AUSTRALIA

I. GeographyA) General presentation

• The continent of Australia is about 7,686,850 km2

• The economic heart of the country is Sydney, the largest city of the country.

• The density is only of 2, 5 inhabitants per km2.

• More than 80 per cent of Australians live within 100 kilometers of the coast.

B) The variety of landscapes

B) The variety of landscape

Pinnacle desert, Western AustraliaSunset, Victoria

Mungo national park Cost of NA

Innes Plains, QLD

Mont Uluru Coolah, central NSW

Narrabean pool, NSW

Gibb River Road, Western Australia

Ragging torrent, WA

Coral reef, Kimberly

Coral reef, WA

Kingston SE, SAJim Jim Falls, Kakadu

National Park, NT

Fingal Head, NSW

C) Today, Australia and the challenge of ecology

1) Faunes and flores

•Australia has 10 per cent of the world’s biodiversity

•More than 80 per cent of the country’s flowering plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia.

•Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth

•Pollution is the most serious problem, with most marine pollution caused by land-based activities and processes.

2) Water for the Future

•Water shortages are a serious threat to Australia’s economy and way of life.

•The Australian Government is investing $12.9 billion in a 10-year national water plan, Water for the Future, which is focusing on four priorities :

-taking action on climate change

-using water wisely

-Securing water supplies for households and businesses

-restoring the health of Australia’s rivers

II. Politics and historyA) Brief history of Australia

1) From the aborigine to the European invasion

-The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines-Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish ships sighted Australia in the 17th century

-In 1616 the territory became known as New Holland. - A British penal colony was set up at Port Jackson in 1788

-The six colonies became states and in 1901 federated into the Commonwealth of Australia

2) From the WW to the XXI century

-Australia fought alongside Britain in World WarI

-Participation in World War II helped Australia forge closer ties to the United States.

- three political parties: the Australian Labour Party, the Liberal Party, and the National Party.

-About 40% of its immigrants came from Asia,

-In Sept. 1999, Australia led the international peacekeeping force sent to restore order in East.

B) Today’s politics scene of the country

1) Australian political system

-The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy

-The structure of the Australian Government may be examined in light of two distinct concepts, namely federalism and the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government

-The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government

-Number of distinctive features as compulsory voting, and preferential voting.

2) Short resume of the actual prime minister

- Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia since June 2010.

- In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.

- Gillard became the Deputy Prime Minister upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election

-The 2010 federal election saw the incumbent Gillard Labor government elected to a second term

C) Australia & geopolitics

III. EconomicA) The Australian ‘s economic system

The ten most important companies in 2006

Companie Mds AUD SectorBHP Billiton 81,6 Mines

Commonwealth Bank

55 Finance

National Australia Bank

51,7 Finance

ANZ Banking Group

43,7 Finance

Westpac 42,7 FinanceWestfield 28,4 ImmobilierTelstra 23,6 Télécoms

Woolworths 19,6 Grande distribution

Rio Tinto 19,5 Mines

Woodside Petroleum

17,2 Energie

Source : Standard & Poors

TO REMEMBER:

A stable economic structure

Trading with the world

Sophisticated financial services sector

Foreign investment

B) The impact of crises

→ Today the unemployment is better and Australia is a model for many countries.

C) Which future for the country ?

Ryan Djurovich,

Mike Jarocki

Alana Maybus

Mathew Carpenter Young Australians setting up their own businesses

Finally, Australia seems to be a good place where young entrepreneurs can find their own “place in sunshine”. There are some examples of Australian “successful story”:

IV. SocialA) A mixed population

1) The aborigine “problem”

2) Today, a much contrasted population

Country of birth Number %1 United

Kingdom1 038 150 5.2

2 New Zealand

389 460 2.0

3 China 206 590 1.04 Italy 199 120 1.05 Vietnam 159 850 0.86 India 147 110 0.77 Philippines 120 540 0.68 Greece 109 990 0.69 Germany 106 530 0.510 South

Africa104 130 0.5

Top 10 total 2 581 470 13.0Other 1 834 560 9.2Total overseas born 4 416 030 22.2Total Australian population

19 855 290 100.0

→ In conclucion: Australia = a cultural

diversity

B) A different way of life

1) The traditions

• The national hymn: Advance Australia Fair

• The national flag

2) Zoom on the school system

The school system in few words:

• Schooling in Australia typically lasts 13 years.• School education is mandatory until age 15 or 16, depending on the state or territory.•Teaching at Australian schools is highly interactive.• Many International students

C) The Australian art & cultureVISUAL ARTS

Art historians generally group Australian visual arts under the headings of Indigenous, early colonial, the Heidelberg School and the modernists of the 20th century and beyond.

Australia has a number of notable museums and galleries.

SPORTING EXCELLENCE

Sport in Australia is more than just a pastime. It plays a major role in shaping the country’s identity and culture, so much so that sport is often referred to as ‘Australia’s national religion’.

Sydney Parkinson, Two of the Natives of New Holland Advancing, To Combat (1770).

Knut Bull, Wreck of the George III, 1850

Arthur Streeton, Golden Summer, Eaglemont, 1889

Aboriginal Rock Art, Ubirr Art Site, Kakadu National Park

National Gallery of Victoria

A 1950's landscape by Albert Namatjira, who established the Hermannsburg School

Sunbaker (1937) an iconic photograph by Max Dupain

Cattle Drinking (1915) by Hans Heysen