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| Commonwealth of Australia Yarraanbaa Koey Daudai | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Capital | Canberra |
| Largest city | Sydney |
| Recognised national languages | English |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie |
• Monarch | Elizabeth II |
• Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,692,024 km² |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 25,928,400 |
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a continent and settler-colonial state.
History
British colonization
In the 1770's, Captain James Cook claimed Australia for the British according to the terra nullius (nobody's land) principle even though it had already been inhabited for tens of thousands of years. The first European settlement was established at Sydney cove in 1788. In 1790, a Bidjigal man named Pemulwuy began a twelve-year guerrilla campaign against the settlers when he fatally speared Philip John McEntire.[1] He raided settlers' farms, both to obtain food and as revenge for violence against other Aboriginals. He survived two bullet wounds but was eventually killed in 1802.[2] In 1803, the British landed on the island Tasmania, which was inhabited by 5,000 people.[3]
In August 1824, the Bathurst region of New South Wales was placed under martial law after conflicts between Aboriginal people led by Windradyne and settlers. Yagan, a Nyungar leader, led the resistance in Western Australia until being killed in 1833.[2]
In 1854, gold miners in Ballarat, Victoria began an uprising known as the Eureka rebellion. The rebellion was sparked by police harassment and arrests of miners.[4]
Independence
In January 1901, Australia became an independent federation. Soon after, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 was passed, preventing non-Europeans from entering the country.[5]
In 1956, Australia joined the imperialist Five Eyes alliance.[6]
1975 coup
In 1972, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam from the Labor Party was elected and implemented universal healthcare and free college.[7] In 1973, the White Australia policy was officially removed.[5] In 1975, he recognized independence of Papua New Guinea and returned ancestral lands to the Gurindji people[8] but was overthrown by the CIA shortly after[9] with the help of governor-general John Kerr, who was a former CIA asset.[10]
Aboriginal genocide
Early governors of New South Wales sent detachments to terrorize the indigenous populations.[1] In Queensland, 65,000 Aboriginals were killed by white settlers between 1820 and the early 1900's. Throughout Australia, 140 frontier massacres occurred between 1831 and 1918. In Tasmania, the entire indigenous population was wiped out by 1876. The most recent massacre was in Coniston in the Northern Territory, where 60 Aboriginals, including children, were killed after the death of one settler in 1928.[3] Until 1965, Aboriginals could not vote.[11]
More than 35% of Australian Aboriginals are now unemployed. In some rural areas, it is as high as 90%. Aboriginal life expectancy is 20 years lower than the rest of Australia and Aboriginals are 29 times more likely to be in prison.[12]
Uluru Statement
In 2017, delegates from 250 indigenous communities made a proposal for an indigenous advisory body to the Australian parliament. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ruled out a referendum that could have enshrined the proposal in the constitution.[13]
Denialism
In order to avoid persecution for the genocide of the indigenous peoples, the Australian government refused to recognize genocide as a crime until 2002 and has continued to refuse to make it apply to previous genocides.[14]
Foreign policy
Aggression against China
Australian major general and war criminal Jim Moran said in 2021 that Australia was going to go to war with China within 10 years and perhaps as early as 2024. He called pacifists "panda huggers" and said China would invade Australia after reunifying with Taiwan. Australian news program 60 Minutes said that Australians must be prepared to die to protect the Republic of China and called New Zealand "New Xi-Land" for refusing to align with the United States.[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gary Pearce (2021-06-27). "Australia Was Founded on an Act of Genocide. It’s Time to Make Amends." Jacobin. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Busting the myth of peaceful settlement". Australians Together. Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The truth about white Australia: The genocide few talk about" (2021-09-17). CGTN. Archived from the original on 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ "The Eureka rebellion" (2016-04-28). The Socialist. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jed Graham (2020-07-22). "History of the White Australia Policy" History of Yesterday. Archived from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ↑ Richard Norton-Taylor (2010-06-25). "Not so secret: deal at the heart of UK-US intelligence" The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- ↑ Jenny Hocking (2008). Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History (pp. 321–5). The Miegunyah Press. ISBN 9780522857054
- ↑ "Gough Whitlam – In Office". National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- ↑ William Blum (2003). Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II. London: Common Courage Press. ISBN 1-56751-252-6
- ↑ Guy Rundle (2020-07-17). "The PM, the spy and the governor-general: what John Kerr didn’t tell the palace" Crikey. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ↑ Ron Hall (2022-07-04). "NAIDOC Week" The Guardian.
- ↑ Yabu Bilyana (2019-04-15). "Yabu Bilyana addresses ICFI World Conference: “Genocide of indigenous peoples is still practiced throughout Australia”" World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
- ↑ "Australian PM accused of 'humiliating' indigenous leaders" (2018-08-09). CGTN. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ↑ The Holodomor Genocide Question: How Wikipedia Lies to You
- ↑ Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-11-18). "Australian war propaganda keeps getting crazier" Monthly Review. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-06-30.