Freedom Questions of Christian Australia

ELECTIONS
How was the head of state and the head of government (or other chief national authority) selected?
The head of state is monarch. The head of government is elected by a popular vote.

How is the national legislature selected?
The lower house, the House of Representatives, currently consists of 151 members, each elected using full-preference instant-runoff voting from single-member constituencies known as electoral divisions. In the upper house, there are a total of 76 Senators: 12 are elected from each of the six Australian states regardless of population and 2 from each of the two autonomous internal Australian territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.

Are elections considered free and fair?
Yes.

Which was the average turnout in recent elections? Is voting mandatory?
96% and voting is mandatory.

SEPARATION OF POWERS AND FUNCTIONING OF GOVERNMENT
In case national representatives were freely elected, are they able to successfully develop and implement new policies? Does government authority extend over the full national territory?
Yes and yes but shares responsibility with the states and territories.

Does the legislature have the legislative initiative? What restrictions are placed on its ability to pass laws, including constitutional amendments?
Yes and constitutional amendments must be put to a referendum.

Is the executive able to subvert the legislature through legal or extralegal means (such as arbitrary dissolutions, lack of an adequate budget, or strong limits on legislature's powers)?
Yes.

From 1-10, how pervasive is corruption? (Small explanation appreciated)
1. All political donations are public and must be published. Therefore, little corruption occurs.

From 1-10, how transparent is government activity? (Small explanation appreciated)
8. Only military information is not disclosed.

Is there an independent judiciary?
Yes.

CIVIL LIBERTIES
Is there an independent media?
Yes (but there are also public broadcasters).

Is there freedom of religion?
Yes (in theory but the official religion is Christianity; specifically the Salvation Army).

Is education free of political interference or indoctrination?
Yes (in theory but all education levels feature Christian education and all subjects are approved through a Christian advisory board to ensure that the subjects are in line with the Bible).

Are citizens able to express dissent in practice, without fearing retribution?
Yes.

Is there freedom of assembly? Are peaceful protests allowed, and are they able to proceed in practice?
Yes, yes and yes.

Are there basic guarantees of due process, and are they upheld in practice?
Yes and yes.

Do individuals enjoy freedom of movement inside the country and of international travel, including in education, residence or employment?
Yes and yes (in theory but those permanently overseas cannot vote).

Do individuals enjoy basic social freedoms (do they have control over appearance? are they able to freely choose marriage partners and size of family? How common is domestic violence?)?
Yes (in theory but there modesty dress standards, body integrity laws which ban excess piercing, there's a ban on smoking, the drinking of alcohol except for medicinal and religious purposes, citizens are forbidden from owning firearms (but law enforcement and military have guns) and gambling is illegal.), yes (in theory but divorce for anything but adultery is illegal and there is compulsory parental licensing) and very rare.

Are individuals able to freely set up their own business? Are property rights adequately protected?
Yes and yes.

PARTICIPATION AND GUARANTEES OF EQUALITY
How is citizenship determined?
By a test at age 18.

Who is able to vote in elections?
All those 18 or over without a current gaol sentence and/or are overseas permanently.

Are different segments of the population (men, women, the LGBT community, ethnic minorities...) treated equally?
Yes but homosexual acts are illegal.

Are the above groups well represented in government?
Yes.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Are the government or non-state groups deliberately and systematically changing the demographics of the country so as to dilute or eliminate a particular group?
Christian groups aim to convey all non-Christian to Christianity. Left-wing guerrilla groups often harass those with right-wing ideologies through social media and egging.

---

Any suggestions for future editions of the index?
Freedom of access to the Internet.