Outside Australia

Unlike the states of Australia , its external territories, according to the constitution of the country , are directly subordinate to the government and parliament of the Australian Union. The Queen of Australia is represented by the Administrators appointed by the Governor General of Australia .

Only three of the seven territories are inhabited, and self-government bodies (unicameral legislative assembly) are present only on one - on the island of Norfolk - therefore it is allocated to a special category of self-governing external territory ( English Self-governing external territory ). Moreover, according to the 1979 Norfolk Island Act, the federal parliament can reverse any decision of the local parliament. Executive power on this island is exercised by the Chief Minister .

The remaining two inhabited outer territories (Christmas Island and Cocos Islands) have been administratively united since 1995 in the Australian Indian Ocean Territories , where they are managed by their common administrator and mayor (Mayor of Australian Indian Ocean Territories) . In addition, each of them has its own local council (Shire Council) .

In addition to the above, among the island possessions of Australia there are two more - this is located approximately in the middle between the continental coast of Australia and the Norfolk island belonging to it, Lord Howe Island with a population of about 350 people, and also located at a distance of about 1.5 thousand km to the southeast from Tasmania the uninhabited island of Macquarie , where 25 to 40 employees of the Australian polar station Macquarie work . Lord Howe is administratively part of the Australian state of New South Wales , while Macquarie belongs to the state of Tasmania .

In addition, the island of Tasmania formally falls under the mentioned criteria, however, its status and management system are no different from the rest of Australia.

On January 1, 1901, from the independent British colonies in Australia, the Australian Union was formed as a dominion . In 1913, Norfolk was separated from the state of New South Wales, having received its current status, and since 1979 - self-government.

In 1933, Great Britain transferred all its territories south of 60 ° S. w. and between 160 ° and 45 ° in. v. Australia, forming the Australian Antarctic Territory. In 1947, the Heard and McDonald Islands transferred by Great Britain were included in the AAT, but after the entry into force in 1961 of the Antarctic Treaty signed by Australia, the latter formed a separate external territory, since they are geographically located north of 60 ° S. w. and therefore, the contract does not apply to them.

In 1931-1934 , Britain also transferred administrative functions on the uninhabited islands of Ashmore and Cartier to Australia, and since 1938 they became part of the Australian Northern Territory . These islands were transformed into a separate territorial entity in 1978 .

In 1955 - 1958, previously managed from the British colony of the Streets Settlements Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were transferred to the jurisdiction of Australia.

In 1969, from the Australian state of Queensland were allocated in a separate external territory of the island of the Coral Sea. In 1997, the reefs Elizabeth and Middleton located about 800 km to the south were administratively added to them.

In addition, in the 20th century, Australia possessed several more now lost island territories, namely:

•   Papua Territory - from 1902 to 1949;
•   The territory of New Guinea - from 1920 to 1949;
•   Papua New Guinea Territory - from 1949 to 1975;
•   Nauru - from 1923 to 1968.

Annexed in 1888, British New Guinea , located in the southeast of the island of the same name , was transferred to Great Britain by Australia in 1902 and was called Papua Territory. As a result of the First World War, the League of Nations added to it the former German northeastern part of New Guinea with adjacent islands, forming on its basis several mandated territories , of which the territory of New Guinea (from 1920) and Nauru (from 1923) were under the control of Australia. .

In accordance with the 1949 Papua and New Guinea Act , the Territory of New Guinea and the Territory of Papua were merged into a single administrative entity, the Territory of Papua New Guinea. In 1973, the latter received internal self-government, and two years later became an independent state .

The island of Nauru was transferred in 1923 by the League of Nations formally under the joint management of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand , but administrative functions were carried out by Australia ^[1] . By 1966, Nauru received internal self-government, and its independence was proclaimed in 1968 .

• Territories of Australia // Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development // Australian Government .
• External territories // Legal Risk in International Transactions (ALRC Report 80) . - Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Australian Government, 2006. - ISBN 0642254877 .