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Australia is home to large and diverse populations of various other types of animal - snakes, lizards, insects, spiders, birds and fish.

Sydney's most famous landmarks are the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. Sydney's principal river is the Parramatta River, which enters Sydney Harbour from the west. While the Harbour is famous for its racing yachts, the Boxing Day start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and 18ft skiffs, the river is used for dinghy sailing and rowing as well as recreational boating, racing small yachts, recreational fishing, and occasional Dragon Boat racing.

Australian flora, in order to cope with the extreme conditions present in much of Australia, has evolved to cope with a common set of conditions, namely the ubiquitous presence of fire; soils low in nutrients (due to a lack of recent - geologically speaking - volcanic activity); and a lack of water.

Australia is situated in the middle of the tectonic plate, and therefore has no volcanism, although it may sometimes receive minor earthquakes. The terrain is mostly heavily weathered, low plateau with deserts, rangelands and a fertile plain in southeast. Tasmania and the Australian Alps contain a number of permanent icefields and numerous glaciers.

Politicians in Australia, or "pollies", be they at state or federal level, are universally disliked and distrusted. Ironically, the failure of the 1999 referendum on becoming a republic was arguably more about the prospect of a President chosen by and from the "pollies", than about any vestigial loyalty to the British monarchy.

The Perth city skyline displays the economic prosperity the state has enjoyed in the past 20 years. The city's tallest building, Central Park, is the fifth tallest skyscraper in Australia (not measuring spires).