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 James Lee HAWKE;
opposition—Liberal Party, John HEWSON; National Party, Timothy FISCHER; Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Senate—last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993); 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: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP,
EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_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 96404); telephone [61] (6) 270–5000; 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.
_#_GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991)
_#_Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY90)
_#_Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities—metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat, manufacturers;
partners—Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%, UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong
_#_Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities—manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods;
partners—US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)
_#_External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for 32% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced, 8,860 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_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
_#_Economic aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970–89), $10.4 billion
_#_Currency: Australian dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.2834 (January 1991), 1.2799 (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 2,249,926 GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 30 bulk
_#_Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports:
