Advertising Study: Discover Australia

* Australia *

Australia, officially named "Commonwealth of Australia" is one of the biggest country of the World located in the South (7 686 850 km²). This is the Australia continent, but also the island of Tasmania, and many smaller islands.The capital city is Canberra. The Australian people living in the country are 22 683 600. But the density is among the lowest in the world with 3/km². Australia doesn't have any official language, the population speaks an Australian version of the English language.

- History

The western coast were explored for the first time in the 1600s by the Dutch. Captain Cook is the explorer who went in Australia for the first time.

In 1788, they began to colonise this area. But they fought to survive because they wasn't used to these differences and harshness of the country. Captain Arthur Phillip, first Governor of New South Wales, skilfully turned the fortunes of the ailing colony so it began to thrive. Free settlers began arriving before the turn of the century, and post-1800, many immigrants came to Australia to beginn new life and, in the 1840s, freedom from persecution (the Germans were among these) and other troubles (the Irish came after so much was lost in the potato famine) in their own countries.

As the Australian explorers branched out further and further, they also discovered the country which offers numerous of fertile lands. Then they discovered gold in 1854 sealed the fortunes of the young country. The Eureka Stockade, in which miners stood up for their rights and won fair representation in government, saw the birth of democracy in Australia.

People of other nationalities came to work; such as to farm, to settle in the gold towns, to pan gold and to mine various metals as the rich resources were uncovered. As Australia gained more and more of an individual identity, patriotism and a sense of national pride began to develop, fuelled by the writings of men such as Henry Lawson and A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson.

- Geography

Australia was first inhabited by Aborigines. The Aborigines adapted and thrived in Australia's harsh environment.

Federation of the six colonies occurred in 1901, and although Australia supported the British Empire in both World Wars, it gradually grew into the completely autonomous, multi-cultural and rich country it is today, with one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Australia's landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand.

Being such a big country, Australia gives also a variety of landscapes, with subtropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and dry desert in the centre. It is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils; desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. The driest inhabited continent, only its south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate.

The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall (monsoon) climate.The southwest corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate.Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate.

- Economy

Australia's abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. A series of major investments, such as the US$40 billion Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project, will significantly expand the resources sector. Australia also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food. Key tenets of Australia's trade policy include support for open trade and the successful culmination of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, particularly for agriculture and services. The Australian economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the global financial crisis. Subsequently, the former RUDD government introduced a fiscal stimulus package worth over US$50 billion to offset the effect of the slowing world economy, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to historic lows. These policies - and continued demand for commodities, especially from China - helped the Australian economy rebound after just one quarter of negative growth. The economy grew by 1.4% during 2009 - the best performance in the OECD - by 2.5% in 2010, 2.1% in 2011, and 3.3% in 2012. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.2% in 2012. As a result of an improved economy, the budget deficit dropped to 0.8% of GDP in 2012 and the government could return to budget surpluses before 2015. Australia was one of the first advanced economies to raise interest rates, with seven rate hikes between October 2009 and November 2010. The GILLARD government is focused on raising Australia's economic productivity to ensure the sustainability of growth, and continues to manage the symbiotic, but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan, and Korea.

- Politic

Since 2009, the Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy. Elizabeth II is the Queen of the states of the Commonwealth. She is also the Head of State.

At a national level, elections are held at least once every three years.The Prime Minister (Julia Gillard) can advise the Governor-General (Quentin Bryce) to call an election for the House of Representatives at any time, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the Australian Constitution. The most recent Australian federal election took place in August 2010.

Legislative power is exercised by the Parliament (Queen, House of Representatives and Senate).

Executive power is exercised by the Executive Council (the Governor General, the Prime Minister and other ministers).

The judiciary is guaranteed by the High Court and Federal courts.

- Religion

Australia is a secular country, the Australian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state. There is no official religion. The majority of Australians call themselves Christians (about 61%), mainly Catholics and Anglicans.