The form of government and national structure in Australia

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and the largest country in Oceania. It borders New Zealand in the southeast, Indonesia in the northwest and Papua New Guinea, West Papua and East Timor in the north.

The word "Australia" comes from the Latin "terra australis incognita". Its geographical location is usually called the Australian continent, which is the smallest continental plate on the earth. Its average land area is one of the most extensive countries in the world, and its economic achievements are also highly developed countries in the world. The national living standard is very high, and the main focus of the economy is efficient energy and animal husbandry.

Australia has a variety of natural landscapes, including charming tropical rain forests, dry and barren deserts nicknamed "Red Center", snow-capped peaks, sheep-covered pastures, charming beaches, and famous natural heritages, such as the Great Barrier Reef and Lu Lu. Australia ranks among the top cities in the world in the annual selection of the best living cities in the world. And ranked second in the global human development index (20 10). Australia ranks third in the world in life expectancy, second only to Japan and Hong Kong [2].

There were traces of human beings in Australia 50,000 years ago, and now the ancestors of Australian aborigines migrated from Southeast Asia at that time. [3] After17th century, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and French in Europe arrived one after another in search of spices. 1768, Captain Cook of England sailed from England to Tahiti on the Endeavour. 1770, Britain officially declared its sovereignty over Australia. [4]1788 65438+1On October 26th, the British navigator arthur phillip led the first batch of immigrants to settle in Sydney and raised the British flag. Australia officially became a British colony. 1797, McCarthy introduced merino sheep from the Cape of Good Hope, and Australian animal husbandry began to develop rapidly.

1829 Britain was merged into Western Australia as a exile. For a long time, Australia was a British exile. 185 1 year, gold mines were discovered in Bethesda, New South Wales and Balalle, Victoria, and free migration began to surge. 1868, the last British prisoners were sent to Western Australia. /kloc-At the end of 0/9, there were 6 British colonies in Australia.

19011110, Australia's colonial areas were reorganized into states, formed the Commonwealth of Australia, became the Commonwealth or dominion of the British Empire, and were listed as constitutional monarchy countries. According to its federal law, the British monarch is the head of state, that is, the "Australian monarch". From 19 14 to 19 18, Australia participated in World War I, and its main battlefield was in the European continent, so it was also one of the victors. 1927, the first Australian federal conference was held in the temporary parliament building in Canberra, and Australia moved towards political independence. 193 1 year, Australia gained independence in domestic and foreign affairs and became an independent country in the Commonwealth. 1933, western Australia voted for independence from Britain, but the federal parliament rejected it. From 65438 to 0956, Australia hosted the first Melbourne Olympic Games, which was also the first time that a Commonwealth country hosted the Olympic Games outside Britain. 1967, parliament abolished the legal discrimination against aborigines by referendum, which was the first change after whites moved to Australia.

From 65438 to 0986, King Elizabeth II of England went to Australia to sign the Australia Relations Act, which stipulated that the Supreme Court of Australia had the power of final adjudication, and British laws were no longer valid for Australia. Australia officially broke away from Britain and became an independent country. 1999, Australia held a referendum to decide whether to adopt the * * * system to replace the existing constitutional monarchy and directly elect the president as the head of state, but it was rejected. From June 5438 to February 2007, Kevin Rudd, the leader of the Labor Party, came to power and announced that a similar referendum would be held to change the current system and directly elect the president. [5]。 In March 2008, witnessed by many aboriginal representatives, members of Congress and social leaders, Kevin Rudd made three apologies to the aborigines in the Federal Parliament, and solemnly apologized to the aborigines on behalf of the government, saying that they were "the stolen generation" and damaged the aborigines' culture [6].

Australia's political system is federal, with a federal parliament, six state legislatures and two representative parliaments (note: the capital and the Northern Territory are not states). The head of state is the Queen of England and the representative of the Queen, the Governor-General of Australia, who handles government affairs according to the opinions of the Executive Committee. Nominally, cabinet administration must be approved by the governor to have legal effect, but the prime minister of the federal government and his cabinet actually have most state power.

At present, the Westminster system in Australia is similar to that in Britain. The Federal House of Commons has 150 seats and is elected every three years. The House of Lords represents the interests of all states and has the power of legislative deliberation. Its term of office is six years (note: the term of office of members of the House of Lords in the capital and northern regions is three years). Elections in Australia are compulsory voting. Citizens aged 18 must vote, and indigenous people can freely choose whether to register and vote.

Parliament has a ruling party and an opposition party, and the largest political parties are the Australian Liberal Party-Australian National Party Alliance and the Australian Labor Party. From June 5438 to February 2007, Kevin Rudd, the leader of the Labor Party, defeated Howard, the former prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, and won the general election. The voice in favor of complete independence from the Commonwealth comes from two small parties-the Australian Green Party and the Australian Democratic Party.

[Editor] Northern Territory This region has a high degree of local autonomy because of its deep-rooted aboriginal culture (another territory of Australia is the Australian Capital Territory where the capital Canberra is located). The economy of this area is dominated by tourism, with a population of 2 1 10,000, while the capital Darwin has only 1 10,000 residents. There is a member of the upper house and two members of the lower house in this district (both in the capital).

[Editor] The government structure of the Commonwealth of Australia is constitutional monarchy and cabinet system. The current Queen Elizabeth II is also the Queen of Australia and the head of state of Australia. The Governor-General of Australia exercises power on behalf of the Queen and has the right to dissolve Parliament, but in practice this can only be done on the proposal of the Prime Minister. The most famous constitutional crisis in history occurred in 1975.

The three systems of government are as follows:

Legislative power: in the federal parliament. It consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Executive power: in the cabinet. Members include the Prime Minister, ministers and state governors. The Governor is nominated by the Cabinet.

Judicial power: Supreme Court and other federal and state courts.

At present, the House of Commons has 150 seats, which is basically based on the population distribution of each state and implements a single constituency system. The seats in the House of Lords have nothing to do with population. Each state 12 seats, while the Northern Territory and the Capital Special Administrative Region only have 2 seats, with 76 seats. The two houses are re-elected every three years. The term of office of the lower member is three years, and the term of office of the upper member is six years, so the latter is only re-elected by half at a time. The majority party in the House of Commons forms the Federal Cabinet, and its leader is the Federal Chancellor.