The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is an uninhabited external territory of Australia consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs, and the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea generated by the islands. The territory is located in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf, about 320 km (199 mi) off the northwest coast of Australia and 144 km (89 mi) south of the Indonesian island of Rote.
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around 350 kilometres (220 mi) south of Java and Sumatra and around 1,550 km (960 mi) north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It lies 2,600 km (1,600 mi) northwest of Perth and 1,327 km (825 mi) south of Singapore. It has an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi).
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and relatively close to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The territory's dual name reflects that the islands have historically been known as either the Cocos Islands or the Keeling Islands.
There are 137 local government areas of Western Australia (LGAs), which are areas, towns and districts in Western Australia that manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995. The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local governments (referred to as "regional councils", established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose.
Jonathan Donald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He is the only ACT Chief Minister to have governed with a majority in the ACT Assembly. From 2012 to 2014 Stanhope was Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, which consists of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Barry Wayne Haase is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013. He initially represented the Western Australian Division of Kalgoorlie, the largest parliamentary constituency by area in the world. In 2010, Kalgoorlie was abolished, and Haase transferred to the newly created Division of Durack, essentially the northern half of his old electorate.
The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government is made up of three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.
The Australian Indian Ocean Territories is the name since 1995 of an administrative unit under the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, consisting of two island groups in the Indian Ocean under Australian sovereignty:
The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing polities with incomplete sovereignty and have their own constitutions, legislatures, departments, and certain civil authorities that administer and deliver most public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still constitutionally and financially subordinate to the federal government and thus have no true sovereignty.
Christmas Island International Airport is an airport located on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. The island is located 2,600 km (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 500 km (310 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and 975 km (606 mi) east-northeast of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
The Shire of Christmas Island is a local government area of the Australian external territory of Christmas Island. Under the Christmas Island Act, Western Australian laws apply to the island, including the Local Government Act 1995.
The Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is the de jure superior court for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory. The court was originally established in 1958 after the British Government transferred sovereignty for the islands from Singapore to Australia. The court had jurisdiction to deal with all serious crimes and major civil claims for damages occurring on the Island.
Natasha Louise Griggs is an Australian former politician and the current administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories since 5 October 2017.
Although it is an Australian External Territory, the culture of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands has extensive influences from Malaysia and Indonesia.
A status referendum was held in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on 6 April 1984. All registered voters participated in the vote, with 88% voting for integration with Australia. The referendum has been described as the "smallest act of self-determination ever conducted".
The West Island Mosque is a heritage-listed mosque at Alexander Street, West Island, of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an external territory of Australia. The mosque was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
The Direction Island Slipway and Tank are heritage-listed industrial remnants at Direction Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia. The site was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
Farzian Zainal is a politician from Christmas Island, who is a Councillor for the Shire of Christmas Island and Treasurer of the Indian Ocean Territories Regional Development Organisation.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on 19 March 2022.
