The climate of Australia varies widely, but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid – 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate: part is tropical rainforests, part grasslands, and part desert.
Rainfall is highly variable, with frequent droughts lasting several seasons thought to be caused in part by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Occasionally a duststorm will blanket a region or even several states and there are reports of the occasional large tornado. Rising levels of salinity and desertification in some areas is ravaging the landscape.
Australia's tropical/subtropical location and cold waters off the western coast make most of western Australia a hot desert with aridity, a marked feature of greater part of the continent. These cold waters produce precious little moisture needed on the mainland. A 2005 study by Australian and American researchers [1] investigated the desertification of the interior, and suggested that one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia.
AUD" redirects here. For other uses, see Aud.
The dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. The Australian dollar's ISO 4217 code is AUD but it is often abbreviated with the dollar sign $. A$ or AU$ is often used informally to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents.
The Australian dollar is currently the sixth-most-traded currency in world foreign exchange markets (behind the euro, US dollar, the yen, the pound sterling, and the swiss franc), accounting for about 4–5% of worldwide foreign-exchange transactions. The Australian dollar is popular with currency traders due to high interest rates in Australia, the relative freedom of the foreign exchange market from intervention by the Australian government, the general stability of the economy and political system, and the prevailing view that it offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies (especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle).
Australia's 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,299 sq. mi) landmassis on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has 34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands) and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the northeast coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi). Mount Augustus, claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 ft).
By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback. Australia is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent. Only the southeast and southwest corners of the continent have a temperate climate. Most of the population lives along the temperate southeastern coastline. The landscapes of the northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, consist of rainforest, woodland, grassland, mangrove swamps, and desert. The climate is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. In June 2008 it became known that an expert panel had warned of long term, maybe irreversible, severe ecological damage for the whole Murray-Darling basin if it does not receive sufficient water by October.
The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. These first Australians were possibly the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they may have arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day South-East Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; their cultural practices were and remain distinct from those of the Aborigines.
Lieutenant James Cook charted the east coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Great Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988; photographed in Cooktown Harbour where Cook spent seven weeks.
The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, who sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland, but they made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there.
The British Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788. This date was later to become Australia's national day, Australia Day. Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province"—that is, it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free" but later accepted transported convicts.The transportation of convicts to the colony of New South Wales ceased in 1848 after a campaign by the settlers.
Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest gaol for transported convicts.
The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease combined with forced re-settlement and cultural disintegration.The removal of children from their families, which some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute genocide by some definitions, may have contributed to the decline in the indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some commentators as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons.This debate is known within Australia as the History Wars. Following the 1967 referendum, the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land—native title—was not recognised until 1992, when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius (lit. "land of none" or "empty land") at the time of European occupation.
The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Such ceremonies are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.
A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence, and international shipping. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation, and voting. The Commonwealth of Australia was born as a Dominion of the British Empire. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed from a part of New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in World War I.Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action. The Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.
The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom when Australia adopted it in 1942, but backdated it to the beginning of World War II to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during the war. The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other non-European parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and self-image have been transformed. The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council.In 1999, Australian voters rejected by a majority of 54% a move to become a republic with a president appointed by two-thirds vote of both houses of the Australian Parliament. To alter the Australian constitution an Act of the Australian Parliament must occur as well as a referendum receiving not only a majority of votes across the country, but also a majority of votes in a majority of the six Australian states. The referendum of 1999 not only did not receive a majority of votes across the country, it also did not win one of the six Australian states. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the expansion of ties with other Pacific Rim nations while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.
Public holidays in Australia are declared on a state and territory basis, though most holidays are observed on a national basis eg: New Years Day, Australia Day, Easter, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day etc. In most states, when a public holiday falls on a normal day off (generally a weekend), the following work day is considered a public holiday.
Traditionally, workers, public or private, were entitled to take off a public holiday with regular pay. In recent years this tradition has changed somewhat. For example, businesses that are normally open on a public holiday may require employees to work on the day. Traditionally, in this case, the workers were paid at a penalty rate - usually 1½ (known as "time and a half") or 2 times (known as "double time") the regular pay. But the entitlement to penalty rates of pay has been reduced or entirely eliminated in many work places.
Besides designating days as public holidays, some of these days are also designated as restricted trading days.
In addition, many workers are entitled to penalty rates of pay if they are required to work on Easter Sunday, which is not a designated public holiday because it always falls on a Sunday which is in itself a rest day. Shop trading restrictions may also apply to Easter Sunday.
There are 5 standard, national public holidays. Public holidays are determined by a combination of:
Statutes, with specific gazetting of public holidays; and
Industrial awards and agreements.
If a standard public holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute public holiday will usually be observed on the first non-weekend day (usually Monday) after the weekend. If a worker is required to work on a public holiday or substituted public holiday, they will usually be entitled to be paid at a holiday penalty rate.
In some states an additional day such as Melbourne Cup Day is provided on a local basis.
The demographics of Australia covers basic statistics, most populous cites, ethnicity and religious affiliation. The population of Australia is growing at a rate of 1.4% per year, and officially (by estimation) hit 21 million in June 2007. Australia is the 53rd most populous country in the world and its population is largely urban.
Capitale: CANBERRA
Popolazione: 20.109.000
Superficie: 7.703.429 Km²
Lingue: Inglese
Religioni: Anglicana, Cattolica ed altre confessioni cristiane.
Sono presenti numerose comunità musulmane.
Moneta: Dollaro australiano
Prefisso dall'Italia: 0061
Prefisso per l'Italia: 001139
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