orm name: Commonwealth of Australia

Type: federal parliamentary state

Capital: Canberra

Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland,
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald
Islands, Norfolk Island

Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29 January 1990

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952),
represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since
11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)

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, I