Arcacia

Arcacia, officially the Republic of Arcacia (French: République d'Arcaçe) is a member of the Alliance of Independent Nations located in the Coral Sea off the East coast of New South Wales, Australia. The islands that make up the country broke off from the Australian mainland several million years ago, about the same time as the separation of New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Etymology
Arcacia is a combination of the prefix 'arch' meaning opposite from and a corruption of Asia. It was originally called Arch-Asia, but over time lost the hyphen to become Archasia. Given the pronunciation was Ark-AY-see-ya, the 'h' was dropped and the 's' changed to a soft 'c' to form 'Arcacia.' In French, the name is Arcaçe.

Indigenous Arcacians also have their own names for Arcacia. Arcacia's Abroriginal population is from the Bundjalung nation and their name for Arcacia is Djununugaladjahnana which means "where the wind stops." Arcacian Māori call Arcacia Taiwhenuatakutai which means "our home by the sea."

History

 * Main article: History of Arcacia

Arcacia was settled by both English and French explorers at roughly the same time in early 1810. The English, led by Admiral James Cliffton, landed in what is now Providence Harbour, whilst at the same time, a group of French explorers led by Jean le Neuf crossed into what is now Fort-de-France, Nova Franca from New South Wales. The two groups met soon after and agreed to keep the settlement secret from both the British and French authorities and found a new country.

The British then founded Providence, then known as Fort Providence, whilst the French founded Fort-de-France right on the new border with the then colony of New South Wales. It was decided that the capital should be Fort Providence, as it was easily defended.

Council of Providence
In July 1812, colonial leaders met in Fort Providence to adopt a constitution. A brief document was written, outlining the political divisions, rights of the people and assertion of independence as well as separating church and State. It was formally adopted on July 4, 1812. Fort Providence was changed to simply Providence. The constitution has been amended several times since its inception. July 4 is celebrated as Constitution Day in Arcacia.

Politics

 * Main articles: Politics in Arcacia and Government of Arcacia

Arcacia is a politically stable country. It is a unicameral presidential republic that exercises direct democracy. Elections are held every 4 years and comprise of 2 separate ballots - the President and the Senate. The small green Presidential ballot contains the names of the leaders of the 6 major political parties, as well as any number of independent candidates. Voters place a number 1 in the box next to their preferred candidate. They may indicate further preferences by placing a number 2 in the box next to their second choice, followed by 3 and so on. In the even that their first preference is eliminated, their vote is then counted for their second preference and so on until a winner is determined. If a voter only indicates one preference, their vote cannot be transferred to any other candidate.

The large white Senate ballot contains the names of all candidates for Arcacia's 80 seat Senate. Each Province/Territory has 20 Senators. Voters can either place a number 1 in a box above the line, corresponding to the party or group of independents of their choice, or they can number 1 to at least 20 below the line, corresponding to the individual candidates of their choice. They can, of course, number all the boxes below the line, but they must number at least 20 for the vote to be valid. The top 20 candidates in each Province/Territory are elected to the Senate.

Usually, the party that holds the majority of seats in the Senate also has their leader installed as President, though they are elected separately and have different functions. It is possible for the President to hail from a minority party, though this is a rare occurrence and has only been known to happen where the Senate has been more or less evenly split.

The President is both the Head of State and the Head of Government. The President appoints his own cabinet. The President almost always appoints members of his/her own party as cabinet members, but they are allowed to appoint whomever they choose, regardless of political affiliation, provided they are not Senators.

This system prevents hung-parliaments as a party does not necessarily need to have a majority of seats in the Senate to form government. Government is formed by the President. Arcacia is not a parliamentary democracy.

Arcacia is a direct democracy and plebiscites/referenda are held quite a bit more often than in most countries. People can vote in person at an office of the Arcacian Electoral Commission (AEC) or any post office, by postal vote, online or via SMS, provided they are registered to do so. People are eligible to vote for national legislation as well as provincial and local legislation. Laws are not considered to be passed until a bill has passed plebiscite/referendum and has then been ratified by the President. Emergency legislation may be exempt from this process only after consultation with the High Court.

Provinces

 * Main article: Provinces of Arcacia

Arcacia has 4 provinces - Sutherland, Nova Franca, Cyrene Islands and Saint Vincent. Provinces, with the exception of Saint Vincent, only operate as senatorial divisions and do not have legislative power, though they do have capitals where the senators from that province meet with the Governor and local Mayors. Provinces are further divided into districts, which provide local government. Saint Vincent is different, in that it is not divided into districts and the Governor also acts as mayor. Provinces are not sovereign entities and are subject to powers of the Republic as defined by the constitution.

Districts
With the exception of Saint Vincent, the provinces are further divided into districts for the purpose of local government. Sutherland comprises the capital, Providence, along with the twin cities of Strathcona-Broadalbin. Nova Franca comprises Redding, Île Saphir and the Pioneer Islands. The Cyrene Islands comprise of the Isle of Yorke, Tasman Islands and Cape Cooley.

Foreign Relations
Arcacia has maintained close relations with its neighbours, with foreign policy largely reflecting that of Australia. Arcacia has also developed good relationships with many other countries, mostly by way of its membership in the Alliance of Independent Nations, though it has developed strong relationships independent of this relationship.

Arcacia has no military, but does have an armed Coast Guard. The Arcacian Coast Guard is jointly responsible for border protection and civil defence, alongside the Arcacia Police. Generally speaking, the Coast Guard maintains air and sea defence, whilst the Police maintain land defence, though this is not official and jurisdictions are largely shared.

Geography and Climate
Arcacia ranges from flat plains to rolling hills and high mountain peaks. There are several lakes and a large, central harbour forms gentle bays and inlets. Arcacia sits on ancient granite bedrock and as such is geophysically stable. Saint Vincent sits atop a broad tablemount in the Saint Vincent Fracture Zone. It is shaken by occasional tremors but has not had a major earthquake since settlement.

Arcacia consists of the remnants of the separation of New Zealand and New Caledonia from Australia. It has since stopped migrating and is subject to the continental drift of the Australian Plate. Saint Vincent is an extinct volcano that straddles the Australian and Antarctic Plates.

Arcacia's climate is temperate/sub-tropical with warm to hot summers and cool to mild winters. Summer heat is tempered by an almost constant sea-breeze from the Tasman and Coral Seas. Winter temperatures are generally mild, thanks to warmer ocean currents. Generally, weather in Arcacia is pleasant, though it can be subjected to severe storms and even cyclones, though these are extremely rare.

Environment
Arcacia is highly urbanised with roughly one third of the country's landmass having been developed. A great deal of effort has been made to preserve the remaining two thirds with native flora and fauna managing to survive despite the spread of Arcacia's urban areas.

Arcacian forests, which are extensive, are largely made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus and wattle. Grevilleas grow mainly on the edges and in more open parts of these forests and form an important part of the superb fairywren environment. Cockatoos, galahs and kookaburras are also prevalent bird species. There has been a concerted effort to keep the Asian myna bird population down by encouraging populations of large natives which chase mynas away.

Koalas, wombats, wallabies and to a lesser extent, kangaroos, are also present in modest, yet stable numbers. Though they rarely venture into urban areas, they have been known to occasionally take up temporary residence in the back yards of houses on the very fringe of urban areas. This is particularly prevalent during Summer and quite often the same animals will return to the same yards at the same time each year.

Economy
Arcacia has a modern, prosperous and developed market economy with a high GDP per capita and a very low rate of poverty. The Arcacian Dollar is the currency for the nation, as well as Lycanthia. The Arcacian Stock Exchange is a small regional exchange located in Providence largely dealing with local and regional concerns, though major international stocks can be traded.

Historically, Arcacia's economy revolved around agriculture and gold trading. In the last 50 years, the focus has shifted towards technology, research & development and tourism, which is now a major part of Arcacia's economic structure, especially as the agricultural sector has all but disappeared with only a handful of primary producers remaining.

Unemployment is traditionally low, with the rate hovering around the 5% mark consistently over the last 20 years. The highest unemployment rate was 59.7% in 1929-1930. The lowest was 3.2% in 2000-2001. Although hit hard by the depression in the 1930s, Arcacia was virtually untouched by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, recording only a small rise in unemployment, peaking at 6.2% in 2009, mainly as a result of internationally owned companies retracting their Arcacian operations or going completely out of business.

Arcacia has a very large national reserve of precious metals including gold, silver, platinum and palladium, as well as gemstones. The national reserve is kept in a large vault underneath the Capitol carved from sold granite. Tours of the Capitol often include a tour of the vault, which is guarded by armed Coast Guardsmen and the Arcacia Police. Despite the high level of security, the vault is presented as a public exhibit.

Trade
Arcacia is heavily dependent on imports, especially for agricultural products and food. Though Arcacia does produce some food, it does not have enough arable land to meet it's own food needs. The issue of food security is high on the government's agenda, though presently Arcacia is able to import enough to meet its needs, especially from Lycanthia, which has a rich agricultural sector, as well as Australia, Calaré and New Zealand. Local regional goods are preferred over goods from elsewhere. Arcacia's export market is small, only accounting for about 7% of total GNP, and consists mainly of boutique items such as cheese and wine as well as high end clothing and other manufactured items.

Roads and Highways
The Trans-Arcacia Highway is the main thoroughfare in Arcacia. It is unusual among trans-national highways in that it splits twice and is assigned three numbers. National Highway 1 runs from the border with Australia at Fort-de-France, to Broadablin. National Highway 2 splits off from National Highway 1 outside Redding City and heads North through Holdfast Bay and Yorke, finishing at Cape Cooley. National Highway 3 splits from National Highway 2 South of Yorke and heads East, finishing near Castlekeep. The 4 kilometre Airport Expressway, which connects Providence International Airport with National Highway 1 is not considered part of the Trans-Arcacia Highway.

Railways
The Arcacian National Railway operates Arcacia's extensive rail network. Passenger lines extend to almost every island with most Arcacian's living within a 10 minute walk of a railway station. There is only a shot section of track that is dedicated to freight. It runs from the seaport at Port Providence to where it connects with the main line to the north-west of Providence.

Sea
Arcacia has one seaport located in Port Providence, Sutherland. It is situated next to Providence International Airport and is capable of handling over a million tonnes per year.

Air
Arcacia has two major airports - Providence International Airport, located to the south-east of Providence, and Saint Vincent Airport, located on the southern side of Saint Vincent.

Arcacian Airlines is Arcacia's main airline and flag carrier and the capital company of the Arcacian Airlines Group which encompasses both of Arcacia's airlines, Air Lycanth and two Australian airlines. SouthAir, based in Saint Vincent, is Arcacia's second airline.

Language
Arcacia has 2 official languages, English and French, and 2 officially recognised indigenous languages, Bundjalung (Aboriginal) and Māori. English is the first language of about 68% of Arcacians with French the first language of about 27%, most of whom live in Nova Franca. Children of indigenous families are invariably raise bilingual, especially since the 1980s when a large effort was made to preserve indigenous language in Arcacia. Other language groups include Italian, Greek, Spanish, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Serbo-Croatian, Romanian and Russian.

Religion
Arcacia is a largely secular nation and one of the most atheistic in the world. In the 2010 census, 77% of Arcacians answered "no religion." Of the remainder, 12% answered Christian, with Catholics and Protestants more or less evenly split, 4% Jewish, 2% Muslim, 2% Hindu, 2% Buddhist and 1% Other.

Education
School is compulsory for all Arcacians between the ages of 6 and 16. Most children will start in pre-school at about the age of 4 or 5. Primary school covers Kindergarten (year 0) through to year 7. Arcacia has a very successful nutritional programme for primary school students which provides free milk, juice and fruit to students upon arrival each day. High school covers years 8 to 10. At this point, most students are 16 and will obtain a High School Accreditation (HSA). At this stage, they can legally finish their education, apply for a course at a technical college, or attend Pre-University College (PUC). Pre-University College covers years 11 and 12 and is made up entirely of elective subjects. The format is the same as university with students attending lectures and tutorials rather than classroom lessons. Upon completion of PUC, students receive an Academic Diploma and a Tertiary Entrance Score (TES). They are then able to apply to attend university.

Public education is free. Students also receive 2 years funding for a technical college course upon attainment of their HSA. Upon attainment of their Academic Diploma, they are eligible for up to 5 years free university tuition. Beyond that, the government offers up to another 5 years tuition through zero interest deferred student loans. Repayments are deferred until the student is earning above a certain threshold, when repayments are added to PAYG income tax. Students can make additional repayments at any time.

According to the Arcacian Department of Education, 100% of Arcacian students successfully attain a HSA. A further 92% go on to achieve an Academic Diploma. Of the remainder, 87% enter technical college. Of those who achieve an Academic Diploma, 82% enter university. Of university students, 88% will complete an undergraduate degree. 47% then go on to complete post-graduate degrees.

Arcacia's literacy rate is 100%.

Health
Healthcare in Arcacia is free. Medicare, Arcacia's national health service, covers those things which are considered necessary for life. Family doctors, dental care, immunisations, surgery, medication for chronic conditions, such as asthma or heart disease, anti-smoking medication etc. are all covered. Immunisation is compulsory.

According to the Arcacian Department of Health, the average life expectancy for an Arcacian is 81 years. (80.0 years for a male, 82.1 years for a female).

Indigenous Arcacia
Arcacia is unique in that it has 2 distinct indigenous populations. Arcacian Aboriginal, who have lived in Arcacia for at least 40,000 years, and the Māori, who arrived from New Zealand about 1000 years ago. The two groups have had a long history of co-operation and there is no record of the groups ever having fought one another. Traditionally, the Aboriginal population was centred around Nova Franca, whilst the Māori were centred around the Tasman Islands. The two groups met frequently and shared knowledge and resources.

Abroiginal
Arcacia's Aboriginal population are members of the Bundjalung Nation, which comprises the northern New South Wales coast around Byron Bay. Although Arcacian Aboriginals have a very distinctive Arcacian identity, they still identify strongly with their traditional homeland, which crosses the border with Australia.

Aboriginal art and culture is increasingly popular in Arcacia with many of Arcacia's leading artists being of Aboriginal decent. The influence of Aboriginal art can be seen in may places, especially in southern Arcacia, with Aboriginal motifs being used in many design elements of buildings and public spaces.

Māori
Arcacia's Māori arrived from New Zealand approximately 1000 years ago, after having crossed the Tasman Sea. Arcacia remains the most easterly location to be settled by a pre-European Māori population. Despite having been separated from their New Zealand contemporaries for a millennium, Arcacian and New Zealand Māori culture and traditions are strikingly similar. This similarity also extends to language, music, art and clothing.

The modern Māori population is roughly double that of the Aboriginal population and so Māori culture is highly pervasive in Arcacia, especially in the north-eastern part of the country. Traditional Māori dance and music are popular spectacles, as is the haka, which is often performed at sporting events.