From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the country. For the continent, see

Colonial expansion
A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s^[54] and the Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience.^[55]Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.^[56] The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs^[57] defence,^[58] and international shipping.
Nationhood

The Last Post is played at an Anzac Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in most suburbs and towns.
On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting.^[59] This established the Commonwealth of Australia as a dominion of the British Empire.^[60] The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne was the temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was being constructed.^[61] The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911.^[62] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fighting World War I, with support from both the outgoing Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incoming Australian Labor Party.^[63][64] Australians took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front.^[65] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.^[66] Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action.^[67][68] The Kokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an analogous nation-defining event during World War II.^[69]
Britain's Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the UK. Australiaadopted it in 1942,^[70] but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.^[71][72] The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector.^[73] Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US, under the ANZUS treaty.^[74] After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Since the 1970s and following the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere was also promoted.^[75] As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image were transformed.^[76] The final constitutional ties between Australia and the UK were severed with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the government of the Australian States, and closing the option of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London.^[77] In a 1999 referendum, 55% of voters and a majority in every state rejected a proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Parliament. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972,^[78] there has been an increasing focus in foreign policy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while maintaining close ties with Australia's traditional allies and trading partners.^[79]
Government
Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Australia and Monarchy of Australia

Parliament House was opened in Canberra in 1988, replacing theprovisional Parliament House building, opened in 1927.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government^[80] withElizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the otherCommonwealth realms. The Queen resides in the United Kingdom and is represented in Australia by the Governor-Generalat the federal level and by the Governors at the state level, who by convention act on the advice of her ministers.^[81][82] The most notable exercise to date of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's request was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975.^[83]
The federal government is separated into three branches:

• 
  The legislature: the bicameral Parliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as comprising the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate, and the House of Representatives;
  
• 
  The executive: the Federal Executive Council, in practice the Governor-General as advised by the Prime Minister and Ministers of State;^[84]
  
• 
  The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Council.
  

Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia

Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of Australia
In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).^[85] The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population,^[86] with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats.^[87] Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years, simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.^[85]
Australia's electoral system uses preferential voting for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which, along with the Senate and most state upper houses, combine it withproportional representation in a system known as the single transferable vote. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction,^[88] as is enrolment (with the exception of South Australia).^[89] The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the Governor-General has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.^[90]
There are two major political groups that usually form government, federally and in the states: the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition which is a formal grouping of the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party.^[91][92] Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is considered centre-right and the Labor Party is considered centre-left.^[93] Independent members and several minor parties have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses.
Following a partyroom leadership challenge, Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister in June 2010.^[94] The most recent federal election was held on 7 September 2013 and resulted in a majority government for the Coalition. Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott was sworn into office as Prime Minister by the Governor-General of Australia on 18 September. In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for leadership of the Coalition, and was sworn in as Prime Minister on the 15th.^[95] With five Prime Ministers in as many years between 2010 and 2015, with most of those leadership changes occurring throughleadership spills rather than general elections, Australia has been described as the "coup capital of the democratic world".^[96]
States and territories