Mark & Alice talking the finer details of Australia

Sydney:

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The Basics

To avoid information overload, this section only provides a bit more perspective on the Australian landscape, but still does not do justice to any of the sections discussed. My suggestion, as always, is use this as the first step into finding out more about this country. If you have questions, please email us and we will do our best to answer them.

ECONOMIC SUMMARY

Currency

The Australian dollar - coins (five, 10, 20, and 50 cent, and one and two dollar denominations); notes (five, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollar denominations).

$50 bill

$100 bill

Labour Market Trends

The Australian workforce has experienced many structural improvements over the last decade, which have contributed to the growth in job creation and productivity. In the last two years, employment has grown by more than 2 per cent per annum.

In March 2001, the unemployment rate was just 6.5 per cent - representing a 4.2 per cent drop from the previous decade�s peak unemployment level.

In 1999 - 2000, 24 per cent of the labour force was comprised of employees born in countries other than Australia.

In recent years, there has been a remarkable shift from manufacturing to service industries. About 36.5 per cent of Australians now work in professional, technical, managerial or administrative jobs.

In 2000, Australia was ranked 11th in the world for overall productivity, as measured by GDP per person employed.

Working Conditions

Employment and working conditions are strictly legislated in Australia through the Workplace Relations Act 1996. Under this Act, employees are guaranteed the right of freedom of association i.e. they are free to join a trade union or any other organisation.

Working conditions, minimum rates of pay, allowances, overtime, hours of work, holiday/sick leave and so forth are either covered by federal or state awards, collective agreements between an employer and a group of employees or an individual workplace agreement.

Economic indicators

GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $465.9 billion; per capita $24,000.
Real growth rate: 2.3%.
Inflation: 4.3%.
Unemployment: 6.7%.

Arable land: 7%.

Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry.

Labour force: 9.2 million (Dec. 2001); services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.).

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel.

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum.

Exports: $68.8 billion (2001 est.): coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment.

Imports: $70.2 billion (2001 est.): machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products.

Major trading partners: Japan, U.S., South Korea, China, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, Germany, Malaysia

GEOGRAPHY

Australia is the only country that is also a continent. The area of Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, is 7,682,300 sq km (2,966,200 sq miles) - approximately equal in area to the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). In area, it ranks as the sixth largest country and the smallest continent. It measures about 4,000km (2,485 miles) from east to west and 3,700km (2,300 miles) from north to south, with a coastline extending 36,735km (22,826 miles) long. Australia boasts over 7,000 beaches - more than any other nation.

Over 75% of the continent is generally referred to as "the outback" (i.e. very sparsely settled and remote from the coastal plains of the east, south-east and south-west, which is where over 90% of Australians live). Australia has the lowest population density in the world.

Topology

Australia does not have very high mountains and consists mostly of large plains. A large mountain chain called the Great Dividing Range extends along the eastern coast of Australia. Low lying coastal plains in the east, southeast and southwest are the most densely settled areas of Australia.

Mountain ranges run from north to south along the east coast, reaching their highest point in Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m) - see map.

The interior of Australia is relatively flat except for the remnants of some eroded mountain chains. More than two thirds of Australia is covered by desert which accounts for most of the population settling on the more temperate coastal areas.

The western half of the continent is occupied by a desert plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills near the west coast - see map.

The Great Barrier Reef, extending about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast coast - more.
The island of Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800 sq km) is off the southeast coast - more.

Climate

The climate in Oz can vary greatly but it generally isn't subject to the extremes of weather due to a lack of physical features and the remote location in proportion to other land masses. The climate ranges from tropical (monsoonal) in the north to temperate in the south. About 40 percent of Australia is in the tropical region and essentially has only two seasons, a hot wet season and a warm dry season.

For capital city temperatures and rainfall summary for 2003 - View PDF

HISTORY (in brief)

The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines, who migrated there at least 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. There may have been between a half million to a full million Aborigines at the time of European settlement; today there are about 350,000.

Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century; the Dutch landed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. The British arrived in 1688, but it was not until Captain James Cook's voyage in 1770 that Great Britain claimed possession of the vast island, calling it New South Wales.

A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson (what is now Sydney) in 1788, and about 161,000 transported English convicts were settled there until the system was suspended in 1839.

Free settlers and former prisoners established six colonies: New South Wales (1786), Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) (1825), Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1834), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859).

Various gold rushes attracted settlers, as did the mining of other minerals. Sheep farming and grain soon became important economic enterprises.

The six colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia with a constitution that incorporated British parliamentary and U.S. federal traditions.

The name Australia comes from the Latin word 'australis', meaning southern.

Australia became known for its liberal legislation: free compulsory education, protected trade unionism with industrial conciliation and arbitration, the secret ballot, women's suffrage, maternity allowances, and sickness and old-age pensions.

POLITICS & LAW

Democracy
Australia is a stable democracy, with compulsory voting for those over 18 years of age, ensuring a representative government. Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of any democracy and Australians have no hesitation in expressing their views on political and controversial issues.

There are three levels of government

Commonwealth Government or Federal Government
Led by the Prime Minister of Australia, responsibilities at this level of government include nation-wide matters such as defence, trade, foreign affairs and telecommunications.
State Governments
This level of government is led by various State Premiers, and complements the activities of the Commonwealth Government, especially in the areas of education, social welfare and law enforcement.
Local Governments
This level of government is administered by locally-elected councillors. Responsible for municipal activities such as town planning, building regulations and waste disposal.

Major Political Parties

National emblems

The Australian national flag was declared the flag of Australia under the Flags Act 1953. 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 to the day. A new nation raised an urgent demand for a new emblem. An official competition for a design was arranged, which attracted 32,823 entries. Five of these, which contained almost identical designs, were placed equal first. Apart from later changes in the magnitudes of the stars and the number of points, they had produced the present Australian flag.

The Australian Flag

Song: Advance Australia Fair - proclaimed as Australia's national anthem after exhaustive surveys of national opinion. In 1974 the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a national opinion poll of 60,000 and in 1977 a plebiscite for a national song was conducted. On each occasion, Advance Australia Fair was the preferred option, and it was in consideration of such support that Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as the national anthem by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984.
Animal: Kangaroo
Floral: Golden Wattle - The golden wattle, Acacia pycnantha Benth, was proclaimed the official national floral emblem in August 1988.

The golden wattle (acacia pycnantha benth)

Colours: Green & gold - Green and gold were proclaimed Australia�s national colours by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984.

Legal System

Common law is the basis of Australia's legal system. The Parliament is based on the Westminster system of government. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth. Elected by the people of Australia, the Commonwealth Government of Australia governs our nation as a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is also the Queen of Australia. Formally, she is the head of state, represented in Australia by a Governor-General.

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones: main lines in use: 10.05 million (2000); mobile cellular: 8.6 million (2000).

Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, short-wave 1 (1998).

Radios: 25.5 million (1997).

Television broadcast stations: 104 (1997).

Televisions: 10.15 million (1997).

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 603 (2001).

Internet users: 10.06 million (2001).

TRANSPORTATION

Railways: total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) (1999est.).

Highways: total: 913,000 km; paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways); unpaved: 559,669 km (1996).

Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft.

Ports and harbours: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville.

Airports: 421 (2001).

EDUCATION

Australia's education system is overseen by a national body, to ensure a consistent standard of quality education is maintained through all states and territories.

The Australian education system is divided broadly into five areas:

Preschool
Primary School
Secondary / High School / Secondary Colleges
Career and Vocational Training
University or other tertiary institutions

Schooling is compulsory for students in most states and territories until the age of 15. Although students are able to leave at that time, almost all students continue until they have completed at least their year 10 qualifications, and most complete their year 12 studies.

Australian's believe that education is part of their children's birthright, so community involvement in monitoring the standard of education is very high. Both girls and boys are encouraged to reach the same high level of education through formal learning.

You may find the system of teaching and school discipline very different in Australia. Less importance is placed on the outward discipline and memorising practiced in many countries. Instead, the emphasis here is on self-discipline, learning through understanding, and generally encouraging a child's enthusiasm for learning.