Australia in its regional
and global contexts
The place of Australia in the world
Introduction
 Australia is an island continent and therefore has no
land borders with any other country
 The security and wealth of Australians increasingly
depends on the strength of the links and partnerships
that are made between our country and other nations in
the areas of migration, trade, defence, aid, tourism,
communication, culture and sport.
Definitions
Key Word
Definition
aid
money and resources that are given or lent to poor or
developing nations by wealthier developed nations
Asia-Pacific region
the countries that make up the southern and eastern
parts of Asia and some countries that border the
Pacific Ocean
communication
the sending or passing on of information
especially by electronic or mechanical means
culture
the body of beliefs, attitudes, skills and tools with
which members of a community structure their lives
and interact with their environment
defence
the protection of a country’s borders, people and
national interests and the promotion of peace and
security
Definitions continued
Key Word
Definition
migration
the permanent movement of people between nations
International
tourism
the temporary movement of people between nations
International
trade
the movement of goods, services and ideas between
countries
Pacific Rim
Made up of countries that border the Pacific Ocean
Australia’s Place
 Australia is located in the South Eastern Hemisphere of
the world, lying between the Indian, Pacific and
Southern Oceans, south of the Asian continent
Australia’s place in the
Asia-Pacific region
 The Asia-Pacific region is important to Australia
because of its political, economic and social links
 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is
made up of the heads of government of a group of
Pacific Rim countries
 Purpose – to improve the economic and political links
between countries and discuss issues that affect this
region
 Australia is a member of APEC
Australia’s nearest neighbours
in Oceania
 Oceania is a geographical region that consists of lands
that lie in the Pacific Ocean in the area between Asia
and North and South America
 Countries and islands in the Oceania include:
 Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga
 Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Zealand
 Australasia means ‘south of Asia’
 Australia’s nearest neighbours are PNG, Indonesia,
Timor-Leste, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Solomon
Islands and Vanuatu
Australia’s territorial
boundaries
 Australia has no land boundaries
 Australia has sovereign rights over the area 200
nautical miles around the continent
 This is called the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone
 Australia has maritime boundaries treaties with
Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Island and France as the
colonial power of New Caledonia
Australia interacts with other
nations
 Historical Links include:
 The United Kingdom
 The United States and Canada
 New Zealand
 Geographical Links
 Building closer economic, cultural and political relationships with
our Asian and Pacific neighbours is a priority for the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
 These relationships aim to improve and preserve security, wealth
and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region
 Geographical links include: migration, defence, tourism, culture,
trade, aid, communication, sport
Migration
 Almost 25% of the 21 million plus Australians were
born overseas
 They come from more than 170 countries
 The largest migrant groups were from the United
Kingdom and New Zealand
 Permanent departures from Australia moved to New
Zealand, United Kingdom and China
Trade
 Australia’s trade accounts for only 1% of world trade
 Australia relies on trade for economic growth and its
largest trading partners – for both imports and exports
– are the United States, Japan, China and the United
Kingdom
 Major Australian exports include tourism, coal,
petroleum, gold
 8 out of the 10 largest export markets are found in the
Asia-Pacific region
Trade
Australia’s top ten merchandise export markets by country
 1. Japan
 2. China
 3. South Korea
 4. USA
 5. New Zealand
 6. India
 7. Taiwan
 8. United Kingdom
 9. Thailand
 10. Indonesia
Defence
 The Australian Defence Force has links with the rest of the
world through:
 joint military exercises
 Active combat
 Peace keeping
 Providing humanitarian relief
 Australia has strong defence links with the United Kingdom,
United States and New Zealand
 Recent active duty has occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, TimorLeste and Solomon Islands
Aid
 The Australian Government donates approximately
AU$3 billion each year in overseas aid to countries with
low living standards
 Australia also provides humanitarian aid in cases of
regional emergencies such as natural disasters and
war
 The top six receivers of Australian aid include
Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vietnam, Philippines
and Cambodia
Tourism
 Australians make more than four million visits overseas
each year and Australia receives around five million
foreign visitors
 People visiting Australia come from the following top 5
countries:
 New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, USA, Singapore
 The top five destinations for Australian tourists include:
 New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA, Indonesia and Fiji
Communication
 Advanced technology including broadband and satellite
Internet, mobile phone networks and digital television
help to ensure that Australia is linked to the rest of the
world
 Australia’s strongest communication links are with the
United States, United Kingdom and those countries
belonging to the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD)
 Communication links are increasingly made with China
and India and other Asia-Pacific nations
Culture
 Culture includes:
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Art
Literature
Lifestyles
Values
Ways of living together
Traditions
Beliefs
Culture
 Traditionally, Australia’s cultural links have been
European, Christian and Anglo-Saxon
 Today, due to the diverse backgrounds of people who
have migrated to Australia, cultural links are many and
varied
 This can be seen in the different restaurants, places of
worship, festivals, books, music, film, entertainment and
television now available in Australia
Sport
 Sport is part of Australia’s lifestyle and national identity
 Important international sporting events include the
Olympics and Commonwealth Games
 Australia’s sporting ties are traditionally with the British
Commonwealth countries
 Popular sports include cricket, tennis, rugby union and
rugby league
Internet activity
 Collect digital images from the Internet to prepare a
mind map showing Australia’s regional and global links
 Prepare the mind map and photos on a poster or
PowerPoint slide