Australia
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary democracy
- CONSTITUTION
- July 9, 1900, in effect from January 1, 1901
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Senate and House of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- High Court, judges appointed by the Governor-General High Court of Australia, each of the 6 states and 2 territories and Norfolk Island have a Supreme Court. The High Court is the final court of appeal for territorial courts.
RELIGIONS
26% Catholics; 21% Anglicans; 21% other Christians; 1% minorities (including Aboriginals)
From the country
- APRIL 27, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
A research by Australia SCAN, which has tracked social...
A research by Australia SCAN, which has tracked social attitude and lifestyles for the past five years showed that in 2000 Australians felt private freedoms needed to be balanced with a strict behavioural code
- APRIL 26, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Australia cosponsored the resolution on the death penalty...
Australia cosponsored the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 26 (no
- APRIL 15, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Mevlud Fejzullahu, a Kosovar refugee, required to return...
Mevlud Fejzullahu, a Kosovar refugee, required to return home from Australia, leaft in trepidation
- APRIL 13, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
An Australian Judge, Andrew Bray Cameron Wilson, 63,...
An Australian Judge, Andrew Bray Cameron Wilson, 63, has sentenced two former Samoan cabinet ministers, former Women's Affairs Minister Leafa Vitale, 57, and former Communications Minister Toi Aukuso, 68, to death for the shooting of Public Works Minister
- MARCH 19, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
An opinion poll by "The Sunday Times" has found a majority...
An opinion poll by "The Sunday Times" has found a majority of Western Australians support the death penalty
- MARCH 18, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
WA Chief Justice David Malcolm said incarceration was...
WA Chief Justice David Malcolm said incarceration was a serious enough punishment for heinous crimes and he was yet to be convinced of the effectiveness of the death penalty
- MARCH 17, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
WA Premier Richard Court backed away from calling a...
WA Premier Richard Court backed away from calling a referendum on the death penalty before the next State election and said it would not be an election issue
- MARCH 15, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Greenough representative Kevin Minson tabled a petition...
Greenough representative Kevin Minson tabled a petition in the Legislative Assembly calling for a referendum on the death penalty
- FEBRUARY 13, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Northern Territory Chief Minister Denis Burke spoke...
Northern Territory Chief Minister Denis Burke spoke out against the death penalty after Western Australia (WA) Premier Richard Court claimed that the death penalty was appropriate in some cases
- JANUARY 27, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Australia's Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock defended...
Australia's Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock defended the deportation of an Algerian asylum-seeker
- JANUARY 10, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Fatemeh Morad-Gholi, an Iranian woman fearing persecution...
Fatemeh Morad-Gholi, an Iranian woman fearing persecution for making pornographic films in her home country, was denied refugee status in Australia
- JANUARY 1, 2000AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Australia abolished the death penalty for ordinary...
Australia abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 1984 and for wartime crimes in 1985