Australia Government
Our Australia Government is based on the Liberal Democratic Westminster system of Great Britain, which includes religious tolerance and freedom of speech.
The formal name for Australia is the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation, and a parliamentary democracy.
In 1901 the six independent self-governing British colonies agreed to join together and become six states of the new nation of Australia.
Australia has a written constitution that sets the responsibilities of the Federal Australia Government. State and Territory Governments are responsible for all matters not allocated to the Commonwealth.
State parliaments are subject to the National Constitution as well as their State Constitutions. A federal law overrides any state law not consistent with it.
The Government of Australia is an elected parliament with two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Federal elections in Australia are held approximately every 3 years, with the governing party changing about every 5 years since Federation in 1901.
Australia has four main political parties.
The Australian Labor Party: a social democratic party.
The Liberal Party: a right wing conservative party.
The National Party of Australia: a rural interest conservative party.
The Australian Greens: a left-wing environmentalist party.
In Australia it is compulsory for all citizens over the age of 18 to vote in both federal and state government elections. If you fail to vote you may face fines or even prosecution.
In 1962 All Indigenous Australians were given the right to enrol and vote. Enrolment was voluntary, but for those enrolled voting was compulsory.
The first Prime Minister of Australia was Sir Edmund Barton who served from the 1st January 1901 to the 24th September 1903.
The Administrative divisions of mainland Australia's 6 states and 2 territories are:
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory.
For more about the states and mainland territories of Australian go to our Australian States and Territories section.
Although Australia is an independent nation, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is also the Queen of Australia. The Queen appoints a Governor-General to represent her in Australia. The Queen is also represented by a Governor in each state.
New Parliament House in Canberra was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 as part of the bicentennial celebration of Australia.
The amazing building sits on Capital Hill and with the huge flag mast on top it is a distinctive landmark which has become an icon of Canberra.
Much of the building is buried beneath Capital Hill but when seen from above, the design is in the shape of two boomerangs enclosed within a circle. It is constructed into the top of the hill with the roof grassed over.
The Australia Government announced the international design competition for the new parliament house in Canberra in 1979. The winning design was announced in June 1980 and was submitted by New York based architects Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorp.
The New Parliament House building is 300 metres long and 300 metres wide with the Parliament House site covering 32 Hectares of Capital Hill.
The building cost approximately 1.1 billion dollars with Australian materials used in 90 percent of the building.
New Parliament House is situated in-line with Old Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and Mt. Ainslie in the area known as the Parliamentary Triangle, the other end of which is The Australian War Memorial.
Old Parliament House became the home for our Australia Government when it opened in 1927 as a temporary base following the relocation of Parliament from Melbourne to the new capital of Canberra. It served as the home of Federal Parliament until 1988.
Old Parliament House was built between Capital Hill and Lake Burley Griffin to allow space for a permanent Parliament House to be built at the lakeside.
Today the Old Parliament House is home to the Museum of Australian Democracy and is a living museum of social and politically history.
Old Parliament House was included in the National Heritage List on 20 June 2006.
Go to next facts page: Australian currencey/Australian money
Return from Australia Government to Australian-Information-Stories home page
"The Legend of Bimi"
Introduction
There's a tale that begins in the sand hills
That I would like to tell,
Built from myth and many legends,
And my pen it does compel.
The desert's a hot, a hostile place,
Nothing's changed since time began,
There's a hazy unreality there
As if it, in the dreamtime was planned.
The noon of the day is so hot and still,
And over all an expectant hush,
Like a canvas that's waiting impatiently
For the touch of the artists brush.
The fire of the day can change swifly
To the night of startlingly cold,
Many legends are told of the people
Who live in this land so old.
To continue to read the introduction to this wonderful piece of poetry our Mother wrote called
"The Legend of Bimi" just go to our
Epic Poetry page
We know you will love it!