1.
Australia
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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 worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
2.
Monarch
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A monarch is the sovereign head of state in a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until abdication, if a young child is crowned the monarch, a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously, for example, the monarchy of Canada and the monarchy of the United Kingdom are separate states, but they share the same monarch through personal union. Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles — king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, archduke, duke or grand duke, Prince is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to any monarch regardless of title, especially in older texts. A king can also be a husband and a queen can be a kings wife. If both people in a reign, neither person is generally considered to be a consort. Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch, historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics, advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of national leadership. In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure real leadership does not depend on the monarch, a form of government may in fact be hereditary without being considered monarchy, such as a family dictatorship. Monarchies take a variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel and the elected President of France. Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time, hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common, with preference for children over siblings, sons over daughters. Other European realms practice one form or another of primogeniture, whereunder a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, the system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit. The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, in most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture, in more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic
3.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
4.
William McMahon
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Sir William Billy McMahon, GCMG, CH PC, was an Australian politician who was the Leader of the Liberal Party and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia from 10 March 1971 to 5 December 1972. McMahon was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Lowe from his election in 1949 until his resignation in 1982. He rose to power at a bad time for the Coalition after over two decades in power, and he led his government to a loss to the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. McMahon was born in Sydney, Australia, to an Australian mother and an Irish-Australian father, and was one of four children. When his mother died in 1917, when he was 9, McMahon was brought up by relatives and guardians, the most prominent among them his maternal uncle, McMahons father died when he was 18. While at university, McMahon competed in boxing and took interest in theatre, music, after first graduating, McMahon worked as a solicitor, before serving in the Army during the Second World War. He was commissioned in the Citizens Military Force and later transferred to the Australian Imperial Force and he achieved the rank of captain in 1942 and was promoted to major in 1943, before he was classified medically unfit for overseas service. He was confined to work in Australia, where he was quartermaster for the Australian II Corps. McMahon became a minister in 1951 and he became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1966. In 1971, when Prime Minister John Gorton resigned after a leadership vote ended in a tie, McMahon became leader, the McMahon Government was formed at a turbulent time for the Coalition, and in the 1972 federal election, McMahon led his party to defeat. McMahon remained a member of Parliament until 1982, when he resigned, William McMahon was born in Sydney, the son of Mary Walder McMahon and William McMahon, a lawyer. His uncle was Samuel Walder, Lord Mayor of Sydney and his father was of Irish descent. McMahons mother died when he was 9 and his father when he was 18 and he was educated at Sydney Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in law. He practised in Sydney with Allen, Allen & Hemsley, the oldest law firm in Australia, in 1940, he joined the Army, but because of a hearing loss, he was confined to staff work. After the Second World War, he travelled in Europe and completed a degree at the University of Sydney. McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives for the Sydney seat of Lowe in the 1949 federal election and he was capable and ambitious, and in 1951 Prime Minister Robert Menzies made him Minister for Air and Minister for the Navy. McMahon served in Cabinet in one capacity or another for the next 21 years, at various times under Menzies, he was Minister for Social Services, Primary Industry and Labour and National Service. He was also Vice-President of the Executive Council, in 1966, when Harold Holt became Prime Minister, McMahon succeeded him as Treasurer and as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
5.
Gough Whitlam
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Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have his commission terminated in that manner, Whitlam served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II for four years as airforce navigator in the Pacific and worked as a barrister following the war. He was first elected to Parliament in 1952, representing Werriwa in the House of Representatives, Whitlam became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in 1960, and in 1967, after the retirement of Arthur Calwell, was elected Leader and became the Leader of the Opposition. After narrowly losing the 1969 election, Whitlam led Labor to victory at the 1972 election after 23 years of continuous Liberal-Country Coalition Government. The government and the opposition then had equal numbers in the Senate where they voted against the six trigger bills which had formed the basis for the 1974 double dissolution. The Whitlam government then instituted the first and only 1974 joint sitting enabled under s.57 of the Constitution as part of the dissolution process. All six of the bills were then passed at the Joint Sitting in August 1974. Whitlam refused to back down, arguing that his government, which held a majority in the House of Representatives, was being held to ransom by the Senate. The crisis ended on 11 November, when Whitlam arrived at a meeting with the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. Kerr had agreed to the documents and the date for the half-Senate election—13 December—with Whitlam over the preceding days. Whitlam described it as the greatest shock I had ever experienced when Kerr instead dismissed him without warning and commissioned the opposition leader, Malcolm Fraser, as prime minister. Later that afternoon, the House of Representatives passed a motion of no confidence in Fraser, Kerr refused to see the Speaker of the House or receive the motion of the House of Representatives and prorogued parliament with Fraser still in office. Labor lost the subsequent election by a landslide, Whitlam stepped down after losing again at the 1977 election, and retired from parliament in 1978. Upon the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, he was appointed as Ambassador to UNESCO, a position he filled with distinction and he remained active into his nineties. The circumstances of his dismissal and the legacy of his government remain a part of Australian political discourse. Edward Gough Whitlam was born on 11 July 1916 at the family home Ngara,46 Rowland Street, Kew and he was the older of two children born to Martha and Fred Whitlam
6.
Election
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An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century, Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is used in many other private and business organizations. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections. To elect means to choose or make a decision, and so other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections. Elections were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and throughout the Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor, in Vedic period of India, the raja of a gana was apparently elected by the gana. The raja belonged to the noble Kshatriya varna, and was typically a son of the previous raja, however, the gana members had the final say in his elections. The Pala king Gopala in early medieval Bengal was elected by a group of feudal chieftains, such elections were quite common in contemporary societies of the region. In Chola Empire, around 920 CE, in Uthiramerur, palm leaves were used for selecting the village committee members, the leaves, with candidate names written on them, were put inside a mud pot. To select the members, a young boy was asked to take out as many leaves as the number of positions available. This was known as the Kudavolai system, ancient Arabs also used election to choose their caliph, Uthman and Ali, in the early medieval Rashidun Caliphate. Questions of suffrage, especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated the history of elections, males, the dominate cultural group in North America and Europe, often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries. Early elections in such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed or ruling class males. However, by 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had universal male suffrage. Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for males, political barriers were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections. The question of who may vote is an issue in elections. In Australia Aboriginal people were not given the right to vote until 1962, suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country, though further limits may be imposed. However, in the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen, the nationality of the country of residence is not required
7.
Monarchy of Australia
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The monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary king or queen serves as the nations sovereign. The present monarch is Elizabeth II, styled Queen of Australia and she is represented in Australia by the governor-general, in accordance with the Australian constitution and letters patent from the Queen. In each of the states, the monarch is represented by a governor, the Australian monarch, besides reigning in Australia, separately serves as monarch for each of 15 other Commonwealth nations known as realms. This developed from the colonial relationship between these countries and the United Kingdom, but they are now independent of each other and are legally distinct. Likewise, on all matters relating to any Australian state, the monarch is advised by the ministers of the Crown of that state, the British government is thus considered a foreign power in regard to Australias domestic and foreign affairs. The sovereigns Australian title is currently Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Typically, the monarch is styled King or Queen of Australia and is addressed as such when in Australia or performing duties on behalf of Australia abroad, prior to 1953, the title had simply been the same as that in the United Kingdom. Australia, however, wished to have the United Kingdom mentioned as well, thus, the resolution was a title that included the United Kingdom but, for the first time, also separately mentioned Australia and the other Commonwealth realms. The passage of a new Royal Style and Titles Act by the Parliament of Australia put these recommendations into law, Queen Elizabeth II signed her assent at Government House, Canberra, on 19 October 1973. Australia does not pay any money to the Queen, either for personal income or to support the royal residences outside Australia, only when the Queen is in Australia does the Australian government support her in the performance of her duties. This rule applies equally to members of the Royal Family. Succession is according to British laws that have incorporated into Australian law. By adhering to the Statute of Westminster in 1942, Australia agreed to change its rules of only in agreement with the UK. Parallel proclamations are made by the governors in each state, regardless of any proclamations, the late sovereigns heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she continues to reign until death. The legal personality of a component of the Australian state is expressed by reference to the sovereign. In criminal prosecutions, the state as a party is named as The Queen—for instance. However, the prosecutors themselves are referred to as representing the Crown, more commonly and conveniently, however, the entity is referred to directly—for example, as The Commonwealth or The State of New South Wales or simply New South Wales
8.
Prime Minister of Australia
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The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown, the leader of the Cabinet, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through longstanding political convention and tradition. Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful position in Australia. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia, almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives. However, there is no requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed minister was John Gorton. Malcolm Turnbull has held the office of Prime Minister since 15 September 2015, the Prime Minister and Treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement. Before being sworn in as a Minister of the Crown, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable for life, the senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia. The Prime Minister is, like ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to hand in the commission, in the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. Despite the importance of the office of minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply Prime Minister, except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry, Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies, in August 1941 Menzies resigned as prime minister. In July 1945 John Curtin died suddenly and his deputy, Frank Forde, was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader, Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australias shortest-serving prime minister. Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967 and was declared presumed dead on 19 December, the governor-general, Lord Casey, commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen, to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader
9.
Chief Justice of Australia
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The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Susan Kiefel, the first woman to hold the office, the Court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under, the Judiciary Act 1903, with the first appointments to the High Court commencing on 5 October 1903. The Chief Justice is first among equals among the Justices of the High Court, all Justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the Governor-General of Australia, on the advice of the federal government. They can be removed only by the Governor-General, on a request from both houses of the parliament, although this has never been done. Since 1977, appointment has been until the retirement age of seventy. The Chief Justice often acts as the Governor-Generals deputy, especially at such as the opening of Parliament after an election. Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by Governors-General of Australia on the exercise of the reserve powers, the Chief Justice also administers the Oath of Allegiance to the Monarch and an Oath of Office to the Governor-General-designate when he or she takes up his or her appointment. Chief Justice Sir John Latham was absent from the office when he served from 1940 to 1941 as Australias first ambassador to Japan, Sir George Rich was Acting Chief Justice in Lathams absence
10.
Premier of New South Wales
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The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature, prior to Federation in 1901 the term Prime Minister of New South Wales was used, Premier was used from 1901. The current Premier is Gladys Berejiklian, the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Berejiklian replaced Mike Baird on 23 January 2017, after Baird resigned as Premier. As of January 2017, nine former Premiers are alive, the oldest being Barrie Unsworth, the most recent premier to die was Tom Lewis on 25 April 2016. List of Premiers of New South Wales by time in office Deputy Premier of New South Wales
11.
Premier of Queensland
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The Premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the Premier is the leader of the party with a majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Premier is appointed by the Governor of Queensland, the incumbent Premier of Queensland since the 2015 election is Annastacia Palaszczuk of the Australian Labor Party. Under section 42 of the Constitution of Queensland the Premier and other members of Cabinet are appointed by the Governor and are responsible to Parliament. The text of the Constitution assigns to the Premier certain powers, such as the power to assign roles to Assistant Ministers, although ministerial appointments are the prerogative of the Governor of Queensland, in normal circumstances the Governor will make these appointments under the advice of the Premier. A re-elected government will be resworn, with adjustments to the ministry as determined by the Premier, the Premier has an office in the Executive Annexe of Parliament House, Brisbane, which is normally used while Parliament is sitting. At other times the Premiers ministerial office is in 1 William Street, before the 1890s, there was no developed party system in Queensland. Political affiliation labels before that time indicate a general tendency only, before the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, political parties were more akin to parliamentary factions, and were fluid, informal and disorganised by modern standards. As of February 2015, six former premiers are alive, the oldest being Russell Cooper, the most recent premier to die was Wayne Goss, on 10 November 2014. List of Premiers of Queensland by time in office Government of Queensland Politics of Queensland
12.
Premier of South Australia
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The Premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature, the current Premier is Jay Weatherill, the Leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Weatherill replaced Mike Rann on 21 October 2011, after Rann resigned as Premier, before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from the 1893 election to 1905 election with the support of the South Australian United Labor Party, Labor took government with the support of eight dissident liberals in 1905 when Labor won the most seats for the first time. The rise of Labor saw non-Labor politics start to merge into various party incarnations, Labor formed South Australias first majority government after winning the 1910 state election, triggering the merger. The 1910 election came two weeks after federal Labor formed Australias first elected majority government at the 1910 federal election, no Country or rural conservative parties emerged as serious long-term forces in South Australian state politics, often folding into the main non-Labor party. There are six living former premiers, the oldest being Steele Hall, the most recent premier to die was John Bannon on 13 December 2015. In the following timeline, the legend includes the Liberal and Democratic Union, the Liberal Union, the Liberal Party of Australia is represented as Liberal only. The grey area represents the duration of Playmander electoral malapportionment, beginning in 1936, in effect until the 1970 election
