Political parties and leaders: government—Australian Labor Party, Robert Hawke; opposition—Liberal Party, Andrew Peacock; National Party, Charles Blunt; Australian Democratic Party, Janine Haines
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections: Senate—last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by 12 May 1990); results—Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%, independents 2%; seats—(76 total); Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian Democrats 7, independents 3;
House of Representatives—last held 24 March 1990 (next to be held by November 1993); results—Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats and independents 11.1%; seats—(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1
Communists: 4,000 members (est.)
Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
Member of: ADB, AIOEC, ANZUS, CCC, CIPEC (associate), Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, DAC, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, OECD, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco; US Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San Francisco 6404); telephone [61] (62) 705000; there are US Consulates General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars
Economy
Overview: Australia has a prosperous
Western-style capitalist economy, with a
per capita GNP comparable to levels in
industrialized West European countries.
Rich in natural resources, Australia is a
major exporter of agricultural products,
minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Of the
top 25 exports, 21 are primary products,
so that, as happened during 1983-84, a
downturn in world commodity prices can
have a big impact on the economy. The
government is pushing for increased
exports of manufactured goods but competition
in international markets will be
severe.
GNP: $240.8 billion, per capita $14,300; real growth rate 4.1% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 6.0% (December 1989)
Budget: revenues $76.3 billion; expenditures $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY90 est.)
Exports: $43.2 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities—wheat, barley, beef, lamb, dairy products, wool, coal, iron ore; partners—Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%, USSR 3%
Imports: $48.6 billion (c.i.f., FY89); commodities—manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods; partners—US 22%, Japan 22%, UK 7%, FRG 6%, NZ 4% (1984)
External debt: $111.6 billion (September 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (FY88)
Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 139,000 million kWh produced, 8,450 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops—wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock—cattle, sheep, poultry
Aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $8.8 billion
Currency: Australian dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.2784 (January 1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905(1986), 1.4269(1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km
1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km
1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual gauge;
1,130 km electrified; government owned
(except for a few hundred kilometers of
privately owned track) (1985)
Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas, 5,600 km
Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,300,049 GRT/3,493,802 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 7 cargo, 5 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 livestock carrier, 29 bulk
Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
Airports: 564 total, 524 usable; 235 with permanent-surface runways, 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 311 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7 million telephones; stations—258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service; satellite stations—4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Australian Navy, Australian
Army, Royal Australian Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,588,750; 4,009,127 fit for military service; 136,042 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
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