 | |
 Australia |  United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| High Commission of Australia, London | High Commission of the United Kingdom, Canberra |
| Envoy | |
| High CommissionerStephen Smith | High CommissionerDame Sarah MacIntosh |
Very strong relations exist betweenAustralia and theUnited Kingdom, marked by historical, cultural, institutional, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments (notablythe Ashes), and significant trade and investment co-operation. AsCommonwealth realms, the two countries are inpersonal union, with the head of state of both beingCharles III.
| Common name | Australia | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Commonwealth of Australia | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Coat of arms |  | .svg) |
| Flag | .svg) | .svg) |
| Capital | Canberra | London |
| Largest city | Sydney | London |
| Population | 27,518,700 | 68,265,209 |
| Government | Federalparliamentaryconstitutional monarchy | Unitaryparliamentaryconstitutional monarchy |
| National language | English | English |
| Current leader | Anthony Albanese | Keir Starmer |
| Religion | State secularism | State secularism |
| Alliances | ANZUS,AUKUS,Five Eyes | NATO,AUKUS,Five Eyes |
In 1770,Royal Navy LieutenantJames Cook, during hisfirst voyage to the Pacific, sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.[1] 17 years later, following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, theFirst Fleet, under the commandArthur Phillip, to establish a newpenal colony inNew South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised atSydney Cove on 26 January 1788, and the BritishCrown Colony of New South Wales was formally promulgated on 7 February 1788. Further Crown Colonies were established inVan Diemen's Land (now known asTasmania) in 1803;Swan River Colony (now known asWestern Australia) in 1828;South Australia in 1836;Victoria in 1851; andQueensland in 1859. The six coloniesfederated in 1901 and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed as aDominion of theBritish Empire.
Australia fought alongside Britain and its Allies inWorld War I, notably atGallipoli (against theOttoman Empire) and the Western Front. It fought with Britain and its allies again inWorld War II, protecting Britain's Pacific colonies from Imperial Japan.
Until 1949, Britain and Australia shared a commonnationality code. The final constitutional ties between the United Kingdom and Australia ended in 1986 with the passing of theAustralia Act 1986.
Formal economic relations between the two countries declined following Britain's accession to theEuropean Economic Community in 1973. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom remains the second largest overall foreign investor in Australia. In turn, Australia is the seventh largest foreign direct investor in Britain.
Due to Australia's history as a colony of Britain, the two nations retain significantshared threads of cultural heritage, many of which are common to allEnglish-speaking countries.English is the de facto language of both nations. Both legal systems are based on thecommon law.
Pom is a common nickname given by Australians to British people, said in jest without malice or prejudice, in a similar way to how British (and other) people call AustraliansAussies, and refer to Australia as "Oz" or "down under" (a reference to the fact that Australia is notable for being entirely in the southern hemisphere).
In June 2021, the countries agreed on a historicfree trade agreement, which was signed on 17 December 2021.[2][3]
Streams of migration from theBritish Isles to Australia played a key role in Australia's development, and the people of Australia are still predominantly of British or Irish origin (See:Anglo-Celtic Australians). According to the 2011 Australian Census, around 1.1 million Australians were born in Britain, despite the last substantial scheme for preferential migration from Britain to Australia ending in 1972.
Former Australian prime ministerJulia Gillard was born inBarry, Vale of Glamorgan inWales. The former leader of theLiberal Party of Australia and former prime ministerTony Abbott was also born in Britain, although to an Australian-born mother.
There is a population of around100,000 Australians in Britain, especially in Greater London.[4]
In recent years there has been growing support for the idea of freedom of movement between the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand with citizens able to live and work in any of the four countries - similar to theTrans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand.[5][6] TheAustralia–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement includes increased freedom of movement between the two countries.[2][3]
The two countries have a long history of close collaboration in military affairs. In modern times they are members of theAUSCANNZUKUS security cooperation including theFive Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with the US, Canada and New Zealand, and theFive Power Defence Arrangements with Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand. They also collaborate in ad hoc groupings likeCombined Task Force 151 to counter piracy off Somalia, and the search forMalaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014. Australia shared the British honours system until 1975, and so four Australians were awarded theVictoria Cross in theVietnam War despite Britain not participating. Australia created its own VC in 1991, made from the same block of metal as the British ones.
On 15 September 2021, the leaders of the U.S., the UK and Australia announcedAUKUS a trilateral security partnership for theIndo-Pacific region that will "promote deeper information and technology sharing" and "foster deeper integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains". The partnership "will significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities" including "to support Australia in acquiringnuclear-powered submarines for theRoyal Australian Navy".[7] The long-term strategic goal is to help neutralize Chinese military expansion to the South. China has denounced the agreement as "extremely irresponsible".[8][9]
In March 2023, AUKUS announced a new class of nuclear-powered submarine would be built SSN-AUKUS based on a United Kingdom's submarine design that will incorporate technology from all three nations, including cutting edge US submarine technologies. The SSN-AUKUS class will be built and operated by both the UK and Australia.[10]
The two countries signed a defence and security cooperation agreement on 21 March 2024.[11]
The contemporary political relationship betweenLondon andCanberra is underpinned by a robust bilateral dialogue at head-of-government, ministerial and senior officials level. AsCommonwealth realms, the two countries share a monarch, KingCharles III, and are both active members within theCommonwealth of Nations. In 2006, British Prime MinisterTony Blair became the first British head of government to address the Australian Parliament.
Australia maintains aHigh Commission in London. The United Kingdom, in turn, maintains aHigh Commission in Canberra.
In September 2012, the UK and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, with the intention of extending the scheme to include Australia and New Zealand.
After the UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, Australian Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull phoned British Prime MinisterTheresa May to float the idea of a free trade agreement between the two nations post-Brexit. Australia was one of the first nations to publicly express interest in such an agreement after the vote. The Australian Prime Minister has also suggested that an immigration and commercial accords could be negotiated with the two nations andNew Zealand.[12][13] Proposed closer ties and preferential visa access between Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada namedCANZUK has been argued for by numerous individuals in both countries for several years.
Following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, Australia and the UK opened negotiations on signing a bilateralfree trade agreement. TheAustralia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement was signed on 17 December 2021.[3][14] It was the firstfree trade agreement signed completely anew since Brexit.[15] The agreement was ratified by the UK on the 24 March 2023.[16] Prior to theKing's Coronation, the Prime Ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom agreed that the FTA would enter force on 31 May 2023.[17][18]
In July 2023, the United Kingdom signed an agreement toaccede to theComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is aPacific Rim-focusedtrade bloc, which Australia was a founding member of in 2018.[19]
Australia excels in many sports that originate in England, and the two countries enjoy a close sporting rivalry. The rivalry is typified by theirTest cricket series forthe Ashes; there were ticker-tape parades when England wonthe 2005 series after 18 years of Australian domination. The finest moment of theEngland rugby union team was beating Australia to win the2003 Rugby World Cup in Sydney; theirrugby league counterparts have been far less successful. The two countries usually vie for leadership of the medal table at theCommonwealth Games.In 2014 England came top with 174 medals and Australia second with 137 medals. Melbourne golferPeter Thomson is the second-most successful atThe Open Championship with 5 wins. The two share a similar rivalry at theOlympic Games: throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Australia was the more successful, finishing above Britain at all but three Olympic Games between 1956 and 2012, the nadir occurring in 1996 when Australia finished in 7th place and Great Britain finished in 36th place.[20][21][22] Australian tennis players have been particularly successful in themen's doubles atWimbledon with pairings such asMark Woodforde and 9-time winnerTodd Woodbridge;Rod Laver,John Newcombe andMargaret Court all won multiple singles titles at Wimbledon but no British player has won theAustralian Open since1934. Following the conclusion 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris it was British-born track cyclistMatthew Richardson who had won three medals whilst competing for Australia at the aforementioned 2024 Olympics would be switching his allegiance to theBritish Cycling team following following a successful application to theUnion Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to change allegiance.[23][24][25][26] This defection was not well received in Australia withAusCycling saying it was exploring the option of whether to enforce a two-year 'non-competition order' on Richardson which would effectively ban the three-time Olympic medallist from competing for British team on the international stage until 2026.[27]
There is a long history of cultural exchange between the two countries, and Australians often use Britain as a stepping-stone to international success, whether these are artists such asBarry Humphries or businessmen such asRupert Murdoch who controls flagship newspapers such asThe Times and has a large stake in pay-TV companyBSkyB.Australian soap operas became particularly popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, withNeighbours commanding British daily audiences of 19 million in 1990[28] although this declined to 5 million by 2007, still nearly ten times the Australian audience.[28] Soap alumni such asKylie Minogue,Dannii Minogue andJason Donovan have continued to have successful careers in music and on the stage in Britain, whileNeighbours has even been held responsible for introducing therising inflection to England.[29] Australian comedians have thrived in the UK, fromClive James toAdam Hills andTim Minchin. AcademicGermaine Greer played a leading role in British gender politics after the publication ofThe Female Eunuch in London in 1970. GalleristRebecca Hossack was the Australian Cultural Development Officer in London from 1993 to 1997.Vassilie Trunoff led tours of his native Australia asballet master of what became theEnglish National Ballet. In autumn 2013, theRoyal Academy held a major survey of Australian art.[30]
The City of London has been funding the development of resources in Australia since colonial times, and Anglo-Australian companies have become some of the biggest multinational mining companies such asRio Tinto andBHP. The oil industry in Australia started withCommonwealth Oil Refineries, a collaboration between the Australian government and theAnglo-Persian Oil Company (laterBP). Ties are strong in the media industry; Rupert Murdoch's involvement in British newspapers and BSkyB is mentioned above, butFremantle has gone the other way toacquire and mergeCrackerjack Productions withthe creators ofNeighbours.
The relationship is supported through theAustralian British Chamber of Commerce in Australia andAustralian Business in the UK based in the Australia Centre in London.
The British carried out 12nuclears tests on Australian territory from October 3, 1952, until October 9, 1957, the three test zones areEmu Fiel,Montebello Islands andMaralinga.
The two countries jointly operated theAnglo-Australian Observatory until 2010 including theAnglo-Australian Telescope andUK Schmidt Telescope atSiding Spring Observatory in New South Wales. TheAnglo-Australian Joint Project set upWoomera Test Range in South Australia in 1946 to test missiles such asBlue Steel; more recently it has been used to test theBAE Systems Taranis, a prototype unmanned combat aircraft.
According to a 2020 poll byYouGov, Australia is the third most positively perceived country by the British, with 79% having a favourable view. It ranked behind fellow commonwealth members Canada and New Zealand, which 80% viewed positively.[31] A 2020 poll by theLowy Institute suggests that the United Kingdom is the second most positively viewed country by Australians, behind Canada.[32]
Berwick-upon-Tweed,Northumberland and
Casey,VictoriaBexley,Greater London andFootscray, VictoriaCoventry,West Midlands and
Parkes, New South WalesFenland,Cambridgeshire and
Shire of Maroochy,QueenslandHelston,Cornwall and
Port Augusta,South AustraliaKing's Lynn,Norfolk andSandringham, VictoriaLaunceston,Cornwall and
Launceston, TasmaniaLincoln,Lincolnshire andPort Lincoln,South AustraliaNewcastle upon Tyne,Tyne and Wear andNewcastle, New South WalesPenrith,Cumbria andPenrith, New South WalesPenzance,Cornwall andBendigo,Victoria
Perth,Perth & Kinross and
Perth,Western AustraliaPortsmouth,Hampshire andSydney,New South WalesWhitby,North Yorkshire andCooktown,QueenslandWhitby,North Yorkshire andWest Wyalong,New South WalesTamworth, Staffordshire andTamworth, New South Wales
This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under aAttribution 4.0 International licence.
This article incorporates text published under the BritishOpen Government Licence v3.0:Ministry of Defence;Defence Nuclear Organisation (14 March 2023)."The AUKUS Nuclear Powered-Submarine Pathway: A Partnership for the Future"(PDF). p. 7. Retrieved17 March 2023.| Africa | | |
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