The Commonwealth of Australia

The Commonwealth of AustraliaGovernment

GDP & E.Q.

• SS6CG7a. Describe the federal parliamentary democracy of Australia, distinguishing form of leadership, type of legislature, and the role of the citizen in terms of voting and personal freedoms.

Australia has a..

• Federal Parliamentary Democracy: – power is split between the central & local

government (central handles treaties & defense, local handles education & state police)

– citizens vote for members of Parliament

Australia has

• 6 states – from 6 original colonies

• 2 territories – land not claimed by states – can’t pass laws

• A constitution which grants rights to states & central gov’t

• National capital: Canberra

How Parliamentary Democracy works in Australia

• All citizens 18 & older MUST vote or get fined and go to court.

Parliament Makes Laws

• Parliament is divided into 2 houses– House of Representatives – Senate

• Australia is divided into electorates, each with about the same number of people.

• Citizens of each electorate choose 1 person to represent them in the House of Representatives

• Citizens choose 12 senators per state & territory for Senate

House of Representatives

• The winning political party becomes the Government.

• It chooses the prime minister, who recommends a “governor general” to the Queen to represent her in Australia

• The political party with the 2nd highest number of people in Parliament is called the Opposition.

Head of State vs. Head of Government

Head of State• Queen Elizabeth II of

England• Signs laws• Commander in chief of

military

(Governor General does her jobs)

Head of Government• Prime Minister• Most powerful political

figure in Australia• Runs the government

Julia Gillard

How •A representative suggests a new law (called a bill)

A •In the House of Representatives, the bill is explained, discussed & changed

Bill•If the representatives pass the bill, it goes to the Senate

Becomes•If the Senate passes the bill, it becomes an ACT of

PARLIAMENT

A LAW•The Governor General signs the Act & it becomes a law that

must be obeyed

• School Nurses and Diabetes Care• The House Health and Human Services Committee met

today and passed Diabetes-related legislation with implications on k-12 schools. HB 879 seeks to mandate that at least two employees at all schools where students with diabetes are enrolled, prior to the 2012-2013 school year, receive special training on diabetes care. The legislation also mandates that at least one employee with such training accompany children with diabetes on any school field trip. Committee members expressed concern that the legislation, though very well intentioned, may create legal and logistical problems for schools. The committee passed the legislation, and its sponsor, Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City), whose school-aged daughter is diabetic, agreed to continue to work on some of the problematic portions of the bill.

Citizens’ Freedoms

• Speech• Religion• To choose a job• To travel• To vote

Economics in Australia

• Mixed mostly market economy• One of freest in world (more than the U.S.)• Easy to start a business• Currency is Australian dollar• Low tariffs (just to help wheat & other grain

farmers)• Few trade barriers• 1998 Weapons Embargo against Yugoslavia – to

help end fighting there

Capital and GDP

• Australia invests in – human capital

• Compulsory education ages 6-18• Paid by taxpayers• High literacy rate• Well-trained work force• Good health care• One of highest standards of living in the world

– Physical capital• Has advanced technology

• Has a high GDP as a result

Australia’s Resources

Resources: things that help people produce goods & services (human, capital, & natural)

• Natural – “gifts of nature”– Fertile soil (arable)

• Crops• Cattle

– Water– Minerals

• Coal• Bauxite (aluminum)• Diamonds

• Sales from natural resources bring in money from around the world.

• 1/3 of exports go to China and Japan

• Australia is a world leader in entrepreneurs (people who start businesses).

• 1 in every 12 adults owns his/her own business– Good laws– Good resources– Educated well-trained workforce– Wealth to start business

• Entrepreneurs help Australia’s GDP– Businesses keep economy growing– Provide jobs for workers– When businesses make a profit, they pay taxes

that keep the gov’t in operation

Origin & Culture of the Aborigines

• Indigenous people of Australia – lived here at least 40,000 years

• Came from SE Asia when Australia, Tasmania, & New Guinea were one landmass

• Aborigine means “people who were here from the beginning”

• Nomadic hunters & gatherers• Created earliest rock art, boomerangs, ground

axes, & grindstones• Passed history along through story-telling• Lived where climate & water were best

• Religious structure was divided into 2 “moieties” (groups).

• A person was born into a moiety and stayed there all his life.

• A person in 1 moiety had to marry a person in the other moiety.

• Traditional social structure: tribe or language group of about 500 people

• Included bands of 10-20 people, called hordes

Then The Europeans Arrived• 1606 – 1st Europeans arrived

• 1770 – Captain Cook from England claimed E. coast of Australia for England – called it New South Wales

• After Revolutionary War between U.S. and England, England couldn’t dump prisoners in Georgia.

• England dumped prisoners in “New South Wales” (Australia) instead from 1788-1868

• Many free immigrants came to Australia, too.

• Great Britain used Australia as a navy and trading base

• It wanted to keep France from getting Australia• By 1861, the colonies’ boundaries were laid out• 1/1/1901: Commonwealth of Australia –

independent from U.K.• Capital is Canberra

Impact of Europeans on Aborigines

• Europeans– Took land, water, & fisheries from Aborigines– Brought diseases like smallpox – ½ of Aborigines

died– Shot or forced Aborigines to leave

• Aborigines fought back – when gold rush caused even more settlers to arrive, Aborigines killed their cattle & sheep. Europeans killed Aborigines in response

• Ranchers asked surviving Aborigines to work on their farms