Factsheet of Australia

Official Name : Commonwealth of Australia

Geographical location :

(Latitude) 10° 41’ South and 43° 39’ South
(Longitude) 113° 09’ East and 153° 39’ East

Area : 7.7 million sq.km (coastline 25,760 km)

Climate :

Summer from December to February
Autumn from March to May
Winter from June to August
Spring from September to November
Conditions vary depending on location

Population : 22.0 million (March 2009)

States and Territories :

Territories:

Australian Capital Territory (349,900)
Northern Territory ( 223,000)

States:

New South Wales (7.0 mn)
Victoria (5.4 mn)
Queensland (4.3 mn)
Western Australia (2.2 mn)
South Australia (1.6 mn)
Tasmania (0.51 mn)

Federal Capital : Canberra (349,900)

Other Major Cities :

Sydney (4.4 mn)
Melbourne (3.9 mn)
Brisbane (1.9 mn)
Perth (1.6 mn)
Adelaide (1.2 mn)
Hobart (210,000)
Darwin (121,000)

Religion : Christianity (13.0 million); Buddhism (0.68 million); Islam (0.44 million); Hinduism (0.153 million); Judaism (0.092 million); other religion groups include Australian Aboriginal traditional religions, Sikhism etc.

Ethnic groups : Australia is a country of migrants; around 45% were either born overseas; have a parent who was born overseas. There are over 200 migrant nationalities, among whom are predominantly English, Irish, New Zealander, Italian, Croatian, Serbian, Vietnamese, Greek, Chinese, Indian (Caucasian 92%; Asian 7%; Aboriginal and
others 1%)

Time difference :

NSW, Queensland, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania: IST + 4½ hours
South Australia and Northern Territory: IST + 4 hours
Western Australia: IST + 2½ hours
NSW, VIC, SA, ACT, TAS have Daylight Saving
Time from October to March.

AustralIa - Political

Polity :

Federal parliament democracy, based on the constitution of 1901, with Queen as head of State. The Government is headed by a Prime Minister in Cabinet. The Parliament is bicameral: the 150-member House of Representatives (the lower house) is directly elected by a preferential voting system for a three-year term; and the Senate (the upper house) the 76 Senators (twelve from each of the six States and two from each of the Territories) directly elected by proportional representation for six-year terms, with one-half of Senate members retiring every three years, usually to coincide with elections for the House of Representatives. The Senate may not initiate or amend money bills.

State legislatures : Five of the six states have bicameral legislatures; that of Queensland is unicameral

Electoral system : Compulsory universal direct suffrage over the age of 18

National government :

A cabinet, presided over by the Prime Minister, is appointed by the Governor-General on the basis of party strength in the House of Representatives; a Labor government is currently in power.

Major political parties : The Australian Labor Party (ALP), the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Democrats, the Greens. The Labor Party is in power in all the States and Territories.

Head of State : Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia represented by the Governor General.

Governor General : HE Ms. Quentin Bryce AC

Prime Minister : The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade : The Hon. Stephen Smith, MP

Leader of Opposition : The Hon. Tony Abbott, MP

Party position Total : 150
House of Representatives:

ALP                                  :           83
Liberals                           :           55
Nationals                        :          10
Independents                 :            2

Senate                  Total :         76
Liberal*                            :        32
Nationals/ Country Liberal Party :*          5
ALP                                  :        32
Greens                            :           5
Family First                    :           1
Independent                  :            1
         *(Liberals, National and CLP are in a coalition with 37 seats)

Official website links :

Prime Minister : http://www.pm.gov.au/
Foreign Minister : http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: http://www.dfat.gov.au/

All Australian Government Departments and agencies : http://www.directory.gov.au/
as well as State Governments and Territories

Government of Australian : http://www.directory.act.gov.au/
Capital Territory (ACT)

Australia-India Council : http://www.dfat.gov.au/aic/

Australia's Foreign Policy

The key objective of Australia's foreign and trade policy is to promote its security and long-term prosperity. The three pillars of Australia's foreign policy are : active participation in the institutions of global governance, including the United nations and the WTO; enhancing Australia's alliance with the United States; and engaging with the states and institutions of the Asia-Pacific region.

Membership of International Organisations

Australia is a member of UN and the Commonwealth and holds membership in almost all international and regional organisations.

Member of ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, FAO, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCT, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Important Think Tanks on foreign affairs

1. Australian Institute of International Affairs
Tel.: +61-2-6232 4978
Fax: +61-2-6285 2334
Web: www.aiia.asn.au

2. The Centre for Independent Studies
Tel: +61 2 9438 4377
Fax: +61 2 9439 7310
Web: http://www.cis.org.au/

3. Lowy Institute for International Policy
Tel.: +61-2-8238 9130
Fax: +61-2-8238 9005
Web: www.lowyinstitute.org

4. Australia Asia Centre
Tel.: +61-2-9650 0998
Fax: +61-2-9654 6680
Web: www.asiasociety.org.au

AUSTRALIA - ECONOMIC

Composition of GDP                     :         The Australian economy is based
                                                                     overwhelmingly on services, which account for
                                                                     80.1% of GDP. The mining sector accounts for
                                                                     7.6%;manufacturing for 11%; agriculture,
                                                                     forestry and fishery for 2.3%.

Financial Year : July 1 - June 30

GDP (current prices) : US$1,219.7billion;(A$1,219.3bn) (2010)

GDP Per Capita : US$54,869; (A$ 54,869) (2010)

GDP Growth                                     :        3% (2010)

Foreign Exchange Reserves        :       US$ 32.5 bn. (A$ 33.8 bn.) (Nov 2010)

Main natural resources : Coal, Gold, Iron Ore, Bauxite, Alumina, Uranium, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Nickel, Natural Gas.

Principal crops : Wheat, Barley, Oats, Oilseeds

Currency : A$ 1= US$ 1.01 / Rs. 45.70 (30 Dec 2010)

Total Merchandise Trade(A$bn) : 404.3 (Exports:200.7;Imports:203.6)(2009-10)

AUSTRALIA’S PRINCIPAL TRADING PARTNERS (2009-10, Australian$)

Country	Total Trade	Rank	Exports	Rank	Imports	Rank
China	$82.8 bn.	1st	$46.4 bn.	1st	$36.3 bn.	1st
Japan	$54.88 bn.	2nd	$37.10 bn.	2nd	$17.78 bn.	3rd
USA	$33.5 bn.	3rd	$9.5 bn.	5th	$24.05 bn.	2nd
Republic of Korea	$23.54 bn.	4th	$16.49 bn.	3rd	$7.04 bn.	8th
India	$18.02 bn.	5th	$16.17 bn.	4th	$1.85 bn.	21st
Thailand	$17.14 bn.	6th	$4.70 bn.	9th	$12.44 bn.	4th
Singapore	$15.96 bn.	7th	$5.03 bn.	8th	$10.9 bn.	5th
New Zealand	$15.02 bn.	8th	$8.03 bn.	7th	$6.99 bn.	7th
United Kingdom	$12.98 bn.	9th	$7.21 bn.	6th	$5.77 bn.	9th
Germany	$12.41 bn	10th	$1.6 bn	18th	$10.72 bn	6th

Outward Investment : ( A$mn. ) 1,193,768 (As on Jun 30 , 2010)

Inward Investment : ( A$mn. ) 1,957,226 (As on Jun 30, 2010)

Leading Destination countries    :    U.S.A($403.6 bn/33.8%)
                                                                    U.K.($178.7bn/14.9%)
                                                                    New Zealand ($79.59 bn/6.6%)
                                                                    Japan($31.6bn/2.6%)
                                                                    Netherlands($26.36bn/2.2%)

Leading Investing countries       :        U.S.A ($514.30 bn/26.2%)
                                                                    U.K.($498.5bn/25.4%)
                                                                    Japan ($102.02 bn/5.2%)
                                                                 Hong Kong($43.1 bn/2.2%)
                                                                    Switzerland ($32.3 bn/1.65%)