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Do not fill this in! ===States and territories=== {{Main|States and territories of Australia}} [[File:Australia states and territories labelled.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|right|A map of Australia's states and territories]] Australia has six states—[[New South Wales]] (NSW), [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] (Vic), [[Queensland]] (Qld), [[Western Australia]] (WA), [[South Australia]] (SA) and [[Tasmania]] (Tas)—and two mainland self-governing territories—the [[Australian Capital Territory]] (ACT) and the [[Northern Territory]] (NT).<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 Dec 2023 |title=What's the difference between a territory and a state parliament? |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice |access-date= |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=18 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318145108/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice |url-status=live }}</ref> The states have the general power to make laws except in the few areas where the constitution grants the Commonwealth exclusive powers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=405–6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2022 |title=Three levels of government: governing Australia |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/three-levels-of-government/three-levels-of-government-governing-australia |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=4 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104073724/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/three-levels-of-government/three-levels-of-government-governing-australia |url-status=live }}</ref> The Commonwealth can only make laws on topics listed in the constitution but its laws prevail over those of the states to the extent of any inconsistency.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=528–30, 577–80}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|coaca430|Australian Constitution|109}}. "When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid."</ref> Since Federation, the Commonwealth's power relative to the states [[Australian constitutional law#Growth of federal power|has significantly increased]] due to the increasingly wide interpretation given to listed Commonwealth powers and because of the states' [[Fiscal imbalance in Australia|heavy financial reliance]] on Commonwealth grants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=607–9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Luke |title=Australian constitutional law: concepts and cases |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-1-108-70103-7 |location=Port Melbourne, VIC |pages=521–8}}</ref> Each state and major mainland territory has its own [[Parliaments of the Australian states and territories|parliament]]—[[unicameralism|unicameral]] in the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the other states. The lower houses are known as the [[Legislative Assembly]] (the [[House of Assembly]] in South Australia and Tasmania); the upper houses are known as the [[Legislative council|Legislative Council]]. The [[head of government|head of the government]] in each state is the [[Premiers of the Australian states|Premier]] and in each territory the [[Chief Minister]]. The King is represented in each state by a [[Governors of the Australian states|governor]]. At the Commonwealth level, the King's representative is the governor-general.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2|publisher=Governor–General of the Commonwealth of Australia |title=Governor-General's Role |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804130529/http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2 |archive-date=4 August 2008}}</ref> The Commonwealth government directly administers the internal [[Jervis Bay Territory]] and the other external territories: the [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]], the [[Coral Sea Islands]], the [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]], the [[Australian Indian Ocean Territories|Indian Ocean territories]] (Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands), [[Norfolk Island]],{{efn|Norfolk Island previously was self-governed, however this was revoked in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806021653/http://ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Territories_of_AustraliaNorfolk_IslandAdministrator_of_Norfolk_Island|url=http://ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Territories_of_AustraliaNorfolk_Island|publisher=Australian Government Attorney-General's Department |title=Administrator of Norfolk Island |archive-date=6 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/12/norfolk-island-loses-its-parliament-as-canberra-takes-control|title=Norfolk Island loses its parliament as Canberra takes control|first1=Monica|last1=Tan|author2=Australian Associated Press|date=12 May 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-date=28 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028072820/http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/12/norfolk-island-loses-its-parliament-as-canberra-takes-control|url-status=live}}</ref>}} and the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]].{{Efn|This [[Territorial claims in Antarctica|Antarctic claim]] is recognised by only by New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Territories |url=https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/australian-territories |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308213252/https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/australian-territories |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CIAfactbook"/> The remote [[Macquarie Island]] and [[Lord Howe Island]] are part of Tasmania and New South Wales respectively.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Macquarie Island research station to be closed in 2017|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-13/macquarie-island-research-station-to-be-closed-in-2017/7839640|work=ABC News|date=13 September 2016|access-date=19 October 2019|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025034637/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-13/macquarie-island-research-station-to-be-closed-in-2017/7839640|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Southerden |first=Louise |date=2017-11-08 |title=Which island should you visit - Lord Howe or Norfolk? A guide to both |url=https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/a-tale-of-two-islands-lord-howe-v-norfolk-20171107-gzg8tz.html |access-date= |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216030715/https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/a-tale-of-two-islands-lord-howe-v-norfolk-20171107-gzg8tz.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page