Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: Why Australia is not an island?
The continent includes a continental shelf overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. When sea levels were lower during the Pleistocene ice age, including the Last Glacial Maximum about 18,000 BC, they were connected by dry land. During the past 10,000 years, rising sea levels overflowed the lowlands and separated the continent into today's low-lying arid to semi-arid mainland and the two mountainous islands of New Guinea and Tasmania.[2]
There have been four challenges to the constitutional validity of the Australian Government's authority to administer Norfolk Island. Samuel Hadley argued that the only valid laws were those made under the 1856 Order in Council and that all subsequent laws were invalid, however his case was rejected by the High Court of Australia in 1939. Henry Newberry was convicted of failing to be enrolled to vote in Norfolk Island Council elections. He challenged his conviction before the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island, arguing that in 1857 Norfolk Island had a constitution and a legislature such that the Crown could not abolish the legislature nor place Norfolk Island under the authority of Australia. Eggleston J considered the constitutional history of Norfolk Island, concluding that the "Australian Waste Lands Act" 1855 (Imp) authorized any form of government, representative or non-representative, and this included placing Norfolk Island under the authority of Australia. The second challenge arose as a result of the Australian Government's decision in 1972 to prevent Norfolk Island from being used as a tax haven. Berwick Ltd claimed to be resident in Norfolk Island and was convicted of failing to lodge an income return. One of the arguments for Berwick Ltd was that Norfolk Island, as an external territory, was not part of Australia in the constitutional sense. High Court of Australia unanimously rejected this argument in 1976, approving the decision in "Newbery v R" and holding that Norfolk Island was a part of Australia.
Australia–Solomon Islands relations refers to foreign relations between Australia and Solomon Islands. Australia has a High Commission in Honiara and Solomon Islands has a High Commission in Canberra.
Smooth Island is an island located within the Isles of St Francis group, which itself is part of the Nuyts Archipelago. It is located about south west of the town of Ceduna on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Several sources states that the island is located about north of St Francis Island while the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and charts published by the Government of South Australia respectively state and show that the island is located "almost N of the NE extremity of St. Francis Island". 
According to the 2016 census, there were 21,518 residents in Dee Why. 52.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England (5.8%), China (3.8%), India (3.4%), Brazil (3.0%) and New Zealand (2.8%). 61.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Portuguese 3.5%, Mandarin 2.5%, Tibetan 2.2%, Nepali 1.8% and Serbian 1.7%. Dee Why's housing is higher density than average for Australia. Of occupied private dwellings in Dee Why, 79.8% were flats, units or apartments with 16.6% being separate houses and 3.1% being semi-detached.
In the 2010 book "Why vs. Why: Nuclear Power" Barry Brook and Ian Lowe discuss and articulate the debate about nuclear power. Brook argues that there are various reasons why people should say "yes" to nuclear power, and these reasons include:
Lowe argues that there are various reasons why people should say "no" to nuclear power:
In 2015, both authors were appointed to the Expert Advisory Committee of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in South Australia."One minister who is not only competent but also does have convictions. He is the Resources Minister and often is quoted as supporting the further development of Australia's uranium industry. There is no doubt he also is a supporter of nuclear power in Australia."
"No country is more important to Australia than Indonesia. If we fail to get this relationship right, and nurture and develop it, the whole web of our foreign relations is incomplete [and] ... the emergence of the New Order government of President Suharto, and the stability and prosperity which [it] has brought to [Indonesia] was the single most beneficial strategic development to have affected Australia and its region in the past thirty years. We need to encourage the use of popular media with positive input [such as] "Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?" [this is] the exact sort of opinions we need".
However, Oaksey's visit throws up more questions than answers. Why does the wider community not want him there? Why will no one talk about the creature seen wandering the island? What lies beyond the wood and the gorge that almost splits the island in two, with a fence that has rotting pig heads atop its posts? Most importantly, what has happened to Pastor Dove, not seen on the island for years, and why will no one talk about him? Joe's visit to the island, and its horrific conclusion, is only the beginning of the legacy that Pig Island will leave on his life.
The genus "This" is endemic to Australia, and "T. canus" is one of the most common species of Coelopidae in Australia. "T. canus" is found along the southern coast of Australia, and had been found in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. Its range also includes Clarke Island, off the coast of Tasmania. Its type locality is Dee Why, a suburb of Sydney. It has been documented as far north as Noosa, Queensland on the east coast and Geraldton, Western Australian on the west coast. It can also be found as far inland as Canberra.
Starting on 1 February 1927 (and lasting until 12 June 1931), the Northern Territory was divided up as North Australia and Central Australia at latitude 20°S. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely Jervis Bay Territory comprising 6,677 hectares, in 1915. The external territories were added: Norfolk Island (1914); Ashmore Island, Cartier Islands (1931); the Australian Antarctic Territory transferred from Britain (1933); Heard Island, McDonald Islands, and Macquarie Island transferred to Australia from Britain (1947).
At Australia's request, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty to Australia, with a $20 million payment from the Australian government to Singapore as compensation for the loss of earnings from the phosphate revenue. The United Kingdom's Christmas Island Act was given royal assent on 14 May 1958, enabling Britain to transfer authority over Christmas Island from Singapore to Australia by an order-in-council. Australia's Christmas Island Act was passed in September 1958 and the island was officially placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 October 1958.
Some residents on Norfolk Island advocate independence from Australia. In 2013, Chief Minister Lisle Snell claimed that Norfolk Island could survive alone. He also told Radio Australia that 'Norfolk-Pitcairn people see themselves as a people with some rights to self-determination' that the Island's future relationship with Australia was not clear, but also stated that for the time being they need to integrate further with Australia for financial reasons. 
Following the example of Christmas Island in March 1993, the postal service of the Cocos Islands was transferred from the local authority to Australia Post. Cocos Islands stamps issued since 1994 and bearing the mention "COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS AUSTRALIA" are valid in Australia and the stamps of Australia are on the archipelago too.
On 11 August 2007 a group of amateur wreck hunters claimed they had located the wreck of "Sydney" off Cape Inscription on the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island using a grappling hook and an underwater video camera. A survey conducted by HMAS "Leeuwin" on 17 August found that the wreck off Dirk Hartog Island is only long and high, too small to be the "Sydney", which was over in length. The reasons why the search for HMAS "Sydney" was taking so long were examined in a 2008 Western Australia Museum report.
In Australia the term South Sea Islander was used to describe Australian descendants of people from the more than 80 islands in the western Pacific who had been brought to Australia to work on the sugar fields of Queensland, in the 19th century called Kanakas. The "Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901" was enacted to restrict entry of Pacific Islanders to Australia and to authorise their deportation. In the legislation Pacific Islanders were defined as:
"Pacific Island Labourer" includes all natives not of European extraction of any island except the islands of New Zealand situated in the Pacific Ocean beyond the Commonwealth [of Australia] as constituted at the commencement of this Act.
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: "Norf'k Ailen") is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, directly east of mainland Australia's Evans Head, and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with the two neighbouring islands Phillip Island and Nepean Island it forms one of the Commonwealth of Australia's external territories. At the 2016 Australian census, it had inhabitants living on a total area of about . Its capital is Kingston.
Sorghum amplum – northwestern Australia Sorghum angustum – Queensland Sorghum arundinaceum – Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Madagascar, islands of the western Indian Ocean Sorghum bicolor– cultivated sorghum, often individually called sorghum, also known as durra, jowari, or milo. Native to Sahel region of Africa; naturalized in many places Sorghum brachypodum – Northern Territory of Australia Sorghum bulbosum – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum burmahicum – Thailand, Myanmar Sorghum controversum – India Sorghum × drummondii – Sahel and West Africa Sorghum ecarinatum – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum exstans – Northern Territory of Australia Sorghum grande – Northern Territory, Queensland Sorghum halepense– Johnson grass – North Africa, islands of eastern Atlantic, southern Asia from Lebanon to Vietnam; naturalized in East Asia, Australia, the Americas Sorghum interjectum – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum intrans – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum laxiflorum – Philippines, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi, New Guinea, northern Australia Sorghum leiocladum – Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria Sorghum macrospermum – Northern Territory of Australia Sorghum matarankense – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum nitidum – East Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Micronesia Sorghum plumosum – Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia Sorghum propinquum – China, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Christmas Island, Micronesia, Cook Islands Sorghum purpureosericeum – Sahel from Mali to Tanzania; Yemen, Oman, India Sorghum stipoideum – Northern Territory, Western Australia Sorghum timorense – Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, New Guinea, northern Australia Sorghum trichocladum – Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras Sorghum versicolor – eastern + southern Africa from Ethiopia to Namibia; Oman Sorghum virgatum – dry regions from Senegal to Israel
Presently, the mystery of Bennett Island plumes has not completely been solved; scientists are still seeking an explanation for why the plumes form at an unusually high altitude of over above the mountain tops. Scientists are also studying the dynamics of the island, and why its unique shape is able to generate these plumes.
From 1 February 1927 until 12 June 1931, the Northern Territory was divided up as North Australia and Central Australia at latitude 20°S. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely Jervis Bay Territory comprising 6,677 hectares, in 1915. The external territories were added: Norfolk Island (1914); Ashmore Island, Cartier Islands (1931); the Australian Antarctic Territory transferred from Britain (1933); Heard Island, McDonald Islands, and Macquarie Island transferred to Australia from Britain (1947).
Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, and Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Australia also claims a portion of Antarctica as the Australian Antarctic Territory, although this claim is not widely recognized.
The program also regularly features Australia music, bush poetry, book readings, bird calls, interviews with special guests and the "Why I live where I live" segment, where McNamara reads aloud a letter sent in by a listener describing why they have chosen to live in a specific part of Australia. 250 contributions to the "Why I Live Where I Live" segment were compiled into a book which was published in 2005.
Australia has a poor representation of "Ducula" amongst its fauna, with only one species breeding on the mainland ("D. spilorrhoa"). There is no clear explanation why more species of Ducula did not cross the Torres Strait islands to reach mainland Australia. The genus "Lopholaimus", comprising only one species may have been well represented on the Australian mainland before European settlement, thus excluding "Ducula".
Bird Island is the name of three islands in Western Australia. Two are in the Kimberley region, and the third is off the coast of Rockingham, about south of Garden Island (Western Australia).
Barrow Island is a island northwest off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.
Both territories lost their postal independence to Australia Post in 1993 for Christmas Island and 1994 for the Cocos Islands. Consequently, their stamps became valid within Australia and stamps of Australia became valid in the islands.