United Commonwealth of Australia & New Zealand (en) Vereinigtes Königreich von Australien (de) Соединенные Австралийского (ru) Commonwealth Unis d'Australie (fr) オーストラリア (ja)
Motto: "Deus Caritas Est " English: God is Love
Anthem: Advance Australia Fair
Territorial Map of the United Commonwealth of Australia
Capital.	Commonwealth City, Capital Territory
Largest City.	Sydney, New South Wales
Official languages	English
Recognized regional languages	French, German, Native Languages
Demonym	Australian
Plural	Australians
Government  - Prime Minister - Monarch	Constitutional Monarchy and Democratic Republic Matthew Hill King Daniel of Cornwall
Formation  - Commonwealth of Australia  - United Commonwealth of Australia	1 January, 1901 May 5th, 2005
Area  - Total	3.5 million sq mi
Population  - 2011 census .	30,154,000
GDP (PPP)  - Total  - Per capita	2011 estimate $1.97 trillion $40,729
GDP (nominal)  - Total  - Per capita	$2.14 trillion $66,729
Gini	37.5
HDI (2009)	.969(high) (1st)
Currency	Commonwealth Dollar ($)(AC)(C$)
Drives on the	Left
Internet TLD	.au
Calling code	+62

The United Commonwealth of Australia & New Zealand, or just Australia, is a nation in the southern hemisphere, comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the islands of Tasmania, New Zealand, Papa New Guinea and numerous smaller islands in the Indian- and Pacific Ocean.

Its highly constructed federated government is similar to that of the old United States of America and the Allied States of America. Its adoption of becoming a republic was in 2005, after major developments in the Australian government from an political activist named Joseph McCeanly.

After the government reform, several other major nations in Oceania (New Zealand and Papa New Guinea) joined the United Commonwealth. It's also a major member of Eden, (Economic and Defense Network) an economical and military alliance between Australia and the Allied States of America.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Aborigines 1.2 Colonization 1.3 Commonwealth of Australia 1.4 Creation of the United Commonwealth 2 Integral territory 2.1 External territories 3 Government and politics 3.1 Organization 3.2 Parliamentary branch 3.3 Judicial branches 4 Military 5 Culture 5.1 Religion 5.2 Monarchy 6 Economy 6.1 Exports 7 Politics 7.1 Issues 8 Foreign Relation 9 Demographics 9.1 Race 9.2 Religion 9.3 Cities & Urban Areas

History Edit

Aborigines Edit

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago, possibly with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now South-East Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. At the time of European settlement in the late 18th century, most Indigenous Australians 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, were originally horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers.

Colonization Edit

Discovered first by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula on an unknown date in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River on the western shore of Cape York, near the modern town of Weipa. The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer landed on the north-west coast of Australia in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. Cook's discoveries prepared the way for establishment of a new penal colony.

Separate colonies were carved 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"—it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later acceptedtransported convicts. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848

Commonwealth of AustraliaEdit

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka 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 established and it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra.

In a 1999 referendum, 55 per cent of Australian voters and a majority in every Australian state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partner

United States President George Bush organised a Colition of the Willing; the coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003, with Australia and the United Kingdom following. This began the long war against Iraq, as well with the war in Afganistan, which would lead to a reformation of the government in 2005.

Creation of the United Commonwealth Edit

In June of 2003, Joseph McCeanly was a political science student at the University of Sydney, who had been drafted into the Australian military to support the already unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These wars were heavily supported by the United States, until the formation of the Union of Everett in 2003.

McCeanly served in the military for two months and returned back to Sydney in October, were he continued his studies in political science and history. Durning this time period he began a sense of national identity for Australia and Oceania in all, he supported a political group called the Australian Republican Party, a party built on the principle of a republican style government. The ARP, as a key point in its platform, also apposed the wars in the Middle East.

After the study of the American social and political activist Kaitlyn Rachel Spencer, McCeanly decided to sway the population of Sydney into a political protest against the wars in the Middle East and then support the construction of a republic. In December of 2004, McCeanly led supporters into St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. The cathedral was filled to the brink with supporters, and some were forced to join the action from the outside.

On New Years Day 2005, multiple protests apposing the war were reported across Sydney. Later, some large protests were reported in Melbourne and Perth. The demonstration was focused on McCeanly's words, "No War, No Queen." He led the Province of New South Wales to secede from Australia, shortly whereafter all the other provinces followed. Thus, the action was not so much an secession, but a government reform. The Congress was officially created in March, and the formal foundation of the United Commonwealth was on May 5th, 2005.

After huge success from the republican form of government, with economical and population increase, New Zealand and Papa New Guinea left the Commonwealth of Nations and both declared a republican government, which lead to a political alliance between the nations of Australia, New Zealand and Papa New Guinea. Eventually, those two nations joined the federation.

Integral territoryEdit

These regions are part of the Commonwealth proper. They each have self-government and send members to the United Commonwealth Parliament.*Australia

• New Zealand
• Samoa
• Micronesia
• Papua New Guinea
• Eastern Australia

External territoriesEdit

These islands have limited or nonexistent local self-government. Some have very small populations or are used as military outposts. The Commonwealth has little to no actual control over many of the uninhabited islands and has so far been unable to enforce its claim over the Cocos.*Chatham Islands

• Kermadec Islands
• Tokelau
• Marcus Island
• Ashmore and Cartier Islands (uninhabited)
• Christmas Island (Indian Ocean)
• Coral Sea Islands (uninhabited)
• Cocos Islands (claimed, disputed)
• Heard Island and McDonald Islands (claimed, uninhabited)
• Howland Island
• Baker Island
• Lord Howe Island
• Miscellaneous Islands (claimed, uninhabited)

Government and politicsEdit

OrganizationEdit

The organization of the United Commonwealth basically is divided into four levels.The highest level is the federal level, where national sovereignty is superseded in certain areas by the Commonwealth itself. The military is the best-known example, as all member and associated nations are protected not by their national militaries, but by the respective branches of the United Commonwealth military. The United Commonwealth Government also controls and oversees economic and trade policy for the respective member nations in such matters as establishing a common currency and clarifying rules on trade. The goverment has also tended to send a single ambassador to various nations representing the entire Commonwealth.

That leads to the next level of the Commonwealth: the national level, represented respectively by the governments of Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Papa New Guneia, as well as the respective nations associated with the Commonwealth. Each governs its own political and economic affairs, and has limited authority regarding military activities within their own borders.

The third level is the state level. This is not universal to each nation, which subdivides itself politically according to its own laws and constitutions. For example, New Zealand has a national government, and is subdivided by the various towns and cities that make up the country (the local level). Australia on the other hand is subdivided into states and territories, which set policies for their respective territories.

The final, and lowest, level is the local level, consisting of city, town and village governments. Depending on the member nation, those governments may be subject only to the national government and laws, or to both the national government and the state it resides in.

Micronesia has a more complicated political landscape, being sub-federalized into six states. At the local and state levels, political parties do not exist in most of Micronesia, though they are not banned. Political allegiances depend mainly on family and island-related factors. Only the Marshall Islands has a fully developed system of parties, and there the three national coalitions compete with the Marshallese Independence Party (MIP), which advocates secession from the Commwealth.

At the federal level, many (but not all) candidates for Governor-General, the Senate, and the national Parliament are supported by one of the national coalitions, or the MIP. Samoa also has a strong tradition of nonpartisanship.As a result of the influx of immigrants into the Commonwealth in the aftermath of the downfall of several powerfull nations, a number of nationalist parties were founded by politicians who feared that Australia and New Zealand would lose their cultural identity. Some of these parties were represented in the national parliaments for a while but as the people of the Commonwealth became used to the immigrants these parties lost any national influence they had. That having been said some of these parties are still represented in the various state parliaments.

Parliamentary branchEdit

See Main Page: Commonwealth Parlament

The Parliament of Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of the Commonwealth. It is bicameral, largely modeled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress.The lower house, the House of Representatives, currently consists of 250 members, who represent districts known as electoral divisions (commonly referred to as "electorates" or "seats"). The number of members is not fixed, but can vary with boundary changes resulting from electoral redistributions, which are required on a regular basis.

Judicial branchesEdit

The Commonwealth per se does not have a judicial branch, preferring to leave such things to the respective member nations. Nevertheless, the member and associate nations have coordinated efforts in regards to cases that extend beyond the national level to the "Commonwealth level". Some have long advocated a Commonwealth judicial branch, and numerous pundits are predicting this will eventually come to pass.The ANZC military does have its own courts, subject to itself and the Commonwealth government.

MilitaryEdit

See Also: United Commonwealth Military

The United Commonwealth Armed Forces is comprised of the United Commonwealth Army, the United Commonwealth Air Force, and the United Commonwealth Navy. Australia's military spending is one of the highest in the world, being an island nation, its current focus is primarily on the navy and air force. Its recent population- and economic boom has given the Commonwealth the money and power to acquire three aircraft carriers, the UCS Jacobs, UCS McCeanly and the UCS Commonwealth.

The United Commonweath Navy is based off the former United States Navy, in total the navy has 15 battleships, 26 Destroyers, 30 Cruisers, 12 Corvettes, 21 submarines and 121 patrol boats. The Naval Fleets are divided up into 3 fleets, the Northern Fleet, Western Fleet and Eastern Fleet. The Northern fleet is the most heavily equipped due to speculation of another Yarphese-Australian war.

The Commonwealth Air Force is a highly powered and highly financed military force, its large array of aircraft is a striking force, ready to defend the Australian coastline at short notice. It's equipped with a majority of NATO and North American produced aircraft, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15, F-18 Hornet and the newly acquired Lockheed Martin F-35.

CultureEdit

Culture in the United Commonwealth is unique, with a different accent and food foreign to other Anglophobe nations. It's an immigrant nation and recently it has begun taking in more and more Europeans and Americans, with foods being primarily German, Italian, British and American Southern. Religion, in a study by the Commonwealth Census, noted that "97%" believe in a Christian God, while "98%" believe in a higher power. Critics say that the Australian government allows religious practice in school, where teachers are almost entirely Christian, and that most census calculations are faked and flawed.

ReligionEdit

Freedom of religion is part of the Acts of the Commonwealth, but it also states to position 'God' as a higher power, and support in pledges and on coinage, "In Deus Confidimus". Christmas is generally more incorporated with the Birth of Jesus and less with commercialism. Easter and Halloween are also holidays in the Commonwealth, and typically the government holds Mass, or church service at Saint Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Several other world powers have criticized the Australian government's personal involvement in religious practices, many of whom claimed that these acts are a direct attack on the global separation of church and state.

MonarchyEdit

Australian culture is still associated with the Queen of Great Britain. While the movement was more directed to bringing a republican form of government, its government still stands and military parades are still dedicated to the monarchy. Typically, the Union Jack is flown at the Cook Hall in Commonwealth City when the Queen is present in the nation.

EconomyEdit

See also: Economy of the United Commonwealth

The economy of Australia is one of the most modern market economies in the world, with a GDP of approximately US$ 2.2 trillion. The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, representing 68% of the GDP. The agricultural and mining sectors (10% of GDP combined) account for 57% of the nation's exports. The economy is dependent on imported crude oil and petroleum products. The country’s petroleum import dependency is around 80% crude oil and petroleum products. Australia enjoy's a steady stream of mineral output to the asian nations to the north, with most Alumina going to the East Asian Federation for constuction of technological goods. The Popular Republic of China is also another large importer of Australian minerals, its also one of the largest exporters to Australia. With Australia's dependency on oil, it has recently turned to oils in the United Emirates. Australia also has a economical tie to the Allied States of America, constuction of transportation goods, such as cars, trucks, train carts, the two also show a large amount of tourism between the two. Australia is also home to large arry of musical talent, with Australian artists being able to sell records in nations outside of the Commonwealth with large succes, detailed more in Music of the United Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Dollar is the nation's official currency, however the Allied States Dollar and Amero are commonly accepted. Australia is currently in trading alliances with several nations.

ExportsEdit

Trading Partner	Exported Goods
China	Coal, Wool, Beef, Grains, Natural Gas
Union of Everett	Beef, Grains, Wools, Coal, Wine, Gold
Allied States of America	Alumina, Coal, Gold, Diamonds, Iorn Ore
East Asian Federation	Coal, Iorn Ore, Gold, Beef, Grains, Alumina
Mexico	Beef, Coal, Alumina. Gold, Wools

PoliticsEdit

The Political spectrum is dominated by three parties, the Labour Party, the Australian Nationalist-People's Party and the Australian Republican Party. Currently the Congress is dominated by both the Australian Republican Party and the Labour Party, with the Australian Nationalist-Peoples Party being in the opposition. The legislature of Australia is made up of similar to the British Parliment, re-contructed after the election of Australian Prime Minister, Matthew Hill.

IssuesEdit

Abortion is against the law, unless the child will not survive the birth, or the mother will not be able to survive the labor. Children, if not able to be taken care of, will be sent to government and church operated orphanages. The Catholic Church is currently the largest supporter for child health in Australia. Typically the Australian Republican Party and the Nationalist Party support anti-abortion stances.

Labour and the Republican Party voted in 2007 to allow full rights to homosexuals and lesbians to a state marriage and allowed marriages to be allowed in the churches that support gay marriage. The Australian government has endorsed anti-bullying laws in schools. While no charges can be pushed on a child for bullying or harassing, they can be expelled or gain detention.

Immigration has been polled as the largest issue in Australia, and is strongly anti-Immigration from nations outside of America and Europe. They have endorsed immigration from Germany, France, England and from Scandinavia. In a statement from Nationalist Party leader, Maxwell Young, "Multiculturalism is great, but we must understand we are a nation of immigrants from the west, we are not capable of full multiculturalism due to ethical fighting and differences. We must remain as one of the nations that will support European culture, because they can't support it themselves." Many world powers, most notably South Africa, strongly condemn this outlook on immigration, stating that these are the first states of Apartheid.

Foreign RelationEdit

See Also: Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Relations between Australia and other nations are typically good, with some strains with some Middle Eastern, Asian and European nations. Typically, Australia and the Allied States, as well with the Union of Everett have a deep connection due to the 'Special Pacific Relation' in which the three nations are attached to one another due to similar cultures and political ideologies. Australia has backed up the former United States in war and has engaged with them economically.

DemographicsEdit

The Ministry for Demographics & Census, has been accused on several accounts of bias information, as well with misleading the population of Australian to believe in itself as a strongly religious nation, as well with a growing European population.

RaceEdit

• European: 95%
  • British: 60%
  • Norwegian: 10%
  • Swedish: 5%
  • Irish: 5%
  • Northern German: 10%
• Native: 4%
• Indian: 0.1%
• Japanese: 0.5%
• Arabian: 0.4

ReligionEdit

• Christian
  • Roman Catholic: 50%
  • Anglican: 30%
• Scarletarian: 3%
• Atheist: 17%

Cities & Urban AreasEdit

#	City	Former Country	Province	Population
0	Commonwealth City (capital)	Australia	Capital Territory	651,560
1	Sydney	Australia	New South Wales	5,811,300
2	Melbourne	Australia	Victoria	4,077,036
3	Brisbane	Australia	Queensland	2,043,185
4	Perth	Australia	Western Australia	1,696,065
5	Auckland	New Zealand	Northern Island	1,486,000
6	Adelaide	Australia	South Australia	1,200,000
7	Gold Coast	Australia	Queensland	590,000