Australia is an island continent located in Oceania. It has a population of around 23 million people and a multicultural society. Notable events in Australia's history include the arrival of the first Europeans in the 17th century, the establishment of the first British colony in 1788, major gold rushes in the 19th century, and its involvement in World Wars I and II. The economy is highly developed and relies on trade, especially in minerals and resources.

1. Indian Global & Political Economy (IGPE)
By—Eshant Sharma
PGCM4—1410

2. Australia or officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania,
and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New
Guinea to the north; The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
Culture
Australian culture is as broad and varied
as the country’s landscape. Australia is
multicultural and multiracial and this is
reflected in the country’s food, lifestyle
and culture practices and experience.
Population
Australian population is roughly 22.7
million people. The most populous
states are New South Wales and Victo-
ria, with their respective capitals Sydney
& Melbourne, the largest cities in Aus-
tralia

3. 50,000 BC
300,000 aboriginal people, speaking around 250 languages
inhabited Australia. On arrival, finding no obvious political
structure, the Europeans took the land as their own. The In-
digenous people were driven out of their homes and many
killed.
19th Century
The great age of exploration. Western & South Austral-
ia formed. Gold rushes. Australia achieves government. De-
pression gave rise to the Australian Labour Party. South Afri-
can War - forces offered by the individual colonies
17th Century
The first European sightings of Australia were made. Dutch
explorer, Abel Tasman's, first journey to Australia. Australia
was made up of four coasts North, West, East and South. The
Australian state of Tasmania was named after this famous ex-
plorer.
18th Century
Captain Cook lands in Botany Bay on the Eastern side of Aus-
tralia. The First Fleet arrives at Sydney Cove under Captain
Arthur Phillip to establish the first settlement in Australia.
Sydney was founded. 26 January, went on to mark Australia
Day.
20th Century
Australia experiences her first major losses in a war in
1915 .Australian troops part of the United Nations forces.
The ASEAN was established Australia celebrates its Bicenten-
nial - 200 years since the first European settlement. John
Howard replaced Paul Keating as Prime Minister.
21st Century
Australia hosts the 2000 Olympic Games. Australia celebrates
the Centenary of the Federation of Australia. Liberal-National
Coalition lost in the general election to the Australian Labour
Party (ALP). Australia's first female Prime Minister Julia
Gillard takes charge.

4. 1967 1971 1974
1991
1985
19841980
1998
19781976
1996 1993 1992
Administration
of Aboriginal
affairs becomes
the responsibil-
ity of the federal
government.
Land rights ac-
tivists set up the
Aboriginal Tent
Embassy oppo-
site Parliament
House in Can-
berra.
The Aboriginal
Land Fund Act is
passed to help
in purchasing
land.
The National
Trachoma and
Eye Health Pro-
gram begins.
The Northern
Territory passes
the Aboriginal
Sacred Sites Bill
the Western
Australian gov-
ernment drills
for oil
Charles Perkins
is appointed to
the highest gov-
ernment posi-
tion held by an
Aboriginal per-
son
Bob Hawke's La-
bour govern-
ment dismantles
the National Ab-
original Confer-
ence following a
review.
The Council for
Aboriginal Rec-
onciliation is es-
tablished.
Prime Minister
Paul Keating de-
livers the
'Redfern speech'
acknowledging
past injustices to
Aboriginal
The Native Title
Act is passed.
Wik people are
successful in a
High Court case
to establish that
native title and
pastoral leases
could co-exist.
The Australian
Government
suspends
the Racial Dis-
crimination Act
Nova Peris
Kneebone be-
gins the Olympic
torch. Cathy
Freeman wins a
gold medal in
the 400-metres
event.
Australia Wins
ICC Cricket
World Cup
Indigenous
Affairs Minister
Amanda
Vanstone orders
artworks to be
removed from
ATSIC offices.
200020032005

5. Population 23,753,200
Unemployment Rate 6.40%
CO2 emissions 18.3 metric ton
Electricity Consumption 213.5 Kilowatt Hour
Literacy Rate 99%
Life Expectancy 81.2
Birth Rate 13.8 per 1000 people
Fertility Rate 1.969 per women
Infant Mortality 4.57 per 1000 live births
Death Rate 7.56 per 1000 people
Suicide Rate 14.9 per 100,000 people per year
HIV/AIDS Rate 0.10%
Largest City Sydney (4,350,986)

6. AUSTRALIA INDIA
23,753,200 1,236,344,631
$ 1.56 trillion $ 1.877 trillion
$ 67,458.4 $ 1570
99% 74.04%
13.8 birth/1000 people 20.22 births/1,000 population
7.56 death/1000 people 7.4 deaths/1,000 population
14.9 per 100,000 people in a year 10.3 per 100,000 people in a year
1.8 % Annual Change 1.2% Annual Change
7,692,024 km² 3,287,590 km²
5.2% 9%

7. BHP Billiton
$72.1bn
This Anglo-Australian multinational mining and
petroleum company, with roots all the way
back to the late 1800s, is headquartered in
Melbourne. As of 2011, it was the largest min-
ing company in the world, with several mines
and facilities worldwide
Rio Tinto
$59.8bn
Rio Tinto has operations on six continents and
focuses mainly on the extraction of minerals
(including aluminium, copper, diamonds, gold
and industrial minerals), but also has signifi-
cant operations in refining. They’ve been in
business for 140 years
Woolworths Limited
$55.5bn
Woolworths is a major retail company in Aus-
tralia and New Zealand. With just over 200,000
employees, Woolworths operates in supermar-
kets, petrol, liquor . It’s the largest retail com-
pany by market capitalisation and sales retailer
in Australia.
Commonwealth Bank
of Australia
$47.1bn
The Commonwealth Bank
of Australia was the second largest Australian
listed company on the Australian Securities Ex-
change in 2008, and currently operates world-
wide with over 44,000 employees
Telstra
$25.6bn
With a focus on voice, mobile, internet access,
pay television and other entertainment ser-
vices, Telstra has continued to be Australia’s
largest telecommunications and media compa-
ny since the end of the 20th century.
Westpac Bank
of Australia
$42.3bn
With almost 1,200 branches and 2,900 ATMs,
Westpac is Australia’s largest branch network

8. The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, also referred to as the Australian Government, Commonwealth Govern-
ment or the Federal Government is the federal democratic administrative authority of Australia. The Commonwealth of Austral-
ia, a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy, was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among
six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states. The terms of this contract are embodied in the Australian Con-
stitution, which was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and ratified by the people of the colonies at referendums. The
structure of the Australian Government may be examined in light of two distinct concepts, namely federalism and
the separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
Departments of Australian Government:

9. The nation straddles the juncture between the halves of the grand Indo-Pacific thea-
tre, or the "Indo-Asia-Pacific," to use the unwieldy, not terribly helpful term now oc-
casionally heard in defence circles. Australia's position astride the Indo-Pacific seam
could impart a horizontal, east-west character to maritime strategy. Forces based
here, that is, could swing into action far more readily than could forces based at the
extreme ends of the theatre, such as Japan or Bahrain — home to the U.S. Seventh
and Fifth fleets, respectively.
Australia is an island, a continent and a nation all at once. It bears some re-
semblance to the United States in that sense, albeit without even the friend-
ly, and far from geopolitically troublesome, neighbours to its north and
south. Isolated from external threats by water, Australia, like the United
States, has the option — and at times displays a propensity — to turn in-
ward, neglecting the sea and the navy.
Australia holds an exterior position vis-a-vis Southeast Asia, outside the
southern rim of the South China Sea. This makes the South China Sea unique
among semi-enclosed seas. It's rather as though a massive island were posi-
tioned due east of Puerto Rico, letting the island's inhabitants manoeuvre
outside the Caribbean and Gulf while influencing the shipping lanes con-
necting those expanses with the broad Atlantic.
Australia is something like Cuba was for Mahan. Again, it occupies a blessed
geographic position. It's big, and it boasts plentiful resources relative to its
modest population. It would be hard if not impossible to blockade. Defend-
ers would simply shift resources overland, using overland transport to evade
the blockading force. And it's defensible. It lies largely out of reach of poten-
tial adversaries' weaponry. Forces could disperse to points around the long
coastline or the continental interior to elude bombardment or a blockade.
Geo Political Significance of Australia

10. Australia – India Relation
Australia–India relations are the foreign relations between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Republic of India. Before independence, Australia and India were both part of
the British Empire and both are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. They also share political, economic, security, lingual and sporting ties. As a result of British colonisa-
tion, cricket has emerged as a strong cultural connection between the two nations, as well as the English language.
Diplomatic Relations
India first established a Trade Office in Sydney, Aus-
tralia in 1941. It is currently represented by a High
Commissioner in the embassy
at Canberra and Consulate generals in Sydney
and Melbourne. both nations are founding mem-
bers of the United Nations . Australia has tradi-
tionally supported India's position on Arunachal
Pradesh, which is subject to diplomatic disputes
between India and the People's Republic of China.
Economic Relations
Bilateral trade between the two countries totalled US$18.7
billion, having grown from A$4.3 billion in 2003. This is ex-
pected to rise to touch the mark of US$40 billion by end of
year 2016. Trade is highly skewed towards Australia. Austral-
ia mainly exports Coal, non-monetary Gold and Copper Ore
and agricultural goods to India, while India's chief exports
are pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, textiles and
clothing. Over 97,000 Indian students enrolled in Australia in
2008, representing an education export of A$2 billion.
Military Relations
India and Australia conducted a joint
naval exercise in the Indian Ocean
alongside the USA and Japan. In 2007,
the Australian government agreed in
principle to sell uranium to fuel India's
nuclear reactors. Prime Ministers Ab-
bott and Modi signed a landmark deal
to increase their nations defence rela-
tionship in November 2014.

11. The 2015 Cricket World Cup is the 11th Cricket
World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New
Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015. 14
teams will play 49 matches in 14 venues, with
Australia staging 26 games at grounds
in Adelaide, Brisbane,Canberra, Hobart, Melbourn
e, Perth and Sydney
This month the Reserve Bank of Australia dropped
interest rates to 2.25 per cent, a record low. Fig-
ures released a week later show that unemploy-
ment is now at its highest level in 12-and-a-half
years. Australia avoided a recession after the GFC
but, as Keri Phillips reports, the economy looks
headed for a rough patch. Australia’s interest
rates were cut from 7.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent
and the country avoided the recession that has
crippled many other OECD countries since then.
The Australian dollar has risen to its highest level in
nearly a month, jumping more than half a cent
against the greenback to 78.8 US cents after the re-
lease of Chinese manufacturing data. The local
share market followed Wall Street higher, with
traders soothed by the Congress testimony of US
Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen on the likely
timeline to begin raising American interest rates.