Sydney is the largest city in Australia. It is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Official language: English Currency: Australian Dollar Passport and visa: Australian travelers must obtain a visa in advance.
The visa can be conveniently obtained online at http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/evisitor.htm Time difference to Finland: + 6-8
Daylight saving time is not used
Information without obligation
Agriculture and fishing
Agriculture is highly rationalized and strongly export-oriented with few employees (about 2.5 percent of all labor). Although agriculture’s contribution to GDP is low today, it accounts for a significant proportion of export earnings.
CountryAAH: Comprehensive import regulations of Australia. Covers import prohibitions and special documentation requirements for a list of prohibited items.
Although Australia has plenty of arable land (about half of the land area is used for agriculture and forestry), there is really good cultivation land mostly on the narrow coastal and river plains in the east, south and southwest and only a few percent of the land is suitable for intensive agriculture. Four-fifths of the agricultural land is used for animal husbandry. The country is often affected by drought, grass fires, floods and even frost, which requires, among other things, extensive irrigation. However, with the help of advanced technology, the peninsula has also been able to grow and the technology has become an export product to countries with similar climates.
Most of what is produced in agriculture is exported, but at the same time almost all of the country’s food needs are covered by its own production. Demand for Australian agricultural products and food is high among Asian neighbors. For Australia defense and foreign policy, please check themotorcyclers.
Most of the farms are family owned and many farmers are involved in both grain cultivation and animal husbandry.
The most important crops are fruits (oranges, apples, bananas, pears), nuts and almonds, sugar cane and cotton. Much wheat is grown in the southeast and southwest parts of the country, making it one of the world’s largest wheat exporters. The country also exports oats, barley, oilseeds, sugar, dairy products, cotton, fruits and vegetables. Especially in Tasmania, legal opium cultivation is carried out for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals for export.
Wine production became increasingly important during the 2000s and Australia has become one of the world’s largest wine exporters. There are some 60 different wine producing regions, most of them in the southeastern part of the country.
Australia is the world’s leading wool producer and almost all wool is exported. In the early 1990s, the industry declined, partly because of overproduction as a result of a state price guarantee on the wool. In 1999, however, trade in wool was completely liberalized. After a few years of wool export revenues have fallen for a few years, demand from the rest of the world increased again in the 2010s. Most sheep are of the merino breed, which produces the finest wool. China is by far the country that buys most Australian wool.
In the past, wool was the most important export commodity from the livestock industry, but meat exports are now more extensive and Australia is one of the world’s leading beef exporters. The pastures are huge and the availability of underground water sources makes it possible to keep large herds of cattle on the dry plains in the interior of the continent. In 2000, price controls for dairy products were abolished, which led to sharply reduced incomes for dairy farmers. Australia also has a significant breeding of poultry.
Australia has one of the largest fishing zones in the world, but the fishing fleet is small. Most of the catch is exported.
About one-sixth of the land area is wooded and especially in Queensland forestry is an important industry. The predominant wood species is eucalyptus. Jarrah (Australian mahogany) is the country’s most exclusive timers.
FACTS – AGRICULTURE
Agriculture’s share of GDP
2.6 percent (2018)
Percentage of land used for agriculture
48.2 percent (2016)
Abbreviationfinder.org: Offers how the 3-letter acronym of AUS stands for the state of Australia in geography.
2016
November
The United States will receive refugees
US President Barack Obama’s government says yes to a request from Canberra that the United States should accept refugees from the Australian camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Under the agreement, 1,250 migrants are to be received by the United States.
The climate agreement is ratified
November 10
In so doing, Australia confirms the promise from the Paris Summit 2015 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 −28 percent by 2030 compared with the 2005 levels.
No to vote on same-sex marriage
November 8
The Senate rejects the government’s proposal that the country should hold a non-binding referendum to recognize in national law marriages between people of the same sex. Currently, a partnership can be registered in the states but not at the national level.
Critical coal power plant is closed
November 3
The over 50-year-old Hazelwood power plant, which is fired with lignite, must be closed because it is no longer profitable. Hazelwood has been criticized for being the most polluting power plant in Australia.
September
International court will resolve the border dispute with East Timor
September 26th
The Permanent Arbitration Court (PCA) in The Hague, not to be confused with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), agrees that at East Timor’s request, the conflict with Australia be examined on the Timor Sea oil fields.
August
Known refugee camps are closed
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announces after a meeting with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill that the camp on the Papuan island of Manus should be closed. Refugees seeking asylum in Australia have been interned there according to an agreement between the two countries. Papua New Guinea’s Constitutional Court announced in a ruling in April 2016 that the camp violated the country’s constitution.
July
Scandal about young people in detention
July 26
The government appoints a commission to investigate conditions in the youth detention center in the Northern Territory. This happens after the public is shocked by pictures showing how prison guards degraded young prisoners. Among other things, young people have been forced to dress naked, put on hoods, have been exposed to tear gas and kept isolated for weeks. Among those affected were many Aborigines.
New bourgeois government is presented
July 18
When 146 of the 150 seats are distributed, 76 have gone to the Liberals / National Party, 69 to Labor and 1 to the Greens. Turnbull presents its new government, with only minor changes compared to the old one.
Turnbull proclaims itself a drummer
July 11
The ruling party coalition proclaims itself to the winner after Labor acknowledged defeat. The final election results have not yet been announced.
Even parliamentary elections
July 2
Parliamentary elections are held. Preliminary results show that the position between the two large blocks is even.
May
Elections will be held June 2
June 2
Prime Minister Turnbull announces parliamentary elections several months in advance. The decision was made after the Senate, for the second time in mid-April, said no to a bill to re-establish a commission to oversee union activities in the construction industry. Labor and the Greens are against the bill. According to a special section (so-called double resolution) of the constitution, the government can announce elections to the House of Representatives and the entire Senate if the latter on two occasions blocked a bill.
February
Refugee management does not violate the law
Australia has been heavily criticized by human rights organizations, for example, for asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia to be forwarded to Nauru or Papua New Guinea. The camps at Nauru have not been considered safe for children. A woman from Bangladesh has been pursuing the case in court to get the right to remain in Australia. She has been to refugee camps at Nauru but was brought to Australia for medical care when she was pregnant. Her lawyer felt it was against the constitution to keep asylum seekers in custody outside the country. The woman and her newborn child are now at risk of being sent back to Nauru along with another couple of hundred asylum seekers who have had to go to Australia to receive medical care.
Investments in defense
The Defense White Paper for 2016 wants to increase defense spending to a total of $ 195 billion by 2020. It also wants to increase military personnel to 62,400, the highest number in a quarter of a century. The government promises 12 new submarines, 9 warships, 12 patrol boats, new drones, etc. According to analysts, the defense initiatives are said to be a way to meet a growing security threat from China.
