Commonwealth of Australasia (6.0)

The Commonwealth of Australasia is the legal continuity of the government's of the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand who merged together after the Trinity test to ensure the safeguard of stability and the protection of their citizens. The New Zealand war of Independence (1945) and the Maori-Australasian War (1947), would cause the territories of New Zealand (to eventually form The Empire of Polynesia), Tasmania and several southern islands to be lost and would spark several revolts in the mainland states. The Queensland Insurgency, a decades long guerrilla war against the Blue Collar Brigade, would lead to the slow and eventual loss of all of Queensland in 1990 although by that time any claim of federal control was not realistic. Today the Commonwealth comprises of the States of Victoria, New South Wales and Southern Australia although the latter in the form of a exiled parliament who have no land. The Commonwealth would be defeated by the Red Banner after the Australasian government underestimated the strength and size of the socialist forces and declared war. The Commonwealth would capitulate to the Red Banner after a short war, being annexed by the reds and it's Adelaide territories gifted to the Divum Order.

## Politics

The politics of the nation have changed little since 1945, with the Liberal-Country and Labor parties retaining their political stranglehold on politic even more so with most of the nation (and radicals) not apart of Parliament. the only major change was in the 1970's when the Labor government conducted a controversial referendum on the Australasian Constitution which led to the removal of any and all powers of the Queen/United Kingdom (as the last contact with the UK was in 1946) and replaced them with a parliamentary elected governor-general. The politics of Australia in the 1990's is dominated by the relatively Labor-leaning state of Victoria and in a far second New South Wales and such, despite mass migration south, conservative politics have had to temper their views and focus more on reconstruction and nationalist politics.

## Culture/Society

Australasian culture has been markedly impacted by the collapse, the loss of the majority of the nation and many defeats in wars has left it's mark on the nation psyche. With the remaining land left under federal control being old Labor heartlands it has meant that conservatism and right-wing politics have been left on the backburner and been replaced with a strong nationalist bent which means that any government which abandons the goal of reclaiming the mainland would be committing political suicide.

### Law and Order

While economies, industries and governments fell it turned out that the legal forces of Australasia faired surprisingly well from the catastrophe. The most complicated equipment they had were handguns and automobiles, and even bicycles were extremely common for officers to use. Despite the loss of many records the police forces of the federal and state governments were able to reorganise fairly quickly from the initial shock of the floods. Many police forces are supplemented by young men performing national service and after 6 months of job training they are usually sent to their home towns or suburbs to finish the rest of their 3 year conscription term. This use of conscription has led to vastly larger police forces with many constables to throw around and although this has led to use of over-policing and their use in strike-breaking and breaking protests and riots no-one can claim that crime has ever been an issue in the Commonwealth. Although obviously recruiting any 18 year old conscript for the police might present problems, the Commonwealth Police have set up universal standards for entry which even conscripts have to pass to enter meaning that the physical standards and generally the psychological standards are respected.

## Geography

The Commonwealth currently consists of the entirety of Victoria, making up 80% of the population of the nation and effectively running the affairs of the nation, the Victorian bias has led to claims of the state sabotaging and dragging its feet on any expansion into the other states. New South Wales currently consists of country towns and military bases, being a border region where refugees enter and military patrols leave. South Australia gave up its last remaining territory to Victoria in the late 60's with the promise that a program of resettlement and expansion would occur to retake their state, however that promise was reneged and was one of the major reasons in the Liberal government falling in 1970. The Australian Capital Territory is now at an odd position, where before it was a bush capital it is now one of the major cities and a border hub. The nation currently is dominated by the farmlands of the Murray River Basin and the flooding has only made agriculture and farming only more profitable and easy.

## Military

The Australasian Armed Forces (AAF) consists of the Australasian Army, the Australasian Air Force and the Australasian Navy. The AAF is an experienced military force, forged in several post-Trinity wars and the decades long guerrilla campaigns in Queensland and other states.

### Australasian Army

After failures in New Zealand and the various anti-guerrilla campaigns in Queensland and elsewhere the Australasian Army converted from an army that marched on foot to one that drove on wheels. Once an Australasian male turns 18 he must partake in 3 years of active service in the AAF or in civil service and then remain in the reserve army for 10 years, a law born out of the early wars has led to the Australasian Army being one of the largest on the continent. The army is comprised of four distinct groups:

* I Corp: the experienced, well-equipped and well-trained core of the Army it comprises the best of the best the Army has to offer. Comprising infantry on mechanised vehicles followed by mounted/towed machine guns, artillery and light AA it is a formidable force that showed exemplary conduct and results in the wars against the Blue Collar Brigade and New Zealand.
* II Corps: The second rate corps of the army II corps while still maintaining mobility is made up mostly of conscripts then professional soldiers and is consigned to training and coastal defence duties in-case the Maori return. The corps infamously took part in the Queensland campaign where many under-trained and under-equipped conscripts where either killed or wounded by BCC guerrillas.
* 1st Armoured Division: Before the Trinity test destroyed the world Australia produced second-rate American designed tanks to outfit it's army, now in a world where industrialisation is hard and most armies are lucky to have a field gun the sight of the M3 Grant strikes fear in the hearts of Australasia's enemies (that is if the tank's engines do not break down and the ammunition is in good supply). The 1st Armoured Division is the tip of the spear with several hundred tanks backed by improvised self-propelled artillery (ie pack artillery on trucks) able to crack any enemy defence.
* Reserve Army: The Reserve Army consists of men who have completed their active service and now sit in semi-active duty, their equipment and weapon sitting at home waiting for the call up of arms. Although also a mechanised force it is purely because of the decentralised and scattered makeup that organising and calling up the force requires a gargantuan amount of trucks. The Reserve Army is not a reliable force and doctrinally it is expected to fill manpower requirements for the other army elements and hold in defensive positions.

#### Equipment

Most of the professional Australasian Army is outfitted with equipment from the Second World War, modernised Lee-Enfield No. 4s, Bren Guns, Owen Guns and Thompsons make the majority of the small arms of the professional Army. Conscripts on the other hand are given equipment so old you might guess they were about to be shipped off to Gallipoli or the Second Boer War, even their defensive tactics are eerily similar with the officers and generals finding it easier to train them in the simplest form of warfare then waste the effort on any complicated doctrine.

### Australasian Air-Force

The Australasian Air-Force (AA-F) comprises several dozen ageing Hawker hurricanes and Bristol Beauforts as well as the lone few Commonwealth Air Corporation CA-15 Kangaroos the AA-F is mostly there for a role in anti-shipping (against the Maori Navy, a embarrassingly large threat).

### Australasian Navy

The Australasian Navy was utterly decimated in the New Zealand War of Independence and the Maori-Australasian War and after that the lack of spare parts and non-existent shipbuilding industry has led to the point where it possesses no military craft and all knowledge of shipbuilding and technology has lapsed considerably. While many have criticised the government for failing to save what should be Australasia's first line of defence against invasion (especially against the Maori who now dominate the seas and whose very visible patrols through the Tasman sea are constant sources of embarrassment) the destruction of the navy and its industry as well as the government forced to put priority on the Army means there is little that can be done.