Global warming

Global warming is causing climate change which is predicted by the CSIRO to have significant effects on the climate of and extreme weather events in Australia. It is predicted that the Great Barrier Reef and reefs surrounding Lord Howe Island could be killed as a result of the rise in water temperature forecast by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The Murray River, Darling River Coorong and Macquarie Marshes are all at risk from decreased rainfall from climate change.

Coastal communities face risks from sea level rise, albeit over a long period of time based on current estimates of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The Gold Coast, being built on sand and with many canal developments, could be considered particularly at risk. Suburbs of Sydney like Drummoyne and Concord on rivers like the Parramatta River face risks of inundation of low lying areas such as parks (such as Timbrell Park and Majors Bay Reserve) reclaimed from mudflats at the heads of bays, or massive expenses in rebuilding seawalls to higher levels.

Currently, there are several environmental movements and campaigners advocating for action on climate change. One such campaign is “The Big Switch”, Australia’s largest community climate change campaign.

New projections for Australia’s changing climate includes:

• droughts are likely to become more frequent, particularly in the south-west
• evaporation rates are likely to increase, particularly in the north and east
• high-fire-danger weather is likely to increase in the south-east
• sea levels will continue to rise

Housing

Some claim that Australia’s recent level of immigration has (along with natural population growth and a range of other economic factors) contributed to a widespread shortage of affordable housing, particularly in the major cities.A number of economists, such as Macquarie Bank analyst Rory Robertson, assert that high immigration and the propensity of new arrivals to cluster in the capital cities is exacerbating the nation’s housing affordability problem.According to Robertson, Federal Government policies that fuel demand for housing, such as the currently high levels of immigration, as well as capital gains tax discounts and subsidies to boost fertility, have had a greater impact on housing affordability than land release on urban fringes. However, the Productivity Commission does not accept “population pressures” as a major driver of strong increases in house prices, stating that “increased demand for better quality and better located dwellings, rather than for more dwellings, has been the primary driver”.

The Productivity Commission Inquiry Report No. 28 ‘First Home Ownership’ (2004) also stated, in relation to housing, that “Growth in immigration since the mid-1990s has been an important contributor to underlying demand, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.” ^[30] The RBA in its submission to the same PC Report also stated “rapid growth in overseas visitors such as students may have boosted demand for rental housing”.However, in question in the report was the statistical coverage of resident population. The “ABS population growth figures omit certain household formation groups — namely, overseas students and business migrants who do not continuously stay for 12 months in Australia.” This statistical omission lead to the admission: “The Commission recognises that the ABS resident population estimates have limitations when used for assessing housing demand. Given the significant influx of foreigners coming to work or study in Australia in recent years, it seems highly likely that short-stay visitor movements may have added to the demand for housing. However, the Commission is unaware of any research that quantifies these effects.”

Although research to quantify these effects on housing may not exist, the data to use in research does.

South Australia

South Australia – one of the states of Australia, is located in central-southern part of the Australian continent, the Southern Ocean coast. It has an area 1 043 514km ². The capital is Adelaide in South Australia, known as the “City of Churches’ (City of churches). South Australia was founded as a colony of Great Britain in 1836r. and joined the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia) in 1901. South Australia’s population to roughly 1.58 million people (VI of 2008), most of them live in the state capital, near the edge of the ocean and along the Murray River.

Sydney

Sydney – Australia largest city, the capital of the state of New South Wales. Founded in 1788 Sydney is now a leading financial center in Australia, commercial, transport and culture, a popular tourist center and seat of the Archbishopric and the Roman Catholic Church of England.

Kitchen

Australia is a classic country of immigration and the cuisine of many influences. A traditional Australian cuisine, there is only limited. Quite classic comes meat (especially beef and lamb) to the table with Veggies (in salzlosem water cooked vegetables).

Very important (and typical Oz) are Barbies (BBQ’s) on the beach or anywhere else. An (almost) every parking / in every park can be found alongside benches and (usually) free opportunities barbeque.

Good to know: Australians eat practically salzlos. So always a little salt with you …

Typically Australian delights:

“Vegemite is a very well-known spreads (the British counterpart is Marmite), the one in Australia often eats toast. He is black, tasteless intense, salty and very used. “Billy Tea” consists of a handful of tea leaves which in a black Billy (bucket) directly on the fire heats and then are hurled at Henkel. “Pavlova is a dessert of meringue. “Meat Pies” which are small pastries filled with various things (such as lamb mint), the interior is usually quite hot and sticky. “Beetroot”, beetroot is quite popular and even found on every square burgers.

Thanks to the Brits was also in Australia Tea is much appreciated. One finds again and again what little Teahouse Devonshire tea and scones offer.

Small anecdote: Burger King is in Australia while representing the company, however, under the name Hungry Jacks. The competitor with the golden M in the name has the rights to Burger King to secure …

Eating: Since many restaurants no license for alcohol, is BYO announced. Bring Your Own, i.e. guests bring their own alcoholic beverages with (previously in the Bottle Shop party) and pay a small corkage to the waiter.

The exchange rate in the hospitality industry is very high and the best one wonders spot in the hostel / hotel for recommendations.

Etymology

The name “Australia” is derived from the Latin Australis, meaning “Southern”. Legends of an “unknown land of the south” (terra australis incognita) date back to Roman times and were commonplace in medieval geography but were not based on any documented knowledge of the continent. In 1521 Spaniards were among the first Europeans to sail the Pacific Ocean. The first use of the word “Australia” in English was in 1625—the words “A note of Australia del Espiritu Santo, written by Master Hakluyt”, published by Samuel Purchas in Hakluytus Posthumus.

The Dutch adjectival form Australische was used by Dutch East India Company officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south in 1638. “Australia” was used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe, a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur^] Alexander Dalrymple then used it in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1771), to refer to the entire South Pacific region. In 1793, George Shaw and Sir James Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of “the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland.”

States and territories

Australia has six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In most respects, the territories function like the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation only overrides state legislation in certain areas that are set out in Section 51 of the Constitution; state parliaments retain all residual legislative powers, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport, and local government.

Each state and territory has its own legislature: unicameral in the Northern Territory, the ACT, and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states. The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house is known as the Legislative Council. The head of the government in each state is the Premier, and in each territory the Chief Minister. The Queen is represented in each state by a Governor; an Administrator in the Northern Territory and the Australian Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.

Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

When to Go

Any time is a good time to be in Australia. Summer (December to February) can get uncomfortably hot but it’s great beach weather. Up north, the summer wet season is very, very humid and the sea is swarming with box jellyfish. Winter (June to August) offers skiing in NSW, Victoria and sometimes Tasmania. In spring and autumn the weather is mild.

Canberra

Canberra (pronounced /ˈkænbɹə/[2]) is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Australia. With a population of over 334,000, it is Australia’s largest inland city. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 650 km (400 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation’s capital in 1908 as a compromise between age-old rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city’s design, a design by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The city’s design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title “bush capital”. Although the growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city after World War II. As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court of Australia and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra.

The Commonwealth of Australia

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 a number of other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.^N4 The neighbouring countries are 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.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians.^[2] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,^[3] the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century.

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 remains a Commonwealth realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The population is just over 21 million, with approximately 60% of the population concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.