Thousands of migrants have been left in limbo as the Trades Recognition Authority (TRA) postpone the release of the new Migration Assessment Policy (MAP)

The new MAP stood as the most recent initiative that offered hope to migrants currently stranded without a path into Australia.

MAP would essentially consist of two streams; Stream A and Stream B. Stream A would assess those workers trained and qualified in Australia, while Stream B would assess internationally trained or qualified skilled workers.

Within each stream, workers would be assessed for either their former vocational training or formal skills recognition, and their term of employment using that skill. Additionally, the term of employment would be reduced from five years to four, which would allow for less experienced or younger workers to qualify for skilled migration to Australia. Read the full story

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Tasmania is Australia’s island state, separated from the mainland by the 240 kilometre expanse of Bass Strait.

A land of wild and beautiful landscapes, Tasmania boasts a comfortable temperate climate, quality wine and food, rich history and a leisurely, relaxed lifestyle.

Tasmania is home to one of the world’s 10 best beaches (Wineglass Bay), the world’s best small town (Strahan) and is rated third in the world for wise management of the natural environment.

More than any other state in Australia, Tasmania enjoys four distinct seasons, each with its their own special characteristics.

Both local Tasmanians and visitors enjoy the state’s temperate maritime climate. Summer is a festive season when the Launceston Festivale and the Hobart Summer Festival are held.

Autumn is a mellow season with calm, sunny days when the native deciduous beech trees and European trees blaze with a riot of red, orange and gold colours. Winter days are crisp and clear with a dusting of snow on mountain peaks. Spring is cool and refreshing, with gardens bursting back to life as Tasmania celebrates the Blooming Tasmania festival.

Tasmania’s capital Hobart is an intriguing blend of the old and the new, a city defined by the river and sea. Hobart’s maritime focus can be appreciated with a harbour cruise or drive to the top of Mt Nelson or Mt Wellington – suburbs line the Derwent River, city buildings are clustered around the historic docks and the Derwent estuary broadens into Storm Bay.

Only twenty-five kilometres from Hobart is the historic town of Richmond, home to the old Richmond Gaol and part of Tasmania’s early convict origins. The nearby vineyards and wineries of the Coal River Valley are home to many of Tasmania’s superb cool-climate wines. Hobart is an ideal base from which to explore southern and eastern Tasmania.

Hobart has more summer daylight hours than any other Australian capital city. Tasmania is the southernmost of the eight Australian states and territories, and enjoys over 15 hours of daylight on the summer solstice (22 December).

This is 2.5 more hours of daylight than Darwin (Northern Territory) receives and 1 hour more than Sydney (New South Wales) receives on the same day. Experts at the Launceston Planetarium claim that the day is even longer if twilight periods at dawn and dusk are taken into account.

On the other hand, Tasmania receives less daylight than mainland Australian states and territories in winter. Hobart has around 9 hours daylight in winter, 1 hour less than Sydney and about 2.5 hours less than Darwin.

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Australia is a very diverse country geographically and a hot spot for tourism. If you are thinking about heading down under, here is some information on Australia.

An Overview of Australia for Travelers

Australia is its own continent, the only country in the world that can say as much. It covers roughly 3 million square miles and is about the size of the continental United States. The capital is Canberra, but Sydney is the biggest city with 4.2 million people. The climate of Australia is extremely dry inland with more temperate conditions along the coast. The population centers are primarily along the coast due to soaring temperatures inland.

Australia was originally inhabited by Aboriginal tribes. In 1770, Captain Cook claimed the land for Great Britain. In 1788, the first colony was established in New South Wales. Most of the colonists were convicted criminals from Great Britain. Gold was discovered soon thereafter and Australia became a destination for immigrants seeking fortune and a new start in life.

On the far northern coast, Australia is home to one of the amazing sites in the world. The great barrier reef is a water enthusiasts dream. With incredible plant life, the reef is world renowned as a diver’s paradise. A watchful eye is advised given the presence of the Great White Shark in the area.

Australia is a Commonwealth. The federal powers are mapped somewhat after those in the United States, but no bill of rights exists. Unlike the U.S., the individual territories retain significant authority over their own affairs.

People in Australia are called “Australians.” The country has a population of just over 20 million, and the population is growing at a rate of 1.1 percent a year. Australians ethnicity is 92 percent European, 6 percent Asian and 2 percent Aboriginal. No religion dominates, but 27 percent of Australians considered themselves Roman Catholics. Life expectancy for males is 78 years while females live to 83 on average. Literacy rates are a surprisingly low 85 percent.

Australia was often considered the forgotten country. Long distance transportation changed that designation. Now it is one of the hottest tourist destinations year in and year out.

Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com - a site with facts about everything. Visit us to read more about Australia.

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Phew! Its been really warm this last week. What’s that I hear you say, warm, in the UK, as in sunny?? Yup!

Damn warm in fact. The newspapers have been running their annual – Ooh, what a scorcher features for the last few days but today looks like it’s going to be the hottest day of the year, perhaps even the hottest day of the century with temperatures topping the 35 degree C mark (Approx 95 Degrees Fahrenheit – Click the thumbnail for today’s UK weather map).

One thing the hot weather really brings home is how brill it is. Yes, its sticky at night but in Australia you can make sure you live somewhere with the correct technology (i.e. Air Conditioning) to help counteract these really hot times.

More importantly, is great to wake up on the morning to have the Sun on your back. Its even better to finish work and know you can pop out in the garden for an hour or two to catch the last of the WARM sunshine whilst enjoying a glass of wine or two or a nice barbeque like we did last night.

In the UK, a hot sunny week gets the press into a frenzy. In Australia it’s a way of life and its this way of life which is one of the big draws for this family.

Still have to sell the damn house (feels like I’ve been saying that for ages now) but we will get there!

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The weather has been traditionally British recently, Lots of snow and very cold (averaging all of 2 – 3 decrees Celsius. However the 2006 Commonwealth games started in Melbourne yesterday and it was great to wake up to some live footage of some of the sports over there.

The weather appears to be pretty pleasant in Melbourne, averaging a very comfortable 75 Degrees Fahrenheit most days. Saying that, back on the other side of the country in Perth its forecast to be in the 90′s everyday for the rest of this week

As Melbourne is getting some good exposure at the moment, I thought you folks might be interested in a little more information about the city (clicking the images below to open a bigger version in a new window if your interested).
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Australia’s 7,686,850 km ² (2,967,909 mi ²) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 km (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 km ² (3,146,057 mi ²). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.
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Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.

In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in Section 51 of the Constitution; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government.

Each state and territory has its own legislature (unicameral in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states). The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house the Legislative Council. The heads of the governments in each state and territory are called premiers and chief ministers, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a governor; an administrator in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.
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The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. The first Australians were the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day Southeast Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; they possess distinct cultural practices from the Aborigines.

The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Jansz, who sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland, but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Britain. The expedition’s discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there following the loss of the American colonies that had previously filled that role.
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