = Governor-General of Australia| leader_title3 = Prime Minister of Australia| leader_name1 = Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom| leader_name2 = Michael Jeffery| area_rank = 6th| area_magnitude = 1 E12| area_km2 = 7741220| area_sq_mi = 2988888 -->| population_density_rank = 224th| sovereignty_type = Independence| established_event1 = [Constitution of Australia| established_event2 = Statute of Westminster 1931| established_event3 = Australia Act 1986| established_date1 = 1 January 1901 [1931 (Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 9 September 1939)] 1986| currency_code = AUD| time_zone = [Time in Australia | utc_offset = +8 to +10.5| time_zone_DST = Time in Australia | utc_offset_DST = +9 to +11.5| demonym = Australian| cctld = .au in the [southern hemisphere comprising the Australia (continent) of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the 17th century, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely Self-governance British overseas territory were established during the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a Federation of Australia, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democracy political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. The population is 21 million, and is concentrated in the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Western Australia, and Adelaide.

Etymology , the site where Sydney was established, taken from the South Head. (From A Voyage to Terra Australis.)The name "List of country name etymologies#A#Australia" is derived from the Latin language Australis, meaning "Southern". Legends of an "unknown land of the south" (Terra Australis) dating back to Roman times were commonplace in mediæval geography, but were based on no actual knowledge of the continent. The first use of the word "Australia" in English was in 1625 — the words "A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt", published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus.Purchas, vol. iv, p. 1422–32, 1625. The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used by Dutch East India Company officials in Jakarta to refer to the newly discovered land to the south in 1638. "Australia" was used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1692 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur.Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966. Alexander Dalrymple then used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1771), to refer to the entire South Pacific region. In 1793, George Shaw and James Edward Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland (Australia)."

The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work A Voyage to Terra Australis by the navigator Matthew Flinders, the first recorded person to circumnavigate Australia. Despite its title, which reflected the view of the Admiralty, Flinders used the word "Australia" in the book, which was widely read and gave the term general currency. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of New South Wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to England, and on 12 December 1817 recommended to the Colonial Office that it be officially adopted)Weekend Australian, 30-31 December 2000, p. 16. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as "Australia".

The word "Australia" in Australian English is pronounced .

History The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.Gillespie, R. (2002). Dating the first Australians. Radiocarbon 44:455–72 These first Australians were possibly the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they may have arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day South-East Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex Oral tradition and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; their cultural practices were and remain distinct from those of the Aborigines. charted the east coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Great Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1988; photographed in Cooktown Harbour where Cook spent seven weeks.The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland (Australia), but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there.

The British British overseas territory of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788. This date was later to become Australia's National Day, Australia Day. Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria (Australia) in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province" — that is, it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. Convict Records Public Record office of Victoria State Records Office of Western Australia The transportation of Convictism in Australia to the colony of New South Wales ceased in 1848 after a campaign by the settlers. Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998 Special Article - The State of New South Wales

was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at 350,000 at the time of European settlement,Smith, L. (1980), The Aboriginal Population of Australia, Australian National University Press, Canberra declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease combined with forced re-settlement and cultural disintegration. Smallpox Through History The Stolen Generation from their families, which some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by some definitions,{{cite web|url = http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/rsrch/rsrch_dp/genocide.htm|title = Genocide in Australia|accessdate = 2007-09-13|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20050808002313/http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/rsrch/rsrch_dp/genocide.htm|archivedate = 2005-08-08-->may have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some Right Wing commentators as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.Windschuttle, K. (2001). The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, [The New Criterion Vol. 20, No. 1, September 20. This debate is known within Australia as the History Wars. Following the Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals), the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land — native title — was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court of Australia case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius ("empty land") at the time of European occupation.

is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Such ceremonies are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. On 1 January 1901, Federation of Australia of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born as a Dominion of the British Empire. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed from a part of New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in World War I.Bean, C. Ed. (1941). Volume I - The Story of Anzac: the first phase, First World War Official Histories, Eleventh Edition. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Battle of Gallipoli as the birth of the nation — its first major military action. The Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.

The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom when Australia Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 in 1942. The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other non-European parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and self-image have been radically transformed. The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy council.Australia Act text In 1999, Australian voters rejected by a majority of less than 5% a move to become a republic with a president appointed by Parliament.Australian Electoral Commission (2000). 1999 Referendum Reports and Statistics, accessed 28 July 2007 Since the election of the Gough Whitlam in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the Pacific Rim.

Politics in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the Old Parliament House, Canberra opened in 1927.

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General of Australia at Federal level and by the Governors at State level. Although the Constitution of Australia gives extensive Executive (government) to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975.Parliamentary Library (1997). The Reserve Powers of the Governor-General

There are Separation of powers:

• The legislature: the Parliament of Australia, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, whose powers are limited to assenting to laws.
• The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the Executive Councillors); in practice, the councillors are the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.
• The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other Australian court hierarchy. The State courts became formally independent from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when the Australia Act was passed in 1986.

The Bicameralism Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Australian Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a Australian House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population, with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. In the Senate, each state is represented by 12 senators, and the territories (the ACT and the NT) by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; Senators have overlapping six-year terms, and only half of the seats are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister.

There are three major political parties: the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. Since the Australian federal election, 1996, the Coalition (Australia) led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the Australian federal election, 2004, the Coalition won control of the Senate - the first time in more than 20 years that a party (or coalition) has done so while in government. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Compulsory voting for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level; such enrolment is compulsory in all jurisdictions but South Australia.

States and territories {| align="right" style="margin-left:1em;"||}Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia) and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in Section 51 of the Australian Constitution of the Constitution of Australia; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government.

Each state and territory has its own Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, which are Unicameralism in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states. The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house is known as the Legislative Council. The head of government in each state and territory are called Premiers of the Australian states and Chief Minister, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a Governors of the Australian states; an Administrator of the Northern Territory in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.

Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Foreign relations and the military Over recent decades, Foreign relations of Australia have been driven by a close association with the United States through the ANZUS, and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. Australia has energetically pursued the cause of international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation of the Cairns Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the WTO. Australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Australia is a founding member of the United Nations, and maintains an international aid programme under which some 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005–06 budget provides A$2.5 bn for development assistance;Australian Government. (2005). Budget 2005–2006 as a percentage of GDP, this contribution is less than that of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Australia's armed forces — the Australian Defence Force (ADF) — comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), numbering about 51,000.Nation Master All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping (most recently in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Sudan), disaster relief, and armed conflict, including the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The government appoints the Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) from one of the armed services; the current Chief of the Defence Force is Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. In the 2006–07 Budget, defence spending is $22 billion.Australian Department of Defence (2006). Portfolio Budget Statements 2006–07.Page 19.

Geography .Australia's 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,299 sq. mi) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea seas. Australia has a total 34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands) and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi). Mount Augustus National Park claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 ft).

By far the largest part of Australia is Deserts of Australia or semi-arid. Australia is the flattest continent, has the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. Most of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The landscapes of the northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, consist of rainforest, woodland, grassland, mangrove swamps and desert. The climate is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. No more drought: it's a 'permanent dry' Australia's epic drought: The situation is grim

Flora and fauna and the eucalyptus forming an iconic Australian pair.Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a Megadiverse Countries. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota (ecology) is unique and biodiversity. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of List of Australian birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are Endemic (ecology).{{cite web|url = http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html|title = About Biodiversity|accessdate = 2007-09-18|publisher = Department of the Environment and Heritage|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070205015628/www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html|archivedate = 2007-02-05015628--> Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and Invasive species in Australia plant and animal species. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is a legal framework for the protection of threatened species. Numerous Protected areas of Australia have been created under the national Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 64 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 13th in the world on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

Most Australian woody plant species are evergreen and many are adapted to fire and drought, including many eucalyptus and acacias. Australia has a rich variety of endemic legume species that thrive in nutrient-poor soils because of their symbiosis with Rhizobia bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. Well-known Australian fauna include monotremes (the platypus and echidna); a host of marsupials, including the kangaroo, koala, wombat; and birds such as the emu and kookaburra. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 Common Era.Savolainen, P. et al. 2004. A detailed picture of the origin of the Australian dingo, obtained from the study of mitochondrial DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101:12387–12390 PMID Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have become extinct since European settlement, among them the Thylacine.

Economy in Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest Open-pit mining gold mine

Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita Gross domestic product slightly higher than those of the UK, Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2006 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. The absence of an export-oriented manufacturing industry has been considered a key weakness of the Australian economy. More recently, rising prices for Australia's commodity exports and increasing tourism have made this criticism less relevant. Nevertheless, Australia has the world's fourth largest current account deficit in absolute terms (in relative terms it is more than 7% of GDP). This is considered problematic by some economists, especially as it has coincided with the high terms of trade and low interest rates that make the cost of servicing the foreign debt low.Colebach, T. We're on a long and slippery slide to disaster, March 2 2005, The Age

The Bob Hawke started the process of economic reform by Floating exchange rate the Australian dollar in 1983, and partially deregulating the financial system.Macfarlane, I. J. (1998). Australian Monetary Policy in the Last Quarter of the Twentieth Century. Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, October The Howard government has continued the process of microeconomic reform, including a WorkChoices and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the Communications in Australia industry.Parham, D. (2002). Microeconomic reforms and the revival in Australia’s growth in productivity and living standards. Conference of Economists, Adelaide, 1 October The indirect tax system was substantially reformed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax (Australia), which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that characterises Australia's tax system.

As of January 2007, there were 10,033,480 people employed, with an unemployment rate of 4.6%.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Labour Force Australia. Cat#6202.0 Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and base interest rates 5–6%. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, comprises 69% of GDP.Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2003). Advancing the National Interest, Appendix 1 Agriculture in Australia and natural resources comprise 3% and 5% of GDP but contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets include Japan, China, the US, South Korea and New Zealand.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005

Demography {{USCensusPop|1900 = 3765400|1910 = 4525100|1920 = 5411000|1930 = 6501000|1940 = 7078000|1950 = 8307000|1960 = 10392000|1970 = 12663000|1980 = 14726000|1990 = 17169000|2000 = 19169000| estimate= 21106778| estyear= 2007| estref=| footnote=http://populstat.info/Oceania/australc.htm-->

is the most populous city in the country.

Most of the estimated 21 million Australians are descended from 19th and 20th century European settlers, the majority from the British Isles. As of 2006, around 90% of Australia's population was of European descent. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I,{{cite web]|format = Excel file programme. Following [World War II and through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that nearly two out of every seven Australians were born overseas. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 23.1% of Australians who were born overseas were from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 Australian Population: Ethnic Origins Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism.{{cite web] and Oceania. Settler numbers on the rise Migration target for 2006–07 was 144,000. Inflow of foreign-born population by country of birth, by year Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 20. Migration Program Planning Levels

The Indigenous population — mainland Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islands — was 410,003 (2.2% of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from the 1976 census, which showed an indigenous population of 115,953. Indigenous Australians have higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education and life expectancies for males and females that are 17 years lower than those of other Australians.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005

wine producing region of South Australia.In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03Parliament of Australia, Senate (2005). Inquiry into Australian Expatriates) live outside their home country.

English is the national language,{{cite web|url = http://www.immi.gov.au/multicultural/_inc/publications/confer/04/speech18b.htm|title = Pluralist Nations: Pluralist Language Policies?|accessdate = 2007-09-18|year = 1995|publisher = Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20050717200122/http://www.immi.gov.au/multicultural/_inc/publications/confer/04/speech18b.htm|archivedate = 2005-07-17-->and is spoken and written in a distinct variety known as Australian English. According to the 2001 census, English language is the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Chinese (2.1%), Italian (1.9%) and Greek (1.4%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are Multilingualism. It is believed that there were between 200 and 300 Australian Aboriginal languages at the time of first European contact. Only about 70 of these languages have survived, and all but 20 of these are now endangered languages. An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.25%) people. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 deaf people.

Australia has no state religion. The 2006 census identified that 64% of Australians call themselves Christianity: 26% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic Church in Australia and 19% as Anglican Communion. Australians who identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions number 5%. A total of 19% were categorised as having "No Religion" (which includes non-theistic beliefs such as secular humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism) and a further 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population. NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance, National Church Life Survey, Media release, 28 February 2004

School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania, and 17 years in Western Australia), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities, and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. There is a state-based system of vocational training colleges, known as Technical and Further Education, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualificationsAustralian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is highest of OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries. Education at Glance 2005 by OECD: Percentage of foreign students in tertiary education.

Culture in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.Since 1788, the primary basis of Australian culture has been Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and Australian Aborigine culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. The vigour and originality of the arts in Australia — literature, cinema, opera, music, painting, theatre, dance, and crafts — have achieved international recognition.

Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the Cave painting and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. From the time of European settlement, a common theme in Art of Australia has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the Dreamtime (mythology). Australian Aboriginal music, dance and Australian Aboriginal art have a palpable influence on contemporary Australian visual and performing arts. Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council for the Arts. There is a Orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Joan Sutherland; Music of Australia includes classical, jazz, and many popular genres.

Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century. Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English.

was developed in Victoria in the late 1850s and is played at amateur and professional levels. It is the most popular spectator sport in Australia, in terms of annual attendances and club memberships.Australia has two public broadcasters (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the multicultural Special Broadcasting Service), three commercial television networks, several pay TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Cinema of Australia has achieved critical and commercial successes. Each major city has daily newspapers, and there are two national daily newspapers, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. According to Reporters Without Borders in 2006, Australia was in 35th position on a list of countries ranked by freedom of the press, behind New Zealand (19th) and the United Kingdom (27th) but ahead of the United States. This low ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia; in particular, most Australian Publishing are under the control of News Corporation and John Fairfax Holdings.

Sport plays an important part in Australian culture, assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities; 23.5% Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organised sporting activities.Australian Bureau of Statistics. Year Book Australia 2005 At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in cricket, field hockey, netball, rugby league, rugby union, and performs well in cycling, rowing and swimming. Nationally, other popular sports include Australian rules football, horse racing, football (soccer) and motor racing. Australia has participated in every summer Olympic Games of the modern era, and every Commonwealth Games. Australia hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Australia has also hosted the 1938 British Empire Games, 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, 1982 Commonwealth Games and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the Australian Open, one of the four Grand Slam (tennis) tennis tournaments, annual international cricket matches and the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and elite athletes is common in Australia. Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programmes include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football (various codes) competitions.Australian Film Commission. What are Australians Watching?, Free-to-Air, 1999–2004 TV

See also Notes

Australia also has a Royal anthem, God Save the Queen, which is played in the presence of a member of the British Royal Family when they are in Australia. In all other appropriate contexts, the National anthem of Australia, Advance Australia Fair, is played. It's an Honour - Symbols - Australian National Anthem and DFAT - "The Australian National Anthem";

English does not have de jure official status. Department of Immigration and Citizenship

There are minor variations from these three time zones, see Time in Australia.

Australia describes the body of water south of its mainland as the Southern Ocean, rather than the Indian Ocean as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). In 2000, a vote of IHO member nations defined the term "Southern Ocean" as applying only to the waters between Antarctica and 60 degrees south latitude.

References

Australia
Includes information about the High Commission, and about how to enroll to vote in Australian elections.

About Australia - Australian High Commission
Information about Australia ... High Commission address: Australia House, Strand, London WC2B 4LA

The Official Site for Australian Travel and Tourism Australia
Official site of the Australian Tourist Commission.

Australia Travel Portal
BestAtAustraliaholidays is a new Australia Travel Portal with hundreds of holiday ideas, travel advice and information on holidaying in Australia

BBC SPORT | Cricket | International Teams | Australia
Visit BBC Sport for all the action as it happens - up-to-the-minute news, results, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC Sport covers the major events and all the ...

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Country profiles | Country profile ...
Key facts, figures and dates ... Modern Australia was founded with the influx of European settlers just over two hundred years ago, but the Aborigines inhabited the island ...

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