Government of Christmas Island
Country name: | conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island |
Dependency status: | non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services |
Government type: | NA |
Capital: | name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Administrative divisions: | none (territory of Australia) |
Independence: | none (territory of Australia) |
National holiday: | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) |
Constitution: | Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 |
Legal system: | under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law |
Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
Legislative branch: | unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9 |
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court |
Political parties and leaders: | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders: | none |
International organization participation: | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (territory of Australia) |
Flag description: | territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes |