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languages of Eastern Australia. In the 1971 census 85.9 per cent of the population acknowledged the Christian faith, 0.77 per cent were non-Christians and the balance were either indefinite, had no religion or made no reply. Primary education is available free throughout Australia. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14-16 years; the permissible school-leaving age varies slightly between State and State. Education, except in the Territories, is controlled by the State Governments. In addition to the free Government schools, there are church and private schools, most of which charge fees. There are special schools, Government and non-Government, for the handicapped. Secondary education throughout Australia is extensive, covering a period of five to six years (again varying between the States) and including High (Grammar) and Technical schools to University entrance, plus numerous specialist schools and colleges in such particular fields as business and commerce, agriculture and home science. University and other tertiary education, including post-graduate institutions, is also extensive. Illiteracy is virtually non-existent in Australia, except for a minute percentage of persons so handicapped as to be not educable. Some newly arrived immigrants know little English, but literacy in their own language is one of the requirements for entry to the country. A special education system helps them adjust to the new language.

There are about 34 ports of commercial significance in Australia, the principal being associated with State capital cities and industrial centres. Details of cargo tonnage discharged and shipped may be found in Chapter 12 of the Year Book of Australia. The principal shipping companies are: The Australian National Line, the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, the Associated Steamships Pty. Ltd., the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd., The State Shipping Service of Western Australia, Ampol Petroleum Ltd. and Bulkships Limited.

There are major airports at, or near, all capital cities and most of the larger cities and towns. All capital city airports cater for inter-state and intra-state services. The armed services-Navy, Army and Air Force-maintain their own bases, catering for their special needs but at Darwin and Canberra share the airport with civil users. Twenty-two international airlines operate regular services to and from Australia. At June 1973 there were 467 licensed civil airports. The principal airports, with length of main runway in feet and distance from the centre of the city in miles are Sydney 13,000 (5); Melbourne (Tullamarine) 12,000 (14); Melbourne (Essendon-general aviation) 6,300 (8); Brisbane 7,760 (4); Perth 10,310 (6.5); Darwin 11,000 (3.5); Adelaide 8,000 (4); Canberra 8,800 (4); Hobart 6,500 (10). Australia's international airline is QANTAS Airways Ltd., which is based in Sydney and operates services over 144,624 unduplicated route miles linking 41 cities in 33 countries. Over 30 airlines operate inter-State, intra-State and feeder services throughout Australia. The two major domestic airlines which operate in direct competition over the main trunk routes are transAustralia Airlines (TAA) which is owned and operated by the Australian National Airlines Commission, a statutory body formed for the purpose by the Federal Government, and Ansett Airlines of Australia, the major airline subsidiary of Ansett Transport Industries Ltd. (ATI), a multi-company organisation engaged in road and air travel, hotels and motels, tourism, manufacturing and television. TAA operates a fleet of about 40 aircraft in Australia and Papua-New Guinea over an unduplicated route network of 12,765 miles and carries nearly three million passangers per year. The ATI airline group consists of six airlines

with a fleet of about 60 aircraft which cover approximately 42,692 unduplicated route miles and carries over 34 million passengers a year. East-West Airlines Ltd. operates a fleet of 8 aircraft over a network of 3,115 unduplicated miles carrying about 350,000 passengers. Connair Pty. Ltd., which operates 12 aircraft over a route network of 10,631 unduplicated miles throughout the Northern Territory, carries over 20,000 passengers per year.

Australia has 549,476 miles of highways and roads open for general traffic. Road transport, freight and passenger, is a major industry. Apart from the freight and passenger carrying services, Australian highways and roads carry a heavy traffic of private automobiles: the ratio of automobiles to population is approximately 1:3.

At the end of June 1974 there were 82 national radio stations transmitting the programmes of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in the medium wave band, together with eight short wave transmitters providing this service in remote areas, and 118 commercial radio stations. Television stations numbered 101, made up of 53 national transmitters and 48 commercial stations.

A wide range of primary and secondary industry products is produced in Australia. The main primary products are wool, wheat and flour, meat, dairy products, sugar, fruit and a number of minerals including lead, zinc, copper, coal, iron ore, gold and bauxite. Secondary industry production is diverse and includes engineering products, motor vehicles, chemicals, textiles, domestic appliances, newsprint and petroleum products.

Total expenditure of the Federal Government in 1973/74 was $12,295m. and receipts were $12,002m. Consolidated Revenue Funds of the States for 1973/74 totalled revenue $5,508.0 and expenditure $5.541.0m.

Australia has constantly under way a programme of major development works. One of these, the $800m. Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in southern New South Wales, is now completed and provides about 6,800,000 acre feet of storage in 15 large dams with 100 miles of tunnels, more than 80 miles of aqueducts and seven power stations in addition to making 2,000,000 acre feet of irrigation water available each year. The capacity of the Snowy Hydro-electric Scheme is 3,740,000 Kw. Some of the largest single development projects under construction are the Wallerawong and Liddell power stations in New South Wales, the Yallourn 'W' power station in Victoria, the Gladstone power station in Queensland, the Eastern Suburbs Railway Station in Sydney, the underground rail loop in Melbourne, and the Shoalhaven River water supply scheme.

Australia Day, 26th January, commemorates the landing and commencement of settlement at Sydney Cove by Governor Philip on 26th January 1788. It is celebrated as a public holiday throughout Australia. For other details of the early history of the settlement of Australia see earlier editions of the Year Book of the Commonwealth or the Year Book of Australia.

CONSTITUTION

THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution, which was enacted by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (U.K.), established a Federal Parliament called the Parliament of the Commonwealth, consisting of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives. A Governor-General appointed

by the Queen is Her Majesty's representative in the Commonwealth. The Constitution requires that a session of the Parliament be held once at least in every year. In 1974 the Queen was pleased to adopt in Australia the style and title of Queen of Australia.

THE SENATE

The Senate is composed of an equal number of senators for each of the six States of the Commonwealth, it having been the intention of the framers of the Constitution that the Senate should be both a States' House and a House of Review. Although originally there were thirty-six senators, this number has been increased to the present number of sixty (ten from each State) in pursuance of the Parliament's power under the Constitution to increase or diminish the number of senators for each State, but so that equal representation of the original States is maintained and no original State has less than six senators. The Senate is presided over by the President who is chosen by the senators from their own members. Senators are chosen for a term of six years. The places of one half of the Senators become vacant every three years. Immediately prior to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1948 the method of electing senators was in general the 'preferential block majority system' under which as a general rule all seats in any one State went to the party or combination of parties favoured at the time by a simple majority of the electors, leaving the minority without any representation at all in the Senate. The 1948 Act altered the system of Senate elections to one of proportional representation. The franchise for the election of senators is on the basis of adult suffrage, subject to electors being British subjects and having lived in Australia continuously for six months.

Where the place of a senator becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of office, the House or Houses of Parliament for the State for which he was chosen, sitting and voting together may choose a person to hold the place until either the expiration of the term, the next general election of the House of Representatives or the next election of senators of the State, whichever event first happens, at which time a senator is elected to hold the senate place until the expiration of the term.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives is at present composed of 127 members, and, although the number of members may be increased or decreased by the Parliament, such changes must comply with the requirement that the number of members shall, as nearly as practicable, be twice the number of senators. Unlike the Senate, which has equal representation for each State, the number of members of the House of Representatives chosen in the respective States is required to be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people, subject to certain guaranteed numbers of members from original States. The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker who is chosen by the members from their own numbers. Every House of Representatives continues for three years from the first meeting of the House, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for electoral Divisions on a preferential voting system by adult British subjects who have lived in Australia for at least six months.

A casual vacancy occurring in the House of Representatives is filled by by-election, the member so returned holding his place until the expiration or prior dissolution of that House of Representatives. Voting is compulsory in elections for both Houses of Parliament.

QUALIFICATIONS OF SENATORS AND MEMBERS

To qualify for election as a member of the Senate or House of Representatives a person must be a British subject of the full age of twenty-one years, be an elector entitled to vote at the election of members of the House of Representatives, or a person qualified to become such an elector, and have been for three years at least a resident within the limits of the Commonwealth of Australia as existing at the time he is chosen. A member of either House of Parliament is incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a member of the other House.

POWERS OF THE PARLIAMENT

The Constitution confers on the Parliament two classes of powers; those in respect of which the Parliament alone has power to legislate, i.e. exclusive powers, and those in respect of which the States retain power to legislate concurrently, i.e. concurrent powers. When a concurrent State law is inconsistent with a Commonwealth law, the Commonwealth law prevails and the State law is, to the extent of the inconsistency, invalid.

The matters in respect of which the Constitution expressly provides that the Parliament has exclusive power include the seat of Government of the Commonwealth and all places acquired by the Commonwealth for public purposes, the departments of the Commonwealth Public Service, the imposition of duties of customs and excise and, subject to limited exceptions, the granting of bounties on the production or export of goods.

The concurrent powers given to the Parliament include the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth in respect of international and inter-State trade and commerce, taxation, defence, banking and insurance (other than State banking and State insurance), industrial property, immigration and emigration, aliens and naturalisation, marriage, divorce and matrimonial causes, social services, external affairs and conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State.

With certain exceptions, proposed laws may originate in either House which, for most purposes, have equal power in respect of all proposed laws. Proposed laws appropriating revenue or money or imposing taxation, however, may originate only in the House of Representatives and the Senate may not amend proposed laws imposing taxation or appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government. Such proposed laws may deal only with appropriation of revenue or with the imposition of taxation as the case may be and laws imposing taxation, except those imposing duties of customs or of excise, may deal with one subject of taxation only. The Senate may not amend any proposed law so as to increase any proposed charge or burden on the people but may, at any stage, return to the House of Representatives a proposed law that the Senate is not permitted to amend, requesting the omission or amendment of any item or provision therein. In such event the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make any such omission or amendments, with or without modifications.

If a deadlock between the Senate and the House of Representatives occurs over a proposed law passed by the House of Representatives and if, after three months from the disagreement, the House of Representatives again passes the proposed law and the Houses again fail to agree, the Governor-General may dissolve both Houses immediately. If, after the double dissolution, the House of Representatives again passes the proposed law and a deadlock again occurs, the Governor-General may convene a joint sitting of Members and Senators and if the proposed law is passed by an absolute majority of Members and Senators sitting together it shall be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses. The first ever joint sitting took place in August 1974 following the double dissolution of the previous May.

When a proposed law has been passed by both Houses, it is presented to the Governor-General who is empowered to assent to the bill in the Queen's name, withhold assent or reserve the law for the Queen's pleasure. Additionally, the Queen is empowered to disallow any law within one year from the GovernorGeneral's assent.

THE EXECUTIVE POWER

The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercised by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative. In the Government of the Commonwealth, the Governor-General is advised by the Federal Executive Council, the members of which are appointed by him. By constitutional convention the Governor-General summons to meetings of the Executive Council only such members of the Council as are Ministers of State of the Government of the day. All Ministers of State, of which there are at present 26, are required to be members of the Executive Council.

THE JUDICIAL POWER

The judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested in the federal courts, namely, the High Court of Australia, the Commonwealth Industrial Court, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the Federal Court of Bankruptcy and in certain courts of the States and Territories when exercising federal jurisdiction conferred upon them by Commonwealth law.

The High Court of Australia, which is the federal supreme court, consists of the Chief Justice and six other justices all of whom are, in common with justices of the Commonwealth Industrial Court, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the Federal Court of Bankruptcy, appointed by the Governor-General in Council and are removable by the GovernorGeneral in Council only on an address by both Houses of the Parliament on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

The High Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. The Constitution confers original jurisdiction on the High Court in respect of matters (1) arising under any treaty, (2) affecting consuls or other representatives of other countries, (3) in which the Commonwealth is a party, (4) between States, or between residents of different States, or between a State and a resident of another State and (5) in which a writ of Mandamus or prohibition or an injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth. In addition, the Parliament is empowered to make laws conferring original jurisdiction on the High Court in any matter (1) arising under the Constitution, or involving its interpretation, (2) arising under any laws made by the Parliament, (3) of Admiralty and maritime

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