Australian Government

The Australian system of government has its beginnings in two great democratic traditions. Following British settlement in 1788, the Westminster model was used as the basis of government in the six separate colonies established across the continent in the 19th century. When those colonies met to discuss the formation of a national government in 1890 they opted for a relationship between the national and state governments similar to that of the United States. At the same time they opted to retain the Westminster model as the basis for the legislature, the executive government and the judiciary at the national and state level. The American tradition is expressed through a written constitution defining the powers of the national government. Australia was declared a federation in 1901 with the concurrence of the British Parliament, and now has a Federal Government, six State Governments and two Territories which are largely self-governing.

Australian History!!

Before the arrival of European settlers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples inhabited most areas of the Australian continent. Each people spoke one or more of hundreds of separate languages, with lifestyles and cultural traditions that differed according to the region in which they lived.

Their complex social systems and highly developed traditions reflect a deep connection with the land and environment.Asian and Oceanic mariners and traders were in contact with Indigenous Australians for many centuries before the European expansion into the Eastern Hemisphere. Some formed substantial relationships with communities in northern Australia.The first recorded European contact with Australia was in March 1606, when Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (c.1570 - 1630) charted the west coast of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Later that year, the Spanish explorer Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the strait separating Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Over the next two centuries, European explorers and traders continued to chart the coastline of Australia, then known as New Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first British explorer to land on the Australian coast. It was not until 1770 that another Englishman, Captain James Cook, aboard the Endeavour, extended a scientific voyage to the South Pacific in order to further chart the east coast of Australia and claim it for the British Crown.Britain decided to use its new outpost as a penal colony; the First Fleet of 11 ships carried about 1500 people—half of them convicts. The fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1788, and it is on this day every year that Australia Day is celebrated.In all, about 160 000 men and women were brought to Australia as convicts from 1788 until penal transportation ended in 1868.

The convicts were joined by free immigrants from the early 1790s. The wool industry and the gold rushes of the 1850s provided an impetus for free settlers to come to Australia.Scarcity of labour, the vastness of the land and new wealth based on farming, mining and trade made Australia a land of opportunity. Yet during this period, Indigenous Australians suffered enormously. Death, illness, displacement and dispossession disrupted traditional lifestyles and practices.

Australian Economy...

Australia has had one of the most outstanding economies of the world in recent years.


As a high-growth, low-inflation, low interest rate economy, it is more vibrant than ever before.





There is an efficient government sector, a flexible labour market and a very competitive

business sector. With its abundant physical resources, Australia has enjoyed a high

standard of living since the nineteenth century. It has made a comparatively large

i nvestment in social infrastructure, including education, training, health and transport.





The Australian workforce has seen many improvements over the last decade,

leading to the surge in productivity in the 1990s. The complex and centralised

award based industrial relations system has given way to a more decentralised

one with many employees working under workplace agreements tailored to

meet enterprise needs.

WE ARE IN AUSTRALIA ¡

April 09 2010

Well… after 22 hours of travel. We have landed in Australia.

Sidney is beautiful!!!!!!! The most incredible experience that we have had.

We have spent about two hours over the past month studying the

English Alphabet.

April 14 2010

As for the Melbourne city, well… it`s so perfect!! Absolutely amazing.

We have been around Europe and we think it is the most

Beautiful place we have ever been. We love the exotic meat and its

Weather.

April 20 2010

We visit Brisbane too… well… it’s a natural beauty it`s incredible!!

We love it!! Its traditions and its ways of life are very relaxed and cool.

To finish the trip we spent 3.378 € per person.