G'day mate!

Just to inform you that I have created a blog during my semester for the "Social Media Marketing" class. I thought it would be interesting to share it with you! Here is the link: http://alexiajaillard.weebly.com/

I have my exams this week so it's pretty stressful ... 

Hope everyone is doing well ! I will see you in one month.

Australia's formal name is the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia is both a representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as Australia's head of state.

Federation

The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 when six independent British colonies agreed to join together and become states of a new nation. The rules of government for this new nation were enshrined in the Australian Constitution, which defined how the Commonwealth government was to operate and what issues it could pass laws on.

The birth of the nation is often referred to as 'federation' because the Constitution created a 'federal' system of government. Under a federal system, powers are divided between a central government and individual states. In Australia, power was divided between the Commonwealth federal government and the six state governments.

Federal government

The Australian Parliament consists of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Parliament passes laws which affect the whole country. Section 51 of the Constitution defines a number of issues that the Parliament can make laws on.

There are three arms of government in Australia:

• The legislature (or Parliament) is responsible for debating and voting on new laws to be introduced under the power of section 51.
• The executive (the Australian Government) is responsible for enacting and upholding the laws established by the legislature. Certain members of the legislature (called ministers) are also members of the executive, with special responsibilities for certain areas of the law.
• The judiciary is the legal arm of the federal government. It is independent of the other two arms, and is responsible for enforcing the laws and deciding whether the other two arms are acting within their powers.

State and territory government

Although the six states joined together to form the Commonwealth of Australia, they still each retain the power to make their own laws over matters not controlled by the Commonwealth under Section 51 of the Constitution. State governments also have their own constitutions, as well as a structure of legislature, executive and judiciary.

Territories are areas within Australia's borders that are not claimed by one of the six states. Territories can be administered by the Australian Government, or they can be granted a right of self-government.

The difference between states and territories can be confusing because the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are often treated like states. These two territories, along with Norfolk Island, are self-governing territories. In these three cases, the Australian Parliament passed a law allowing each territory to convene their own parliament and make their own laws in a similar manner to the states.

Unlike the states, whose powers are defined through the Constitution, the powers of these territories are defined in Commonwealth law which grants them the right of self-government. This also means that the Parliament can alter or revoke these powers at will. Under Section 121 of the Australian Constitution, territories can become states with the approval of the Parliament.

State and territory government provides more information on the six state governments, the federal-state relationship, and the government of Australia's territories.

Local government

Constitutional responsibility for local government lies with the state and territory governments. Consequently, the roles and responsibilities of local government differ from state to state. Local governments are also known as local councils.

On this map you can see the internal geopolitics of the country, its "fronts" protected and threatened its real opponents (China) or potential (India), while not forgetting the domestic problems of Indonesia. In any case, the purchase of helicopters "Tiger", the collaboration of the Australian Secret Service (ASIS, ASIO) with NSA, membership of ANZUS at one time, show us that Australia has very strong links with the West, both culturally, and economically and diplomatically.

(Sorry I didn't find the map in English...)

Sources : http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-government ; http://lesanctuaireauxidees.blogspot.com.au/2013_10_01_archive.html

Even if Australia is not very famous for its food, there are a lot of products we don’t use in France and that are a part of the Australian everyday life. First how can we talk about Australia without mentioning Vegemite!?  IT is a dark brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. The Australians usually eat this paste with bread or cracker biscuits. Personally I really don’t like it! To give you an idea of the taste, Vegemite is salty, slightly bitter and malty, and rich in unami – similar to beef bouillon.

Then another product often eaten is the biscuits from Tim Tam. Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit made by the Australian food company Arnott's and available in several countries. A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.

The meat pie is a popular ready-cooked dish in Australia. We can find it in every restaurant and some fast foods. It is normally served with a gravy sauce and chips.

Finally kangaroo meat is also a typical thing to eat. Even if it sounds crazy it is the most common and widely available food there in Australia. You need to know that the kangaroo has been historically a staple source of protein for indigenous Australians. Kangaroo meat is stronger in flavour than the meat from commercially-raised food animals. It is considered to be tender. Minced (or ground) kangaroo meat may be substituted in dishes where minced beef would normally be used.

I tried it during a barbecue for breakfast one morning and I found it pretty good! What does it taste like? Well it’s a bit like beef or buffalo but harder to eat. This meat tastes gamey.

During the mid-semester break, I flew to Melbourne and spent about five days in the city. I have seen a lot of things and I really loved the city. This is an artistic city where the culture is very present. Indeed there is street art everywhere. Furthermore Melbourne is known for its gastronomy, its fashion and its coffee. The city has several districts that I liked to discover: Carlton, Fitzroy, St Kilda or South Yarra.

Then I did a tour with a group of people by bus to discover the Great Ocean Road between Melbourne and Adelaide. It was an amazing trip!

(Link for the photos: http://aroundthelandofkangaroos.tumblr.com/)

Last week end was Anzac day in Australia. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations and the contribution and suffering of all those who have served. It is celebrated on April 25 each year in Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and Niue in New Caledonia. ANZAC means Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, so Anzac Day was originally to commemorate the bloody Gallipoli battle between the Australians and New Zealanders from the ANZAC and the Ottoman army in 1915, during the World War I and the commitment of Australian and New Zealand troops in France and Belgium.

Every year we can observe a lot of military parades all around the world. This year was the 100^th anniversary. In Melbourne, Federation Square was taken over by a sea of red handmade poppies (=coquelicots). These 250 000 poppies were woven individually and donated from around the world to honour fallen soldiers for the Anzac centenary. 

Source : http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-24/federation-square-taken-over-by-a-sea-of-handmade-poppies/6419068

Here is the parade in Sydney this year: 

Source: http://metrohotelonpitt.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/anzac-day-april-25-2015-sydney.html

What I have noticed here is that Australians respect a lot this commemorative day. This day has grown to become perhaps the most important national day in Australia.