013 [W4] AUS. POLITICAL HISTORY

The Political History of Australia is broken down into 3 main time periods:

Ancient (Pre 1788)
Australia was not always in the location and shape it is recognised today. Millions of years ago, it was part of the great land mass called Gondwanaland. Many years later the continent of Australia began to drift away from this great land mass and around the Mesozoic era, dinosaurs roamed the land. After the death of dinosaurs, mammals began to dominate and the first signs of mankind can be traced back with the "First Australians", the Aboriginal people. 

Colonisation (1788 - 1900)
At the time of colonisation of Australia, Great Britain was in need of new land to place its convicts. 

After early sightings of Australia by James Cook, it was decided that Australia would become a new British colony where convicts would be sent and used for labour in establishing the new colony. 

In 1788, the first fleet of ships landed in Botany Bay and so began the colonisation of Australia. 

Post Federation (1900 - Current)
The Post Federation period was marked by the two world wars. While science advanced the way we lived through the industrialisation of manufacturing, so too was it seen in its devastating form through never before seen weapons used in the wars. The warring periods were interspersed with the Great Depression and further armed conflicts that Australia were involved in, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. While the wars eventuated, Australia was becoming more involved with their outdoor lifestyles and the passion for sports was great.

Political history

Federal politics in Australia is based on a parliamentary democracy founded in 1901 when Federation was formed. The Australian Constitution then established a federal system of government. Under this system, powers are distributed between a national government (the Commonwealth) and the six States whilst the three Territories (the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and Norfolk Island) have self-government arrangements. The Constitution defines the boundaries of law-making powers between the Commonwealth and the States/Territories. This is based on the Westminster System from the British.

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Labour party

The Australian Labor Party is the oldest and largest political party in Australia. Its origins stem from the maritime and shearers’ strikes of 1890 that were brutally suppressed hence its name. This made many people within the trade union movement realise the limitations of industrial action and the need for political representation. As a result separate labour parties called Labour Leagues were formed in New South Wales in 1891, Victoria in 1892, Queensland in 1893, Western Australia in 1901 and Tasmania in 1903 and in federal Parliament in 1901. The first labour government held office in Queensland in 1899.

The Federal Parliamentary Labor party’s name was informally known as the Caucus and after Federation had it’s first federal meeting on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne. The party’s official name was adopted in 1908 and was spelt without the ‘u’ because the Australian movement felt that it had stronger ties with its American rather than British comrades.

The party is a social democratic party that tends to believe that government is generally a positive force in the community and that it is the responsibility of governments to intervene in the operation of the economy (and society in general) to improve outcomes. Its belief is that the government should ensure that all members of society receive a basic income in order to have a "decent quality of life". Labor also believes that the government should ensure that all members of society are able to access quality and affordable housing as well as education and health services. Although it is debatable whether or not these policies are still being upheld.

The Australian Labor Party is a democratic and federal party, which consists of both individual members and affiliated trade unions, who between them decide the party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office.

:: Thoughts 'ALTERING' Australia's political structure ::


We need a political system which meets the needs of the everyday australian through to the highly payed professional.
I believe we should create a direct democracy which still has representatives who draft bills
Then due to such mobile facilities we effectively allow the people to directly vote on them.

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STATISTICS ABOUT AUSTRALIA

                 - Population: 20,264,082 (July 2006)

                 - Total Area: 7,686,850 square kilometres. 

                 - Birth rate: 12.14 births per 1000 population (2006)

                 - Death rate; 7.51 deaths per 1000 population (2006)

                 - Sex ratio: 0.79 males to females

                 - Life expectancy: 80.5 years

                 - Literacy: 99%

                 - Government: Federal parliamentary democracy

                 - Inflation Rate/Consumer Price Index: 3.8% (2006)

                 - Internet users: 14,663,622 (2006)

                 - Airports: 455 (2006)