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Message no. 1
From: matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: Australian net material.
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 02:08:32 -0700
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Martin --

DL'd the html for Aus'book and made some edits; I'm including it as a
plaintext file (hopefully) though - if you'd like - I can send it as MS
Word document. I'm willing to hammer some things out with you; you've
got a really good basis.



MARTIN E. GOTTHARD wrote:
>
> I'd really like some kind of discussion and feedback on the material
> recently posted to the net about Asutralia.
>
> If anyone feels like going to read it, it's at;
>
> http://www.Geocities.com/TimesSquare/1503/ausbook.html
>
> Thanks all.
>
> Bleach
> (AKA <AFAIK> in RL as "Marty" when not ROTFLMAO.)

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ÐÏࡱáBleach
With contributions from Shaman and Lady Jestyr.

>>>>>[My main beef with this? You rely too much upon “may or may not
ha=
ve”s,
“would have been”s; it comes across more like second- or third-hand
information, rather than a straight delivery. As a player, as a reader, I
want to hear The Straight Dope, regardless of how it might clash with som=
e
obscure line in FASA canon. Take the initiative; make a conceit, follow i=
t
through. And although I like the general approach, I always yearn for sol=
id,
game-mechanics type of stuff. I’ve made some additions to the end; feel=
free
to post with accreditation. I’d pop this puppy through a spellchecker, =
just
to be sure. Also: I’ve eliminated all the HTML coding (apologies). Shou=
ldn’t
be too much trouble to restore...]<<<<< Despite the general world wide tr=
end
towards balkanisation, Australia is still outwardly unified. The reason f=
or
this is simple; Australia is not economically large enough to survive if =
it
is split into a bunch of independent states. The larger sharks circling t=
he
world pool (ie. the Megacorps, China, Indonesia, etc.) would regard a
fractured Australia as nothing more than a tasty morsel. There would perh=
aps
have been some moves towards internal secession, especially in the case o=
f
Western Australia, but seeing the fate of CFS the secessionists decided t=
hat
life as a united independent Australia was preferable to existence as a
colony state and Megacorporate playground or resource pit. >>>>>[This
implies that there *are* secessionist movement(s), ot were in the recent
past. Who/what were they? (I’d imagine an Abo movement; perhaps a movem=
ent
to unite with Indonesia/India/someone else???) What are the chances one
might be stirred into action again?]<<<<< The style of government in
Australia may or may not have undergone a change to a republic, but this =
has
very little bearing on the game world, considering the decreased influenc=
e
that national governments wield. As a catch and plot-device in the
sourcebook, it could be possible to have the referendum occurring at the =
end
of the decade (ie '60) Any residual ties to Great Britain would be merely
formal in nature. Circumstances throughout the world, notably the
dissolution of America, have forced Australia to seek other allies as
favoured economic and strategic partners. >>>>>[Hey, what about all those
Tir elves (and ubiquitous bodyguard procession) I see touring through Oz =
all
the time? Chummer of mine said they were interested in Ayers Rock, but I
hear they really went to the Outback to look at an old uranium
mine......]<<<<< Japan would have been the favoured nation to fulfil the
role of 'big brother' but observation of the situation in CFS dissuaded
Australia from seeking help from Japan. Other alternatives would include
India, and the Philippines, but it is assumed that India would have suffe=
red
severely from balkanisation. Aust. has no long history of interaction wit=
h
the Philippines to draw possibilities from. The isolation of Australia an=
d
the other smaller SE Asian nations from their former allies and protector=
s
caused Indonesia to become territorially ambitious, partly to ease the
stresses of horrible overpopulation. Australian and New Zealand governmen=
ts
recognised this and moved towards the formation of a stronger alliance an=
d
also dramatically increasing their military spending. The union resulted =
in
the formation of the Australia-New Zealand Allied Conglomerate (ANZAC), a=
n
organisation combining general features of both the EEC and NATO. The
formation of the Union (often termed Australasia) succeeded in dissuading
Indonesia from invading Australia at the time, and sent it looking for
easier targets. >>>>>[See Appendix A: Timeline
Sidebar.]<<<<< Indonesia a=
nd
PNG thus went to war, when Indonesia invaded in an attempt to secure land
and resources. Attempts at mediation by Australasia eventually resulted i=
n
the missile attack on the HMAS Darwin by Indonesian based aircraft
supposedly under the control of bandits. This aggravated Australia and in=
a
protracted series of minor but bloody air, land and sea battles, the
Indonesians were routed out of PNG with the aid of ANZAC (and
Indian/Philippine??) troops, but they succeeded in the capture of the
Christmas (and possibly other) islands. Indonesia and Australasia never
formally declared war, and Aust. has never acknowledged the loss of any
territory, so minor naval skirmishes on the small vessel scale are still
relatively common occurrences. The occasional flare-up occurs, followed b=
y
half-hearted diplomatic efforts to repair the damage. Black Ops and count=
er
insurgency operations are common on both sides of the fence, making
Australia a lucrative mercenary market. >>>>>[This follows the trend of
Australia supplying troops to foreign military efforts, seen in the Vietn=
am
War, Desert Storm, and beyond. It’s they’re presence in the Desert Wa=
rs that
lends that corporate-funded effort credence.]<<<<< Australasia has follow=
ed
a policy of encouraging limited and diverse investment by foreign and
extraterritorial corporations. Care has been taken via legislation not to
let one Corp get too much of a stranglehold on any one vital area of the
economy, and certain units in the military are occasionally used to enfor=
ce
this (...Maybe; Refer to debate about toothless tigers, etc.). This polic=
y
has been pursued to maintain or increase the general standard of living a=
nd
technological level of the nation, and in order to serve to discourage
Indonesia from invasion. Some parts of the nation are almost entirely
corporate-run, but other parts have virtually no corporate presence, maki=
ng
Aust. an almost ideal place to fade from sight, assuming you can survive.=
No
overall corporate or national police governs much of the center of
Australia, and the acknowledged population is zero (due to censuses) maki=
ng
skirmishes and desert wars tussles between corporations frequent. Of cour=
se,
you've got to watch out for the mana storms, the Aboriginal shamans, and =
the
Rainbow Serpent... >>>>>[Suggestion: Go the CalFree route, and pick out t=
he
top dozen cities with population figures. Leave everything else to
estimates.]<<<<< Societal Composition and Population Information: The tot=
al
population of the Australian continent should be in the region of 35-45
million, though no census that can be considered accurate has been conduc=
ted
for 30 or more years due to difficulties encountered with mana-storms. Th=
e
type of land that Australia is made of dictates this maximum population,
because (according to reasonable conservative estimate) we simply cannot
sustainably support many more people than that, unless a severe degradati=
on
in living conditions is accepted. >>>>>[Not necessarily true; imports can
increase, land usage can improve; aqualogies can be made, etc, etc. Or, O=
z
could simply be in an unstable situation right now: maybe, land-hungry, i=
t’s
looking to expand into mainland China/South America/whereever....]<<<<< N=
o
statement can be currently made about the population or living conditions=
of
the NZ islands, because no information has been received concerning them.=
It
can be noted that NZ was the first nation in the world to recognise Elves
and Dwarves as humans. This act was repeated with Orks and Trolls, and ha=
s
resulted in a higher percentage of metahumans in NZ than almost anywhere =
in
the world. Australia followed the lead of NZ in this field. The populatio=
n
increase (from c. 20 million) would have stemmed from natural increase,
modified by VITAS, with a significant contribution from immigration both
from Europe and Asia. A large number of the immigrants were refugees from
the Euro-wars and the political turmoil throughout Asia. The influx of
non-anglo immigrants would further diversify the cultural background of t=
he
nation. A secondary wave of immigration would have greeted Aust./NZ's ear=
ly
recognition of metahumanity, giving Australia a slightly higher percentag=
e
of metahumans than the world average. Of the metahuman immigrant populati=
on,
Orks and Trolls would have been especially represented, as these races ar=
e
particularly shunned worldwide. Australia would in particular have become=
a
refuge for the more fortunate Japanese Orks and trolls, and the Japanese
community in Aust. is composed in large amount by these types. Immigratio=
n
to Australia would have been forcibly stopped in the past ten or fifteen
years as the available land would have begun to fill up. Boat people
continue to arrive at the North end of the continent, continuing the tren=
d
of the last hundred years, apparently encouraged by Indonesia to try and
reach the fabled Great Southern Land Of Plenty. Refugees still stand some
chance of getting in, but the conditions are remarkably stringent and
rumours persist of entire boat loads going missing at a time. The current
Australian Aboriginal population is in the vicinity of 80,000(??) countin=
g
those of mixed race. A large proportion of these aboriginals have been
integrated semi-successfully into city culture and have left the dreaming.
It is estimated that not more than 15,000 (and maybe a lot less) Aborigin=
als
remain on traditional tribal lands in the center of Australia. The
Australian Aboriginal population continued their campaign for the
reclamation of sacred tribal lands. The general structure of the Mabo
decision of the early 90's continued to be in effect, weathering numerous
legal challenges from mining and tourism corporations. This policy of
handing back some of the land to the Aborigines softened the response fro=
m
the native population when the Awakening occurred. Several small riots an=
d
demonstrative uses of magical power were recorded, mainly spurred on by n=
ews
reports of the Native Americans. The Australian government made some
concessions on disputed land claims to soothe the waters, and effectively
ceded the majority of central Australia to their control, partly due to t=
he
violent nature of the early mana storms. Certain tribes among the Austral=
ian
aboriginals also expressed metahuman traits in an above average percentag=
e
of their populations. The major races expressed were Orks and Elves, as w=
ell
as some Dwarves. Very few Troll genotypes were reported, which is believe=
d
to be related to the general scarcity of food in the natural Australian
environment. The above average expression of metahumanity has been linked=
to
the close relationship that most outback tribes have to nature and magic.
There is also a higher expression of some of magical ability among the
tribes that have maintained their culture intact, though this ability doe=
s
not always follow traditional shamanistic guidelines. Almost no Hermetic
mages are recorded among the aboriginal population. >>>>>[See Appendix B:
Awakened Aborigine/Dreamwalker race.]<<<<< Living Standards and Condition=
s:
Water supply for general household needs would be adequate but not
extraordinary. Most of the water for household needs would be acquired fr=
om
desalination plants as natural rain water would be channelled towards
intensive agriculture. Water supply beyond basic drinking and sanitary
necessities would require a SIN and an income, so water raids such as in =
CFS
could be very common in the more arid inhabited regions of the continent.
Australia is far more arid than CFS on average. >>>>>[Survival level
requires a SIN. “If you don’t exist, you *won’t* exist” seems to =
be the
government’s motto here. Trying to pry water privelege (ie, tap into a =
water
main) will send the Environmental Police after your hoop so fast you won’=
t
have time to wet your fingertips. Black market sales are present, but
infrequent; generally, you can mooch off a dirty corporation, but that me=
ans
living in close vicinity.]<<<<< Power supplies in Australasia would be
excellent, and as a nation would be a net electricity provider to the res=
t
of South East Asia... The power generation facilities were privatised aro=
und
the turn of the century (under a succession of right-wing governments), a=
nd
this raises some interesting situations, like Australasia supplying power=
to
Indonesia during peak demand periods. Australia produces a large amount o=
f
fusion power from coastally based plants, and also has significant solar,
hydro and wind generation capacity. Coal fired power stations still form =
a
large though decreasing percentage of the generating capacity because of
Australia's large available reserves. NZ gets a large amount of its power
from geo-thermal resources. >>>>>[Shiawase has three or four aqualogies
along the shore of New South Wales. These puppies tap into thermal curren=
ts
to power large generators, often cranking it out in megavolts. There’s
rumors that it’s causing all sorts of havoc with tides and shallow-wate=
r
activity, but Shiawase lawyers have an amazing ability to keep things in
litigation permanently.]<<<<< >>>>>[It should be noted at
this point that
Shiawase does *not* control the Great Barrier Reef aqualogy, much to thei=
r
dying shame.]<<<<< The federal police forces in Australia are still run b=
y
the government, but have changed their scope of responsibility to more
national security and military matters. In doing so they amalgamated with
Australia's domestic intelligence service (ASIO) The total jurisdiction o=
f
the feds remains unclear, but if they become involved in a case they are
more likely to take the hard option than try to negotiate. A large number=
of
the Fed. police and related divisions have spent time in either corporate
security forces or the Australian military. To enforce their jurisdiction=
al
brief, the federal police use heavier weapons than normal and have access=
to
some security and military grade gear. Local and state police forces are
often sub-contracted out to private firms, much like Seattle and Lone Sta=
r.
Lone Star and Knight Errant both hold contracts for Australian cities, bu=
t
several smaller (local) concerns also hold contracts for cities or sectio=
ns
therein. The state and local police still theoretically come under the
jurisdiction of the Feds, but this is rarely enforced. Foreign and Domest=
ic
Politics: Australia maintains good foreign relations with the following
nations; India (or whatever is left of it), South Africa, the Philippines
(??), and possibly Malaysia(??) These nations form the bulk of Australia'=
s
current major allies. Australia currently dislikes the Indonesian nation =
due
to numerous military and diplomatic incidents over the preceding twenty
years. >>>>>[Remember those Tir nobles I mentioned? Tir na n’Og looks
a=
t
Australia like the football captain leering at the prom queen: all they w=
ant
to do is take Oz to bed and ravish her. The grassroots sympathy present i=
n
the 2030’s when the Tir was first formed. The waves of Asian immigrants
didn’t share the same bond that the former Ireland - long the greatest
source of immigrants, willing or not - had.]<<<<< Military and Security
Forces: The joining of the military forces of Australia and New Zealand
resulted in many changes to the military structure. An increases need for
self reliance meant that military spending was increased across the board.
The types of military units were not changed too much, continuing the pol=
icy
of making [it] unpalatably costly for a nation or corp to invade and hold
territory, rather then maintaining a preemptive striking force. A large
amount of spending was allocated to establishing a satellite surveillance
system, and part of the agreement for the lease (sale) of the Cape York
peninsula included a clause for the launch of the communications and
surveillance birds. Unfortunately several accidents occurred, and due to
budget blowouts and a decreased sense of urgency, funding was cut off bef=
ore
the plan was completed. Therefore coverage of the Australian continent is=
by
no means complete Rumours persist that Australasia has some nuclear
capability, possibly a remnant of a joint South African-Australian projec=
t,
or though the acquisition of surplus warheads from the financially troubl=
ed
Russians. Strike capability is assumed to be short range only, possibly
being aircraft or drone/cruise missile launched. Attempts have been made =
to
integrate magical assets into Australia's armed forces, with varying degr=
ees
of success. The Navy has the least number of magically active personnel,
with nearly all of the members assigned to the small craft division. The
airforce is currently experimenting with integrating magical pilots into
their forces, but have encountered conflicts with the need for rigger gea=
r
and the loss of magic thus encountered. The army in particular has tried =
to
integrate mages into their ranks. Aboriginal shamans are particularly sou=
ght
after for use in the smaller or more tactical units. Most of the mages ar=
e
assigned to work in guerilla warfare and black ops units, and the SAS mag=
es
and Aboriginal shamans are particularly well respected. >>>>>[Note that t=
he
military has succeeded in estranging the last ‘pure’ tribe of Abos in=
the
Outback. They’ve changed tactics since the 2020’s, when they were so =
hot up
on magic they impressed Aborigine shamans into service by the dozens, but
quite a few tribes remain hotly anti-Government.]<<<<< Navy (including co=
ast
guard forces): The sea-going navy acquired a pair of American cruisers an=
d
two extra large destroyers (bringing the total to 6) to maintain national
security in the face of the increased Indonesian threat. The number of
frigates was maintained at 14, as was the submarine force at 8. No aircra=
ft
carriers (as such) are used by Australasia because no need to project a
striking force was foreseen. Instead, the navy choose to concentrate on t=
he
acquisition of a small attack helicopter force, and also maintains two
squadrons of FB-Eagle fighters nominally based out of New Zealand... The
FB-Eagles can be accommodated on board all of the fleet combat ships if n=
eed
be. The remainder of new investment by the Navy went into large numbers o=
f
small patrol craft and gunboats suitable for conducting skirmishes and
low-intensity warfare. These small craft currently see significant action=
in
the numerous 'incidents' in northern Australasian and Indonesian waters. =
The
small craft and attack helicopter forces often operate in close support o=
f
each other, and are also responsible for dealing with pirate groups and
smuggling. Airforce: The airforce maintained its general capability, and
diversified further into rough field, multi-mission capable aircraft, lik=
e
the FB-Eagle (These have replaced the 90's F-111 niche, with approx 70
aircraft in service). These aircraft spend significant amounts of time
operating from temporary forward bases at the detached squadron level. Th=
e
ground attack and recon squadrons work in close cooperation with the majo=
r
army units. Australasia also has Interceptor-capable aircraft (like the E=
FA
variants... approx 100 aircraft), and operate out of fixed bases in most =
of
the major cities. The small fleet of AWACS aircraft operate under the
jurisdiction of the airforce, and these usually monitor the northern
airspace to guard against hostile incursions, or airborne smugglers Army:
Lots more small stuff suited to fighting skirmishes and low-intensity
warfare... Drones like the Wandjina... Think of aircraft launched and
controlled drones.

Ecology and Physical Changes: The hole in the ozone layer. The barrier re=
ef.
Contamination of the lands due to mining, etc. >>>>>[Ayers Rock; the Outb=
ack
in general]<<<<< Magical conditions, and the Awakening: Mana storms...
Awakened dolphins... >>>>>[LOTS of Juggernauts.....]<<<<<
>>>>>[Note that
the Australian farming condition has changed miserably. The long-wool bre=
ed
of sheep favored by Australian farmers, rumored to be genetically
engineered, Awakened in the late 2016’s -- considerably after the rest =
of
the world. Unlike a large number of other species, the new Awakened breed
was fragile; in fact, the entire 35-million population shrivelled down to
perhaps ten thousand in the course of a year. The government was hard
pressed in issuing relief funds, and more than one agricorp went out of
business permanently.]<<<<< Corporations and Industry: All of the big eig=
ht
Megacorps do business within Australia. Other corps with a presence inclu=
de
Transys Neuronet... Japanese investment in the Australian tourism industr=
y
continued until the mana storms arrived. This tremendous change in the
environment of Australia and the uncertainties posed by the awakening in
general caused Japanese corporations to deinvest heavily from Australia.
This had the effect of causing an economic recession. The Japanese corps
eventually reinvested once it was clear what the situation was going to b=
e,
but their position had been harmed. BHP info. BHP/MIM... has an undersize=
d
battalion of military quality personnel, to protect their assets in troub=
led
regions of the world... though with the amount of military equipment that
they make they could equip a small army. They have been known to borrow t=
he
occasional vehicle eventually destined for another customer, in order to
conduct "spot performance evaluations"... usually on whomever is pissing =
the
corp off at the time. BHP and other Aus. based corporations get a tax
concession for industries that are considered essential for the survival =
of
Australia. In the case of BHP, these industries include the weapons and
armaments division and much of the manufacturing industries. (??)The BHP
Australia branch office uniformly posts a semi-genuine net loss...This is
because they always invest a significant amount of money in cleaning up t=
he
environment... Basically they are appearing to make restitution for the
previous excesses, and thus have to pay no taxes despite the amount of
business they do. It helps the reputation of the corp within Australasia
immensely, and the money means that BHP enjoys a guardedly favourable
reputation with the Australian aborigines.. The holding company for BHP A=
us.
gets all the profits from the rest of the world, and keeps them separate.
What BHP does in the rest of the world does not equate to Australia, thou=
gh.
BHP could shift its home base and head office from Australia, but they ar=
e
heavily invested in Australia and have also managed to make the power
structure work for them to some extent. It suits them to stay in Aus,
despite the problems of the aborigines and the reasonably strong governme=
nt.
Organised Crime: All of the varieties of organised crime exist in Austral=
ia,
transplanted along with their host cultures. Some areas of Aus. are
dominated by one organisation or another, but most areas are contested. T=
his
leads to interesting fights and territorial disputes. The influx of Japan=
ese
orks and trolls has led to the formation of a trog-yakuza branch, often
operating in competition with the regular branch. Concept; Big cargo plan=
e
similar to the Hercules... Can launch drones out of the bottom of the
fuselage, and accept the drones back in via the tail doors... Would make =
an
excellent mobile drone control and rearming station... Approx six +
Wandjinas could be carried. Needed information: The date of secession of
CFS. Transys Neuronet. The total world population.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
Appendix A: Timeline (will get back to you on this....) Appendix B: Awake=
ned
Aborigine/Dreamwalker Description: Identical to a ‘normal’ Aborigine:=
Very
dark skin, curly black hair, wide eyes. Dreamwalkers suffer a -1 Racial
Maximum to all attributes (meaning their maximum is 5.) However, their
Astral form is considerably stronger: all attrbiutes are at +2. Note that
Dreamwalker mages are entirely shamanic, and most tribes seem split along
Totem lines. ÐÏࡱá

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Australia In the 2050s

Written by <a href=mailto: @*****.student.gu.edu.au>Bleach</A><br>
With contributions from <a href=mailto:>Shaman</A> and <a
href=mailto:jestyr@*******.dialix.com.au>Lady Jestyr</A>.<br><br>

>>>>>[My main beef with this? You rely too much upon "may or may not
have"s, "would have been"s; it comes across more like second- or third-hand
information, rather than a straight delivery. As a player, as a reader, I want to hear
The Straight Dope, regardless of how it might clash with some obscure line in FASA canon.
Take the initiative; make a conceit, follow it through.

And although I like the general approach, I always yearn for solid, game-mechanics type of
stuff.
I've made some additions to the end; feel free to post with accreditation.

I'd pop this puppy through a spellchecker, just to be sure.

Also: I've eliminated all the HTML coding (apologies). Shouldn't be too much trouble to
restore...]<<<<<



Despite the general world wide trend towards balkanisation, Australia is still outwardly
unified. The reason for this is simple; Australia is not economically large enough to
survive if it is split into a bunch of independent states. The larger sharks circling the
world pool (ie. the Megacorps, China, Indonesia, etc.) would regard a fractured Australia
as nothing more than a tasty morsel.

There would perhaps have been some moves towards internal secession, especially in the
case of Western Australia, but seeing the fate of CFS the secessionists decided that life
as a united independent Australia was preferable to existence as a colony state and
Megacorporate playground or resource pit.

>>>>>[This implies that there *are* secessionist movement(s), ot were in
the recent past. Who/what were they? (I'd imagine an Abo movement; perhaps a movement to
unite with Indonesia/India/someone else???) What are the chances one might be stirred
into action again?]<<<<<

The style of government in Australia may or may not have undergone a change to a republic,
but this has very little bearing on the game world, considering the decreased influence
that national governments wield. As a catch and plot-device in the sourcebook, it could be
possible to have the referendum occurring at the end of the decade (ie '60) Any residual
ties to Great Britain would be merely formal in nature. Circumstances throughout the
world, notably the dissolution of America, have forced Australia to seek other allies as
favoured economic and strategic partners.

>>>>>[Hey, what about all those Tir elves (and ubiquitous bodyguard
procession) I see touring through Oz all the time? Chummer of mine said they were
interested in Ayers Rock, but I hear they really went to the Outback to look at an old
uranium mine......]<<<<<

Japan would have been the favoured nation to fulfil the role of 'big brother' but
observation of the situation in CFS dissuaded Australia from seeking help from Japan.
Other alternatives would include India, and the Philippines, but it is assumed that India
would have suffered severely from balkanisation. Aust. has no long history of interaction
with the Philippines to draw possibilities from.

The isolation of Australia and the other smaller SE Asian nations from their former allies
and protectors caused Indonesia to become territorially ambitious, partly to ease the
stresses of horrible overpopulation. Australian and New Zealand governments recognised
this and moved towards the formation of a stronger alliance and also dramatically
increasing their military spending. The union resulted in the formation of the
Australia-New Zealand Allied Conglomerate (ANZAC), an organisation combining general
features of both the EEC and NATO. The formation of the Union (often termed Australasia)
succeeded in dissuading Indonesia from invading Australia at the time, and sent it looking
for easier targets.

>>>>>[See Appendix A: Timeline Sidebar.]<<<<<

Indonesia and PNG thus went to war, when Indonesia invaded in an attempt to secure land
and resources. Attempts at mediation by Australasia eventually resulted in the missile
attack on the HMAS Darwin by Indonesian based aircraft supposedly under the control of
bandits. This aggravated Australia and in a protracted series of minor but bloody air,
land and sea battles, the Indonesians were routed out of PNG with the aid of ANZAC (and
Indian/Philippine??) troops, but they succeeded in the capture of the Christmas (and
possibly other) islands.

Indonesia and Australasia never formally declared war, and Aust. has never acknowledged
the loss of any territory, so minor naval skirmishes on the small vessel scale are still
relatively common occurrences. The occasional flare-up occurs, followed by half-hearted
diplomatic efforts to repair the damage. Black Ops and counter insurgency operations are
common on both sides of the fence, making Australia a lucrative mercenary market.

>>>>>[This follows the trend of Australia supplying troops to foreign
military efforts, seen in the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and beyond. It's they're
presence in the Desert Wars that lends that corporate-funded effort
credence.]<<<<<

Australasia has followed a policy of encouraging limited and diverse investment by
foreign and extraterritorial corporations. Care has been taken via legislation not to let
one Corp get too much of a stranglehold on any one vital area of the economy, and certain
units in the military are occasionally used to enforce this (...Maybe; Refer to debate
about toothless tigers, etc.). This policy has been pursued to maintain or increase the
general standard of living and technological level of the nation, and in order to serve to
discourage Indonesia from invasion.

Some parts of the nation are almost entirely corporate-run, but other parts have virtually
no corporate presence, making Aust. an almost ideal place to fade from sight, assuming you
can survive. No overall corporate or national police governs much of the center of
Australia, and the acknowledged population is zero (due to censuses) making skirmishes and
desert wars tussles between corporations frequent. Of course, you've got to watch out for
the mana storms, the Aboriginal shamans, and the Rainbow Serpent...

>>>>>[Suggestion: Go the CalFree route, and pick out the top dozen cities
with population figures. Leave everything else to estimates.]<<<<<


Societal Composition and Population Information:
The total population of the Australian continent should be in the region of 35-45 million,
though no census that can be considered accurate has been conducted for 30 or more years
due to difficulties encountered with mana-storms. The type of land that Australia is made
of dictates this maximum population, because (according to reasonable conservative
estimate) we simply cannot sustainably support many more people than that, unless a severe
degradation in living conditions is accepted.

>>>>>[Not necessarily true; imports can increase, land usage can improve;
aqualogies can be made, etc, etc. Or, Oz could simply be in an unstable situation right
now: maybe, land-hungry, it's looking to expand into mainland China/South
America/whereever....]<<<<<

No statement can be currently made about the population or living conditions of the NZ
islands, because no information has been received concerning them. It can be noted that NZ
was the first nation in the world to recognise Elves and Dwarves as humans. This act was
repeated with Orks and Trolls, and has resulted in a higher percentage of metahumans in NZ
than almost anywhere in the world. Australia followed the lead of NZ in this field.

The population increase (from c. 20 million) would have stemmed from natural increase,
modified by VITAS, with a significant contribution from immigration both from Europe and
Asia. A large number of the immigrants were refugees from the Euro-wars and the political
turmoil throughout Asia. The influx of non-anglo immigrants would further diversify the
cultural background of the nation.

A secondary wave of immigration would have greeted Aust./NZ's early recognition of
metahumanity, giving Australia a slightly higher percentage of metahumans than the world
average. Of the metahuman immigrant population, Orks and Trolls would have been especially
represented, as these races are particularly shunned worldwide. Australia would in
particular have become a refuge for the more fortunate Japanese Orks and trolls, and the
Japanese community in Aust. is composed in large amount by these types.

Immigration to Australia would have been forcibly stopped in the past ten or fifteen years
as the available land would have begun to fill up. Boat people continue to arrive at the
North end of the continent, continuing the trend of the last hundred years, apparently
encouraged by Indonesia to try and reach the fabled Great Southern Land Of Plenty.
Refugees still stand some chance of getting in, but the conditions are remarkably
stringent and rumours persist of entire boat loads going missing at a time.

The current Australian Aboriginal population is in the vicinity of 80,000(??) counting
those of mixed race. A large proportion of these aboriginals have been integrated
semi-successfully into city culture and have left the dreaming. It is estimated that not
more than 15,000 (and maybe a lot less) Aboriginals remain on traditional tribal lands in
the center of Australia.

The Australian Aboriginal population continued their campaign for the reclamation of
sacred tribal lands. The general structure of the Mabo decision of the early 90's
continued to be in effect, weathering numerous legal challenges from mining and tourism
corporations. This policy of handing back some of the land to the Aborigines softened the
response from the native population when the Awakening occurred. Several small riots and
demonstrative uses of magical power were recorded, mainly spurred on by news reports of
the Native Americans. The Australian government made some concessions on disputed land
claims to soothe the waters, and effectively ceded the majority of central Australia to
their control, partly due to the violent nature of the early mana storms.

Certain tribes among the Australian aboriginals also expressed metahuman traits in an
above average percentage of their populations. The major races expressed were Orks and
Elves, as well as some Dwarves. Very few Troll genotypes were reported, which is believed
to be related to the general scarcity of food in the natural Australian environment. The
above average expression of metahumanity has been linked to the close relationship that
most outback tribes have to nature and magic. There is also a higher expression of some of
magical ability among the tribes that have maintained their culture intact, though this
ability does not always follow traditional shamanistic guidelines. Almost no Hermetic
mages are recorded among the aboriginal population.

>>>>>[See Appendix B: Awakened Aborigine/Dreamwalker
race.]<<<<<

Living Standards and Conditions:
Water supply for general household needs would be adequate but not extraordinary. Most of
the water for household needs would be acquired from desalination plants as natural rain
water would be channelled towards intensive agriculture. Water supply beyond basic
drinking and sanitary necessities would require a SIN and an income, so water raids such
as in CFS could be very common in the more arid inhabited regions of the continent.
Australia is far more arid than CFS on average.

>>>>>[Survival level requires a SIN. "If you don't exist, you *won't*
exist" seems to be the government's motto here. Trying to pry water privelege (ie,
tap into a water main) will send the Environmental Police after your hoop so fast you
won't have time to wet your fingertips. Black market sales are present, but infrequent;
generally, you can mooch off a dirty corporation, but that means living in close
vicinity.]<<<<<

Power supplies in Australasia would be excellent, and as a nation would be a net
electricity provider to the rest of South East Asia... The power generation facilities
were privatised around the turn of the century (under a succession of right-wing
governments), and this raises some interesting situations, like Australasia supplying
power to Indonesia during peak demand periods. Australia produces a large amount of fusion
power from coastally based plants, and also has significant solar, hydro and wind
generation capacity. Coal fired power stations still form a large though decreasing
percentage of the generating capacity because of Australia's large available reserves. NZ
gets a large amount of its power from geo-thermal resources.

>>>>>[Shiawase has three or four aqualogies along the shore of New South
Wales. These puppies tap into thermal currents to power large generators, often cranking
it out in megavolts.
There's rumors that it's causing all sorts of havoc with tides and shallow-water activity,
but Shiawase lawyers have an amazing ability to keep things in litigation
permanently.]<<<<<

>>>>>[It should be noted at this point that Shiawase does *not* control the
Great Barrier Reef aqualogy, much to their dying shame.]<<<<<

The federal police forces in Australia are still run by the government, but have changed
their scope of responsibility to more national security and military matters. In doing so
they amalgamated with Australia's domestic intelligence service (ASIO) The total
jurisdiction of the feds remains unclear, but if they become involved in a case they are
more likely to take the hard option than try to negotiate. A large number of the Fed.
police and related divisions have spent time in either corporate security forces or the
Australian military. To enforce their jurisdictional brief, the federal police use heavier
weapons than normal and have access to some security and military grade gear.

Local and state police forces are often sub-contracted out to private firms, much like
Seattle and Lone Star. Lone Star and Knight Errant both hold contracts for Australian
cities, but several smaller (local) concerns also hold contracts for cities or sections
therein. The state and local police still theoretically come under the jurisdiction of the
Feds, but this is rarely enforced.


Foreign and Domestic Politics:
Australia maintains good foreign relations with the following nations; India (or whatever
is left of it), South Africa, the Philippines (??), and possibly Malaysia(??) These
nations form the bulk of Australia's current major allies. Australia currently dislikes
the Indonesian nation due to numerous military and diplomatic incidents over the preceding
twenty years.

>>>>>[Remember those Tir nobles I mentioned? Tir na n'Og looks at
Australia like the football captain leering at the prom queen: all they want to do is take
Oz to bed and ravish her. The grassroots sympathy present in the 2030's when the Tir was
first formed. The waves of Asian immigrants didn't share the same bond that the former
Ireland - long the greatest source of immigrants, willing or not -
had.]<<<<<


Military and Security Forces:
The joining of the military forces of Australia and New Zealand resulted in many changes
to the military structure. An increases need for self reliance meant that military
spending was increased across the board. The types of military units were not changed too
much, continuing the policy of making [it] unpalatably costly for a nation or corp to
invade and hold territory, rather then maintaining a preemptive striking force.

A large amount of spending was allocated to establishing a satellite surveillance system,
and part of the agreement for the lease (sale) of the Cape York peninsula included a
clause for the launch of the communications and surveillance birds. Unfortunately several
accidents occurred, and due to budget blowouts and a decreased sense of urgency, funding
was cut off before the plan was completed. Therefore coverage of the Australian continent
is by no means complete

Rumours persist that Australasia has some nuclear capability, possibly a remnant of a
joint South African-Australian project, or though the acquisition of surplus warheads from
the financially troubled Russians. Strike capability is assumed to be short range only,
possibly being aircraft or drone/cruise missile launched.

Attempts have been made to integrate magical assets into Australia's armed forces, with
varying degrees of success. The Navy has the least number of magically active personnel,
with nearly all of the members assigned to the small craft division. The airforce is
currently experimenting with integrating magical pilots into their forces, but have
encountered conflicts with the need for rigger gear and the loss of magic thus
encountered. The army in particular has tried to integrate mages into their ranks.
Aboriginal shamans are particularly sought after for use in the smaller or more tactical
units. Most of the mages are assigned to work in guerilla warfare and black ops units, and
the SAS mages and Aboriginal shamans are particularly well respected.

>>>>>[Note that the military has succeeded in estranging the last 'pure'
tribe of Abos in the Outback. They've changed tactics since the 2020's, when they were so
hot up on magic they impressed Aborigine shamans into service by the dozens, but quite a
few tribes remain hotly anti-Government.]<<<<<

Navy (including coast guard forces):

The sea-going navy acquired a pair of American cruisers and two extra large destroyers
(bringing the total to 6) to maintain national security in the face of the increased
Indonesian threat. The number of frigates was maintained at 14, as was the submarine force
at 8. No aircraft carriers (as such) are used by Australasia because no need to project a
striking force was foreseen. Instead, the navy choose to concentrate on the acquisition of
a small attack helicopter force, and also maintains two squadrons of FB-Eagle fighters
nominally based out of New Zealand... The FB-Eagles can be accommodated on board all of
the fleet combat ships if need be.

The remainder of new investment by the Navy went into large numbers of small patrol craft
and gunboats suitable for conducting skirmishes and low-intensity warfare. These small
craft currently see significant action in the numerous 'incidents' in northern
Australasian and Indonesian waters. The small craft and attack helicopter forces often
operate in close support of each other, and are also responsible for dealing with pirate
groups and smuggling.

Airforce:

The airforce maintained its general capability, and diversified further into rough field,
multi-mission capable aircraft, like the FB-Eagle (These have replaced the 90's F-111
niche, with approx 70 aircraft in service). These aircraft spend significant amounts of
time operating from temporary forward bases at the detached squadron level. The ground
attack and recon squadrons work in close cooperation with the major army units.
Australasia also has Interceptor-capable aircraft (like the EFA variants... approx 100
aircraft), and operate out of fixed bases in most of the major cities. The small fleet of
AWACS aircraft operate under the jurisdiction of the airforce, and these usually monitor
the northern airspace to guard against hostile incursions, or airborne smugglers

Army:
Lots more small stuff suited to fighting skirmishes and low-intensity warfare... Drones
like the Wandjina... Think of aircraft launched and controlled
drones.</TABLE></CENTER><BR><BR>



Ecology and Physical Changes:
The hole in the ozone layer.
The barrier reef.
Contamination of the lands due to mining, etc.
>>>>>[Ayers Rock; the Outback in general]<<<<<


Magical conditions, and the Awakening:
Mana storms...
Awakened dolphins...
>>>>>[LOTS of Juggernauts.....]<<<<<

>>>>>[Note that the Australian farming condition has changed miserably.
The long-wool breed of sheep favored by Australian farmers, rumored to be genetically
engineered, Awakened in the late 2016's -- considerably after the rest of the world.
Unlike a large number of other species, the new Awakened breed was fragile; in fact, the
entire 35-million population shrivelled down to perhaps ten thousand in the course of a
year. The government was hard pressed in issuing relief funds, and more than one agricorp
went out of business permanently.]<<<<<


Corporations and Industry:
All of the big eight Megacorps do business within Australia. Other corps with a presence
include Transys Neuronet...

Japanese investment in the Australian tourism industry continued until the mana storms
arrived. This tremendous change in the environment of Australia and the uncertainties
posed by the awakening in general caused Japanese corporations to deinvest heavily from
Australia. This had the effect of causing an economic recession. The Japanese corps
eventually reinvested once it was clear what the situation was going to be, but their
position had been harmed.

BHP info.

BHP/MIM... has an undersized battalion of military quality personnel, to protect their
assets in troubled regions of the world... though with the amount of military equipment
that they make they could equip a small army. They have been known to borrow the
occasional vehicle eventually destined for another customer, in order to conduct
"spot performance evaluations"... usually on whomever is pissing the corp off at
the time.

BHP and other Aus. based corporations get a tax concession for industries that are
considered essential for the survival of Australia. In the case of BHP, these industries
include the weapons and armaments division and much of the manufacturing industries.

(??)The BHP Australia branch office uniformly posts a semi-genuine net loss...This is
because they always invest a significant amount of money in cleaning up the environment...
Basically they are appearing to make restitution for the previous excesses, and thus have
to pay no taxes despite the amount of business they do. It helps the reputation of the
corp within Australasia immensely, and the money means that BHP enjoys a guardedly
favourable reputation with the Australian aborigines.. The holding company for BHP Aus.
gets all the profits from the rest of the world, and keeps them separate. What BHP does in
the rest of the world does not equate to Australia, though.

BHP could shift its home base and head office from Australia, but they are heavily
invested in Australia and have also managed to make the power structure work for them to
some extent. It suits them to stay in Aus, despite the problems of the aborigines and the
reasonably strong government.


Organised Crime:

All of the varieties of organised crime exist in Australia, transplanted along with their
host cultures. Some areas of Aus. are dominated by one organisation or another, but most
areas are contested. This leads to interesting fights and territorial disputes.

The influx of Japanese orks and trolls has led to the formation of a trog-yakuza branch,
often operating in competition with the regular branch.


Concept;
Big cargo plane similar to the Hercules... Can launch drones out of the bottom of
the fuselage, and accept the drones back in via the tail doors... Would make an excellent
mobile drone control and rearming station... Approx six + Wandjinas could be carried.


Needed information:
The date of secession of CFS.
Transys Neuronet.
The total world population.<hr>




Appendix A: Timeline

(will get back to you on this....)


Appendix B: Awakened Aborigine/Dreamwalker

Description: Identical to a 'normal' Aborigine: Very dark skin, curly black hair, wide
eyes. Dreamwalkers suffer a -1 Racial Maximum to all attributes (meaning their maximum is
5.)
However, their Astral form is considerably stronger: all attrbiutes are at +2.

Note that Dreamwalker mages are entirely shamanic, and most tribes seem split along Totem
lines.


--------------6CA66B0ACB8--
Message no. 2
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Australian net material.
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 11:15:24 +0100
matb said on 2:08/ 7 Apr 97...

> DL'd the html for Aus'book and made some edits; I'm including it as a
> plaintext file (hopefully) though - if you'd like - I can send it as MS
> Word document. I'm willing to hammer some things out with you; you've
> got a really good basis.

Are you sure you sent it to the right address? It ended up on the NERPS
list, but it looks like it was intended to go to Martin privately.

BTW, do NOT send a Word file to the list.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
In my mind all the time.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 3
From: matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: Australian net material.
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 07:02:26 -0700
Begin THWAP-code block....

*thwap*thwap*etc...

Couldn't find a email-response anchor on the website, but I wasn't
really looking (confession time....) Nex time I'll try and steer
clearer of the list.

Hope the MS Word spew didn't cause havoc.

*thwap*thwap*etc...



Gurth wrote:
>
> matb said on 2:08/ 7 Apr 97...
>
> > DL'd the html for Aus'book and made some edits; I'm including it as a
> > plaintext file (hopefully) though - if you'd like - I can send it as MS
> > Word document. I'm willing to hammer some things out with you; you've
> > got a really good basis.
>
> Are you sure you sent it to the right address? It ended up on the NERPS
> list, but it looks like it was intended to go to Martin privately.
>
> BTW, do NOT send a Word file to the list.
>
> --
> Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
> In my mind all the time.
> -> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
> -> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html

Further Reading

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