The Australian Republic

POLITICS:	Democratic Republic
POPULATION:	Earth: 40.14 million Space: 3.1 million (approx)
ECONOMY:	Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the five dominant colonial powers.
COLONIES:	None

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Description:

Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was passed in 2028.

Australia as a nation has not featured heavily in the colonization of space. Much of the nation's economic wealth has been diverted into the "Rebirth" project, aimed at reclaiming the vast tracts of land that have turned into uninhabitable desert. This has not stopped Australian nationals joining the millions of other Earthers who have applied for colonist status to find a new life in the offworld colonies.

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