Lexi Webster
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with a highly urbanized population of almost 28 million. Australia's history of ownership is complex, with the true answer being the First Nations Peoples, whose ownership goes back 60,000 years. However, the legal answer is more complicated, involving a mix of freehold, pastoral leases, crown leases, public land, native title, and land held by Aboriginal trusts. Today, Australia is a culturally diverse nation with a highly developed economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ownership | The true answer is First Nations Peoples, whose ownership stems back 60,000 years. The legal answer is more complex, with a mix of freehold, pastoral leases, crown leases, public land, native title, and land held by Aboriginal trusts. |
| Geography | Australia is a country comprising the mainland Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, numerous smaller islands, and remote offshore territories. It is the smallest continent and the sixth-largest country globally, with a total area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi). It is highly urbanized, with a population of almost 28 million, and is known for its unique flora and fauna, including kangaroos, koalas, and the Great Barrier Reef. |
| Politics | Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories. Canberra is the capital, and Sydney and Melbourne are the most populous cities. It has a highly developed economy, ranking highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties, and political rights. |
| Media | Australia has two public broadcasters, three commercial television networks, pay-TV services, and numerous public and non-profit radio and television stations. The press freedom ranking is 39th out of 180 countries, with most print media controlled by News Corp Australia (59%) and Nine Entertainment (23%). |
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What You'll Learn
Australia's land ownership
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, numerous smaller islands, and some remote offshore territories. It is the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania.
The question of who owns Australia is complex. The true answer, according to some, is the First Nations peoples, whose ownership stems back 60,000 years. However, the legal answer is more complicated, with a mix of freehold, pastoral leases, crown leases, public land, native title, and land held by Aboriginal trusts.
Pastoral leases cover 44% of Australia, and are defined as a title issued for the lease of crown land for the purpose of grazing stock and associated activities. The person who holds the most land in this pastoral-lease data is the Western Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who controls 1.2% of Australia’s landmass through three different corporate entities.
About 40% of Australia is covered by native title, in both exclusive and shared title. Australian government reports state that Indigenous communities hold the freehold title to 17% of the country, mainly in the Northern Territory and South Australia. When non-exclusive native title is included, the proportion of Australia is about 54%.
Each state in Australia has a different regime for the regulation and bureaucratization of land. Most land in Australia is now held under the Torrens system, which was introduced to provide a system for evidencing, recognizing, and transferring title to land, and to reduce fraud relating to land due to falsification of title deeds.
The United Kingdom remains the second-largest overall foreign investor in Australia, and Queen Elizabeth II, as Queen of 32 countries and head of the Commonwealth, is the legal owner of about one-sixth of the earth’s land surface.
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Indigenous Australians' rights
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is made up of the mainland Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, numerous smaller islands, and several remote offshore territories. It is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth.
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from Southeast Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, and by the time of British settlement, they spoke 250 distinct languages and had one of the oldest living cultures in the world.
Indigenous Australians have specific rights due to their unique position as the first peoples of the nation. They have the right to own, use, and control their lands, waters, and other resources. Governments are supposed to recognise and protect these lands, waters, and resources. This is outlined in Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Australia formally endorsed in 2009.
Despite this endorsement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia continue to face challenges and disparities compared to the non-Indigenous population. Issues such as dispossession and racism contribute to significant gaps in health, life expectancy, and imprisonment rates.
Indigenous Australians have the right to preserve their culture, including speaking and teaching their native languages and customs, living on their ancestral lands, and caring for sacred sites. These rights are essential to ensure that their culture is maintained for future generations.
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The country's history of colonisation
Australia has a long and complex history of colonisation, dating back thousands of years. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians first arrived on the continent between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and by the time of British settlement, they had developed one of the oldest living cultures in the world, speaking 250 distinct languages.
The first recorded colonisation attempts by Europeans began in the 16th century. In 1528, Portuguese explorers may have discovered the Australian landmass, as evidenced by the Dieppe maps, which label the landmass "Java la Grande". In 1567, a Spanish expedition led by Álvaro de Mendaña discovered the Solomon Islands, and he hoped to colonise the land for Spain. In the late 16th century, Pedro Fernández de Quirós, an officer under Mendaña, received backing from King Philip III of Spain for an expedition to the southland, which he believed existed.
The first successful colonisation of Australia occurred in the late 18th century when the British government planned to develop the region's economy by employing convict labour on government farms. The First Fleet, consisting of 11 vessels and carrying about 730 convicts and 250 free persons, sailed in May 1787 and reached Botany Bay in January 1788. This marked the beginning of British settlement in Australia and the displacement of Indigenous communities.
During the 19th century, Australia was further colonised by the British, with the establishment of colonies in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. These colonies were not joined in an independent federated union until 1901. The colonisation process involved the dispossession of Indigenous peoples, who had lived on and cared for the land for thousands of years.
Today, Australia is a highly diverse country with one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world. It has a strong economy and high rankings in quality of life, health, education, civil liberties, and political rights. However, the colonisation process has had lasting impacts on Indigenous communities, and the issue of land ownership remains complex, with Indigenous communities holding the freehold title to only 17% of the country.
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Australia's economy
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed economy. It is one of the three Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that did not experience two consecutive negative quarters of growth. It has a highly developed economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally. Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy.
Australia has a relatively open, trade-exposed economy. Its economy is strongly intertwined with the countries of East and Southeast Asia, also known as ASEAN Plus Three (APT), accounting for about 64% of exports in 2016. China is Australia's main export and import partner by a large margin. Australia is a member of the APEC, G20, OECD, and WTO. The country has also entered into free trade agreements with ASEAN, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
Australia's average GDP growth rate for the period 1901-2000 was 3.4% annually. As of 2023, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (gross domestic product), the 19th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 21st-largest goods exporter and 24th-largest goods importer. As of June 2021, the country's GDP was estimated at $1.98 trillion. The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, which in 2017 comprised 62.7% of the GDP and employed 78.8% of the labor force.
Mining has contributed significantly to Australia's economic growth, from the gold rush in the 1840s to the present day. The increase in mining revenues and investment spilled over to other parts of the Australian economy, increasing demand for workers and wages. This resulted in more Australians having more money to spend on goods and services. The Australian government has usually shown a pronounced readiness to intervene in the economy, but in general, the economy has been dominated by foreign interests—first by those of the United Kingdom, then by the United States and Japan, and more recently by giant multinational corporations.
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The country's unique flora and fauna
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's smallest continent and the sixth-largest country by total area.
Australia is home to a vast array of flora and fauna, with over 24,000 species of native plants and a large variety of animals. The flora of Australia has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that began to break up 140 million years ago. The unique climate and geology of the continent have shaped the development of its flora and fauna over millions of years.
The flora of Australia includes more than 21,000 vascular plant species, such as angiosperms, seed-bearing non-angiosperms, and spore-bearing ferns. It also boasts an estimated 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi, and over 3,000 lichens. Prominent features of Australian flora are adaptations to aridity and fire, including scleromorphy and serotiny, commonly found in species from the Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, and Fabaceae families.
The country's unique fauna includes a high endemism rate, with 46% of birds, 69% of mammals, 94% of amphibians, and 93% of reptiles found nowhere else in the world. Australia is known for its marsupials, such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, koalas, and possums, which occupy ecological niches that placental animals occupy in other parts of the world. It is also home to monotremes like the platypus, as well as numerous venomous species, including snakes, spiders, scorpions, octopus, jellyfish, and stingrays.
The arrival of humans around 50,000 years ago and European settlement from 1788 onwards significantly impacted the flora and fauna of Australia. Indigenous fire practices and land management have altered fire regimes and vegetation distribution. Introduced species, habitat destruction, and urban expansion have led to the extinction of native flora and fauna, with 86 species now critically endangered.
To protect and preserve Australia's unique ecosystems, protected areas have been established in every state and territory. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a not-for-profit organisation, works to safeguard endangered species across 4.8 million hectares of land.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is not owned by another country.
The First Nations Peoples are the traditional owners of Australia, with a history that dates back 60,000 years.
The legal answer is complex, with a mix of freehold, pastoral leases, crown leases, public land, native title, and land held by Aboriginal trusts.
