Topic – Australia (3)

Topic – Australia
Tallinn English College
2006
Australia

1. Introduction

The name Australia is derived from the Latin Australis , meaning of the south . In land area, Australia is the sixth largest nation , its territory is 7,686,850 sq km and its population reaches today over 20,5 million people. It is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands. Australia’s capital is Canberra , the only city with its own territory. It was built in the early 1900s just to be the capital. The official language is English and the official name of Australia is the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia is located on the Southern Hemisphere (because of that Australia is also called “A land down under”).

2. Geographical position

Australia is an island continent and it is located between the Indian and South Pacific oceans south east of Asia. From the north it is bordered by the Timor Sea and the Torres Strait. From the east by the Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea. Australia’s coastline is about 37,000 km long. The Great Australian Bight washes the southern coast. The Gulf of Carpenteria and the Cape York Peninsula surround it in the south.

3. Relief

Australia is the smallest continent in the world It is often called the island continent because is too big for an island but rather small for a continent. Australia is 1,800 miles from the mainland of Asia and almost half way round the world from Europe . More than 6,000 miles of ocean separate in from the America. Australia is the only continent except for Antarctica that lies all south of the equator.
The natural zones of Australia are very various. There are deserts, semi deserts, grasslands, savannas, bushlands and rainforests.
The wet forests occupy the narrow region in the east. Most of the animals , birds and insects live in that region, because there is enough food. The savannas which are grasslands with some trees are mostly in the west . Farther west are the bushlands. The real deserts occupy the centre of the Western Plateau. In the very south – west there are thin forests of evergreens trees.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. The northern part of the country , with a tropical climate, has vegetation consisting of rainforest , woodland, grassland, mangrove swamps and desert . Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation.

4. Land regions

Mountains
The Great Dividing Range runs along the Pacific ocean. These mountains are very old and much of worn down but the Australian Alps are the highest of them . The highest top Mount Kosciusko is 2228 metres above sea level. It was named by the Polish explorer Count Paul Strzelecki in 1840 in honour of the Polish national hero General Tadeusz Kościuszko. Like many of Australia's highest peaks, Mount Kosciuszko is not particularly difficult to climb . There is a road to Charlotte Pass , from which it is a seven kilometre walk up a path to the summit . Anybody with a modest level of fitness should be able to climb it. Until the 1960s the road was open to motor vehicles and it was possible to drive close to the summit.
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is 346 metres high, more than 8 km (5 miles) around with a hard exterior compared to most other large rock formations which has prevented formation of scree slopes, resulting in the unusual steep faces down to ground level.
It is the greatest tourist attraction in the Northen Territory but it also is and awe – inspiring, huge monolith, 862,5 metres above sea level, rising out of the desert in the centre of Australia. The local Pitjantjatjara people call the landmark Uluru and the local Aborigines regarded it as a sacred place .
Ayers Rock was created a national park in 1950. Uluru is also famous for its rock paintings.
Reef
One of the natural wonders of the modern world is the Great Barrier Reef. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia It is the largest coral reef on earth, extending for 2000 km along the eastern coast. Some scientists estimate that the reef is 30 million years old. The corals consist of tiny animals known as polyps that protect themselves by forming and external skeleton of lime and when the polyp dies its shell hardens. When the number of these little creatures increases , fantastically beautiful shapes that we know as corals are form. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is sometimes referred to as the single largest organism in the world. More than 300 varieties of coral – ranging from pale blue to bright yellow – can be found . Recently, black coral, the rarest type of all, was found on one of the reefs.
Lakes
Most of the lakes in Australia are filled with water after rains only. Lake Eyre is, on the rare occasions that it fills, the largest lake in Australia and is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately 15 m. The lake is located in the deserts of central Australia, in northern South Australia. Even in the dry season there is usually some water remaining in Lake Eyre,
Rivers
The Darling River is the longest river in Australia, flowing 2,739km from northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. (Some geographers treat the Darling and the lower Murray as a single river, 3,000km long. This is largely a matter of semantics). Today the Darling is in poor health, suffering from overuse of its waters , pollution from pesticide runoff and prolonged drought, possibly the result of manmade global warming. In some years it barely flows at all. The river has a high salt content and declining water quality
Deserts
Deserts of Australia cover a large portion of the land in Australia. Most of the deserts lie in the central and north-western part of the country. The Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid and sparsely populated desert ecoregion in southern Australia. It falls inside the states of South Australia and Western Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grasslands and salt lakes. It is over 700 kilometres (435 miles) wide (from west to east) and covers and area of 424,400 square kilometres. It is the biggest desert in Australia. There are also Great Sandy Desert, Gibson Desert, and Simpson Desert.
5. Climate
Rainfall plays a very important part in the lives of the Australian people. People mostly live in the south and east part of the country. The climate in those parts is suitable for farming and ranching. In Northern Australia there is a tropical climate. The coastal areas have the biggest amount of rainfall. In most parts of Australia rainfall is very low.
6. Animals
Australia is the only continent on earth where marsupials live; they are also known as pouched mammals and egg-lying mammals. Ordinary mammals live also in Australia and these mammals are mostly imported there. Marsupials are kangaroos, wombats, koalas, Tasmanian wolfs and Tasmanian devils .
The Koala is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, and as far into the hinterland as there is enough rainfall to support suitable forests. They are the cutest and lovelies animals of Australia. Koala accepts humans but if you really disturb them, they become aggressive. The Koala lives almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. Koala has very long arms and very well developed paws. It eats about 2 pounds leaves a day. The koalas never drink anything and even their name koala means “no water”. They are very sleepy and their moves are slow . The baby koalas ride on their mother ’s backs.. Koala was a spirit of lost children to the Aborigines.
Kangaroos are native to the continent of Australia and are the main symbol of Australia. There are more than 50 different kinds on kangaroos. Kangaroos have large, powerful hind legs , large feet adapted for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance , and a small head. Like all marsupials, kangaroos have a pouch called a marsupium in which their young complete their development after birth. When a little kangaroo is born, it has to climb to the pouch itself without mother’s help. When it doesn’t find the pouch, it dies. But when it does, it stays there for 6 months.
Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion. The comfortable hopping speed for Red Kangaroos is about 20–25 km/h, but they can hop as fast as 70 km/h over short distances.
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately one metre in length and with a very short tail. The name wombat comes from the Eora Aboriginal community who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area. Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal , wombats will also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not as easily seen as many animals, but leave ample evidence of their passage , treating fences as a minor inconvenience to be gone through or under and leaving distinctive cubic scats. Wombats are herbivores, their diet consisting mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots .
The Tasmanian devil and the Tasmanian wolf are the only carnivores among marsupials and are almost extinct. Tasmanian devil is a size of a small dog, but stocky and muscular, the Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world. It is characterised by its black fur, offensive odour when stressed, extremely loud and disturbing screech, and viciousness when feeding. It is known to both hunt prey and scavenge carrion and although it is usually solitary, it sometimes eats with other devils. It has a squat and thick build , with a large head and a short, stubby tail. The devil stores body fat in its tail and an unhealthy devil often has a thin tail. Unusually for a marsupial, its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs. Devils can run in bursts at the impressive speed of 13 kilometres per hour .
Birds
The Emu, is the largest bird native to Australia. The soft-feathered, brown , flightless birds reach up to 2 m in height. The Emu is common over most of mainland Australia, although it avoids heavily populated areas, dense forest and arid areas. Emus can travel great distances at a fast, economical trot and, if necessary , can sprint at 50 km/h for some distance at a time. They are opportunistically nomadic and may travel long distances to find food; they feed on a variety of plants and insects.
Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter. The "Laughing Kookaburra" is known by its name for its "laugh" which it uses to greet its mate after periods of absences. It can be heard at any time of day but most frequently shortly after dawn and especially when the colour drains from the forest after sunset
Reptiles
Reptiles of Australia are a diverse group of animals, widely distributed across the continent. Three of the four orders of reptiles are native to Australia: Testudines, Squamata and Crocodilia. The only missing extant order are the tuataras, which are endemic to New Zealand . Australia has a large diversity of reptiles, with over 860 species . The most diverse group are the snakes and lizards. The snakes and lizards are especially diverse in the arid areas of Australia, where diversity of other fauna is generally low. Spinifex grass is a major habitat which allows them to remain in a relatively cool, moist area.
Australia has a large array of reptiles which can be dangerous to humans. All of the top ten most venomous snakes are native to Australia,[2] and the world's largest reptile , the Saltwater Crocodile is native to Australia. It is often said to be the most dangerous to humans. This crocodile is an opportunistic predator capable of taking animals up to the size of a water buffalo , either in the water or on dry land. The larger the animal grows , the greater the variety of items that it includes in the diet. Saltwater crocodiles can take monkeys, wild boar, dingoes, domestic livestock, water buffalo, sharks and sometimes humans. It typically loiters in the water or basks in the sun through much of the day, usually preferring to hunt at night. It is, however , capable of moving with astonishing speed when required .
Adult male saltwater crocodiles are typically 5 metres long, weigh around 680 kg. Females are much smaller than males, with typical female body lengths in the range of 2.5–3 metres.
Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have become extinct since European settlement.
7. Population
There are about 20 million Australians but more than 50 per cent of the country is practically empty. Nearly all Australians live in the south-east of the continent and in the south-western part of Western Australia. In these parts the soil and climate is suitable for farming. 50% of Australians live in the biggest cities, 20% in other towns and 30% in farms and stations. 98% of Australians are of British descent but people from other parts of the world have emigrated to Australia. Such as: Greeks, Turks, French , Italians, Russians, Chinese , Dutch , Poles etc.
8. The Native Australians
Aboriginies probably came to Australia from Indonesia 50,000 years ago. Aboriginies were nomads. They respected their ancestors, traditions and sacred places. Some places like Uluru, were sacred because they were associate with the „dreamtime“, the time when the Earth was formed and cycles of life and nature were begun . There were more than 600 tribes who spoke different dialects. The arrival of white people gradually brought an end to the traditional Aboriginal way of life. Nowadays there are about half a million aborigines living in Australia.
9. Plants
The west of the continent give place to savannahs and further west the trees disappear and give place to bushlands. The real desert occupies the center of the Western Plateau. In the very south-west there are thin forests of evergreen trees. Most of the Australian trees are various kinds of eucalyptus and accacia. Some eucalyptuses are small bushes in the semi-deserts, some are the main trees in the savannah but the biggest grow as tall as a hundred metres and form forests in the east. Eucalyptus trees give people timber and eucalyptus oil. Of six hundred kinds of acacias the golden wattle, the national flower of Australia, is the best known.
10. Culture
The modern culture of Australia draws from many sources including native Australians, the United Kingdom and the immigration of a different range of people with the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s and the post WW II immigrants from Britain and Europe. Nowadays Australian culture is strongly influenced by western culture. Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. 70 per cent of its population lives in the biggest cities.
Australian Aboriginal culture is complicated and very diverse. It is one of the world’s longest surviving cultures which goes back at least 50, 000 years (but some think it’s closer to 150,000 years). Different oral histories have been backed up by geological data such as the flooding of Port Philip Bay which happened about 10,000 years ago.
11. Sports
Australians are well-known sportsmen. They have achieved much recognition in diving, golf , skiing, surfing , boating and especially in swimming. They’ve won numerous Olympic medals in that category . Some of Australia’s traditional sporting events receive worldwide attention . Probably the most famous event is the annual Melbourne Cup which is a horse race eagerly followed by Australians and attended by racing fans from throughout the world.

12. Economy

The Australian economy is dominated by its services sector, yet it is the agricultural and mining sectors that account for 65% of its exports. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products , particularly grains and wool , and minerals, including various metals, coal , and natural gas. A downturn in world commodity prices can thus have a large impact on the economy.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Australia is a major industry, 402 000 people are employed in agriculture and agriculture related services. Until the late 1950s agriculture accounted for up to 80% of Australia's export earnings. That percentage has fallen with diversification of the economy.
Most of the farmland in Australia is pasture for raising cattle and sheep . Farmland covers about 65 per cent of Australia. However, most of this land is dry grazing land. Crops are grown on only about 5 per cent of the farmland. But farmers use modern agricultural methods and so make the cropland highly productive.
Australia's leading farm products are cattle and calves, wheat and wool. Australia is the world's largest producer and exporter of wool and leading producer and exporter of beef, sugar and wheat. Fruits like apples and pears are grown in all the states. South Australia also produces large quantities of grapes that are used for making wine. Sheep and cattle are raised in all the states and wheat is grown in all areas of Australia that have medium rainfall and moderate temperature.
Natural resources
Natural resources include : bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper , tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten , mineral sands, lead , zinc , diamonds, natural gas, petroleum .
13. The Biggest Cities
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4.2 million people (2006). Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and is located on the country's south-east coast. The first European colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip who led the First Fleet from Britain. Built around Port Jackson, which includes Sydney Harbour, the city of Sydney has been called the "Harbour City". It is Australia's largest financial centre and is also an international tourist destination, notable for its beaches and twin landmarks: the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The river Paramatta flows through the city. Sydney is the centre of commerce and trade.
The largest economic sectors in Sydney, measured by numbers of people employed, include property and business services, retail, manufacturing , and health and community services. Since the 1980s, jobs have moved from manufacturing to the services and information sectors. Sydney is also popular for its heading the Olympic Games 2000.
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the third largest city in Australia, with a population of just under 2 million. It is a city set close to the Pacific Ocean, and is situated beside the Brisbane River. Named in honour of Sir Thomas Brisbane. It was chosen as the capital of Queensland when it was proclaimed a separate colony in 1859 .. Brisbane staged a successful Commonwealth Games in 1982 and World's Fair in 1988. In the new millennium , it is Australia's fastest growing city and the second fastest in the developed world. From late spring through to early autumn, thunderstorms are common over the greater Brisbane area. Brisbane has a thriving live music scene, as well as museums and theatres , performing arts and creative arts. It is the birthplace of internationally acclaimed singers, music bands, authors , artists and sculptors.
Perth is the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. A population of 1,477,800 makes Perth the largest city in Western Australia and home to three-quarters of the state's residents. The city is also the fourth most populous urban area in Australia.
The metropolitan area is located in the south west of the continent between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth are situated on the Swan River. Founded in 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the free settler Swan River Colony, Perth has continued to serve as the seat of Government for Western Australia to the present day. Traditionally, Perth and the Swan River have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings Park, situated on a hill to the south-west of the city or from the South Perth foreshore. The historical record of the view shows clear river banks close to the city and a low skyline through to the 1960s. The temperature usually never goes under the freezing level.
Darwin is the territorial capital and most populous city of Australia's Northern Territory. It has a population of 109,478 and is located on Australia's far northern coastline. Darwin has a tropical climate, and is subjected to tropical thunderstorms and cyclones. Much of the city was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It is also the only Australian capital city to have come under substantial attack during any war. Darwin has the largest proportional population of Indigenous Australians of any Australian capital city, and a significant percentage of its residents are recent immigrants from South East Asia. As such, Darwin is often called the "multicultural capital of Australia" due to its additional mix of racial and cultural groups. Darwin is an important port, particularly for the live export of cattle, minerals and gas. It is also the site of a large Australian Army base and a naval facility supporting patrol boat activity off Australia's northern coastline.
Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million. Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light , one of Adelaide's founding fathers , designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate, where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Adelaide's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, defence technology and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries. Adelaide is sometimes referred to as the "City of Churches." The Torrens River flows through the city.
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony, it is Australia's second oldest and twelfth largest city, with a metropolitan population of 206,000. The city is the financial and administrative heart of Tasmania, and also serves as the home port for both Australian and French Antarctic operations. Hobart is a busy seaport, notably serving as the home port for the Antarctic activities of Australia and France . It supports several other industries, including a high-speed catamaran factory and a zinc smelter, as well as a vibrant tourist industry. Visitors come to the city to explore its historic inner suburbs, to visit the weekly craft market in Salamanca Place, as well as to use the town as a base from which to explore the rest of Tasmania. Hobart is internationally famous among the yachting fraternity as the finish of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race which starts in Sydney on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day).
Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.7 million. Founded in 1835, some 47 years after the first European settlement of Australia, the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s transformed the small pastoral settlement into a growing metropolis. By 1865, "Marvellous Melbourne" was Australia's most populous and important city and served as the national capital from the Federation of Australia until the construction of Canberra in 1927. Melbourne today is a major centre of commerce, industry and the arts. Often referred to as the "sporting capital of Australia" the city has a rich sporting history and is home to most of Australia's major annual sporting events. Melbourne is located in the south-eastern corner of mainland Australia, and is the southernmost mainland capital city. Melbourne is typical of Australian capital cities in that it was built with the underlying notion of a " quarter acre home and garden " for every family, often referred to locally as the Australian Dream. The phrase "four seasons in a day" is part of popular culture and observed by many visitors to the city. Melbourne is a large commercial and industrial centre. Many of Australia's largest companies have their headquarters there, and many multinational corporations (approximately one-third of the 100 largest multinationals operating in Australia as of 2002), have their main Australian office there.. Melbourne is arguably Australia’s most vibrant arts and cultural centre. The city hosts the Melbourne International Arts Festival each year, as a celebration of its arts culture.
Canberra is the capital city of Australia and with a population of just over 325,000 is Australia's largest inland city. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities as an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title " bush capital".
Because of its latitude, elevation and distance from the coast, Canberra has four distinct seasons. The climates of most Australian coastal areas, which include all the state capital cities, are moderated by the sea. Canberra is home to many national monuments and institutions such as the Australian War Memorial , the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery currently housed at Old Parliament House, the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, and the National Museum of Australia. Many Commonwealth government buildings in Canberra are open to the public, including Parliament House, the High Court and the Royal Australian Mint
14. History
The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred 50,000 years ago. More than 6000 years before the arrival of the European settlers Aboriginal people inhabited most areas of the Australian European settlement. There were estimated 300,000 Indigenous Australians living on the continent. By the end of 19th century, because of the white people who came to conquer the new lands and mine the gold, there were only 60 000 native Australians left . Now there are about 160 000 Aborigines in Australia. Most of them live in the cities but some of them still try to follow the steps of their ancestors.
The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the mainland of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who sighted the coast in 1606. Then Abel Tasman visited an island near Australia in 1642 and the island was named after him Tasmania. Up to that time the continent was called Terra Australis Incognita. In 1770 British sailor James Cook came to Australia and landed in Botany Bay. He declared that Australia belonged to the Great Britain and named it New South Wales. Britain had to send their convicts to the new country after loss in the American War of Independence to replace the North Atlantic colonies .
In 1787 the First Fleet with eleven ships, more than 1000 convicts on board were sent to Australia with Captain Phillip. They landed in Port Jackson on January 26th in 1788 and that day is now called Australia day. It is the biggest day of celebration in the country and in observed as a public holiday in all the states and territories of Australia. Sydney grew out from those first British penal settlements.
During the 1850s, settlement was boosted by gold rushes. Gold was first found at Bayhurst in 1851.
The idea of unifying all the states first came to Earl Grey in 1847. On January 1, 1901 Australian colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia. At 1.00pm the first Governor General of Australia read the Proclamation of the Act to form the Commonwealth of Australia from a Pavilion. Then at Centennial Park, Sydney. Australia had declared independence from the federation of UK colonies.
As neither Sydney nor Melbourne was acceptable new capital, a new city – Canberra – was built for that.
Today Australia has a global, non-discriminatory policy and is home to people from more than 200 countries.
15. Government

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth Realms. The Queen is nominally represented by the Governor-General at Federal level and by the Governors at State level.

The federal parliament of Australia is democratically elected by all Australian citizens. Voting is compulsory at elections, and citizens who d not vote are fined . Voting is carried out at polling booths set up around the nation. Often in local schools and community halls – and ballot papers are completed in special little enclosed booths to ensure privacy . No one watches over a person as they vote.

When all the ballot papers have been counted, the local candidate who gains most votes wins a seat in the state or federal parliament – depending on whether the election is for a state or for the whole nation. The political party that has the most seats wins government. Sometimes this is a coalition – an arrangement of cooperation between two parties . The largest political party that does not win becomes the official Opposition. In Australia, governments are usually formed by the Australian Labor Party or by a coalition between the liberal Party and the National Party.
There are some political parties that represent smaller groups of opinion but, until now, they have not had the numbers to be serious contenders again the larger parties. Some smaller parties include the Australian Democrats, One Nation and the Greens .
The federal parliament is divided into two Houses – the upper house (the Senate) and the lower house (the House of Representatives). The party which gains the majority of seats in the House of Representatives forms the government. The leader of this party becomes the prime minister.
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to 1970, the office was known as the Minister for External Affairs. The minister is usually one of the most senior members of Cabinet — the position is equivalent to that of Secretary of State in the United States or Foreign Secretary in the United Kingdom — as shown by the fact that eleven Prime Ministers of Australia have also worked as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Alexander Downer, who is the longest-serving Minister for Foreign Affairs in Australian history.
Australia's foreign policy can be described by 3 words: multilateralism, regionalism, and strong bilateral relations with its allies (e.g. the UK, New Zealand, Indonesia, France, Japan, China , the USA). Key concerns include free trade, terrorism , integration with Asia and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Australia is active in the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations.
16. Conclusion
Australia is the only continent which is all south of the equator. It was discovered about 400 years ago by the Europeans and already Australia has over 20 million people living there but half of the continent is scarcely populated. The animal life is also unique because the animals living here (called marsupials) can’t be found anywhere else in the world.