Australia

From TNOpediA
Commonwealth of Australia
Flag of Australia
Australia in Light Green
Rest of OFN in Blue
TAG = AST
Politics
CapitalCanberra
Ruling Party Australian Labor Party - (Right)
Last Election9/12/1960
Head of StateQueen Elizabeth II
Head of GovernmentKim Beazley Sr.
Diplomacy
Sphere American Sphere
Foreign Alignment Independent Member of the OFN
Economy
GDP$24.17B
Credit Rating Fair
Market Type Free Market Capitalism


The Commonwealth of Australia is a former British colony federated in 1901, now, a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and one of the world's largest countries by total area. While they do not border any country directly, its closest neighboring countries are the Republic of Indonesia to the north, the Empire of Japan to the north-east; French Madagascar to the west, across the Indian Ocean, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australia's largest cities are Sydney and Melbourne, whilst its other major metropolitan areas are Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

The collapse of the British Empire at the end of the Second World War has left Australia adrift without a strong national identity. With Australia currently a constitutional monarchy under a government led by the Australian Labor Party under Prime Minister Kim Beazley Sr.


History[edit | edit source]

World War II[edit | edit source]

In 1939, Australia, then still part of the British Empire, entered World War II alongside the rest of the Empire's colonies and dominions. While the situation in mainland Europe worsened day by day, the people of Australia began to grow discontent towards the war, with many seeing it as a meaningless massacre similar to the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, especially since the war was tens of thousands of miles away from the shores of the Australian continent, as Australian soldiers fought in the Mediterranean theatre, fighting the best they could.

This assumption was soon proved wrong, when the Japanese declared war against the United States and the Brtish Empire, dragging the entire Allies in the war against an enemy much, much closer than the Germans.

The Australian military fought with honor and determination, but in the end, it faced defeat after defeat alongside the British colonial troops, losing in Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and New Guinea, which all fell against the seemingly unstoppable Japanese advance. Right before the Japanese launched their attack on mainland Australia, which would have proved impossible to stop due to the inferiority in both numbers and equipment, the British Isles were invaded by the Germans.

Quick to act upon the news, the Australian government seized the chance and declared their independence from the British, therefore avoiding them being dragged into the humiliating peace treaty its former master had to sign. Without the British however, the Australians had to immediately put themselves under American protection, as their last hope was the United States, with a plan that was dubbed Operation Downfall.

Operation Downfall was an ambitious project, which involved placing the majority of the United States naval capabilities in the Pacific into protecting Australia and New Zealand from the Japanese. This initiative proved fruitful, as the Japanese invasion would be fought off by the joint ANZAC-American forces, ending the war in the Pacific.

After the peace had settled, Australia managed to retain its newfound independence, but new problems arose in the nation: With the fall of the Empire, the prosperous trade network Australia got most of its revenue from had disappeared overnight, leaving thousands unemployed. To make things worse, Labor politics had increased the public debt to enormous proportion, without any means to pay it off. Lastly, the Japanese may have been stopped in their tracks but they are far from defeated: even now, they are planning their next move, trying to achieve what they failed in the last war.

Whatever happens, Australia is in a dire situation, and it will take great efforts and reforms to resist the coming tide.

National Spirits[edit | edit source]

The Commonwealth of Australia starts with the following National Spirits

Name In Game Description Effects
The Curlew Cries Australia is a settled state, not one which grew naturally from the peoples who inhabited it. Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inhabitants are now minorities in their former lands, and have neither the rights nor privileges of most Australians. They aren't even counted as people on the census. The debate over this has been ongoing in Australian political society for some decades now, and as the decade goes on seems only to have grown more heated. Daily Political Power Gain: -0.25

Stability: -15.00%

He's Coming South Across the water, our enemy lurks. In the war we fought against the overwhelming Japanese menace as best we could. We stopped him from reaching our shores. Yet he remains, waiting, watching. With great and powerful armies, savage and bloodythirsty killers to a man, Australia must be ready, lest he comes south once more. War Support: +5.00%

Division Defense on Core Territory: +10.0%

A Nation of Many Differences There is no Australian ethnicity, aside from what few native peoples remain. Instead our citizens come from Ireland and from Russia. Dutchmen walk alongside the descendants of Greeks and English. In truth, nobody is quite sure what Australia is. Separated from Britain, many ask if now we should chart our own course, or hold strong to the traditions of our founders. Political Power Gain: -15%

Political Parties and Factions[edit | edit source]

Name Ideology Leaders
Australian Labor Party - Right Progressivism

Social Democracy

Kim Beazley Sr.
Australian Labor Party - Left Reformist Socialism Clyde Cameron
Liberal Party of Australia - Conservative Paternalistic Conservatism Paul Hasluck
Liberal Party of Australia - Moderate Liberalism
National Liberalism

Classical Liberalism

John Gorton
Liberal Party of Australia - Liberal Conservative Liberal Conservatism Malcolm Fraser
Australian Country Party Right-Wing Populism Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Australian Country Party - Radicals Aristocratic Conservatism