Commonwealth Club (Australia)

The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra (Indonesian: Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia di Canberra) is the diplomatic mission of Indonesia in Australia, which also doubles as the former's mission to Vanuatu. The current ambassador, Siswo Pramono, took office in October 2021. Consulate Generals of Indonesia are also present in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin.

The 2005 Indonesian embassy bioterrorism hoax occurred when Indonesian ambassador to Australia Imron Cotan received a suspect letter addressed to him at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, on 1 June 2005. The suspect letter later turned out to be harmless.

The Embassy of the United States in Canberra is the embassy of the United States to Australia. It is one of the largest embassies in the Australian capital of Canberra, located in the centrally-located suburb of Yarralumla. It is situated close to The Lodge, the official Canberra residence of the Prime Minister of Australia, and is equally close to Parliament House, the centre of Australia's government. Built in the Georgian style of architecture, it was founded in 1942 and occupied by the end of the next year.The embassy has several functions, including communicating and collaborating with Australian media, issuing passports and visas, assisting US citizens living in Australia, and presenting forums with visiting American experts. The mission has also helped prepare food for in need Australians in co-operation with the Our Big Kitchen organisation of Sydney. The staff also organises and arranges for key figures and thinkers in Australia to visit the United States to share ideas with American counterparts.The office of the United States Ambassador to Australia is currently held by Caroline Kennedy, appointed with effect from July 25, 2022.

Embassy of Estonia in Canberra is Estonia's diplomatic mission to Australia and New Zealand.

The Embassy of Finland to the Commonwealth of Australia is Finland's diplomatic mission in Canberra, Australia. The mission is also accredited to New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. As it is the only Finnish Embassy in the Southern Pacific region (Oceania), in practice the embassy also represents Finland in its relations with other Pacific island states in the region (Nauru, Tuvalu as well as the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau).

The Immigration Bridge was a proposed footbridge in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was proposed that it be built between the National Museum of Australia and Lennox Gardens on the south shore of the West Basin of Lake Burley Griffin, in the centre of the city. The non-profit organisation Immigration Bridge Australia (IBA) was promoting the bridge as a means of recognising the contributions immigrants have made to Australia and was seeking AUD22 million in donations from the public and between AUD10 million and AUD15 million from the Commonwealth Government for its construction. Initial concept plans for the bridge showed it as having a walkway twelve metres above the lake's surface supported by twelve pylons. IBA have claimed the original design was a "concept only" and a small number, or possibly zero, pylon bridge is a possibility. The proposal had proven controversial, and a Commonwealth Parliamentary inquiry into the bridge held during early 2009 received 20 submissions, most of which opposed the concept. The inquiry's final report recommended that the bridge be redesigned to take the needs of other lake users such as cyclists and sailors into account and that its site be moved if it is not possible to reach a compromise.Many argue that the inclusion of a bridge within West Basin is inconsistent with Walter Burley Griffin's vision for the lake, however the inclusion of a bridge to Acton Peninsula is clearly visible in the winning design, although in a slightly different location to the concept design.The Immigration Bridge was abandoned on 30 March 2010 due to heritage and safety concerns. The project has already raised hundreds-of-thousands of dollars from the public. The proponents of the bridge are working on plans for a national immigration monument that will be located near the National Archives of Australia in the parliamentary triangle in Canberra, using the money already raised.

Westlake in Canberra is a ghost town on the outskirts of Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory. Westlake used to be a suburb of Canberra from 1922 until 1965. Remnants of constructions and buildings are still visible today. At its peak it had a population of around 700. In 2014, Pip Buining and Louise Morris created a theatrical event called Anthology celebrating the township. She says "the site is Ngunnawal land, guru bung dhaura (stony ground) a traditional pathway, and from the 1920s was the site of one of the camps created to house the workers building the new city of Canberra. Tents and a hall were erected at Westlake followed by 61 temporary cottages, designed by architect H. M. Rolland and built in 1923, for married tradesmen, and their families, who came to Canberra to build the infrastructure for the new Federal Capital of Australia." She continues "Westlake was planned and built. Families were moved in, went to work, built friendships, got married, had children, created gardens, held funerals. The temporary suburb became a community. But when it had served its purpose and the workers were no longer required, the houses were sold off one by one and taken away on the backs of trucks. Westlake was erased." Westlake remains a tourist attraction today. It sits in a picturesque corner of the nation's capital, surrounded by embassies and bush.

The Embassy of the Philippines in Canberra is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Commonwealth of Australia. It is currently located at 1 Moonah Place in the Yarralumla suburb of south Canberra, just beyond the periphery of Parliament House.

The 2009 Australian dust storm, also known as the Eastern Australian dust storm, was a dust storm that swept across the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland from 22 to 24 September 2009. The capital, Canberra, experienced the dust storm on 22 September, and on 23 September the storm reached Sydney and Brisbane. Some of the thousands of tons of dirt and soil lifted in the dust storm were dumped in Sydney Harbour and the Tasman Sea. On 23 September, the dust plume measured more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) in width and 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in length and covered dozens of towns and cities in two states. By 24 September, analysis using MODIS at NASA measured the distance from the northern edge at Cape York to the southern edge of the plume to be 3,450 km. While the cloud was visible from space, on the ground the intense red-orange colour and drop in temperature drew comparisons with nuclear winter, Armageddon, and the planet Mars.The dust storm was described by the Bureau of Meteorology as a "pretty incredible event" that was the worst in the state of New South Wales in nearly 70 years. The phenomenon was reported around the world. The Weather Channel's Richard Whitaker said: "This is unprecedented. We are seeing earth, wind and fire together". It was later referred to as "The mother of all dust storms."

The Canberra Yacht Club was formed in 1959 in anticipation of the creation of Lake Burley Griffin in the centre of Canberra, Australia, which happened in the 1960s. It is located on the shore in the suburb of Yarralumla. Its members have competed in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The high commissioner of Malaysia to the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of Malaysia's diplomatic mission to Australia. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is based in the High Commission of Malaysia, Canberra.

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a total of 76 senators: 12 are elected from each of the six Australian states regardless of population and 2 from each of the two autonomous internal Australian territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation. The Australian Senate is vested with significant powers (unlike upper houses in other Westminster-style parliamentary systems) including the capacity to reject all bills, including budget and appropriation bills, initiated by the government in the House of Representatives. This makes it a distinctive hybrid of British Westminster bicameralism and American-style bicameralism. As a result of proportional representation, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. Since 1981, the governing party or parties (which needs to maintain the confidence of the lower house) has only had a majority in the Senate from 2005–2007; otherwise, negotiations with other parties and independents have generally been necessary to pass legislation.