1.
National Party of Australia
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The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level and it would later briefly adopt the name National Country Party in 1975, before adopting its current name in 1982. In Opposition the Coalition was usually maintained, but otherwise still generally continued to work in co-operation with the Liberal Party of Australia. In Queensland however, they were the coalition party between 1925 and 2008, after which they merged with the junior Liberal Party of Australia to form the Liberal National Party. The current federal leader and Deputy Prime Minister is Barnaby Joyce, both were elected in a party-room ballot on 11 February 2016, following the retirement of former leader and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and the elevation of former deputy leader Joyce. Australias first Country Party was founded in 1912 by Harry J. Stephens, editor of The Farmer & Settler, the VFU won a seat in the House of Representatives at the Corangamite by-election held in December 1918, with the help of the newly-introduced preferential voting system. At the 1919 federal election the state-based Country Parties won federal seats in New South Wales, Victoria and they also began to win seats in state parliaments. In 1920 the Country Party was established as a party led by William McWilliams from Tasmania. McWilliams would later leave the Country Party to sit as an Independent, according to historian B. D. Graham, the graziers who operated the sheep stations were politically conservative. They disliked the Labor Party, which represented their workers, and feared that Labor governments would pass legislation and listen to foreigners. The graziers were satisfied with the organisation of their industry, opposed any change in land tenure and labour relations, and advocated lower tariffs, low freight rates. On the other hand, Graham reports, the farmers, not the graziers. The farmers advocated government intervention in the market price support schemes. The graziers often politically and financially supported the Country party, which in turn made the Country party more conservative, at the 1922 election, it won enough seats to deny the Nationalists an overall majority, and was the Nationalists only realistic coalition partner. However, Page let it be known that his party would not serve under Hughes, Page then entered negotiations with the Nationalists new leader, Stanley Bruce, for a coalition government. Pages terms were stiff—five seats in a Cabinet of 11, including the Treasurer portfolio, nonetheless, Bruce readily agreed, and the Bruce-Page Ministry was formed—thus beginning the tradition of the partys leader ranking second in Coalition cabinets. The coalition was re-formed under Archie Cameron in 1940, and continued until October 1941 despite the election of Arthur Fadden as leader after the 1940 Election, Fadden was well regarded within conservative circles and proved to be a loyal deputy to Menzies in the difficult circumstances of 1941. When Menzies was forced to resign as Prime Minister, the UAP was so bereft of leadership that Fadden briefly succeeded him, however, the two independents who had been propping up the government rejected Faddens budget and brought the government down
2.
Robert Menzies
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Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, PC, QC, FAA, FRS, was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. He is Australias longest-serving prime minister, serving over 18 years in total, Menzies studied law at the University of Melbourne and became one of Melbournes leading lawyers. He was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1932 to 1934, and then transferred to federal parliament, subsequently becoming Attorney-General, in April 1939, following Lyons death, Menzies was elected leader of the United Australia Party and sworn in as prime minister. He authorised Australias entry into World War II in September 1939, on his return to Australia in August 1941, Menzies found that he had lost the support of his party and consequently resigned as prime minister. He subsequently helped to create the new Liberal Party, and was elected its leader in August 1945. At the 1949 federal election, Menzies led the Liberal–Country coalition to victory, after 1955, his government also received support from the Democratic Labor Party, a breakaway group from the Labor Party. Menzies won seven consecutive elections during his term, eventually retiring as prime minister in January 1966. Robert Gordon Menzies was born to James Menzies and Kate in Jeparit and he was the fourth of six children, with one sister and three brothers. His maternal grandfather, John Sampson, was a Cornish miner from Penzance who also came to seek his fortune on the goldfields and his father was elected to the Victorian State Parliament for the seat of Lowan in 1911 and moved with the family to Melbourne after selling the farm. His middle name, Gordon, was given to him in honour and memory of Charles George Gordon, Menziess formal education began at Humffray Street State School in Bakery Hill, Ballarat, then later at private school in Ballarat. He attended Wesley College in Melbourne and studied law at the University of Melbourne, when World War I began, Menzies was 19 years old and held a commission in the universitys militia unit. He resigned his commission at the very time others of his age and it was later stated that, since the family had made enough of a sacrifice to the war with the enlistment of two of three eligible brothers, Menzies should stay to finish his studies. Menzies himself never explained the reason why he chose not to enlist and it should be noted that the two brothers, James and Frank, who did enlist did not do so until 1915 after the landings at Anzac which belies the alleged reason. Subsequently, he was prominent in undergraduate activities and won prizes and declared himself to be a patriotic supporter of the war. In 1916 he became the editor of the Melbourne University Magazine, establishing a reputation as an unusually bright and articulate member of the undergraduate community. After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1916 with First Class Honours in Law, Menzies was admitted to the Victorian Bar and to the High Court of Australia in 1918. Establishing his own practice in Melbourne, Menzies specialised chiefly in Constitutional law which he had read with the leading Victorian jurist and future High Court judge, Sir Owen Dixon. In 1920 Menzies served as an advocate for the Amalgamated Society of Engineers which eventually took its appeal to the High Court of Australia, the case became a landmark authority for the positive reinterpretation of Commonwealth powers over those of the States
3.
Billy Hughes
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William Morris Billy Hughes, CH, QC was a British-born Australian politician who was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia, from 1915 to 1923. Born and raised in London, Hughes was the son of Welsh parents, at age 22, he immigrated to Australia and entered into politics. Over the course of his 51-year federal parliamentary career, Hughes changed parties five times and he was expelled from three parties, and represented four different electorates in two states. Originally Prime Minister as leader of the Labor Party, his support of World War I conscription in Australia led him, along with 24 other pro-conscription members, National Labor merged with the Commonwealth Liberal Party to form the Nationalist Party. His prime ministership came to an end when the Nationalist party was forced to form a coalition with the Country Party and he was the longest-serving prime minister up to that point, and the fifth longest serving over all. He would later lead the United Australia Party to the 1943 election and he died in 1952 at age 90, while still serving in Parliament. He is the member of the Australian Parliament, and one of the most colourful. William Morris Hughes was born in Pimlico, London, on 25 September 1862 to Welsh parents and his father William Hughes was Welsh-speaking and, according to the 1881 census, born in Holyhead, Anglesey, North Wales in about 1825. He was a deacon of the Particular Baptist Church and by profession a joiner and his mother was a farmers daughter from Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire and had been in service in London. Jane Morris was thirty-seven when she married and William Morris Hughes was her only child, a plaque on a guest house in Abbey Road, Llandudno bears testament to his residency. When he was 14 he returned to London and worked as a pupil teacher, in 1881, when he was 19, William lived with his father and an aunt at 78 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London. In October 1884, at the age of 22, he emigrated to Australia, working as a labourer, bush worker and he arrived in Sydney in 1886 and lived in a boarding house in Moore Park and established a common law marriage with his landladys daughter, Elizabeth Cutts. In 1890 they moved to Balmain, where he worked for Lewy Pattinsons pharmacy before he opened a small mixed shop and he was Georgist a street-corner speaker, president of the Balmain Single Tax League, and joined the Socialist League. He was an organiser with the Australian Workers Union and may have joined the newly formed Labor Party. In 1894, Hughes spent eight months in central New South Wales organising for the Amalgamated Shearers Union, while in Parliament he became secretary of the Wharf Labourers Union. In 1900 he founded and became first national president of the Waterside Workers Union, during this period Hughes studied law, and was admitted as a barrister in 1903. Unlike most Labor men, he was a supporter of Federation. In 1901 Hughes was elected to the first federal Parliament as Labor MP for West Sydney and he opposed the Barton governments proposals for a small professional army and instead advocated compulsory universal training
4.
Joseph Lyons
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Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was the tenth Prime Minister of Australia, serving from January 1932 until his death. He had earlier served as Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928, Lyons was born in Stanley, Tasmania, and was a schoolteacher and trade unionist before entering politics. He was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1909, representing the Labor Party, Lyons was elected party leader after the Labor governments defeat at the 1916 state election. He became premier in October 1923, after Walter Lee lost a no-confidence motion, elected to the Division of Wilmot at the 1929 federal election, Lyons was immediately made a minister in the new government formed by James Scullin. However, he resigned from cabinet in January 1931 over a policy dispute and he and several other Labor defectors subsequently helped to form the new United Australia Party, which elected Lyons as its leader. The UAP won government at the 1931 federal election, and was re-elected in 1934 and 1937, Lyons died of a heart attack in April 1939, becoming the first prime minister to die in office. His widow, Enid Lyons, later became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, Lyons was born in Stanley, Tasmania, the grandson of Irish immigrants. His father, Michael Lyons, was a farmer who afterwards engaged in a butchery and bakery business, but lost this on account of bad health. His mother did much to keep the family of eight children together, but with the assistance of two aunts, he was able to resume his education at the Philip Smith Teachers Training College, Hobart, and became a teacher. He also became a trade unionist and was an early member of the Australian Labor Party in Tasmania. In 1909 Lyons was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Wilmot in central Tasmania, from 1914 to 1916 he was Treasurer and Minister for Education and Railways in John Earles state Labor government. As Education Minister he oversaw a number of reforms, including abolition of fees for schools, improving teachers pay and conditions. In 1913, a participant in the Labor discussion groups, Eliza Burnell, introduced him to her 15-year-old daughter, Enid Burnell and she was a strong-minded woman who exercised great influence over Lyons, while raising their eleven children. When the ALP split over conscription during the First World War in 1916, Earle, like most Australians of Irish Catholic background, Lyons was an anti-conscriptionist and stayed in the Labor Party, becoming its new leader in Tasmania. He led the Labor opposition in the Tasmanian Parliament until 1923 when he became Premier and he held office until 1928, also serving as Treasurer during the whole period of his premiership. Lyons government was cautious and pragmatic, establishing relations with business and the conservative government in Canberra. Labor narrowly lost the 1928 state election to the Nationalist Party, at the 1929 election, Lyons ran for the federal seat of Wilmot, covering the same territory as his state seat. He was swept into office in Labors landslide victory under James Scullin and he was appointed Postmaster-General and Minister for Works and Railways
5.
Parliament of Australia
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It consists of three elements, the Queen of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General, through both Houses, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster System. The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members, twelve for each state, Senators are elected using the single transferable vote proportional representation system and as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and this tends to lead to the chamber being dominated by two major parties, the Liberal/National Coalition and the Labor Party. The government of the day must achieve the confidence of this House in order to gain and remain in power, although elections can be called early, each 3 years the full House of Representatives and half of the Senate is dissolved and goes up for reelection. The two Houses meet in separate chambers of Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on 1 January 1901 with the federation of the six Australian colonies. The inaugural election took place on 29 and 30 March and the first Australian Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in Melbourne by Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V. The only building in Melbourne that was enough to accommodate the 14,000 guests was the western annexe of the Royal Exhibition Building. After the official opening, from 1901 to 1927, the Parliament met in Parliament House, Melbourne and it had always been intended that the national Parliament would sit in a new national capital. This was a compromise at Federation due to the rivalry between the two largest Australian cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which wished to become the new capital. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the capital city in 1908. A competition was announced on 30 June 1914 to design Parliament House, however, due to the start of World War I the next month, the competition was cancelled. It was re-announced in August 1916, but again postponed indefinitely on 24 November 1916, in the meantime, John Smith Murdoch, the Commonwealths Chief Architect, worked on the design as part of his official duties. He had little enthusiasm for the project, as he felt it was a waste of money. Nevertheless, he designed the building by default, the construction of Old Parliament House, as it is called today, was commenced on 28 August 1923 and completed in early 1927. It was built by the Commonwealth Department of Works, using tradesmen, the final cost was about £600,000, which was more than three times the original estimate. It was designed to house the parliament for a maximum of 50 years until a permanent facility could be built, the building was opened on 9 May 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York. The opening ceremonies were both splendid and incongruous, given the sparsely built nature of Canberra of the time and its small population, the building was extensively decorated with British Empire and Australian flags and bunting
6.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
7.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
8.
Soldier settlement (Australia)
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Soldier settlement refers to the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under schemes administered by the state governments after World Wars I and II. Such settlement plans initially began during World War I, with South Australia first enacting legislation in 1915, the meeting agreed that it was the Commonwealth Governments role to select and acquire land whilst the State government authorities would process applications and grant land allotments. Crown land was used where possible, but much land was acquired, by 1924, just over 24 million acres had been acquired or allocated. Of this nearly 6.3 million acres was purchased and 18 million acres was crown land set aside,23.2 million acres had been allotted 23,367 farms across Australia. The States also wished to take a role in recognising the contribution of soldiers. In most cases Crown land was set apart for returning soldiers who in order to buy or lease such a block were required to be certified as qualified and to remain in residence on that land for 5 years. In this way rural areas set aside for such settlement were guaranteed a population expansion which remained to increase infrastructure in the area. These initial land allotments resulted in triumph for some and despair for others, Soldiers were informed of the availability of the scheme via the media and in the material provided in both recruitment packages and general information forwarded to men serving overseas. The Returned Services League lobbied the government to open up more land for returned soldiers at Loxton. Settlement schemes after World War II also led to the establishment of the new towns of Parndana on Kangaroo Island, irrigation schemes that eventually arrived saw the advent of the productive orchard and vineyard concerns that became so important to the overall region as it exists today. The State Government of New South introduced the Returned Soldiers Settlement Act,1916 shortly after the combined Commonwealth, in the period October 1917 – June 1917, twelve soldier settlement projects were commenced. Projects areas included Bankstown and Seven Hills in the metropolitan area and rural Glen Innes, Hillston. Industries commenced included poultry, horticulture, pig, fruit, New South Wales also repeated the process following World War II with settlements commencing in areas including Dareton. The Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act of 1917 established the scheme, between 1918 and 1934,11,639 returned servicemen were allocated blocks under the soldier settlement scheme. Most settled in the Mallee, South Gippsland, the Western District, during the 1920s soldier settlers struggled and of those allocated blocks under the scheme, only sixty-one per cent were on blocks in 1934. By 1939 60% had left their blocks, the scheme was criticised by a Victorian Royal Commission in 1925 and a later Commonwealth inquiry. It was also claimed that soldiers were allocated blocks of land without having established their ability to manage a farm. The soldier settler scheme in Red Cliffs, Victoria was very successful, after World War II, the Soldier Settlement Scheme was refined in the light of past failures
9.
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
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The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The office of Deputy Prime Minister was created as a portfolio in 1968. The Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister, the current Deputy Prime Minister of Australia since 18 February 2016 is Barnaby Joyce. He is the National Party leader in the Parliament of Australia and they are the junior party in a coalition with the Liberal Party of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia and Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull. Originally the position of deputy Prime Minister was an unofficial or honorary position, the unofficial position acquired more significance following the 1922 federal election, which saw the governing Nationalist Party lose its parliamentary majority. While Pages only official title was Treasurer, he was considered as a deputy to Bruce, until 1968 the term was used unofficially for the second-highest ranking minister in the government, especially while the Coalition was in government. Under the Coalition agreement between the Liberals and Country Party, when in government, the position was held by the leader of the Country Party and that continues to be case when the Coalition is in government. In the case of Labor governments, the deputy leader was. McEwen was sworn in as Prime Minister on the understanding that his commission would continue only so long as it took for the Liberals to elect a new leader, the Liberal leadership ballot was rescheduled for 9 January 1968. As it turned out, McMahon did not stand, and Senator John Gorton was elected, McEwen reverted to his previous status as the second-ranking member of the government, as per the Coalition agreement. Since 1968 only two Deputy Prime Ministers have gone on to become Prime Minister, Paul Keating and Julia Gillard, in November 2007, when the Australian Labor Party won government, Julia Gillard became Australias first female, and first foreign-born, Deputy Prime Minister. In practice, only National party leaders or Labor Party deputy leaders have held the position, the duties of the Deputy Prime Minister are to act on behalf of the Prime Minister in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The Deputy Prime Minister has always been a member of the Cabinet and this has not occurred since the office was created as a portfolio in 1968. The most recent former deputy minister to die was Lionel Bowen. The official site of the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
10.
First Australian Imperial Force
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The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed on 15 August 1914, following Britains declaration of war on Germany, initially with a strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, being reinforced by a second division which was later raised. After being evacuated to Egypt the AIF was expanded to five infantry divisions, a sixth infantry division was partially raised in 1917 in the United Kingdom, but was broken up and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties on the Western Front. Meanwhile, two mounted divisions remained in the Middle East to fight against Turkish forces in the Sinai and Palestine. An all volunteer force, by the end of the war the AIF had gained a reputation as being a well-trained and highly effective military force, however, this reputation came at a heavy cost with a casualty rate among the highest of any belligerent for the war. After the war, the AFC evolved into the Royal Australian Air Force, after the war the achievements of the AIF and its soldiers, known colloquially as Diggers, became central to the national mythology of the Anzac legend. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is referred to as the 1st AIF to it distinguish from the Second Australian Imperial Force raised during World War II. At the start of the war, Australias military forces were focused upon the part-time Militia, the small number of regular personnel were mostly artillerymen or engineers, and were generally assigned to the task of coastal defence. The Australian government pledged to supply 20,000 men organised as one division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units. Officially coming into being on 15 August 1914, the word imperial was chosen to reflect the duty of Australians to both nation and empire, the AIF was initially intended for service in Europe. Meanwhile, a separate 2, 000-man force—known as the Australian Naval, in addition, small military forces were maintained in Australia to defend the country from attack. Upon formation, the AIF consisted of one infantry division, the 1st Division. The 1st Light Horse Brigade was commanded by Colonel Harry Chauvel, the initial response for recruits was so good that in September 1914 the decision was made to raise the 4th Infantry Brigade and 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades. The 4th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Colonel John Monash, a prominent Melbourne civil engineer, the AIF continued to grow through the war, eventually numbering five infantry divisions, two mounted divisions and a mixture of other units. As the AIF operated within the British war effort, its units were organised along the same lines as comparable British Army formations. However, there were small differences between the structures of British and Australian units, especially in regards to the AIF infantry divisions support units. Hastily deployed, the first contingent of AIF was essentially untrained and suffered from widespread equipment shortages, in early 1915 the AIF was largely an inexperienced force, with only a small percentage of its members having previous combat experience
11.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
12.
Australian House of Representatives
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The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Australia. It is referred to as the house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house. The House is almost always dissolved earlier, usually alone but sometimes in a double dissolution of both Houses, a member of the House may be referred to as a Member of Parliament, while a member of the Senate is usually referred to as a Senator. The government of the day and by extension the Prime Minister must achieve, the House of Representatives currently consists of 150 members, elected by and representing single member districts, known as electoral divisions. The number of members is not fixed, but can vary with boundary changes resulting from electoral redistributions, the most recent overall increase in the size of the House, which came into effect at the 1984 election, increased the number of members from 125 to 148. It reduced to 147 at the 1993 election, returned to 148 at the 1996 election, each division elects one member using full-preference Instant-runoff voting. This was put in place after the 1918 Swan by-election, which Labor unexpectedly won with the largest primary vote, the Nationalist government of the time changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting, effective from the 1919 general election. This system has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the House of Representatives as part of the new system of dominion government in newly federated Australia. The House is presided over by the Speaker, Members of the House are elected from single member electorates. One vote one value legislation requires all electorates to have approximately the number of voters with a maximum 10% variation. However, the quota for the number of voters in an electorate is determined by the number of voters in the state in which that electorate is found. Meanwhile, all the states except Tasmania have electorates approximately within the same 10% tolerance, voting is by the preferential system, also known as instant-runoff voting. A full allocation of preferences is required for a vote to be considered formal and this allows for a calculation of the two-party-preferred vote. Under Section 24 of the Constitution, each state is entitled to members based on a quota determined from the latest statistics of the Commonwealth. These statistics arise from the census conducted under the auspices of section 51, the parliamentary entitlement of a state or territory is established by the Electoral Commissioner dividing the number of the people of the Commonwealth by twice the number of Senators. This is known as the Nexus Provision, the reasons for this are twofold, to maintain a constant influence for the smaller states and to maintain a constant balance of the two Houses in case of a joint sitting after a double dissolution. The population of state and territory is then divided by this quota to determine the number of members to which each state. Under the Australian Constitution all original states are guaranteed at least five members, the Federal Parliament itself has decided that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should have at least one member each
