111-577: The Gair Affair was an episode in Australian political life in 1974, during the government led by the Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam . Whitlam offered the post of Ambassador to Ireland to a non-government senator from Queensland , Vince Gair , in the hope that this would improve Labor's chance of gaining a majority in the Senate at the forthcoming general election . Whitlam's plan
222-479: A Mediterranean climate . The south-east ranges from oceanic (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring alpine and subpolar oceanic climates . The interior is arid to semi-arid . Driven by climate change , average temperatures have risen more than 1°C since 1960 . Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and bushfires . 2019
333-511: A belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Mitchell Grass Downs and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical Cape York Peninsula . The landscapes of the Top End and
444-485: A double dissolution , the election for both houses to be held on the already announced date of 18 May 1974 . The Parliament was dissolved on 11 April. In his valedictory remarks, Sir Magnus Cormack described it as the most turbulent Senate since Federation. According to the official record of the Senate, Vince Gair remained a senator until 11 April 1974, at which time he retired. At the election, all five Senate seats held by
555-793: A large wave of immigration from across Europe , with such immigrants referred to as " New Australians ". This required a relaxation of the white Australia policy , which was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish". A member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War , Australia participated in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by
666-540: A casual vacancy serve the remainder of the original senator's term, in 1973 the appointed senator's term only lasted until the next Senate or House election. In a normal half-Senate election, the ALP could expect to win 2 of the 5 seats in Queensland. However, if 6 seats were up for election, the ALP could expect to win 3, and this would give it the bare majority it needed in the Senate to guarantee passage of future legislation. Gair
777-461: A date which later became Australia's national day . Most early settlers were convicts , transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once emancipated , convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law, which lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion , Australia's only successful coup d'état . During
888-501: A hand in arranging this; he was a teetotaller, but had no scruples about arranging for others to use alcohol to further his political goals. But Gair also had to appear in the Senate chamber and vote where necessary; the Opposition was aware the government would likely claim he had effectively resigned in March when his appointment as Ambassador was approved, as this was an office of profit under
999-522: A legal opinion supporting the government's position to be provided by the Solicitor-General of Australia , Maurice Byers , which was read out to the Senate. The matter was also extensively canvassed in the House of Representatives during this period. In the evening of 10 April the whole matter became academic when Gough Whitlam advised the House of Representatives that Governor-General Hasluck had agreed to
1110-612: A new term (1971–1977). In 1973, by which time the DLP's Senate numbers had risen to five, internal issues caused Gair to resign as leader of the party from 10 October, with McManus taking over. He had first intimated in January 1973 that he would resign as leader, but vacillated until October, when Frank McManus offered him the choice of immediate resignation or being removed by his colleagues. Gair announced at that time that his current term as senator would be his last. In March 1974 he also complained to
1221-582: A process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986. Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories . Its population of more than 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Canberra
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#17328384527961332-574: A prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years. McManus was born in North Melbourne , into a working-class family of Irish Catholic background. He was one of three boys to Patrick, a wagon driver and Gertrude his wife. He was educated at Christian Brothers schools, including St Mary's Primary School, West Melbourne , St. Joseph's, CBC North Melbourne (1918–1922), and St Kevin's College, Melbourne . Following his secondary schooling, and with
1443-568: A settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ), and in 1813, Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement. The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major Edmund Lockyer established a settlement on King George Sound (modern-day Albany ). The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth )
1554-495: A short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Mount Augustus , claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak , at 2,745 m (9,006 ft), on the remote Australian external territory of Heard Island , and, in
1665-484: A wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast . The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period . By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had the oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of
1776-411: A wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre. The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density
1887-565: A winnable Senate spot. But this joint ticket did not eventuate, and all the DLP Senators lost their seats, McManus polling only 6.4 percent in Victoria. McManus ran for the Senate again at the 1975 election following the fall of the Whitlam government, but was not elected, his vote falling to 5.8 percent. In 1976 he resigned as leader and the party was wound up in 1978. He was made a Companion of
1998-436: Is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne. In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland. Forest cover is around 17% of Australia's total land area. The Great Barrier Reef , the world's largest coral reef, lies
2109-413: Is a constitutional monarchy , a parliamentary democracy and a federation . The country has maintained its mostly unchanged constitution alongside a stable liberal democratic political system since Federation in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Australian system of government combines elements derived from
2220-478: Is governed by convention and their precise scope is unclear. The most notable exercise of these powers was the dismissal of the Whitlam government in the constitutional crisis of 1975 . Frank McManus (Australian politician) Francis Patrick Vincent McManus CMG (27 February 1905 – 28 December 1983), Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and
2331-569: Is now Southeast Asia. It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains , which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australian culture
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#17328384527962442-557: Is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth. Having been part of all major supercontinents , the Australian continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian , with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in
2553-460: Is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. At the time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups . Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million. Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with
2664-446: Is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne , both with a population of more than 5 million. Australia's culture is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world . It has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally . Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to
2775-411: Is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds , and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic . Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world. Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in
2886-551: The 1955 federal election as an ALP (Anti-Communist) candidate, whose ticket polled 17.8 percent of the vote in Victoria. He was defeated in 1961 , but re-elected in 1964 , and again in 1970 . At the 1970 election, campaigning on the slogan "Vote Mac Back", he polled 19.1 percent, the DLP's best-ever result. In the Senate, the DLP had between one and five Senators between 1955 and 1974, led first by George Cole of Tasmania and then by Vince Gair of Queensland , with McManus as Deputy Leader. The DLP gave critical support to
2997-611: The 1972 election , Gough Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to its first success at the federal level in 23 years. Although another election for the House of Representatives was not due until early 1976, an election for half the Senate was required earlier. Normally, these elections are held on the same day, but they had become out of synchronisation in 1963 due to the then Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies calling an early House election . Between 1963 and 1972, elections for
3108-731: The Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name. The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office . Colloquial names for Australia include " Oz ", " Straya " and " Down Under ". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from
3219-648: The Governor of Queensland , Sir Colin Hannah , was consulted about the matter, as it was his sole prerogative under the Constitution to issue writs for Senate elections, albeit always acting on advice from the premier of the day. NCP Queensland Senator Ron Maunsell entertained Vince Gair and other senators in his office, plying him with drinks and prawns he regularly brought all the way from his home in Townsville. Ian Wood also had
3330-579: The Gulf Country —with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley , and below that the Pilbara . The Victoria Plains tropical savanna lies south of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts. At
3441-542: The Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , which is correlated with periodic drought , and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ( monsoon ). The south-west corner of the country has
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3552-529: The Iraq War from 2003 to 2009. The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , several of Australia's largest cities were locked down for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow
3663-531: The Liberal governments of Robert Menzies and his successors, pressing them to adopt more militantly anti-communist policies both domestically and internationally, particularly on issues such as the Vietnam War and the recognition of the People's Republic of China believing there was a real threat from communist domination. They also supported conservative Catholic views on social issues. On some issues, such as pensions,
3774-638: The Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia , and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. As a result of a 1967 referendum , the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the census . Pre-colonial land interests (referred to as native title in Australia) was recognised in law for
3885-755: The Pacific Community ; the Commonwealth of Nations ; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS , AUKUS , and the Five Eyes . It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə / in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ( ' southern land ' ), a name used for a hypothetical continent in
3996-520: The Permian and continuing through to the Cretaceous . When the last glacial period ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed Bass Strait , separating Tasmania from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the Aru Islands , and the mainland of Australia. The Australian continent is moving toward Eurasia at
4107-663: The Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975. In 1914, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front . Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as
4218-514: The Torres Strait Islands . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made, a number of shipwrecks left men either stranded or, as in the case of the Batavia in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit
4329-621: The bombing of Darwin and other Japanese attacks on Australian soil , led to a widespread belief in Australia that a Japanese invasion was imminent , and a shift from the United Kingdom to the United States as Australia's principal ally and security partner. Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the ANZUS treaty. In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. Governments encouraged
4440-426: The emu and the kookaburra . Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE . Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna ; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them
4551-529: The governor-general at the federal level and by the governors at the state level, who by section 63 of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers. Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise reserve powers : powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised
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4662-643: The "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity . The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day , a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the Second World War. Australia's armed forces fought in the Pacific , European and Mediterranean and Middle East theatres . The shock of Britain's defeat in Singapore in 1942, followed soon after by
4773-575: The "island continent" and is sometimes considered the world's largest island . Australia has 34,218 km (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south , and longitudes 112° and 154° east . Australia's size gives it
4884-428: The 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species. Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the dingo to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age—perhaps 4000 years ago—and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of thylacines on
4995-524: The 1964 book of the same name ), "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar 's 1908 poem " My Country ". Indigenous Australians comprise two broad groups: Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what
5106-529: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index . There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals. Paleontologists discovered a fossil site of a prehistoric rainforest in McGraths Flat , in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid desert and dry shrubland / grassland was once home to an abundance of life. Australia
5217-440: The ALP senator Justin O'Byrne that the DLP had treated him shabbily. He said he was thinking of leaving the Senate earlier than 1977, and suggested that he would consider accepting a diplomatic post should the government be minded to offer him one. O'Byrne repeated this conversation to his Senate Leader Lionel Murphy , who devised a plan to use Gair's disgruntlement to the ALP's advantage, which he talked over with Whitlam. The plan
5328-635: The Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies , at 3,492 m (11,457 ft) and 3,355 m (11,007 ft) respectively. Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in height. The coastal uplands and
5439-545: The Australian mainland. 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, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated
5550-590: The DLP supported the Liberal leader, Billy Snedden , in threatening to block the Whitlam government's budget bills in the Senate. When Whitlam responded by immediately calling an election for both the House and Senate (a double dissolution ), McManus informed the Victorian Central Executive that Billy Snedden had agreed to the Liberals running a joint Senate ticket with the DLP, which would have guaranteed him
5661-488: The DLP supported traditional Labor policies. In 1973, following the election of the Whitlam Labor government, Gair was forced out as DLP Leader and was succeeded by McManus, who at 68 was only three years younger than Gair. The election of Whitlam had robbed the DLP of most of its influence, and Gair's acceptance of the post of Ambassador to Ireland from Whitlam split the party and caused a collapse in its support. In 1974
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#17328384527965772-470: The DLP were lost, and that was the effective end of the party as a viable force in Australian politics. The party was wound up in 1978. The ALP was returned with a reduced majority of five in the lower house, and it remained without a majority in the Senate. The six twice-rejected bills were introduced again, and rejected a third time, but they were all finally passed at the historic joint sitting in August . One of
5883-526: The Governor-General and the state governors. The ALP's plan was that Gair would tender his resignation to the President of the Senate , Sir Magnus Cormack , on 2 April, when the Senate returned after a break, well before the writs were expected to be issued for the election, but for it to remain a strictly confidential matter until then. On the morning of 2 April, The Sun News-Pictorial newspaper broke
5994-726: The High Court. The Leader of the National Country Party (NCP), Doug Anthony , denounced the appointment as a cynical buying-off exercise. He was aware that the timing was crucial, and he phoned the NCP Premier of Queensland , Joh Bjelke-Petersen , urging him to have the writs for the Queensland Senate seats issued immediately before Gair had a chance to see Cormack and resign. Senator Ian Wood also contacted Bjelke-Petersen along similar lines. But Gair had to be kept at bay while
6105-446: The House of Representatives with a 9-seat majority, it was 5 seats short of a majority in the Senate. Consequently, Labor faced constant opposition in getting its legislation through the parliament. By March 1974, a number of bills had been twice rejected by the Senate, which gave Whitlam the capacity to call a double dissolution , in which the entire parliament would be up for election. If the government were returned, it could reintroduce
6216-410: The Long Prawns" thanks to a newspaper headline in The Australian of 4 April, to an article written by Bob Baudino . On 3 April, Vince Gair was expelled from the party of which he had been leader until just over four months earlier. At this time he said to his erstwhile DLP colleagues, "I've carried you, bastards, for years, and now you can all go to buggery!" In the afternoon of 3 April, Gair
6327-414: The Republic of Ireland. I endeavoured to communicate this to you personally yesterday and to inform you of my position, but regrettably you were unavailable when I sought to see you. My appointment was approved by the Governor-General on 14 March 1974, with my knowledge and consent. I was informed on 20 March that the Government of Ireland had communicated its agreement to my appointment. As you are aware,
6438-408: The Senate and House of Representatives were held separately. The last half-Senate election was held on 21 November 1970, senators' terms commencing on 1 July 1971. Another half-Senate election had to be held in time for senators to commence their terms on 1 July 1974. Such an election could have been called for any time from early August 1973, but Whitlam was in no hurry. Although Labor controlled
6549-411: The Senate and the many friends I made during my nine years here. I would like to personally thank you for our association in that period first as Senate colleagues and later under your Presidency. Yours faithfully V.C.Gair The Senate President was unsure whether this letter amounted to a resignation; or whether Gair's seat had become vacant at all; and if it did, from when - so he put the question to
6660-421: The Senate for their consideration. The ALP argued that Gair had ceased to be a senator on either 14 March (when the Executive Council approved the ambassadorship) or 20 March (when the Irish Government accepted his appointment), but in any case well before the issue of the writs on 2 April. Opposition senators questioned why the Government did not alert the Senate to the presence of a stranger in its midst as soon as
6771-586: The Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia. When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland , a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland ) and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. The name Australia
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#17328384527966882-406: The Victorian Branch and Santamaria's "Movement" for the defeat, causing a split in the Branch between pro- and anti-Evatt factions which eventually split the whole party. McManus along with hundreds of other "Groupers" was expelled from Labor. They formed the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) , which eventually became the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). McManus was elected to the Senate at
6993-443: The appointment became effective, if that was its position. Senator Lionel Murphy deflected all such criticisms on the basis that it was a matter for Senator Gair to initiate the appropriate communications about his status to the President, which he did at the earliest opportunity. Turgid and legalistic discussion on the matter occupied much of the Senate's time on 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10 April 1974, without any resolution. Murphy arranged for
7104-426: The appointment on 14 March, and the Irish Government accepted the appointment on 19 March. It cabled its approval to Canberra, where it was received on 20 March. On 21 March, Gough Whitlam advised the Parliament that he had obtained the concurrence of the Governor-General , Sir Paul Hasluck , to hold a half-Senate election on 18 May 1974, and the timing of the issue of the writs was a matter of discussion between
7215-402: The assistance of a scholarship, he attended Newman College at the University of Melbourne where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts(Honors) and Diploma of Education which allowed him to become a school teacher. Later he became an official in the Victorian Department of Education. In 1950 McManus was appointed Assistant State Secretary of the Australian Labor Party . The Victorian Branch of
7326-420: The bills in question, and if they were rejected by the Senate a third time, the government could seek to hold a joint sitting of the Senate and House. In early March 1974, however, such a course of action was not under active consideration. It was an option that had only ever been used twice before (in 1914 , when the government was defeated; and 1951 , when the government was returned with a reduced majority in
7437-400: The bills was subsequently struck down on procedural grounds. Vince Gair took up his post as Ambassador to Ireland in early May 1974, but his behaviour there was often considered inappropriate and he was recalled by the Liberal–National Coalition government of Malcolm Fraser in early 1976. Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising
7548-405: The breakaway Queensland Labor Party (QLP), which in 1962 merged with the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). In 1964 he was elected to federal parliament as a DLP Senator for Queensland, his term commencing on 1 July 1965. He was elected parliamentary leader of the DLP immediately although it had only two members at that time ( Frank McManus from Victoria was the other). He was re-elected in 1970 for
7659-438: The centre and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins , metamorphic and igneous rocks in the east. The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and have no active volcanoes, but due to passing over the East Australia hotspot , recent volcanism has occurred during the Holocene , in the Newer Volcanics Province of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in
7770-428: The coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales . By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. This continued
7881-420: The colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums , resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution . After the 1907 Imperial Conference , Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing dominions within the British Empire. Australia
7992-807: The continent. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named " New South Wales " and claimed for Great Britain. Following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet , under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales . A camp was set up and the Union Flag raised at Sydney Cove , Port Jackson , on 26 January 1788,
8103-583: The convict system culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868. The six colonies individually gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire . The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs. In
8214-702: The country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a middle power , and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure . It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20 ; the OECD ; the World Trade Organization ; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ; the Pacific Islands Forum ;
8325-450: The crown, which serving members and senators are prohibited from accepting on pain of forfeiture of their parliamentary seats. If Gair was appearing in parliament right up till 2 April, with no objections from the government, the Opposition reasoned that the government could hardly credibly hold to the line that he had ceased to be a senator in March, or at any time before the issue of the writs for Queensland. Thus Maunsell stayed close to Gair
8436-459: The early 2010s after the 2000s Australian drought . Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests . Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota
8547-456: The fact that senators elected in 1967 and 1970 were able to frustrate the will of a government elected in 1972. Section 12 of the Constitution provides that the writ for a Senate election in each State is issued by the State Governor. Vincent Clair Gair was a former Australian Labor Party (ALP) Premier of Queensland 1952-57 who was expelled from his own party while in office, and formed
8658-755: The first time when the High Court of Australia held in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that Australia was neither terra nullius ( ' land belonging to no one ' ) or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement. Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy in 1973, Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia. The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other Pacific Rim nations. The Australia Acts severed
8769-412: The heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia . Prominent features of the centre and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland Simpson , Tirari and Sturt Stony , Gibson , Great Sandy, Tanami , and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast. The Western Australian mulga shrublands lie between
8880-470: The interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate Southwest Australia . Lying on the Indo-Australian Plate , the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history. The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning more than 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The Pilbara Craton
8991-417: The island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands . Seismic activity in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including
9102-620: The land and the environment, with stories of The Dreaming maintained through oral tradition , songs , dance and paintings. Certain groups engaged in fire-stick farming , fish farming , and built semi-permanent shelters . These practices have variously been characterised as " hunter-gatherer ", " agricultural ", "natural cultivation" and "intensification". Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands at least 2,500 years ago. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and
9213-549: The location for the future federal capital of Canberra . While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia became the colonial ruler of the Territory of Papua (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the Territory of New Guinea (formerly German New Guinea ) in 1920. The two were unified as
9324-503: The lower house, albeit now with a majority in the Senate) and was regarded as somewhat extreme. Also, Labor felt it needed more time to improve its electoral stocks before considering such a move. Whitlam still only intended to call a half-Senate election, even though this would continue the lack of synchronicity between the elections of the houses, something he had often deplored. In debates in parliament and in outside commentary, he often decried
9435-491: The mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest country by area in Oceania . It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country , and its size gives it
9546-448: The mainland. Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions; wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna ); a host of marsupials , including the kangaroo , koala , and wombat , and birds such as
9657-466: The mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior. A series of gold rushes beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from China , North America and continental Europe, as well as outbreaks of bushranging and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when Ballarat miners launched the Eureka Rebellion against gold license fees. The 1860s saw
9768-553: The morning of 3 April, and Gair did not finally leave for home until around 3 am. About 90 minutes earlier, at 1:40 am, Bjelke-Petersen announced to the Queensland Parliament that the Governor had, on his recommendation, issued writs for the election of five senators at 11 pm on 2 April. The ALP had been stymied, and the evening of 2–3 April 1974 has been known ever since in Australian political discourse as "The Night of
9879-465: The news of Gair's appointment to Ireland. In Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition, Billy Snedden , asked Prime Minister Whitlam to come clean. He readily confirmed the appointment. Snedden decried it as shameful and "worse than any Tammany Hall effort that has ever been made in the United States", and compared it with what he called the "very fine appointment" of Sir Garfield Barwick as Chief Justice of
9990-602: The next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court , saw the penal colony transition to a civil society. The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal groups . As settlement expanded, tens of thousands of Indigenous people and thousands of settlers were killed in frontier conflicts while settlers dispossessed surviving Indigenous peoples of most of their land. In 1803,
10101-464: The party was then under the control of right-wing forces aligned with B. A. Santamaria 's secretive anti-communist "Movement." In this position McManus supported the Industrial Groups which the party had set up within trade unions to combat the influence of the Communist Party of Australia . After Labor's defeat in the 1954 federal election, the federal Leader, Dr H. V. Evatt , publicly blamed
10212-496: The plan would work. Maunsell later made a personal explanation to the Senate, in which he denied exerting any undue influence on Gair; he explained that the Parliamentary Dining Rooms had gone on strike in the morning, Gair had not eaten all day, Maunsell was simply extending courtesy to a fellow Queensland senator, and Gair was free at all times to come and go as he pleased. The Senate sat through until 12:30 am on
10323-428: The political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive , constitutional monarchy and strong party discipline ) and the United States ( federalism , a written constitution and strong bicameralism with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid. Federal government power is partially separated between three groups: Charles III reigns as King of Australia and is represented in Australia by
10434-450: The position of Ambassador is an office of profit under the Crown and also carries with it fees for services rendered to the Commonwealth, within the meaning of Section 45 of the Constitution, which I had agreed to take. The effect of my appointment as Ambassador was to vacate my place as a Senator by virtue of the Constitution. It is with regret that I decided after receiving the offer to leave
10545-572: The protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention , and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on
10656-475: The rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year. The Australian mainland's continental crust , excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38 km, with a range in thickness from 24 km to 59 km. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean cratonic shields found mostly in the west, Proterozoic fold belts in
10767-533: The remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia . In a 1999 constitutional referendum , 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021 and
10878-419: The resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement had been established between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers , visiting from present-day Indonesia. The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on
10989-491: The rise of blackbirding , where South Sea Islanders were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, Australian colonial governments began removing many Aboriginal children from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation policies. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces . On 1 January 1901, federation of
11100-656: The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus . Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country by total area , Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed
11211-406: The thylacine. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced animal, chromistan , fungal and plant species. All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for
11322-503: The whole evening, shepherded him into the Senate chamber for a vote on the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Bill , and then straight back to his office for more whisky and prawns. In fact, he did not need to do this, since the electoral legislation deems writs to be issued at 6 pm regardless of the time they are actually issued. As long as Gair was prevented from seeing the President until 6 pm,
11433-615: Was Australia's warmest recorded year, and the 2019–2020 bushfire season was the country's worst on record . Australia's greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought. Throughout much of the continent, major flooding regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in
11544-413: Was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia . In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, South Australia in 1836, New Zealand in 1841, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts. Growing opposition to
11655-648: Was finally able to have his formal advice about his status conveyed to Sir Magnus Cormack through the Clerk of the Senate. However, it was not so much a letter of resignation, as a letter advising of his constitutional ineligibility to remain a senator due to his acceptance of the ambassadorship - the very argument that the Opposition had foreseen. The letter had been prepared by the Government and edited by Gair, and it said: Dear Mr President, I publicly announced yesterday that I had accepted appointment as Australian Ambassador to
11766-696: Was foiled by the Premier of Queensland , Joh Bjelke-Petersen , during what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Prawns", but the matter was overtaken by events when Whitlam decided to call a double dissolution election. Jenny Hocking has said of the affair: "The government's attempts to effect an additional Senate vacancy through Gair's resignation was constitutionally sound, strategically brilliant and an unmitigated political disaster." Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1972–1975) Ministries Elections Related [REDACTED] At
11877-461: Was not the only non-ALP person in the ALP's sights: they also offered the post of Ambassador to the Holy See to Frank McManus (he refused outright); and they had been considering offering Liberal senator Peter Durack a seat on the High Court , but never approached him. This plan also relied on a feature of the Constitution at that time, which was amended in 1977. While now senators appointed to fill
11988-498: Was offered the post of Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, and readily accepted on 13 March 1974. Ireland was dear to his heart, as his mother was Irish, his wife was of Irish stock, and he was a staunch Catholic, and he saw this as a particularly fitting way to conclude his public life. However, the matter needed to remain strictly confidential pending various matters of protocol being attended to. The Federal Executive Council approved
12099-565: Was one of the founding members of the League of Nations in 1920, and the United Nations in 1945. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as
12210-466: Was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders , who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst . In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to
12321-459: Was to appoint Gair to an overseas post, which would require him to resign his seat in the Senate, and to arrange for this to occur before the writs for the impending half-Senate election were issued. This would have the effect of causing writs to be issued for the election of 6 senators from Queensland, not the 5 as would otherwise have been the case (at that time, each state had 10 senators, and 5 of them were elected at each half-Senate election). Gair
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