Western Australia
| |||||
|
| |||||
Capital |
Perth | ||||
Area — Land — Marine — Total |
2 529 875 kmÃÂò 115 740 kmÃÂò 2 645 615 kmÃÂò | ||||
Population (2002) Density |
1 934 500 0.76/kmÃÂò | ||||
Time zone |
UTC+8 | ||||
Highest point |
Mt Meharry (1 253 m) | ||||
ISO 3166-2 code: |
AU-WA | ||||
| Table of contents |
|
2 People 3 Economy 4 Media 5 Politics 6 See Also 7 External Links |
Geography
The state capital is the city of Perth (population in 2002, 1.4 million) on the south-western coastline; the centre of a metropolitan area which is home to a vast majority of the state's residents. The Perth metropolitan area has grown to include the port of Fremantle and the town of Rockingham. Other important or well-known centres include Bunbury, Mandurah, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton, Port Hedland and Broome, but these are all small cities or towns. The south-west coastal area is relatively temperate and forested, while much of the rest of the state is hot and semi-arid or desert, and is lightly inhabited. An exception to this is the northern tropical regions, especially The Kimberley.
People
Although Western Australia has been occupied by Aboriginal people for many thousands of years, the present State has its origins in the British settlement known as the Swan River Colony, founded at Perth in 1829. Since that time, many immigrants have also been of British origin, outnumbered only by arrivals from other Australian States. There has also been significant immigration from New Zealand. Small numbers of South East Asian (especially ethnic Chinese) immigrants began to arrive in Western Australia in the mid 19th century. Immigration restrictions caused "non-white" immigration to cease in the 1890s. Following World War II, immigration from Europe increased, especially from Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece. In the 1970s, a new wave of Asian immigrants, mostly ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese began to arrive in Western Australia. Perth, in particular, paralleled the multicultural experience of other large Australian cities and has become home to people from most of the countries in the world.
Economy
Western Australia's economy has been largely based on the extraction and export of mining and petroleum commodities, especially iron ore, natural gas, nickel and gold.
Agricultural exports are also important, especially wheat, barley and sheep products such as (wool and meat. In recent years, tourism has grown in importance.
Media
Western Australia has only one daily newspaper, the tabloid The West Australian, and one Sunday tabloid newspaper, The Sunday Times.
Metropolitan Perth has six broadcast television stations, while regional Western Australia is served by four broadcast networks.
Politics
Western Australia took part in Australian federation in 1901, and is subject to all laws and regulations made by the Australian Parliament and Australian Government in Canberra. However, many political responsibilities still rest with the State Parliament and State Government, located in the state capital city of Perth. Australian citizens residing in Western Australia elect members to the two houses of the parliament: the Legislative Assembly, often referred to as the lower house, and the Legislative Council, or the upper House.
The party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament forms the Government of Western Australia, and the leader of this party (or of the largest party in the coalition) becomes the Premier of Western Australia. The current Premier of Western Australia is Geoff Gallop, the state leader of the Australian Labor Party.
The Queen of Australia, Queen Elizabeth II, is represented in Western Australia by a Governor, currently John Sanderson. Acting in a largely ceremonial position, the Governor acts to approve legislation which has passed through Parliament. The Governor lives in the beautiful Government House in the heart of Perth City, surrounded by lush gardens.
See Also
External Links