Australia

The country of Australia is an island continent between the Indian Ocean to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, with a population of 20.3 million and capital city of Canberra.

Media
The BBC says of the country's media:


 * Australia's media scene is creatively, technologically and economically advanced. There is a tradition of public broadcasting, but privately-owned TV and radio enjoy the lion's share of listening and viewing. Ownership of print and broadcast media is highly-concentrated. For example, four major media groups own 80% of Australia's newspaper titles.


 * The John Howard government changed the regulations governing media ownership. The rules, introduced in 2007, allow for greater cross-ownership of press and TV outlets as well as higher levels of foreign ownership.

U.S. military/communications/intelligence bases in Australia
The U.S. has the Richmond Royal Australian Air Force Base and the Woomera Air Station, Woomera in Australia.

Some types of bases exist to facilitate nuclear war. The American Friends Service Committee says that these bases "provide a launching point for nuclear attack. In many ways, the U.S. first-strike nuclear doctrine is made possible by the forward deployment of nuclear weapons in Belgium, Britain, Greece, Germany, Holland, and Turkey. US communication bases in Britain, Japan, Australia, and other nations are essential for communicating orders to initiate nuclear war and for targeting nuclear and other high-tech weapons."

Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee mentions some purposes of U.S. military bases:
 * "To encircle enemies. This was the case with the Soviet Union and China during Cold War and it continues to this day. U.S. bases in Korea, Japan, Guam, Australia and in Central Asia are all designed to contain China. We also see encirclement with the "missile defense" bases to be built in the Czech Republic and Poland."
 * "To facilitate command, control, communications and intelligence for "conventional" and nuclear war and for spying. U.S. bases in Britain, Italy, Scandinavia, Australia, Japan, Qatar, and Australia serve these functions. Elsewhere, U.S. bases in Australia are being augmented. The "Visiting Forces" and access agreements with the Philippines and Singapore, are being expanded, and Tsunami relief operations in 2005 opened the way for U.S. forces to return to Thailand and for greater cooperation with the Indonesian military."

Leaders

 * Kevin Rudd, Prime minister since November 2007, when his Labor Party ended more than 11 years of conservative rule.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * American-Australian Free Trade Agreement Coalition
 * Articles/Australia
 * Astroturfing in Australia
 * AusAID
 * Australia Institute
 * Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council
 * Australia Network
 * Australia's Right to Know
 * Australian Association of National Advertisers
 * Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 * Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics
 * Australian Capital Territory SLAPPs
 * Australia China Business Council
 * Australian Christian Lobby
 * Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in East Timor
 * Australian Fabian Society
 * Australian Family Association
 * Australian Government Advertising Campaigns
 * Australian Labor Party
 * Australian State Government Media Units
 * Liberal Party of Australia
 * Public relations firms/Australia
 * Sourcewatch/Australia

External articles

 * Phil Mercer, "Australia burdened by Pacific setbacks", BBC, January 5, 2007.
 * Nick Bryant, "Controversies cloud Australia Day", BBC, January 25, 2007.
 * "The agony of Australia's Stolen Generation", BBC, August 9, 2007.

External resources

 * US Bases in Australia, Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, accessed March 2008.
 * Timeline: Australia, BBC, accessed March 2008.