Page 61 - Ultimate Australia
P. 61
Recently Australia has been on the forefront of environmental activism, especially in regards
to the question of water management, which came under scrutiny during a severe drought in
2005-2006. On the other end of the spectrum, Queensland had too much water a few years
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the question of how to handle asylum seekers; this issue has been in the forefront of public
debate and generated some controversial policies.
New Zealand
Facts & Figures
• Area: 103,363 square miles
• Capital: Wellington
• Language: English
• Ethnicity: 0`]Z[PLY " 8LZ]T ,^TLY ;LNTʭN T^WLYOP] " ! Z_SP] "
`Y^[PNTʭPO
• Location: New Zealand, consisting of two main islands (the North Island and South
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ZQ ,`^_]LWTL LYO ^`]]Z`YOPO Md _SP >Z`_S ;LNTʭN :NPLY _SP ?L^XLY >PL LYO _SP
Southern Ocean.
• Geography: The Cook Strait, a rather turbulent waterway, separates the North Island
from the South Island. From tip to tip, the whole country measures about 1,000 miles.
Despite its generous length, its widest point is only 174 miles across. The South Island is
divided along its length by the Southern Alps and the Fiordland’s steep mountains and
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Island is less mountainous, but its geography is marked by ancient volcanic activity.
• Population: 4,438,393 (estimate)
• Religions: Christian 44.3%, Hindu 2.1%, Buddhist 1.4%, Maori Christian 1.3%, Islam
1.1%, other 1.4%, none 38.5%, not stated 8.2%, objected to answering 4.1%
• Time Zone: New Zealand is on New Zealand Standard Time, 17 hours ahead of U.S. EST.
When it is 6am in Washington D.C., it is 10pm in Wellington.
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