How the people governed Australia

Australia is the only continent that is all one country. It is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, which means it is an independent nation, and it is one of the most advanced countries of the world. Queen Elizabeth of England is also Queen of Australia. There is a governor general, who represents the British Crown (the Queen), and two houses in the legislature, which makes the laws. There arc six states in the Commonwealth of Australia, and two territories. The states are New South Wales, Victoria Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and the island of Tasmania.

The territories are Northern Territory, and Australian Capital Territory, which is somewhat equivalent to the District of Columbia in the United States. Each state has its own legislature, as the states of the United States do. The central government has charge of the post office, and regulates the telephone and telegraph systems and of course the money system. However, each state in Australia owns and operates the railway lines within its borders. This has caused some difficulty, because the gauge (width) of the tracks was different in different states, so that a train could not cross a state line and a traveler had to change railroad lines at state borders. This has been corrected for the most part. All children must go to grammar school, and anyone who wants a good education can get one free at trade schools, agricultural colleges and universities. In social security, the Australian government is even more advanced than the United States.

There are pension funds for many different groups of people. There are pensions for the blind, the old, the unemployed, those with tuberculosis, and in some cases the families of former soldiers. Not only are these groups protected by pensions, but there is a cash bonus paid to the parents of every child born in the Commonwealth