GOVERNMENT
The Commonwealth government was created with a Constitution patterned partly on the U.S. Constitution, although it does not include a "bill of rights". The powers of the Commonwealth are specifically defined in the Constitution, and the residual powers remain with the states. Proposed changes to the Constitution must be approved by the Parliament and the people, via referendum, in order to take effect.
Australia is an independent nation within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and since 1973 has been officially styled "Queen of Australia." The Queen is represented throughout Australia by a governor general and in each state by a governor. The governor general retains reserve powers of the Queen, including the power to dismiss ministers, last exercised in 1975.
The federal Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a 76-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. Twelve senators from each state are elected for 6-year terms, with half elected every 3 years. Each territory has two senators who are elected for 3-year terms. The members of the House of Representatives are allocated among the states and territories roughly in proportion to population. In ordinary legislation, the two chambers have parallel powers, but all proposals for appropriating revenue or imposing taxes must be introduced in the House of Representatives. Under the prevailing Westminster parliamentary system, the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that wins a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives is named prime minister. The prime minister and the cabinet wield actual power and are responsible to the Parliament, of which they must be elected members. General elections are held at least once every 3 years; the last general election was in November 2007.
Each state is headed by a premier, who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the lower house of the state legislature (Queensland is an exception, with a unicameral parliament). Australia's two self-governing territories have political systems similar to those of the states, with unicameral assemblies. Each territory is headed by a Chief Minister who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the territory's legislature. Australia's 673 local councils assist in the delivery of services such as road maintenance, sewage treatment, and the provision of recreational facilities.
At the apex of the court system is the High Court of Australia. It has general appellate jurisdiction over all other federal and state courts and possesses the power of constitutional review.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and the Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the more conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) nominally represents the trade unions and left-of-center groups. The ALP, founded by labor unions, traditionally had been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues. Today, it is a best described as a social democratic party. All political groups are tied by tradition to domestic welfare policies offering extensive social welfare programs. Over the last decade, Australia's social welfare system has increased assistance to families while imposing obligations on those receiving unemployment benefits and disability pensions. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia's commitment to its alliance with the United States.
The ALP, under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, defeated the Liberal/National coalition, led by former Prime Minister John Howard, in an election on November 24, 2007. The ALP now holds 84 seats in the House of Representatives, against 64 for the Liberal/National coalition, and 2 independents. Currently, in the Senate, the coalition holds a majority with 39 seats in the 76-seat chamber, but with the election--which was also for half the upper house--a new Senate will be seated in July 2008 in which no party will have a majority. The composition of the Senate is likely to be 37 seats for the coalition, 32 for the ALP, five seats for the Green Party, one for the Family First Party, and one independent.
Rudd and the ALP won the election with a message promising new leadership after 11 years of the Howard government. They campaigned on a conservative platform that mimicked coalition polices in key policy areas such as tax cuts and economic management, while differentiating themselves on unpopular Howard government policies on workplace relations reform and climate change. The Rudd government has ratified the Kyoto Protocol and will work with the international community on combating climate change. It will also seek to undo some of the labor market reforms instituted by the Howard government after the 2004 election. The reforms, which eliminated some worker protections in the name of labor-market flexibility, were never accepted by many working families in Australia, and they deserted Howard in the election. The new Australian government's foreign policy is likely to show strong continuity with that of its predecessors, stressing relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Rudd government strongly supports U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and has pledged to maintain Australian troops in Afghanistan. It will withdraw Australia's combat troops from Iraq in 2008, however, leaving air, naval, and training assets in and around Iraq.
Principal Government Officials
Governor General--Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael Jeffery
Prime Minister--Kevin Rudd
Deputy Prime Minister--Julia Gillard
Foreign Minister--Stephen Smith
Defense Minister--Joel Fitzgibbon
Ambassador to the United States--Dennis Richardson
Ambassador to the United Nations--Robert Hill
Australia maintains an embassy in the United States at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-797-3000), and consulates general in New York (212-408-8400), San Francisco (415-362-6160), Honolulu (808-524-5050), Los Angeles (310-229-4800) and Atlanta (404-880-1700).
Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia
Type: Democratic, federal-state system recognizing
British monarch as sovereign.
Constitution: July 9, 1900.
Independence (federation): January 1, 1901.
Branches: Head of state is the governor general,
who is appointed by the Queen of Australia (the British Monarch).
Legislative--bicameral Parliament (76-member Senate, 150-member
House of Representatives). The House of Representatives selects
as head of government the Prime Minister, who then appoints his
cabinet. Judicial--independent judiciary. Administrative subdivisions:
Six states and two territories.
Political parties: Liberal, Nationals, Australian
Labor, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, and Family First.
The Liberal Party and the Nationals form the governing coalition.
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory over 18.
Central government budget: FY 2003-04--$129.3
billion; FY 2004-05--$138.4 billion.
Defense: 1.9% of GDP for FY 2004-05.
Flag: On a blue field, U.K. Union Jack in the
top left corner, a large white star directly beneath symbolizing
federation, BR>The Commonwealth government was created with a
constitution patterned partly on the U.S. Constitution. The powers
of the Commonwealth are specifically defined in the constitution,
and the residual powers remain with the states.
