Queensland Queensland Wodonga, Victoria Category="Queensland"

Queensland

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(Flag) (Coat of Arms)
Motto: "Audax at Fidelis" (Bold but Faithful)
Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State
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Other Australian states and territories
Capital Brisbane
Government
Governor
Premier
Const. monarchy
Quentin Bryce
Peter Beattie ( ALP)
Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
1,852,642 km² ( 2^nd)
1,730,648 km²
121,994 km² ( 6.58%)
Population ( End of March 2005)
- Population
- Density
3,945,800 ( 3^rd)
2.28/km² ( 5^th)
Gross State Product ( 2001-02)
- Product ($m)
- Product per capita
$115,530 ( 3^rd)
$31,479/person ( 6^th)
Time zone UTC+10
Federal representation
- House seats
- Senate seats
28
12
Elevation
- Highest
- Lowest
Mt. Bartle Frere +1,622 m
?
Abbreviations
- Postal
- ISO 3166-2
QLD
AU-QL
Website www.qld.gov.au/ www.qld.gov.au

Queensland is a state of Australia, in the north-east of the country. It is the second largest state by area and the third largest state by population.

Queensland is also Australia's most decentralised state: The capital and largest city is Brisbane, but others regional centres include the Gold Coast (the state's second largest city, the seventh largest city in the country, and a major Tourism destination), Rockhampton, Townsville, Mackay, Cairns, Toowoomba, and Mount Isa. Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since a sizable portion of the state is in the Tropics.

Queensland was originally a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales in 1859. What is now Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay Penal colony, intended as a place to hold convicts who re-offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales.

Geography

Borders
- North The northernmost part of the state is the triangular Cape York Peninsula, which points toward New Guinea. The western side of the peninsula is washed by the Gulf of Carpentaria, while its eastern side borders the Coral Sea, an arm of the Pacific Ocean.
- East The eastern border is the Pacific Ocean
- West To the west, Queensland is bordered by the Northern Territory, at the 138° E. longitude, and to the south-west by the north-eastern corner of South Australia.
- South by New South Wales. This border has three sections:
  - The watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River
  - The river section involving the Dumaresq, the Macintyre and the Barwon
  - The 29° S. latitude, over to the South Australian border.

The State capital Brisbane, is located on the coast 100 km by road north of the New South Wales border.
The largest city by area in the world, Mount Isa, is located in Queensland. The city area is in excess of 40,000 km².

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Other regions of note include:
- the Atherton Tableland
- the Bunya Mountains
- Carnarvon Gorge
- the Darling Downs
- Whitsunday Islands
- Hinchinbrook Island
- the Gold Coast having some the state's best beaches
- the Great Dividing Range
- Further afield is the Channel Country in the far south-west.
The state contains five World Heritage listed preservation areas.
- Australian Fossil Mammal Sites at Riversleigh in the Gulf Country
- Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves
- Fraser Island
- Great Barrier Reef
- Wet Tropics of Queensland

Demographics

Population

Queensland's population is less centralized in the capital city than the rest of the country. At 30 June 2004 the capital city represented 45.7% of the population; for the whole country, capital cities represented 63.8% of the total population.

Religion

Christian: 77% (Anglican: 24.6%, Catholic: 26.2%, Lutheran: 2.2%, Uniting Church: 10.8%, Other: 13.4%), Non-Christian: 9.9% (Buddhism: 0.2%, Hinduism: 0.1%, Judaism: 0.2%, Other: 0.4%), No Religion: 14.9%, Not Stated: 6.9%

Economy

In 2001, Queensland had a Gross domestic product of A$115.53 billion, A$31,000 per capita. Based on exchange rates (2005) this equals US$23,490, the third-lowest in Australia after Tasmania and South Australia.

In 2003 Brisbane city had the lowest cost of living of all Australia's capital cities.

Primary industries include: bananas, pineapples, peanuts, a wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables, cattle raising, Cotton, sugar cane, Wool and a mining industry including Bauxite, Coal and Copper. Secondary industries are mostly further processing of the above-mentioned primary produce: bauxite from Weipa is converted to alumina at Gladstone. There are also copper refining and the refining of sugar cane to sugar. Major tertiary industries are the retail trade and Tourism.

Government

Main article: Government of Queensland

Queen Elizabeth II is represented as Head of state by the locally appointed Governor, Ms Quentin Bryce, AC. The elected head of government is the Labor Premier, the Hon Peter Beattie, who appoints an Executive Council from the members of the 89-seat Legislative Assembly, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The Queensland State Parliament, known as the Queensland Parliament or the Legislative Assembly is unicameral. It is the only Australian state with a unicameral legislature. A bicameral system existed until 1922, when the Legislative Council was abolished by the Labor members' "suicide squad," so called because they took the unusual step of voting to abolish their own offices.

Constitution

In 2001 the state adopted a new codified Constitution, repealing most of the assorted acts that had previously made up the constitution. The new constitution took effect on 6 June 2002, the anniversary of the formation of the independent colony of Queensland by the signing of Letters Patent by Queen Victoria in 1859.

Policing

Day-to-day law enforcement is the responsibility of the Queensland Police Service, and the Australian Federal Police also have jurisdiction in federal matters.

Queensland does not have separate Local Government district based Police forces, nor a metropolitan force.

Some (Quasi-)Police powers are exercised by Local Government Officers (especially Parking, Public Health & Safety) and by some Government and NGO officers such as those from the Department of Primary Industries (especially Fisheries) and the Queensland Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

History

: Main article: History of Queensland

Colleges and universities

Towns and settlements