AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALES
SPECIMEN NEWSPAPER WRAPPER
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) isa state on the eastcoast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The AustralianCapital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales'state capital is Sydney,which is also Australia's most populous city.[6] In December 2021, the population of New South Waleswas over 8 million,[1] making it Australia's most populous state. Justunder two-thirds of the state's population, 5.3 million, live in theGreater Sydney area.[7]
The Colonyof New South Wales wasfounded as a British penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised more than half ofthe Australian mainland with its westernboundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825. The colony then also included the islandterritories of Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, mostof the colony's area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became the various statesand territories of Australia.However, the Swan River Colony was never administered as part of New South Wales.
Lord Howe Island remains part of New SouthWales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal territory, as have the areas now known as the Australian CapitalTerritory and the Jervis Bay Territory.
Main article: History of New South Wales
Main article: Prehistory of Australia
The original inhabitants of New South Waleswere the Aboriginal tribes whoarrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlementthere were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region.[8]
The Wodi wodi people are the original custodians ofthe Illawarra region of South Sydney.[9] Speaking a variant of the Dharawal language, the Wodi Wodi peoples livedacross a large stretch of land which was roughly surrounded by what is nowknown as Campbelltown, Shoalhaven River and Moss Vale.[9]
The Bundjalung people are the original custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas.[10]
There are other Aboriginal peoples whosetraditional lands are within what is now New South Wales, including the Wiradjuri, Gamilaray, Yuin, Ngarigo, Gweagal, and Ngiyampaa peoples.
In 1770 James Cook charted the unmapped eastern coast of the continentof NewHolland, now Australia, andclaimed the entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory.[11] Cook first named the land New Wales which was lateramended to New South Wales (NSW).[12]
In January 1788 Arthur Phillip arrived in Botany Bay with the First Fleet of 11 vessels, which carried over a thousandsettlers, including 736 convicts.[13] A few days after arrival at Botany Bay, the fleet moved to the more suitable Port Jackson, where Phillip established a settlement at the place henamed Sydney Cove (in honour of the Secretary of State, LordSydney) on 26 January 1788.[14] This date later became Australia's nationalday, Australia Day. The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillipon 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Phillip, as Governorof New South Wales, exercisednominal authority over all of Australia east of the 135th meridian east between the latitudes of 10°37'S and 43°39'S, anarea which includes modern New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.[15] He remained as governor until 1792.[16]
The settlement was initially planned to bea self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade andshipbuilding were banned in order to keep the convicts isolated. However, afterthe departure of Governor Phillip, the colony's military officers beganacquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships.Former convicts also farmed land granted to them and engaged in trade. Farmsspread to the more fertile lands surrounding Paramatta, Windsor and Camden, and by 1803 the colony was self-sufficient in grain.Boat building was developed in order to make travel easier and exploit themarine resources of the coastal settlements. Sealing and whaling becameimportant industries.[17]
In March 1804, several hundred UnitedIrish exiles in the CastleHill area (now a suburb of Sydney)conspired to seize control of the colony and to capture ships for a return toIreland.[18] Poorly armed, and with their leader PhilipCunningham captured,[19] the main body of insurgents were routed in anencounter loyalists—recalling the decisive rebeldefeat in Ireland in 1798—celebratedas the SecondBattle of Vinegar Hill. Fifteenwere killed and nine executed.[20]
Lachlan Macquarie (governor 1810–1821) commissioned the constructionof roads, wharves, churches and public buildings, sent explorers out fromSydney and employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney.[21] A road across the BlueMountains was completed in1815, opening the way for large scale farming and grazing in the lightly woodedpastures west of the Great Dividing Range.[22]
In 1825 Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania)became a separate colony and the western border of New South Wales was extendedto the 129th meridian east (now the West Australian border).[23]
From the 1820s squatters increasingly established unauthorised cattle andsheep runs beyond the official limits of the settled colony. In 1836 an annuallicence was introduced in an attempt to control the pastoral industry, butbooming wool prices and the high cost of land in the settled areas encouragedfurther squatting. The expansion of the pastoral industry led to violent episodesof conflict between settlers and traditional Aboriginal landowners, such asthe Myall Creek massacre of 1838.[24] By 1844 wool accounted for half of the colony'sexports and by 1850 most of the eastern third of New South Wales was controlledby fewer than 2,000 pastoralists.[25]
The transportation of convicts to New SouthWales ended in 1840, and in 1842 a Legislative Council was introduced, withtwo-thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the governor.Former convicts were granted the vote, but a property qualification meant thatonly one in five adult males were enfranchised.[26]
By 1850 the settler population of New SouthWales had grown to 180,000, not including the 70,000 living in the area whichbecame the separate colony of Victoria in 1851.[27]
In 1856 New South Wales achievedresponsible government with the introduction of a bicameral parliamentcomprising a directly elected LegislativeAssembly and anominated LegislativeCouncil. The propertyqualification for voters had been reduced in 1851, and by 1856 95 per cent ofadult males in Sydney, and 55 per cent in the colony as a whole, were eligibleto vote. Full adult male suffrage was introduced in 1858. In 1859 Queenslandbecame a separate colony.[28]
In 1861 the NSW parliament legislated land reforms intended to encourage family farms and mixedfarming and grazing ventures. The amount of land under cultivation subsequentlygrew from 246,000 acres in 1861 to 800,000 acres in the 1880s. Wool productionalso continued to grow, and by the 1880s New South Wales produced almost halfof Australia's wool. Coal had been discovered in the early years of settlementand gold in 1851, and by the 1890s wool, gold and coal were the main exports ofthe colony.[29]
The NSW economy also became morediversified. From the 1860s, New South Wales had more people employed inmanufacturing than any other Australian colony. The NSW government alsoinvested heavily in infrastructure such as railways, telegraph, roads, ports,water and sewerage. By 1889 it was possible to travel by train from Brisbane toAdelaide via Sydney and Melbourne. The extension of the rail network inlandalso encouraged regional industries and the development of the wheat belt.[30]
In the 1880s trade unions grew and wereextended to lower skilled workers. In 1890 a strike in the shipping industryspread to wharves, railways, mines and shearing sheds. The defeat of the strikewas one of the factors leading the Tradesand Labor Council toform a political party. The Labor Electoral League won a quarter of seats in the NSW elections of 1891and held the balance of power between the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party.[31][32]
A FederalCouncil of Australasia wasformed in 1885 but New South Wales declined to join. A major obstacle to thefederation of the Australian colonies was the protectionist policies of Victoria which conflicted with the freetrade policies dominant in New South Wales. Nevertheless, the NSW premier Henry Parkes was a strong advocate of federation and his Tenterfield Oration in1889 was pivotal in gathering support for the cause. Parkes also struck a dealwith Edmund Barton, leader of the NSW Protectionist Party, whereby theywould work together for federation and leave the question of a protectivetariff for a future Australian government to decide.[33]
In early 1893 the first citizens'Federation League was established in the Riverina region of New South Wales andmany other leagues were soon formed in the colony. The leagues organised aconference in Corowa inJuly 1893 which developed a plan for federation. The new NSW premier, George Reid, endorsed the "Corowa plan" and in 1895convinced the majority of other premiers to adopt it. A constitutionalconvention held sessions in 1897 and 1898 which resulted in a proposedconstitution for a Commonwealth of federated states. However, a referendum onthe constitution failed to gain the required majority in New South Wales afterthat colony's Labor party campaigned against it and premier Reid gave it suchqualified support that he earned the nickname "yes-no Reid".[34]
The premiers of the other colonies agreedto a number of concessions to New South Wales (particularly that the futureCommonwealth capital would be located in NSW), and in 1899 further referendumswere held in all the colonies except Western Australia. All resulted in yesvotes, with the yes vote in New South Wales meeting the required majority.The imperialparliament passed thenecessary enabling legislation in 1900 and Western Australia subsequently votedto join the new federation. The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1January 1901, and Barton was sworn in as Australia's first prime minister.[35]
The first post-federation NSW governmentswere Progressive or LiberalReform and implemented a range of socialreforms with Labor support. Women won the right to vote in NSW elections in1902, but were ineligible to stand for parliament until 1918. Labor increasedits parliamentary representation in every election from 1904 before coming topower in 1910 with a majority of one seat.[36][37]
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914saw more NSW volunteers for service than the federal authorities could handle,leading to unrest in camps as recruits waited for transfer overseas. In 1916NSW premier William Holman and a number of his supporters were expelled fromthe Labor party over their support for military conscription. Holmansubsequently formed a Nationalist government which remained in power until 1920.Despite a huge victory for Holman's pro-conscription Nationalists in theelections of March 1917, a second referendum on conscription held in Decemberthat year was defeated in New South Wales and nationally.[38]
Following the war, NSW governments embarkedon large public works programs including road building, the extension andelectrification of the rail network and the construction of the Sydney HarbourBridge. The works were largely funded by loans from London, leading to a debtcrisis after the onset of the GreatDepression in 1929. New SouthWales was hit harder by the depression than other states, and by 1932 one thirdof union members in the state were unemployed, compared with 20 per centnationally.[39]
Labor won the November 1930 NSW electionsand JackLang became premier for the second time.In 1931 Lang proposed a plan to deal with the depression which included asuspension of interest payments to British creditors, diverting the money to unemploymentrelief. The Commonwealth and state premiers rejected the plan and later thatyear Lang's supporters in the Commonwealth parliament brought down James Scullin's federal Labor government. The NSW Lang governmentsubsequently defaulted on overseas interest payments and was dismissed fromoffice in May 1932 by the governor, Sir Phillip Game.[40][41]
The following elections were woncomfortably by the United Australia Party in coalition with the CountryParty. BertramStevens became premier,remaining in office until 1939, when he was replaced by Alexander Mair.[42]
A contemporary study by sociologist A. P.Elkin found that the population of New South Wales responded to the outbreak ofwar in 1939 with pessimism and apathy. This changed with the threat of invasionby Japan, which entered the war in December 1941. In May 1942 three Japanesemidget submarines entered Sydney harbour and sank a naval ship, killing 29 menaboard. The following month Sydney and Newcastle were shelled by Japanesewarships. American troops began arriving in the state in large numbers.Manufacturing, steelmaking, shipbuilding and rail transport all grew with thewar effort and unemployment virtually disappeared.[43]
A Labor government led by William McKell was elected in May 1941. The McKell governmentbenefited from full employment, budget surpluses and a co-operativerelationship with John Curtin's federal Labor government. McKell became thefirst Labor leader to serve a full term and to be re-elected for a second. TheLabor party was to govern New South Wales until 1965.[44]
The Labor government introduced two-weekspaid leave for most NSW workers in 1944, and the 40 hour working week wasimplemented by 1947. The post-war economic boom brought full employment andrising living standards, and the government engaged in large spending programson housing, dams, electricity generation and other infrastructure. In 1954 thegovernment announced a plan for the construction of an opera house on Bennelong Point. The design competition was won by Jørn Utzon. Controversy over the cost of the Sydney Opera House and construction delays became a political issueand was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by theconservative LiberalParty and CountryParty coalition led by Robert Askin.[45]
The Askin government promoted privatedevelopment, law and order issues and greater state support for non-governmentschools. However, Askin, a former bookmaker, became increasingly associatedwith illegal bookmaking, gambling and police corruption.[46]
In the late 1960s, a secessionistmovement in the NewEngland region of thestate led to a 1967 referendum on the issue which was narrowly defeated. Thenew state would have consisted of much of northern NSW including Newcastle.[47]
Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed bya number of short lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a generalelection came in 1976 the ALP under Neville Wran came to power.[48] Wran was able to transform this narrow one seatvictory into landslide wins (known as Wranslides) in 1978 and 1981.[49]
After winning a comfortable though reducedmajority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. Hisreplacement Barrie Unsworth struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led by Nick Greiner. The Greiner government embarked on an efficiencyprogram involving public sector cost-cutting, the corporatisation of governmentagencies and the privatisation of some government services. An Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was created.[50] Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which theLiberals were expected to win. However the ALP polled extremely well and theLiberals lost their majority and needed the support of independents to retainpower.
In 1992 Greiner was investigated by ICACfor possible corruption over the offer of a public service position to a formerLiberal MP. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. Hisreplacement as Liberal leader and Premier was JohnFahey, whose government narrowly lost the 1995election to the ALP under Bob Carr, whowas to become the longest serving premier of the state.[51]
The Carr government (1995–2005) largelycontinued its predecessors' focus on the efficient delivery of governmentservices such as health, education, transport and electricity. There was anincreasing emphasis on public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructuresuch as freeways, tunnels and rail links. The Carr government gained popularityfor its successful organisation of international events, especially the 2000Sydney Olympics, but Carr himself was critical of the federal government overits high immigration intake, arguing that a disproportionate number of newmigrants were settling in Sydney, putting undue pressure on stateinfrastructure.[52]
Carr unexpectedly resigned from office in2005 and was replaced by Morris Iemma, who remained premier after being re-elected inthe March2007 state election, until hewas replaced by Nathan Rees in September 2008.[53] Rees was subsequently replaced by Kristina Keneally in December 2009, who became the first femalepremier of New South Wales.[54] Keneally's government was defeated at the 2011state election and Barry O'Farrell became Premier on 28 March. On 17 April 2014O'Farrell stood down as Premier after misleading an ICAC investigationconcerning a gift of a bottle of wine.[55] The Liberal Party then elected Treasurer Mike Baird as party leader and Premier. Baird resigned asPremier on 23 January 2017, and was replaced by Gladys Berejiklian.[56]
On 23 March 2019, Berejiklian led theCoalition to a third term in office. She maintained high personal approvalratings for her management of a bushfire crisis and the COVID-19pandemic. However, Berejiklianresigned as premier on 5 October 2021, following the opening of an ICACinvestigation into her actions between 2012 and 2018. She was replaced by Dominic Perrottet.[57]
Main article: Geography of New South Wales
New South Wales is bordered on the north byQueensland, on the west by South Australia, on the south by Victoria and on theeast by the Coral and Tasman Seas. The AustralianCapital Territory andthe Jervis Bay Territory form a separately administered entity that isbordered entirely by New South Wales. The state can be divided geographicallyinto four areas. New South Wales's three largest cities, Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, lie near the centre of a narrow coastal strip extendingfrom cool temperate areas on the far south coast to subtropical areas near the Queensland border.
The Illawarra region is centred on the city of Wollongong, withthe Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast to the south. The CentralCoast lies between Sydney and Newcastle,with the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions reaching northwards to the Queenslandborder. Tourism is important to the economies of coastal towns such as Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Nowra and Port Macquarie, but the region also produces seafood, beef, dairy,fruit, sugar cane and timber.
The Great Dividing Range extends from Victoria in the south through NewSouth Wales to Queensland, parallel to the narrow coastal plain. This area includesthe Snowy Mountains, the Northern, Central and Southern Tablelands, the SouthernHighlands and the SouthWest Slopes. Whilst notparticularly steep, many peaks of the range rise above 1,000 metres(3,281 ft), with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2,229 m (7,313 ft). Skiing in Australia began in this region at Kiandra around1861. The relatively short ski season underwrites the tourist industry inthe Snowy Mountains. Agriculture, particularly the wool industry, isimportant throughout the highlands. Major centres include Armidale, Bathurst, Bowral, Goulburn, Inverell, Orange, Queanbeyan and Tamworth.
There are numerous forests in New SouthWales, with such tree species as Red Gum Eucalyptus and Crow Ash (Flindersia australis), being represented.[58] Forest floors have a diverse set of understoryshrubs and fungi. One of the widespread fungi is Witch's Butter (Tremellamesenterica).[59]
The westernslopes and plains fill asignificant portion of the state's area and have a much sparser population thanareas nearer the coast. Agriculture is central to the economy of the westernslopes, particularly the Riverina regionand Murrumbidgee IrrigationArea in the state's south-west. Regional cities such as Albury, Dubbo, Griffith and Wagga Wagga and towns such as Deniliquin, Leeton and Parkes exist primarily to service these agriculturalregions. The western slopes descend slowly to the western plains that comprisealmost two-thirds of the state and are largely arid or semi-arid. The miningtown of Broken Hill is the largest centre in this area.[60]
One possible definition of the centre forNew South Wales is located 33 kilometres (21 mi) west-north-west of Tottenham.[61]
A little more than half of the state hasan arid to semi arid climate, where the rainfall averagesfrom 150 to 500 millimetres (5.9 to 19.7 in) a year throughout most ofthis climate zone. Summer temperatures can be very hot, while winter nights canbe quite cold in this region. Rainfall varies throughout the state. The farnorth-west receives the least, less than 180 mm (7 in) annually,while the east receives between 700 and 1,400 mm (28 and 55 in) ofrain.[62]
The climate along the flat, coastal plain east of the range varies from oceanic inthe south to humid subtropical in the northern half of the state, rightabove Wollongong. Rainfall is highest in this area; however, it still variesfrom around 800 millimetres (31 in) to as high as 3,000 millimetres(120 in) in the wettest areas, for example Dorrigo. In the state's south, on the westward side of the Great Dividing Range, rainfall is heaviest in winter due to cold fronts which move across southern Australia, while in the north, around Lismore, rain is heaviest in summer from tropical systems andoccasionally even cyclones.[62] During late winter, the coastal plain is relativelydry due to foehnwinds that originate from the GreatDividing Range;[63] the mountain range block themoist, westerly coldfronts that arrive from the Southern Ocean, whereby providing generally clear conditions on the leeward side.[64][65]
The climate in the southern half of thestate is generally warm to hot in summer and cool in the winter. The seasonsare more defined in the southern half of the state, especially as one movesinland towards South West Slopes, CentralWest and the Riverina region.The climate in the northeast region of the state, or the NorthCoast, bordering Queensland, is hot and humid in the summer and mild in winter.The Northern Tablelands, which are also on the North coast, have relatively mildsummers and cold winters, due to their high elevation on the Great DividingRange.
Peaks along the Great Dividing Range varyfrom 500 metres (1,640 ft) to over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) above sealevel. Temperatures can be cool to cold in winter with frequent frosts and snowfall, andare rarely hot in summer due to the elevation. Lithgow has a climate typical of the range, as do theregional cities of Orange, Cooma, Oberon and Armidale. Such places fall within the subtropical highland (Cwb) variety. Rainfall is moderate in thisarea, ranging from 600 to 800 mm (24 to 31 in).
Snowfall is common in the higher parts ofthe range, sometimes occurring as far north as the Queensland border. On the highest peaks of the Snowy Mountains, the climate can be subpolar oceanic and even alpine on the higher peaks with very cold temperatures andheavy snow. The BlueMountains, Southern Tablelands and Central Tablelands, which are situated on the Great Dividing Range, havemild to warm summers and cold winters, although not as severe as those in theSnowy Mountains.[62]
The highest maximum temperature recordedwas 49.7 °C (121 °F) at Menindee inthe west of the state on 10 January 1939. The lowest minimum temperature was−23 °C (−9 °F) at CharlottePass in the Snowy Mountains on 29 June1994. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in the whole of Australiaexcluding the Antarctic Territory.[66]
The estimated population of New South Walesat the end of December 2021 was 8,095,430 people, representing approximately31.42% of nationwide population.[1]
In June 2017 Sydney was home to almosttwo-thirds (65.3%) of the NSW population.[7]
At the 2021census, the most commonly nominated ancestrieswere:[note 4][71][70]
· English (29.8%)
· Australian (28.6%)[note 5]
· Irish (9.1%)
· Scottish (7.7%)
· Chinese (7.2%)
· Italian (3.7%)
· Indian (3.2%)
· Indigenous (3.0%)[note 6]
· German (3.0%)
· Lebanese (2.2%)
· Filipino (1.9%)
· Greek (1.8%)
· Vietnamese (1.5%)
· Dutch (1.1%)
· Maltese (1.0%)
At the 2021census, there were 2,794,666 people living in NewSouth Wales that were born overseas, accounting for 34.6% of the population.Only 43.7% of the population had both parents born in Australia.[note 7][71]
3.4% of the population, or 278,043 people,identified as IndigenousAustralians (AboriginalAustralians and TorresStrait Islanders) in 2021.[note 8][71]
According to the 2021census, 29.5% of people in New South Wales speaka language other than English at home with Mandarin (3.4%), Arabic (2.8%), Cantonese (1.8%), Vietnamese (1.5%) and Hindi (1.0%) being the most popular.[73]
In the 2021census, the most commonly reported religions and Christiandenominations were RomanCatholicism (22.4%), Anglicanism (11.9%) and Islam (4.3%). 32.8% of the population describedthemselves as having no religion.[74]
Main article: Government of New South Wales
Executive power rests formally with theExecutive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers.[75] The current governor is Margaret Beazley. The governor commissions as premier the leader of theparliamentary political party that can command a simple majority of votes inthe Legislative Assembly. The premier then recommends the appointment of othermembers of the two Houses to the Ministry, under the principle of responsibleor Westminster government. As in other Westminster systems, there is noconstitutional requirement in New South Wales for the government to be formedfrom the parliament—merely convention. As of early July 2023, the premieris Chris Minns of the LaborParty.
Constitution of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New SouthWales is prescribed in its Constitution, dating from 1856 and currentlythe Constitution Act 1902 (NSW).[76] Since 1901 New South Wales has been a state of theCommonwealth of Australia, and the AustralianConstitution regulates itsrelationship with the Commonwealth.
In 2006, the Constitution Amendment Pledgeof Loyalty Act 2006 No 6,[77] was enacted to amend the NSW Constitution Act 1902to require Members of the New South Wales Parliament and its Ministers to takea pledge of loyalty to Australia and to the people of New South Wales insteadof swearing allegiance to Elizabeth II her heirs and successors, and to revise the oathstaken by Executive Councillors. The Pledge of Loyalty Act was officiallyassented to by the Queen on 3 April 2006. The option to swear allegiance to theQueen was restored as an alternative option in June 2012.
Under the Australian Constitution, NewSouth Wales ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth,but retained independence in all other areas. The New South Wales Constitutionsays: "The Legislature shall, subject to the provisions of theCommonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, have power to make laws for thepeace, welfare, and good government of New South Wales in all caseswhatsoever".[78]
The first "responsible" self-government of New South Wales was formed on 6June 1856 with Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson appointed by Governor Sir William Denison as its first ColonialSecretary which in thosedays accounted also as the Premier.[79] The Parliamentof New South Wales iscomposed of the Sovereign and two houses: the LegislativeAssembly (lower house), andthe LegislativeCouncil (upper house).Elections are held every four years on the fourth Saturday of March, the mostrecent being on 23 March 2019. At eachelection one member is elected to the Legislative Assembly from each of93 electoral districts and half of the 42 members of the LegislativeCouncil are elected by a statewide electorate.
New South Wales is divided into 128 local government areas. There is also the UnincorporatedFar West Region whichis not part of any local government area, in the sparsely inhabited FarWest, and Lord Howe Island, which is also unincorporated but self-governed by the Lord Howe Island Board.[citationneeded]
New South Wales is policed by the NewSouth Wales Police Force, a statutory authority. Established in 1862, the New South Wales Police Forceinvestigates Summary and Indictable offences throughout the State of New SouthWales. The state has two fire services: the volunteer based NewSouth Wales Rural Fire Service,which is responsible for the majority of the state, and the Fire and Rescue NSW, a government agency responsible for protecting urbanareas. There is some overlap in due to suburbanisation. Ambulance services areprovided through the NewSouth Wales Ambulance. Rescueservices (i.e. vertical, road crash, confinement) are a joint effort by allemergency services, with Ambulance Rescue, Police Rescue Squad and Fire RescueUnits contributing. Volunteer rescue organisations include Marine Rescue NewSouth Wales, StateEmergency Service (SES),Surf Life Saving New South Wales and VolunteerRescue Association (VRA).[citationneeded]
See also: Education in Australia
The NSW school system comprises akindergarten to year 12 system with primary schooling up to year 6 andsecondary schooling between years 7 and 12. Schooling is compulsory from before6 years old until the age of 17 (unless Year 10 is completed earlier).[80] Between 1990 and 2010, schooling was onlycompulsory in NSW until age 15.[81]
Primary and secondary schools includegovernment and non-government schools. Government schools are furtherclassified as comprehensive and selectiveschools. Non-government schoolsinclude Catholic schools, other denominational schools, and non-denominationalindependent schools.
Typically, a primary school provideseducation from kindergarten level to year 6. A secondary school, usually calleda "high school", provides education from years 7 to 12. Secondary colleges are secondary schools which only cater for years 11and 12.
The NSW Education Standards Authority classifies the 13 years of primary and secondaryschooling into six stages, beginning with Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) andending with Stage 6 (years 11 and 12).[82][83]
Main article: Record of School Achievement
A Record of School Achievement (RoSA) isawarded by the NSW Education Standards Authority to students who have completed at least Year 10 butleave school without completing the Higher School Certificate.[84] The RoSA was introduced in 2012 to replace theformer SchoolCertificate.
Main article: Higher School Certificate (New South Wales)
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is theusual Year 12 leaving certificate in NSW. The HSC is the most popular highschool credential in Australia with 75,493 students studying one or more HSCcourses in 2022.[85] Most students complete the HSC prior to enteringthe workforce or going on to study at university or TAFE (althoughthe HSC itself can be completed at TAFE). The HSC must be completed for astudent to get an AustralianTertiary Admission Rank (formerly UniversitiesAdmission Index), whichdetermines the student's rank against fellow students who completed the HigherSchool Certificate.
Eleven universities primarily operate inNew South Wales. Sydney is home to Australia's first university, the University of Sydney founded in 1850. Other universities includethe Universityof New South Wales, Macquarie University, Universityof Technology, Sydney and WesternSydney University. The AustralianCatholic University hasthree of its seven campuses in Sydney, and the private Universityof Notre Dame Australia alsooperates a secondary campus in the city.[86]
Outside Sydney, the leading universitiesare the Universityof Newcastle and the Universityof Wollongong. Armidaleis home to the Universityof New England, and CharlesSturt University. SouthernCross University hascampuses spread across cities in the state's north coast.[87]
The public universities are stategovernment agencies; however, they are largely regulated by the federalgovernment, which also administers their public funding. Admission to NSWuniversities is arranged together with universities in the AustralianCapital Territory byanother government agency, the UniversitiesAdmission Centre.[88]
Primarily vocational training is providedup the level of advanced diplomas is provided by the state government'sten Technicaland Further Education (TAFE)institutes. These institutes run courses in 138 campuses throughout the state.[89]
Main article: Economy of New South Wales
NSW is the largest state economy inAustralia, with service industries contributing almost 80% of the state'seconomic activity and 90% of its employment. Business services which includesfinancial services; professional, scientific and technical services; propertyservices; information media; and telecommunications, account for nearly a thirdof the state economy. Major merchandise exports include coal, copper, beef andaluminium. In recent years there has been strong growth in exports ofeducation, tourism, and financial and business services.[90]
Construction accounted for 8% of the NSWeconomy in 2020-21, while manufacturing contributed 6%, mining 2%, andagriculture, forestry and fishing just under 2%.[91]
Coal and related products are the state'sbiggest merchandise export. Its value to the state's economy is overA$5 billion, accounting for about 19% of all merchandise exports from NSW.[92] Tourism is worth over $18.1 billion to the NewSouth Wales economy and employs 3.1% of the workforce.[93]
See also: Agriculture in Australia
Agriculture accounts for just under 2% ofthe NSW economy.[91] NSW has the second-highest value of agriculturalproduction of the Australian states.[94] Wheat isthe most extensive crop in the state by hectare[95] amounting to 39% of the continent's harvest.[96][97] The most important wheat-growing areas arethe CentralWest, Orana, NewEngland, North-West and Riverina.[98]
Barley, cotton and canola are alsoimportant broadacre crops. Most cotton production is in the New England, Orana,North West and Far West regions.[98] However, the southern regions of the state nowproduce almost one-third of the state's crop by value.[99]
NSW produces about 20% of Australia's fruitand nuts, and about 12% of its vegetables by value. The major regions for fruitand nut production are the Riverina, Coffs Harbour-Grafton and the Murray.[98] About 40,200 hectares (99,000 acres) of vineyardslie across the eastern region of the state, with the Hunter Valley and the Riverina being major wine producing regions.[100]
Cattle, sheep and pigs are the predominantlivestock of NSW. The state has over one-third of the country's sheep, andone-fifth of its cattle and pigs.[101] Australia's largest and most valuable Thoroughbred horse breeding area is centred on Scone in the Hunter Valley.[102]
Main article: Transport in New South Wales
Passage through New South Wales is vitalfor cross-continent transport. Rail and road traffic from Brisbane (Queensland)to Perth (WesternAustralia), or to Melbourne (Victoria) must pass through New South Wales.
Main article: Rail transport in New South Wales
The majority of railways in New South Walesare currently operated by the state government. Some lines began asbranch-lines of railways starting in other states. For instance, Balranald near the Victorian border was connected by a railline coming up from Victoria and into New South Wales. Another line beginningin Adelaide crossed over the border and stopped at Broken Hill.
Railways management are conducted by Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink[103] which maintain rolling stock. Sydney Trainsoperates trains within Sydney while NSW TrainLink operates outside Sydney,intercity, country and interstate services.
Both Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink havetheir main terminus at Sydney's Centralstation. NSW TrainLink regionaland long-distance services consist of XPT services to Grafton, Casino, Brisbane, Melbourne and Dubbo, as well as Xplorer servicesto Canberra, Griffith, BrokenHill, Armidale and Moree. NSWTrainLink intercity trains operate on the Blue Mountains Line, CentralCost & Newcastle Line, South Coast Line, SouthernHighlands Line and Hunter Line.
Major roads are the concern of both federaland state governments. The latter maintains these through the Transport for NSW agency.
The main roads in New South Wales are
· Hume Highway linking Sydney to Melbourne, Victoria
· Princes Highway linking Sydney to Melbourne via the Tasman Seacoast
· PacificHighway linking Sydneyto Brisbane,Queensland via the Pacific coast
· New England Highway running from the Pacific Highway, at Newcastle toBrisbane by an inland route
· FederalHighway running from theHume Highway south of Goulburn to Canberra,Australian Capital Territory
· Sturt Highway running from the Hume Highway near Gundagai to Adelaide,South Australia
· Newell Highway linking rural Victoria with Queensland, passingthrough the centre of New South Wales
· Great Western Highway linking Sydney with Bathurst, as Route 32 it continues west as the Mitchell Highway then as the Barrier Highway to Adelaide via Broken Hill
Other roads are usually the concern of theTfNSW and/or the localgovernment authority.
Kingsford Smith Airport (commonly Sydney Airport, and locally referred toas Mascot Airport or just 'Mascot'), located in thesouthern Sydneysuburb of Mascot is the major airport fornot just the state but the whole nation. It is a hub for Australia's nationalairline Qantas.
Other airlines serving regional New SouthWales include:[104]
· RegionalExpress (also known asRex);[107]
· Virgin Australia[108] (formerly known as Virgin Blue Airlines).
TransdevSydney Ferries operates Sydney Ferries services within Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River, while Newcastle Transport has a ferry service within Newcastle.[110] All other ferry services are privately operated.[111]
Spirit of Tasmania ran a commercial ferry service between Sydneyand Devonport, Tasmania. This service was terminated in 2006.[112]
Private boat services operated betweenSouth Australia, Victoria and New South Wales along the Murray and DarlingRivers but these only exist now as the occasional tourist paddle-wheelerservice.[113]
New South Wales has more than 780 nationalparks and reserves covering more than 8% of the state.[114] These parks range from rainforests, waterfalls,rugged bush to marine wonderlands and outback deserts, including World Heritage sites.[115]
The Royal National Park on the southern outskirts of Sydney becameAustralia's first national park when proclaimed on 26 April 1879. Originallynamed simply 'National Park' until 1955, this park was the second national parkto be established in the world after YellowstoneNational Park in theU.S. KosciuszkoNational Park is thelargest park in state encompassing New South Wales' alpine region.[116]
The National Parks Association was formedin 1957 to create a system of national parks all over New South Wales which ledto the formation of the National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1967.[117] This government agency is responsible fordeveloping and maintaining the parks and reserve system, and conserving naturaland cultural heritage, in the state of New South Wales. These parks preservespecial habitats, plants and wildlife, such as the Wollemi National Park where the Wollemi Pine grows and areas sacred to Australian Aboriginalssuch as Mutawintji National Park inwestern New South Wales.
Main article: Sport in New South Wales
The most popular sports by participation inthe state are soccer and tennis.[118] The National Rugby League, which is based in Sydney, is the dominant professionalspectator sport.[118] In rugby league, the state is represented bythe NewSouth Wales Blues inthe Stateof Origin series. The statehosts 10 of the 16 NRL teams: the Canterbury-BankstownBulldogs, Cronulla-SutherlandSharks, Manly-WarringahSea Eagles, Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, StGeorge Illawarra Dragons, SouthSydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, and Wests Tigers. Other rugby league competitions in the state includethe NSW Cup,the Sydney A-Grade, and regional competitions administered by theNSWRL's Country Rugby League division.
The main summer sport is cricket andthe Sydney Cricket Ground hosts the 'New Year' cricket Test match in January each year. The NSWBlues play in the One-Day Cup and Sheffield Shield competitions. Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder both play in the Big Bash League.
The state is represented in the AustralianFootball League bythe Sydney Swans, who won the AFL premiership in 2005, and the GreaterWestern Sydney Giants whoentered the competition in 2012.
The state is represented by five teamsin soccer's A-League: Sydney FC, WesternSydney Wanderers (2014Asian champions), CentralCoast Mariners, Newcastle Jets and Macarthur FC.
Other teams in major national competitionsinclude the Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks in the NationalBasketball League, Sydney Uni Flames in the Women'sNational Basketball League, NewSouth Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby and NewSouth Wales Swifts in Super Netball.
Sydney was the host of the 1938British Empire Games and 2000 Summer Olympics. The Stadium Australia hosts major events including the NRL Grand Final, Stateof Origin, rugby union and soccerinternationals.
The annual Sydneyto Hobart Yacht Race beginsin Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. Bathurst hosts the annual Bathurst 1000 as part of the SupercarsChampionship at MountPanorama Circuit.
The equine sports of campdrafting and polocrosse were developed in New South Wales and competitionsare now held across Australia. Polocrosse is now played in many overseascountries.
Other professional teams include:
· Ice hockey: Newcastle Northstars, Sydney Bears, Sydney Ice Dogs
· Motor racing: Brad Jones Racing, Team Sydney
As Australia's most populous state, NewSouth Wales is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to thenation. In music, New South Wales is home to the SydneySymphony Orchestra,Australia's busiest and largest orchestra. Australia's largest operacompany, Opera Australia, is headquartered in Sydney. Both of these organisationsperform a subscription series at the Sydney Opera House. Other major musicalbodies include the AustralianChamber Orchestra. Sydney ishost to the Australian Ballet for its Sydney season (the ballet is headquarteredin Melbourne). Apart from the Sydney Opera House, major musical performance venues include the City Recital Hall and the Sydney Town Hall.
New South Wales is home to several majormuseums and art galleries, including the Australian Museum, the Powerhouse Museum, the Museum of Sydney, the Art Galleryof New South Wales andthe Museumof Contemporary Art.
Sydney is home to five Arts teachingorganisations, which have all produced world-famous students: The National ArtSchool, The College of Fine Arts, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Australian Film, Television & Radio School andthe Conservatoriumof Music (now part of theUniversity of Sydney).
New South Wales is the setting and shootinglocation of many Australian films, including Mad Max 2, which was shot near the mining town of Broken Hill. Thestate has also attracted international productions, both as a setting, such asin Mission:Impossible 2, and as astand-in for other locations, as seen in TheMatrix franchise, TheGreat Gatsby and Unbroken.[121][122] 20th Century Fox operates Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. Screen NSW, which controls the state film industry, generatesapproximately $100 million into the New South Wales economy each year.[123]
New South Wales in recent history haspursued bilateral partnerships with other federated states/provinces andmetropolises through establishing a network of sisterstate relationships. The state currentlyhas 7 sister states:[124]
· Guangdong, China (since 1979)
· Tokyo,Japan (since 1984)
· Ehime,Japan (since 1999)[125]
· NorthRhine-Westphalia, Germany(since 1989)
· Seoul,South Korea (since 1991)
· Jakarta,Indonesia (since 1994)
· California, United States (since 1997)
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