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Southern Australia | |
|---|---|
Region | |
_Compiled_from_the_latest_information_in_the_Hydrographic_Office%2c_Published_1885%2c_Corrections_to_1896.jpg) Southern Australia, generally defined as latitude 26 degrees and below | |
| States | New South Wales,Victoria,ACT,South Australia,Tasmania, southernWestern Australia |
Southern Australia is generally considered to consist of thestates and territories of Australia ofNew South Wales,Victoria, theAustralian Capital Territory (Canberra),Tasmania andSouth Australia. The part ofWestern Australia south oflatitude26° south (which includes the state capitalPerth) — a definition widely used inlaw andstate government policy — is also usually included.
Covering about half of the total area ofAustralia, Southern Australia includes about three-quarters of the Australian population, the mainagricultural areas and the mainindustrial centres. The area is also notable for its primarilytemperate,mediterranean,alpine oraridenvironmental andclimatic conditions which contrasts to the mainlytropical climate ofNorthern Australia. Southern Australia has long sufferedextreme weather events due to the arid landscape, however in recent times these conditions have been exacerbated due toclimate change.[1]
The region has several key industries which contribute to the highgross domestic product and largevalue ofexports. Southern Western Australia largely focuses onmining as a key export, whilst the states ofVictoria andNew South Wales focus on traditional sectors such asmanufacturing,tourism andfinancial services.Tasmania andSouth Australia are regional economies, primarily concentrated onmanufacturing andfisheries.[2]
Southern Australia is the richest part ofAustralia, home to adiversified economy with an expansive variety ofexports includingminerals,wine,dairy,livestock, education, andtourism.[3] Across the region, there is sustainable employment, with all state's unemployment rates being below 8%.[4]
Economists have suggested thatAustralia moves at two different speeds, with some states focusing on traditional sectors such asmanufacturing,finance andtourism, and others emphasisingmining industries.[5]NSW andVictoria are seen as traditional economies, primarily focusing on said "traditional" industries, whilst South Western Australia emphasisesmining.[6] Regional economies such asTasmania andSouth Australia prioritisemanufacturing, closing them off to advancing in faster growing industries.[7]
Attributable to the region's rich mineral soils, states such as Southern Western Australia andSouth Australia emphasise exports such aspetroleum,iron ore and other minerals. Suchcommodities account for 36% ofWestern Australia's gross state product, employing approximately 124,000 people state-wide.[8]South Australia is also home to rich agricultural soil creating a booming trade of freshproduce,seafood, andwine.South Australia's wine industry accounts for 17.2% of overseas exports, also stimulating fortuitous flow on tourism.[9]
Suchfertile soils transpire across the region, wherebyVictoria exports 80% of Australia's produceddairy.[10] The state encompasses just 3% of Australian land yet produces 22% of the nation'sGDP.[10]
WhilstWestern Australia andQueensland have experienced high growth due to the mining resource boom,NSW has recorded dwindling economic growth, measuring lower Gross State Product (GSP) than national GDP since 2001.[11] Nonetheless, NSW's main economic activities include the exporting of minerals such ascoal,copper and concentrates,livestock,cropping andhorticulture.[12] NSW's number one export market isAsia grossing $3,068m annually, followed by theAmericas andEurope.[12]
Contrastingly, theACT has experienced major growth of approximately 13% over the past 3 years.[13] This is namely due to the prominenttertiary education sector and subsequent increase in popularity among students.[13]
Home to outstanding beauty,Tasmania's strongest industry is unsurprisinglytourism. Isolated from mainland Australia, the government invests in numerousinfrastructure projects to strengthenTasmania's economy.[14]
Comparative toNorthern Australia's typicaltropical climate, Southern Australia is home to a variety ofclimates includingalpine,temperate,Mediterranean, andarid.[15] Generally speaking, southern Australia experiences hot, dry summers followed by wet winters. Due to the arid nature of the land and intense heat, the region is prone toregular bushfires throughout the summer months.[16] In addition, these fires have been exacerbated by the south-eastern13-year drought from 1997 to 2009. However, these natural occurrences have been greatly aggravated due toclimate change.[17]
The southern coastline is subject to dramatic temperature changes over the summer months where temperatures regularly reach 45°C. Contrastingly, moving inland, the land converts todesert landscapes interrupted by fertile soils, home to renowned wine regions such as theBarossa Valley andMargaret River.
TheGreat Dividing Range runs north to south along Australia's east coast bringing the high elevations of it cold weather, whilst the easterly side receives the most rain and the west plains suffer the heat. Despite the overarching hot environment of southern Australia, regions ofNSW,Victoria, andTasmania experience winter snowfall, creating several ski resorts.
Majority of southern Australia is uninhabited due to its arid nature, with populations concentrating in the cities ofSydney,Canberra,Melbourne,Adelaide, andPerth. Of Australia's 9 main cities in Australia, southern Australia is home to 7 of them, making the region the most populated area of Australia.
Southern Australia is experiencing rapid population growth and density, and when paired with increasing weather extremes presents a consequential concern for life and property.[18] Rising temperatures have led to an increased risk of health issues such as heart-related mortality,infectious diseases, and pollen allergies.[19]
The effect of large-scale extreme events such as prolonged heat waves not only impacts human activities butmortality rates; this presenting critical reasons toaddress climate change.
Whilst Australian rainfall has always been variable and influenced by weather patterns such asLa Ninã andEl Niño, there are underlying trends that implicate global warming as the cause of drier winter seasons across south-eastern and south-western Australia. Since 1970, the region has experienced 20% less rainfall than in the period of 1900–1969, and now since 1999 that has increased to 26% less rainfall.[21] Although southern Australia has experienced declining rainfall in the colder months of April to October, the northern counterpart has seen increasing rainfall since the 1970s.[22] The prevalence offlash flooding is set to continue to intensify, brought by a 7% increase in short-duration extreme rainfall events.[23]
An increase in the simultaneous occurrence of two or more extreme events, known as compound extreme events, has largely impacted Southern Australia'sagricultural industry. In each year of dry conditions and synchronous heatwaves, a typical cropping farm will experience a substantial loss of approximately $125,000 whilst in a regular year profit exceeds $230,000.[25] Simultaneously, drought years lead to reduction oflivestock herd sizes as we see lower birth rates alongside discretionary forfeiture of dairy cows to thebeef trade.[26]
In the past decade, southern Australia has experienced a surge in swelteringsummers, coupled with low rainfall leading to a longer and more devastatingbushfire season.[27] Scientists have stated that the increased regularity and intensity of these conditions is a direct cause ofclimate change, including increasing temperatures.[28] The region is experiencing an increase in yearly fire days, decreased annual rainfall, increases in mean sea level pressure, andtropical cyclones.[29]
Whilstclimate change is not the sole contributor to Australia's devastating fire experience, since the 1950s, it has caused an increase in their occurrence and intensity.[30] Such effects have been seen in the2019-2020 bushfires which ravished mainlyNSW andVictoria but additionallySouth Australia and SouthernWestern Australia. 2019 was the driest and hottest year on record, with the annual average temperature increase measuring at 1.52°C.[31]
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Australia covers 134 million hectares and as at 18 February 2020, more than 19 million hectares of land was burned.[33] 33 people died, including the death of 3 US firefighters whose Air Tanker crashed whilst battling a bushfire in NSW.[34] Approximately 48% ofSouth Australia'sKangaroo Island land was burned.[35]
WWF commissioned scientists estimate that nearly three billion animals were killed or displaced by the 2019-2020 fires, not includinginsects.[36] AcrossNSW, up to 81% of Koala land was burned, and a parliamentary inquiry found that without urgent government intervention and protection, the koala will become extinct in NSW by 2050.[37]
Not only do bushfires destroy Australianflora andfauna, theNSW independent commission into the 2019-2020 "black summer" bushfires found that over 400 Australians died prematurely as a result of smoke inhalation.[38] Evidence has shown that sustained poor air quality increases the risk ofrespiratory illnesses, somecancers, andheart disease.[39]Indigenous Australians are more susceptible to the health detriments of bushfire smoke due to the demographic prevalence of chronic health conditions.[40] The report implicated the role ofclimate change and outlined the imperative necessity to address climate change as the proponent for increased bushfire risk.
"Countries that clearly have so much to lose frombushfires and otherclimate change damage and so much to gain from a more rapid transition to arenewable energy economy – must do more. Countries likeAustralia, and within them leading states likeNSW" – Gwen and David Jagger.[41]
Temporary bushfire relief is expected over the 2020-2021 summer season as the region enters into aLa Ninã climate pattern.[42]
Other major bushfires within the southern region include 2009’s VictorianBlack Saturday where over 2,000 homes were destroyed, and 173 people died.[43] Additionally, 2003’s Victorian and Canberran Alpine bushfires claimed the lives of 10,000 livestock animals and 1.2 million hectares of land.[44]
In the 1950s and 60s Britain deployed numerousnuclear tests in Australia, namely the South AustralianMaralinga andEmu Field tests.[45] The Maralinga sites were chosen due to their "vast, empty useless spaces" despite the area beingIndigenous AustralianAnangu Pitjantjatjara land.[46] Meagre Indigenous citizen rights, coupled with rampantracial discrimination, led to the Indigenous peoples' prolonged emotional, physical, and mental suffering after having limited access to resources for over 30 years. TheBritish government delegated one single officer the task of covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres, resulting inradiation exposure to obliviousIndigenous inhabitants.[47] Whilst inconclusive, approximately 30% of British and Australian servicemen who worked in the area have died ofcancer.[48]
As a result of Britain's filtering of information to the Australian government, complacent ignorance regarding the tests' hazards caused environmental and health problems for localEmu Field'sYanykunytjatjara people.[49] An incident known as "Black Mist" caused significant health problems and several deaths forIndigenous locals.[50] This was denied by the British government for 29 years, and only following the Royal Commission did it admit knowledge of the detriments it caused.[51]
AMaralinga clean-up program, Operation Brumby, would relinquish any British responsibility once the area was deemed safe.[52] The British reported the area safe until, eight years later, the Liberal-National government questioned the report's authenticity.[53] Britain's declaration that any radioactive contaminants were "irrecoverable" was found to be falsified and Britain was ordered to repatriate half a kilogram of remaining contaminants.[54] Following these fabrications, the Australian government widely rejected Britain's reports, forming its own views and research, leading to a greater recognition of the damage to theIndigenous locals and environment.[55]
Following a1985 Royal Commission into the events, numerous findings were outlined, implicating Britain as failing to provide sufficient recovery efforts alongside Australia's petty compliance. In December 1993, after multiple attempts by the Australian government to recover payment, Britain paid 20 million euros, despite the clean-up and compensation costing in excess of $110 million AUD.[56] TheMaralinga site was only returned to itstraditional owners in November 2009.[57]
WhilstMaralinga is declared safe now, it takes to a ghost town, with only 4 people permanently living in the region.[58] One of the radioactive contaminants,Plutonium-239 has a radioactive half-life of 24,000 years, meaning that whilst recovery efforts have proved effective, for a long time coming, the area will still suffer from stigma and caution surrounding the traces of material in soil.[59] However atEmu Field, the test trials only contained materials with short half-lives, leaving the area unexposed to long-term contamination.[60]
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