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1 [1] (October 25, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbnt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service hfoI ong the legieslative debate since 1914 Australia Updated October 25, 2019 Overview Australia is a longstanding ally of the United States which has supported the U.S. in every major conflict since World War I. Australia is, along with the United States, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group of nations. Australia remains committed to its alliance relationship with the United States while seeking to preserve its significant trade relationship with China and maintain its influence in the South Pacific. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, of the right of center Liberal Party, has developed a positive relationship with President Trump who hosted Morrison for a state visit in September 2019. Australia is also a key producer of natural resources and was the United States' 16th largest goods export market in 2018; U.S. exports to Australia have increased 81.3% since the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2005. Australia is also adjusting to geopolitical uncertainty related to the rise of China and concerns over the United States' commitment to the region by developing strategic ties with Japan and other Indo-Pacific nations. Historical Background The Commonwealth of Australia was first inhabited between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. The Aboriginal population were hunter-gatherers, and developed a complex spiritual Dreamtime culture focusing on creation myths, rituals, laws, and connections to ancestors and the Australian landscape. Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Britain in 1770, and in 1788 the first European settlement, largely made up of convicts, was established at Sydney. Australia evolved into a pastoral settler society based on sheep and wool, with the increasing importance of minerals. Despite the centrality of the bush or the outback to the national myth, Australia has evolved into an urbanized society. While geographically situated in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia continues to have deep cultural ties to Britain, the United States, and Europe. Political Setting The Commonwealth of Australia is an independent nation within the British Commonwealth. The Head of State is the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Australia by the Governor General Sir David Hurley. In practice, power is held by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, who are elected members of Parliament. Parliamentary elections are called by the government, but must be held at least once every three years. The Liberal-National Party Coalition and the Labor Party are the two main political forces in Australia. The Green Party, the Centre Alliance and the One Nation Party are also represented in parliament. There is a strong Republican movement in Australia that supports breaking with the British Crown. Scott Morrison, of the Liberal- National Coalition, was elected Prime Minister in May 2019 with 77 of 151 seats in the House of Representatives. Figure I. Australia in Brief Australia has a bicameral parliament consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Its Representatives are elected through a preferential ballot. The Senate has 76 seats, with 12 senators from each of the six states and 2 senators from each of the two territories. One half of the state senators are elected every three years and territory senators are elected every three years. Although the government must call elections every three years, it may call early elections. A double dissolution, when all members of both legislative bodies must stand for election, may be called if government legislation is blocked twice in three months. Australia has compulsory voting over the age of 18. Strategic Outlook Australia maintains a complex array of international relations, yet its geopolitical context is to a large extent defined by its trade relationship with China and its strategic relationship with the United States. Shifts in the geostrategic dynamics of Asia are leading Australia to hedge-increasingly by partnering with other Asian states-against an increasingly assertive China and the perceived relative decline of U.S. influence in the region. Such developments also reflect a change in the regional security architecture, which until recently has been grounded in the post-World War II hub-and-spoke system of U.S. alliances, toward networks of security partnerships. For Australia, this shift towards security networks, where middle powers in Asia increasingly rely on each other, offers an opportunity to build on and complement its ties with the United States. Prime Minister Morrison has announced that he intends to visit India and Japan in 2020 and stated my visit [to India] will be another step in cementing India in the top tier of Australia's partnerships. Australia also has done much in recent years to develop its strategic relationship with Japan. Australia and Japan po scongr