Australia

• generally arid to semiarid;
• temperate in south and east;
• tropical in north

• cyclones along the coast;
• severe droughts;
• forest fires

• soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices;
• soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water;
• desertification;
• clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species;
• the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site;
• limited natural fresh water resources

• world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country;
• population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts;
• regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer

0-14 years:

20.4% (male 2,046,052; female 1,949,725)

15-64 years:

67% (male 6,610,840; female 6,480,354)

65 years and over:

12.6% (male 1,078,506; female 1,381,315) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Australian(s)

adjective:

Australian

conventional long form:

Commonwealth of Australia

conventional short form:

Australia

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter HOLLINGWORTH (since 29 June 2001)

head of government:

Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999)

cabinet:

• Cabinet Parliament nominates, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers;
• from this list, the governor general makes the final selections for the Cabinet

elections:

• none;
• the monarch is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party

• Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT];
• Australian Labor Party [Simon CREAN];
• Country Labor Party [leader NA];
• Australian Greens [Bob BROWN];
• Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD];
• National Party [John ANDERSON];
• One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

FAX:

[1] (202) 797-3168

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-3000

chancery:

1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

chief of mission:

Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER

embassy:

Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600

mailing address:

APO AP 96549

telephone:

[61] (02) 6214-5600

FAX:

[61] (02) 6214-5970

consulate(s) general:

Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

• blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant;
• the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

25% (1994)

general assessment:

excellent domestic and international service

domestic:

• domestic satellite system;
• much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density;
• rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones

international:

• submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia;
• satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998)

total:

33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)

broad gauge:

3,719 km 1.600-m gauge

narrow gauge:

14,506 km 1.067-m gauge

standard gauge:

15,422 km 1.435-m gauge

dual gauge:

172 km NA gauges (1999 est.)

total:

913,000 km

paved:

353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways)

unpaved:

559,669 km (1996)

• crude oil 2,500 km;
• petroleum products 500 km;
• natural gas 5,600 km

total:

55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,469,362 GRT/1,869,262 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 26, cargo 5, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 2, United Kingdom 2, United States 14 (2002 est.)

• Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap";
• Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf

• Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products;
• government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate