Characters / MTNO Australia

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Commonwealth of Australia

Official Name: Commonwealth of Australia

Ruling Party: Australian Labour Party - Right

Ideology: Social Democracy^note Progressivism

Perhaps no place in the world can match the wonders of Australia. Sitting at the very bottom of the globe, the nation has welcomed the streak of luck that came with the turn of the millennium. As the 2010s roll along, Australia is still marching on - and it seems like nothing will stop it from claiming its future as one of the top nations of the world.

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General Tropes

• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • The Fitzgerald Inquiry still happened in this timeline, with some major differences from the real thing. Here, the inquiry began in 1985 after investigators uncovered the shady business practices of "White Shoe" investors who had supported Petersen's nation-wide development programs. As investigators poked further and uncovered more dirt on Petersen, disgruntled ex-government minister Russel Hinze confessed to everything, at which point the case spilled over to the public and destroyed not only Petersen's hopes or returning to power in the 1987 federal elections, but led to the implosion and eventual dissolution of his party.
  • Like in our timeline, Australia's economy is closely tied to its trading partners in China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Chinese investors and southeast Asian laborers have become an important part of Australia's booming economy, and thus the country has sought a close partnership to the Asian Development Organization.
  • The White Australia Policy was only fully abolished in 1991, much later than in our timeline. Joh Bjelke-Petersen's government marked a shift away from the gradual undoing of the policy, and it was kept in place until Labour returned to power in the late 80s and moved to rid the country of the policy.
• Crapsaccharine World: Averted. Australia is one of the few places in this timeline that is doing quite well for itself and has no major problems lurking beneath the surface. It is a healthy democracy, its economy has seen a continued boom since the 90s, and recent governments have worked to improve civil rights for Aborigines and other minorities.
• Democracy Is Flawed: Subverted. One would think that Joh Bjelke-Petersen's downright unconstitutional actions during his time in government would deal a permanent blow to Australian democracy and kill it for good, but that wasn't the case. Petersen and his party had their reputations destroyed by revelations of their extensive corruption, and future governments managed to peel away the damages and bring democracy back from the brink of destruction. The result is that, in MTNO, Australia is much freer and prosperous than it was even before Petersen, while radicalism has been virtually extinguished from mainstream politics.
• The Federation: One of the original founders of the OFN, Australia is still a major member of the Organization and America's most important ally in the region.
• The Migration: During the 1970s, Australia, still under the White Australia policy at the time, welcomed thousands of British refugees fleeing from the famine happening in the isles, happily allowing them to settle across the country.
• Not So Invincible After All: Australia is a model nation at the very beginning - it is a strong democracy with a healthy economy that hasn't seen any major slumps since 1991. It is clear from first glance that the country is doing well and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, should China fall into civil war, Australia's economy will enter its first recession since 1991, putting a stop to its economic miracle. Things will only worsen if Japan and China go to war and the United States loses the Cold War, at which point Australia will be facing the biggest economic crisis it has seen in over a century and the political establishment will collapse, allowing radicals to emerge once again and threaten to end Australian democracy for good.
• Realpolitik: Australia will maintain its ties to China and the ADO even if they align with the Germans over the OFN, given that China is a major trading partner and Australia can't afford to compromise its economy for the sake of stopping German influence from creeping into Asia.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: Australia has done much to redeem its reputation and do away with its unsavory past. Its democracy came out stronger than ever as it recovered from the nightmare that was Bjelke-Petersen's government, while the White Australia policy was discarded and Aborigines and Asians began to be treated with respect and care for the first time. This, combined with Australia's booming economy, has repaired Australia's standings and given it the perception of a respectable country.
• Unperson: In the more sinister part of recent Australian history, several journalists and Labour politicians disappeared during the 1970s and were never seen again. The most high profile case would be that of Bob Hawke, a trade unionist and opponent of Petersen who simply vanished from public eye.

Prime Minister

Brendan Nelson

Role: Prime Minister

Party: Australian Labour Party - Right

Ideology: Social Democracy^note Progressivism

The Incumbent Prime Minister of Australia. Like his predecessors, Nelson has worked hard to improve the lives of Australia's citizens and continue the policy of multiculturalism, his tenure marking yet more progress and prosperity for the nation. Hopefully, his successors will follow his same steps.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: In real life, Brendan Nelson was a member of the Australian Labour Party who defected to the Liberals and worked under their governments during the 2000s, frustrated by Labour's failures. In this timeline, he never defected, and eventually rose to become Prime Minister for the Labour Party.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Nelson is a social democrat and a moderate who was worked to improve the livelihood of all Australians, often crossing party lines to work with the Liberals in achieving this goal.