User:Thylacine71

Australia (1999:Republic)
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.N4 Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

For around 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north, and European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in the following years; the continent was explored, and during the 19th century another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and was a Briish Commonwealth realm until 2001. The population is just over 21.3 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

The Commonwealth of Australia became a federal republic following a constitutional referendum in 1999 which saw Australians narrowly vote to end ties to the British Monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II formally handed authority as Head of State to the new President of Australia in an amicable ceremony held in Canberra in 2001.

The President, elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament following a list established by popular nomination, is Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The current President is Her Excellency Lowitja O'Donoghue.

Follow-up referenda in 2003 led to the national flag being changed and several parliamentary reforms, including the introduction of proportional representation.

The current Head of Government is the Hon Kim Beazley MP (Australian Labor Party), Prime Minister of Australia. The Hon Natasha Stott Despoja MP (Australian Democrats) as Deputy PM. The Leader of the Opposition is The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP (Conservative Party of Australia).