Damon Mcknight
Australia is a country and a continent in itself, but the geographical region of Oceania includes Australia and its neighbouring countries. Oceania is comprised of 14 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and more. The term 'Australasia' has also been used to group Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of Melanesia. Australia maintains a strong relationship with New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries.
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What You'll Learn
- Australia is the only country in the Australian continent
- Australia is part of the region known as Oceania, which includes 14 countries
- New Zealand is closely tied to Australia, with free movement and trade
- Papua New Guinea and New Guinea are part of the Australian continent
- Australia is the smallest continent in the world
Australia is the only country in the Australian continent
The Australian continent is distinct from the country of Australia, which occupies most of the continent and is the largest sovereign state in the region. The country of Australia is a sovereign state that encompasses the Australian continent's interior, the island of Tasmania, and several other smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest country in the world by land area and is known for its diverse landscapes and climates, ranging from deserts in the interior to tropical rainforests along the coast.
The Australian continent, on the other hand, includes not only the country of Australia but also the island of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea), the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and parts of the Coral Sea Islands, among other nearby islands. The continent has a total land area of 8.56 million square kilometres (3.31 million square miles), while the country of Australia has a land area of 7,688,287 square kilometres (2,968,464 square miles).
The Australian continent is sometimes referred to as "Oceania," which includes the 14 independent countries of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and others. The term "Australasia" has also been used historically to refer to the Australian continent, although this term is not widely accepted today.
Australia, the country, enjoys a deeply integrated relationship with its neighbouring country, New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens and free trade between the two nations.
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Australia is part of the region known as Oceania, which includes 14 countries
The UN categorizes Oceania, and by extension the Pacific area, as one of the major continental divisions of the world, alongside Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The original UN definition of Oceania from 1947 included American Samoa, Australia and their external territories, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
The Pacific Ocean Handbook (1945) by Eliot Grinnell Mears categorized Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands under the label of Oceania for "scientific reasons; Australia's fauna is largely continental in character, New Zealand's are clearly insular; and neither Commonwealth realm has close ties with Asia." Some 19th-century definitions of Oceania grouped Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of Melanesia together under the label of Australasia. In the 20th century, the term was sometimes considered outdated, and Australia was interpreted as the largest Pacific island.
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 largest country in Oceania and the smallest continent in the world. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea), the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, most of the Coral Sea Islands, and some other nearby islands. Australia has a diverse economy, ranking high in quality of life and the Human Development Index.
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New Zealand is closely tied to Australia, with free movement and trade
Australia and New Zealand are closely tied, with free movement and trade between the two countries. They have a strong and integrated relationship, with citizens of each country able to move freely between them under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement. Australia and New Zealand also have a free trade agreement, known as the Closer Economic Relations agreement or ANZCERTA. This agreement has been in place since 1983 and has underpinned the strong growth in trade across the Tasman.
The history of trade agreements between Australia and New Zealand dates back to 1922, when the countries agreed to trade with each other. This was followed by the Australia New Zealand Trade Agreement in 1933, which gave each country preferential rates. The New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented in 1966, removing tariffs and quantitative restrictions on 80% of trans-Tasman trade.
However, NAFTA did not keep up with the changing international economic environment, so Australia and New Zealand agreed to develop a more open bilateral trading system. This led to the creation of ANZCERTA, which has become the cornerstone of their trade and economic relationship. ANZCERTA brought services into the agreement in 1989, allowing most services to be traded freely across the Tasman. The two countries have also worked to harmonise food standards, reduce investment costs, and remove technical barriers to trade.
In addition to ANZCERTA, the two countries have signed over 80 other bilateral treaties, protocols, and arrangements covering various areas, including trade, the movement of people, aviation, and business law coordination. Their close relationship extends beyond just trade and economic ties, as New Zealand is one of the most favourably viewed countries by the Australian people.
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Papua New Guinea and New Guinea are part of the Australian continent
The continent of Australia, also known as Sahul, Australinea, or Meganesia, includes the island of New Guinea, which comprises Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea. The island of New Guinea was once connected to mainland Australia via a land bridge during the Pleistocene glaciations, forming the combined landmass of Sahul. The two landmasses were separated when rising sea levels flooded the area now known as the Torres Strait.
Papua New Guinea and New Guinea are indeed part of the Australian continent, geologically speaking. The island of New Guinea lies to the east of the Malay Archipelago and is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago. Geologically, it is part of the same tectonic plate as Australia. During the Pleistocene glaciations, when sea levels were lower, New Guinea and Australia shared shorelines, which are now submerged 100 to 140 meters below sea level. This area is known as the Torres Strait, which separates the two landmasses today.
Anthropologically, New Guinea is considered part of Melanesia, a subregion of Oceania, which also includes Australia. The flora of New Guinea is a mixture of tropical rainforest species with origins in Asia and typically Australasian flora. The fauna of New Guinea and Australia also share similarities, with marsupials such as wallabies and possums, and the egg-laying monotreme, the echidna, found in both regions.
Historically, the island of New Guinea was politically divided into two territories: Papua and New Guinea. During World War II, the civil government of these territories was suspended and replaced by a joint military government under Australian governance. After the war, in 1949, Papuans became Australian citizens, and Australia formally combined the two territories into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, a movement for independence gained momentum, and on September 16, 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent country.
In summary, Papua New Guinea and New Guinea are considered part of the Australian continent in a geological context, as they share the same tectonic plate and were once connected by a land bridge during the Pleistocene glaciations. Today, they are separated by the Torres Strait but remain part of the broader region of Oceania, which includes Australia and its surrounding islands.
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Australia is the smallest continent in the world
Australia is the only continent entirely surrounded by the ocean. The majority of countries within the continent are islands, including Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, which, along with Australia, make up the three independent nations of the Australian continent. The continent includes a continental shelf overlain by shallow seas, which divide it into several landmasses—the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Australia's geographical significance is not diminished by its small size, as it boasts a diverse range of natural features, from towering mountains and winding rivers to expansive deserts and lush wetlands.
The land is rich in natural minerals and resources, shaping its global trade relations. As part of the Gondwana landmass, Australia's geological formations echo prehistoric times. Biologists who study animals consider this smallest continent a living laboratory. More than 60 million years ago, when the continent began to separate from Antarctica, it brought a variety of species with it. These animals evolved into species unique to Australia, including the koala, platypus, and Tasmanian devil.
Australia is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast. The western plateau and a large portion of the centre are deserts, but the red and black soil plains of Queensland and New South Wales have long supported the world's greatest wool industry. Australia has a diverse array of climates due to its large geographical size. The northern portion is in subequatorial latitudes, while the southern portion is in subtropical latitudes. The amount of total solar radiation is consistently high, averaging around 590 kJ/cm2/yr in the north and south and 750 kJ/cm2/yr in interior regions.
Australia maintains a deeply integrated relationship with neighbouring New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement and free trade under the Closer Economic Relations agreement.
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Frequently asked questions
Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. However, the term "Australia" is sometimes used to refer to the geographical region of Oceania, which includes 14 independent countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.
Oceania is a geographical region that includes the Australian continent and several other islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Besides Australia, some other countries in Oceania include New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Nauru, which is the smallest independent country in the region.
There are 14 independent countries in Oceania, according to the United Nations.
Australia and New Zealand maintain a deeply integrated relationship, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement and free trade agreements in place.
