Queensland

Queensland, officially the Federation of Queensland, is a country consisting of ten states, two autonomous territories, and a land area of 1,730,368 square kilometers. Queensland, along with Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and 13 other nations, is a Commonwealth realm, and is therefore ruled by Queen Elizabeth II. As of 2006, the population is approximately 3.9 million, however the population is rapidly growing, and the current estimates are close to 4.6 million. The capital, and the largest city of Queensland, is Brisbane. Since the Pacific War, Queensland has practiced neutrality in most conflicts in its region, and conflicts outside Oceania. Therefore, with the exception of one unit in the Afghanistan War, Queensland is not part of any military coalition in current global conflicts. Although, the nation is an active member of numerous organizations, such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the APEC, the Pacific Islands Forum, the East Asia Summit, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and the Alliance of Independent Nations.

Queensland, in early 20th century, was the only colony on the island of Australia to not join the new Federation. Industrialists and workers in Queensland created a strong opposition, against joining a new nation with rival colonies such as New South Wales and Victoria. In 1901, Queensland was excluded from the creation of Australia, and in 1903, the nation of Queensland became a reality. Since then, the government has adopted the Statute of Westminster and the Queensland Act.

Prehistoric/Aboriginal
For over one hundred thousand years, from as far back as 120,000 BCE, modern humans have lived on the Australian continent. Aborigine evidence dates back to 40,000 BCE.

Current archeological evidence shows that in 120,000 BCE, humans near current-day Australian Capital Territory intentionally started a conflagration to clear land to settle in. Around 56,000 BCE, humans living in rock shelters, in current-day Northern Territory state of Australia, decorated themselves and painted rocks with stone tools and the red ochre pigment.

In 30,000 BCE, Aborigines living near current-day Melbourne had primitive fireplaces and underground oven. There is evidence of bread-making in the same period in New South Wales, and bone-beads and other artefacts in Western Australia.

And around 10,000 BCE, there is evidence of boomerangs, used by the Aborigines to hunt waterfowl in South Australia.

In around 8,000 BCE, the land bridge between modern-day Papua New Guinea and Australia was submerged by the rising sea levels, forming the Torres Strait Islands.

European explorations
The first European contact with the Aboriginal peoples in Queensland happened in 1606, on the western coast of Cape York. The captain, Willem Jansz, and the crew of the ship Duyfken from the Netherlands, had sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Here, they explored the coastal area of northern & northwestern Queensland, being the first non-Aboriginal people to do so.

Then, more than a century and a half later, in 1770, Captain James Cook mapped the eastern coastline of Queensland on the Endeavour. Cook also established the colony of New South Wales in eastern Australia under King George III.

British Empire
After the beginning of the New South Wales colony, the First Fleet was sent from Portsmouth, in Britain, to current-day Sydney. The fleet began its journey in May 1787, and landed in January 1788, establishing the first European settlement (convict settlement) in Australia, with Admiral Arthur Phillip as the first governor of the colony.

During Phillip's term, attempts at an agricultural sector failed, and most of the convicts coming to the colony were sick and/or emaciated. As a result, the colony was in a starvation crisis.

Although the colony eventually got through the crisis, Governor Phillip, due to illness, left the colony in 1792. John Hunter became the second governor of the colony in 1795.

Parliament
The Queensland Parliament consists of the Queen of Queensland & the Commonwealth Realm, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, and has a total of 89 Parliament members. The House is dominated by the right-wing Liberal Party of Queensland (member of the International Democrat Union), and the left-wing Queensland Labor Party (member of Socialist International). Unlike Australian legislature, but similar to New Zealand legislature, the Liberal Party, the largest centre-right party in Queensland, is the ruling party of the nation. 78 seats, or the vast majority of the Queensland House of Representatives, is currently controlled by the Liberal Party. The presiding officer is the Speaker. The current Speaker of the House is a member of the Liberal Party. The number of representatives in each state depends on the population of the said state.

The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament, and has 96 Senators. Each state, with the two autonomous territories in addition, has eight senators, regardless of population. The Queensland Senate is also currently dominated by the Liberal Party and the Labor Party, with the vast majority of seats controlled by Liberal Party. The presiding officer is the President. The Senate President is also a member of the Liberal Party. Unlike House representatives who serve three years, senators serve six years.

The Queensland Parliament is headquartered in the Parliament House in the capital, Brisbane.

Since 1912, eight foreign leaders have addressed the Queensland Parliament. These leaders have all addressed the Parliament during joint sessions. The list of leaders includes, President of Brazil Eurico Gaspar Dutra (1950), President of Turkey Celal Bayar (1959), President of West Germany Richard von Weizsacker (1992), and President of the United States Barack Obama (2009).

Electoral System
Throughout its history as part of the British Empire, and most of its history as a Commonwealth nation, Her Majesty's Government in Queensland had practiced a very popular voting method, first-past-the-post, also known as FPP. In 1994, the government changed the voting method to mixed-member proportional, or MMP.

Until the late 1990s, FPP was the dominant electoral system in Queensland. For decades, the party with the highest amount of votes won the general elections, and represented all of the citizens. The major parties, as a result, had much more representation in the Parliament and the legislature system than the smaller political parties. Leaders of smaller parties, along with university professors and experts on the topic, argued that the mathematics of first-past-the-post naturally rigged the elections in favor of the ruling parties. The system was also exposed to gerrymandering of geographical election districts, and the spoiler effect theoretically could allow smaller, minority movements to dominate the legislature, even though the majority of the population would disagree.

The majority of the Queensland population, unsatisfied with their parties being under-represented (or not represented) in the Parliament, or wanting prevent that from happening, voted to change the electoral system in the 1998 referendums. Near 85 percent of voters, when asked about the current system during the referendums, voted against retaining FPP for parliamentary elections. When asked to choose a new system, out of MMP, PV, SM, and STV, 63 percent chose the MMP system by majority. The Parliament officially changed the voting method in early 1999, five years after New Zealand, another Commonwealth nation in Oceania, had switched.

The MMP has been called by its supporters in Queensland as “the most democratic voting system” in the world. This is because, unlike the FPP, which led to only few parties dominating the government, the MMP encourages political diversity and allows much smaller parties to be represented along with larger parties.

In general elections, voters cast two votes. The first vote is for a candidate to become a Parliament member. Like first-past-the-post, the candidate that receives the most votes wins the electoral district where he/she ran. However, the second vote is for a political party. The party may be the same as the candidate’s affiliation, or another party. Based on the votes, the political parties are represented in the government as proportional to the results as possible.

Similar to New Zealand, the MMP system in Queensland also has a set of thresholds. These thresholds ensure that the parties represented are all still necessary, and in support by the public.

To be granted Parliament seats, a party must:

1. Receive at least five percent of the national vote in the latest general election, or receive at least ten percent of the national vote in the previous general election.

and/or

2. ''Receive at least one electoral seat in the latest election, or receive at least three electoral seats in the previous general election.

A party that fails to reach either threshold will not be granted seats.''

Foreign Affairs
Her Majesty's Government in Queensland has diplomatic missions in Shisaido, Shihaisha and The Eso, Atarashima. The nations of Shihaisha and Atarashima also have missions in the city of Brisbane.

As a member of several intergovernmental organizations and international trading unions, Queensland trades with many nations in Asia and nations bordering the Pacific Rim.

The QANZUS defense treaty (Queensland, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States), is currently the only military alliance that the Queensland Federation is an active member of, and the only alliance in which Queensland forces frequently exercise with American, Australian, and New Zealander forces. Of the four nations, Queensland committed the least amount of troops for Operations Enduring Freedom. Queensland sent 25 troops, compared to 200 New Zealand troops and 1500 Australian troops.

Following the embassy attacks in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula in September 2012, Queensland removed its ambassador from Libya, and closed its embassy in Tripoli. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Queensland Federation will not "maintain diplomatic missions in nations that fail to meet the security guidelines, or that fail to protect the life and welfare of ambassadors during emergencies."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for all international relations, and policies of the Federation abroad.

Military
The Royal Queensland Army has 3,900 regular troops, 1,300 active reserves, and 750 standby reserve troops. The Royal Navy has 2,200 permanent personnel, 380 active reserve personnel, and five commissioned ships. The Royal Air Force has 1,800 personnel and 35 aircraft. The Queensland Royal Defense Force (QRDF) is responsible for protecting the Queensland Federation in the event of an actual threat to the nation.

With the exception of one unit of the Royal Queensland Army currently engaged in Afghanistan, the armed forces are not involved in any armed conflicts right now, and have not been involved in most major conflicts since 1945, due to the Federation practicing strict neutrality in most cases.