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State of Queensland
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Flag of Queenslandsvg
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Queensland_coat_of_arms_smalljpg
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Queensland locator-MJCpng
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"Audax at Fidelis" (Bold but Faithful)
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Sunshine State, Smart State
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"http://wwwseattleluxurycom/encyclopedia/entry/Maroon_(color)" class="copylinks">Maroon
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Brisbane
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Premier
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Peter Beattie
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ALP
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Quentin Bryce
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Governor
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QLD
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State
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$158,506
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2004-05
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3<sup>rd</sup>
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$40,170
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6<sup>th</sup>
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2<sup>nd</sup>
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1,852,642
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1,730,648
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121,994
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658
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3<sup>rd</sup>
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4,000,000
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Early December 2005
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5<sup>th</sup>
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228
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Mt Bartle Frere +1,622 m
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UTC +10
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28
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12
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AU-QL
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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 , but other regional centres include the
Gold Coast (the state's second largest city, the seventh largest city in the country, and a major
Tourism destination),
Townsville ,
Rockhampton ,
Mackay ,
Cairns ,
Toowoomba , and
Mount Isa . Queensland is often nicknamed the since it enjoys warm weather and a sizable portion of the state is in the
Tropics .
On Friday,
December 9 ,
2005 the population of Queensland officially reached 4 million. Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia, with nine hundred people moving to the state a week. Predictions have been made that by 2051 Queensland will become Australia's 2nd most populous state of 7.5 million behind New South Wales.
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.
- The state's borders are defined as:
- --- 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 .
- --- The eastern border is the Pacific Ocean
- --- 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 .
- --- 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.
- 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 km&2.
- The state is divided into several Major Regions . Other smaller geographical regions of note include:
- --- the Atherton Tableland s
- --- the Granite Belt
- --- the Channel Country in the far south-west.
49.5C (121.1F),
Birdsville ,
24 December 1972 (The temperature of 53.1C (127.5F) at
Cloncurry on
16 January 1889 is not considered official, the figure quoted from Birdsville is the next highest, so that record is considered as being official).
-11.0C (12.2F),
Stanthorpe ,
4 July 1895 {Link without Title}
]]
The population of Queensland officially reached 4 million in December, 2005. Queensland's population is less centralised 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.
Christian: 70.9% (: 0.1%, Other: 0.4%), No Religion: 14.8%, Not Stated: 12.0%
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. As of late 2005 Brisbane is the third most expensive capital for housing after Sydney and Canberra and just ahead of Melbourne by $15,000.
s,
Pineapple s,
Peanut s, a wide variety of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables, grain crops,
Wineries ,
Cattle Raising ,
Cotton ,
Sugar Cane ,
Wool and a mining industry including
Bauxite ,
Coal and
Copper .
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 .
towards the
CBD .]]
See Also: 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.
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 .
- ''structure of state judiciary ''
- ''does it have referenda? '' -->
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.
See Also: History of Queensland
