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| Australia (Commonwealth of Australia) |
State occupying the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania and many small islands. Territory - 7.7 million sq. km. Population - 14 million (1977); about 78% are descendants of immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, who formed the Anglo-Australian nation, the rest are mainly immigrants from other European countries; indigenous people (together with mestizos) no more than 100 thousand The capital is Canberra (202 thousand inhabitants.). The state language is English. Approximately 34% of the population is Anglican, 26% is Catholic. There are also Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Christian churches. The Commonwealth of Australia controls Norfolk Island, the Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, and a number of uninhabited islands. The first Europeans who discovered and partially explored Australia were the Dutch navigators V. Eggs (1605) and A. Tasman (1642). Australia became English possession as a result of its re-"discovery" by J. Cook in 1770. Initially, Australia was a place of exile from Great Britain for criminals, as well as undesirable social elements - Chartists, driven from the lands of peasants and Irish revolutionaries. The discovery of gold in Australia contributed to a rapid influx of settlers in the 50s. XIX century. and the development of capitalist relations in the country. In 1901, the individual British colonies in Australia were united into the Australian Union, which corresponded to the interests of the prom. capital and the government of England, which sought to strengthen its influence here. Until the early 30s. Australia's significant economic and political dependence on Great Britain remained. But in 1931, according to the Westminster Statute, she received complete independence from the metropolis in foreign and domestic affairs. During the Second World War, Australia was the rear base and supply center for the American armed forces operating in the Pacific Ocean. For more than 20 post-war years (until December 1972), the ruling coalition of the two largest parties - Liberal and Agrarian (monopoly capital and large landowners) - was in power in the country. Australia was one of the founding members and an active participant in the ANZUS military bloc, regional military-political groupings AZPAK and ANZUK, military-political and economic regional agreements. It supported the US imperialist aggression in Vietnam and other aggressive actions of the Pentagon in Southeast Asia. American military installations and installations were located on the territory of Australia. With the coming to power of the Labor government (1972), Australia advocated the development of relations with a number of socialist states, including the USSR , in support of the neutralization of Southeast Asia, and initiated the development of broad regional cooperation between the countries of Asia and the Pacific. The country introduced some restrictions on the activities of foreign monopolies and implemented a number of social measures. However, in November 1975, a coalition of the Liberal and Agrarian parties, with generous financial support from the US CIA, succeeded in overthrowing the Labor government. Australia has again embarked on the path of close military-political cooperation with the United States. It allocated huge appropriations for military purposes, stepped up its activities within the framework of the ANZUS pact. The country lifted restrictions on foreign investment, transferred natural resources to the private sector, and cut funding for hospital construction and aid to Aboriginal people. The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state within the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the Queen of England, represented by the Governor General, who is appointed on the recommendation of the Australian government. The highest legislative body is the federal parliament, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Executive power formally belongs to the Executive Council headed by the Governor-General, but in fact it is exercised by the government headed by the Prime Minister (since December 1975 - D.M. Fraser). Liberal Party - created in 1944, represents Australian monopoly capital. The leader is D.M. Fraser. National Agrarian Party of Australia - unites large landowners and pastoralists, was formed in 1916. The Australian Labor Party is the largest party in the country, formed in 1891. The party is based on trade unions, collective members, women's and youth organizations; there is also an individual membership. The party leadership adheres to social reformist positions. Leader - W.J. Hayden. In 1955, as a result of a split, the ultra-right Labor Party left it, creating the Democratic Labor Party - the most reactionary party in Australia. The Socialist Party of Australia - Founded in October 1972, is a political organization of the working class that supports the positions of Marxism-Leninism. The main support of the party is the trade unions. Chairman - P. Clancy. Secretary General - P. Simon. Communist Party of Australia - Founded in 1920 There are about 300 trade unions, most of which have less than 2,000 members. There are 3 large trade unions: the Australian Council of Trade Unions (part of the ICFTU), the Australian Council of Workers' and Knowledge Workers' Associations, and the Australian Workers' Union. Australia is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. It occupies a leading position in the capitalist world in terms of reserves of a number of important mineral resources: 2nd place - for iron ore and bauxite and 3rd place - for copper, lead and zinc. There are also reserves of coal, natural gas and uranium, nickel, titanium, gold and diamonds. By the beginning of the 70s. In terms of basic economic indicators, Australia entered the top ten capitalist countries and began to play an ever-increasing role as an object of inter-imperialist contradictions, primarily between the monopolies of the United States, Britain and Japan, which are fighting for raw materials. The main industries are mining, chemical, electrical, metallurgical and automotive. In 1978/79 mined (in million tons): iron ore - 80.8, coal (together with brown) - 115.6, bauxite - 24.8, oil - 21, natural gas - 6.2 billion. cub. m; produced (in million years): steel - 7.5, cast iron - 7.3, aluminum - 0.26, lead - 0.23, copper - 0.17, as well as 346 thousand passenger cars and 85 billion kW -h of electricity. The bulk of the land is in the hands of large landowners. The leading role in agricultural production belongs to livestock breeding. The country has up to 30 million head of cattle and 130 million sheep. Australia ranks 1st in the capitalist world for the production and export of high quality wool. The main agricultural crop is wheat. In 1978/79, the wheat harvest amounted to 18 million tons. The length of state railways roads - 41 thousand km, highways - about 900 thousand km. 75% of freight and passenger traffic is carried out by road. The monetary unit is the Australian dollar. 1 austral. dollars = 1.01 dollars (December 1979). In 1979 and early 1980, there were major strikes against the government's policy aimed at lowering the living standards of workers (the state budget for 1979-80 reduced allocations for social needs and provided for an increase in inflation by 10%), as well as public marches demanding the liquidation of foreign military bases on Australian territory.
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