Australia - The same Planet, another World

Flora & Fauna

Don't be surprised to encounter a hopping kangaroo or running emu - a large flightless bird - while driving along in the countryside.

Australia's isolation for more than 55 million years has created a unique

sanctuary of animals and plants found nowhere else in the world. Australia's marsupials for example, did’ t have to compete with highly developed mammals and there are still over 100 species which flourish in ideal conditions.

States & Territories

Australia is divided into six states - New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania - and two territories; the

Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The states and territories each have a capital city, flag, and even their own flora and fauna emblems.

Australia is also responsible for administering seven external territories: Norfolk Island, Cocos (Keeling) Island, Christmas Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands Territory, the Territory of Heard Island, Coral Sea Islands Territory, the sub Antarctic McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

State governments are modelled on the British Westminster system. Each state has a premier who is the leader of the political party on power.

Defence

Army, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, and observes various international defence treaties thereby contributing to a securityfocused environment in the South Pacific region.

Australia's support for regional security dialogue, for a strengthened role of the UN, and its advocacy of non-proliferation and international arms control regimes contribute to peace and security regionally and internationally.

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Education

The first school in Australia was set up in Sydney by a convict named Isabella Rosson in 1789 and our oldest university, the University of Sydney was established in 1850.

The first system of compulsory education was introduced by Victoria in 1872 and other states followed suit. Education remains the responsibility of state governments and it is compulsory for children to attend school between the ages of five and fifteen. About 72 per cent of school children attend free, government-funded schools, mostly coeducational. Australia also has private fee-paying schools, many of them run by religious bodies.

Even children in the Australian Outback, far from any school, are not exempt from education. They receive radio lessons through School of the Air and do their homework by correspondence.

Health System

Public health in Australia is provided at federal, state and local government levels.

All Australians are protected by health insurance. The health system works on two levels - government and private. The government scheme, called Medicare, introduced in 1984, covers basic hospital, medical and optometry fees, available to all Australians, rich or poor. It is partly funded by a levy of 2 per cent of taxable income with low income cut-off points.

Private health funds provide a higher level of medical coverage, with members on the highest rates being entitled to a private hospital room, the doctor of their choice and a greater range of services such as dental care and private nursing.

Australia has about 42,000 doctors in active practice, 7,000 dentists, 190,000 registered nurses, 1,100 hospitals across the country, and 4.5 hospital beds per thousand of population. Water supplies are fluoridated in most parts of Australia to prevent dental decay.

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The Royal Flying Doctor Service, a unique service to Australia, founded by the

Reverend John Flynn, a Presbyterian clergyman in 1928, provides free of charge medical care for people living in isolated regions. Doctors travel by aircraft from a central base and communicate through two-way radio with their patients.

Transport

About 9 million vehicles use the roads and Australia is among world leaders in road safety. The wearing of seatbelts, safety helmets, strict drink-driving laws, random breath testing of motorists and constant improvement of roads have contributed to the reduction of road accidents.

National Rail, jointly owned by the federal government and the governments of New South Wales and Victoria is providing a nation-wide service.

Australia has about 70 ports of commercial significance and it trades with about 200 countries around the world exporting almost 320 million tonnes of freight by sea annually.

Resources and Energy

Australia is a major producer and exporter of energy resources and is one of the world's biggest producers of minerals and metals. More than 60 different minerals are mined such as bauxite, mineral sands, diamonds, black and brown coal as well as ores containing gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, tin, manganese and uranium.

Although Australia imports heavy crude, it exports light crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

Australia is also an important producer of precious and semiprecious stones such as diamonds, sapphire, opal and pearls.

Most electricity is produced using coal fired power plants and the large coal deposits enable Australia to produce electricity at a relatively low cost.

Food and Wine in Australia

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Given its climate, fresh produce and diverse ethnic roots, it's no surprise that the sunny, spicy flavours of the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia permeate menus.

Meat still plays a vital part in the staple Australian diet and the choice and quality is impressive and still inexpensive by international standards - try juicy beef steaks, lamb, pork, poultry or if you're more adventurous kangaroo, emu, crocodile or even witchetty grub - an Aboriginal delicacy.

Australia has a superb range of succulent seafood - prawns (shrimp), lobsters, octopus, oyster, mudcrabs, Balmain Bugs (a small crustacean), and a huge variety of fresh fish is on offer complemented by vegetables and salad, all grown locally.

To finish off the meal don't go past our wide range of fruit from Tasmanian apples and berry fruit to tropical juicy Queensland mangoes, papayas, lychees, avocados or citrus fruit.

Wine drinking is increasingly popular as wine production is becoming more sophisticated and eating habits change. Australia's great climate is conducive to grape growing and all states have extensive wine areas - the Barossa in South Australia and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales being the oldest and most famous. Styles vary from region to region but they all have their unmistakable

flavour and although it might take a while to find what suits your palate, the effort is worth making!

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