Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
type	city
name	Canberra
state	act
pop	358,222
pop footnotes	(31 March 2011)
poprank	8th
density	428.6
est	12 March 1913
coordinates
force national map	yes
area	814.2
area footnotes
timezone	AEST
utc	+10
timezone-dst	AEDT
utc-dst	+11
dist1	286
dir1	SW
location1	Sydney
dist2	669
dir2	NE
location2	Melbourne
dist3	1159
dir3	E
location3	Adelaide
dist4	1203
dir4	SSW
location4	Brisbane
dist5	3726
dir5	ESE
location5	Perth
stategov	Molonglo,
stategov2	Ginninderra
stategov3	Brindabella
fedgov	Canberra
fedgov2	Fraser
maxtemp	19.7
mintemp	6.5
rainfall	616.3 }}

Canberra ( or ) is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran".

The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and was centred around axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory.

The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title of the "bush capital". The growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, which exacerbated a series of planning disputes and the ineffectiveness of a sequence of bodies that were to oversee the development of the city. The national capital emerged as a thriving city after World War II, as Prime Minister Robert Menzies championed its development and the National Capital Development Commission was formed with executive powers. Although the Australian Capital Territory is now self-governing, the federal government retains some influence through the National Capital Authority.

As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the Australian War Memorial, Australian National University, Australian Institute of Sport, National Gallery, National Museum and the National Library. The Australian Army's officer corps are trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy is also located in the capital.

As the city has a high proportion of public servants, the federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra. As the seat of government, the unemployment rate is lower and the average income higher than the national average, while property prices are relatively high, in part due to comparatively restricted development regulations. Tertiary education levels are higher, while the population is younger.

Etymology

The word "Canberra" is popularly claimed to derive from the word ''Kambera'' or Canberry and mean "meeting place" in the old Ngunnawal language of the local Ngabri people. The Ngunnawal name was apparently used as a reference to corroborees held during the seasonal migration of the Ngunnawal people to feast on the Bogong moths that pass through the region each spring.

Alternatively, the name was reported by Queanbeyan newspaper owner John Gale in the 1860s to be an anglicisation of the indigenous name 'nganbra' or 'nganbira', meaning "hollow between a woman's breasts", and referring to the Sullivans Creek floodplain between Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain. Support for this alternate meaning comes from the fact that Joshua Moore's original "Canberry" property on Acton peninsula, named as such in the 1820s, was very close to the Sullivans Creek floodplain, and that an early map of the Limestone Plains compiled Major Mitchell in his role as Surveyor-General clearly marks Sullivans Creek and its floodplain above the junction with the Molonglo River as 'nganbra'.

History

Before European settlement, the area in which Canberra would eventually be constructed was seasonally inhabited by Indigenous Australians. Anthropologist Norman Tindale suggested the principal group occupying the region were the Ngunnawal people, while the Ngarigo lived immediately to the south of the ACT, The Wandandian to the east, the Walgulu also to the south, Gandangara people to the north, and Wiradjuri to the north west. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the region includes inhabited rock shelters, rock paintings and engravings, burial places, camps and quarry sites, and stone tools and arrangements. The evidence suggests human habitation in the area for at least 21,000 years.

European exploration and settlement started in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. There were four expeditions between 1820 and 1824. White settlement of the area probably dates from 1824, when a homestead or station was built on what is now the Acton peninsula by stockmen employed by Joshua John Moore. He formally purchased the site in 1826, and named the property "Canberry".

The European population in the Canberra area continued to grow slowly throughout the 19th century. Among them was the Campbell family of "Duntroon"; their imposing stone house is now the officers' mess of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. The Campbells sponsored settlement by other farmer families to work their land, such as the Southwells of "Weetangera". Other notable early settlers included the inter-related Murray and Gibbes families, who owned the Yarralumla estate—now the site of the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia—from the 1830s through to 1881.

The oldest surviving public building in the inner-city is the Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, in the suburb of Reid, which was consecrated in 1845. St John's churchyard contains the earliest graves in the district. As the European presence increased, the indigenous population dwindled, mainly from disease such as smallpox and measles.

The district's change from a New South Wales (NSW) rural area to the national capital started during debates over Federation in the late 19th century. Following a long dispute over whether Sydney or Melbourne should be the national capital, a compromise was reached: the new capital would be built in New South Wales, so long as it was at least from Sydney, with Melbourne to be the temporary seat of government (but not referred to as the "capital") while the new capital was built.

20th century

Newspaper proprietor John Gale circulated a pamphlet titled 'Dalgety or Canberra: Which?' advocating Canberra to every member of the Commonwealth's seven States Parliaments. By many accounts, it was decisive in the selection of Canberra as the site in 1908, as was a result of survey work done by the government surveyor Charles Scrivener. The NSW government ceded the Federal Capital Territory (as it was then known) to the federal government. In an international design competition conducted by the Department of Home Affairs, on 24 May 1911, the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was chosen for the city, and in 1913 Griffin was appointed Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction and construction began.

On 12 March 1913, the city was officially given its name by Lady Denman, the wife of Governor-General Lord Denman, at a ceremony at Kurrajong Hill, which has since become Capital Hill and the site of the present Parliament House. Canberra Day is a public holiday observed in the ACT on the second Monday in March to celebrate the founding of Canberra. After the ceremony, bureaucratic disputes hindered Griffin's work; a Royal Commission in 1916 ruled his authority had been usurped by certain officials. Griffin's relationship with the Australian authorities was strained and a lack of funding meant that by the time he was fired in 1920, little work had been done. By this time, Griffin had revised his plan, overseen the earthworks of major avenues, and established the Glenloch Cork Plantation.

The federal legislature moved to Canberra on 9 May 1927, with the opening of the Provisional Parliament House. The Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, had officially taken up residence in The Lodge a few days earlier. Planned development of the city slowed significantly during the depression of the 1930s and during World War II. Some projects planned for that time, including Roman Catholic and Anglican cathedrals, were never completed.

From 1920 to 1957, three bodies, successively the Federal Capital Advisory Committee, the Federal Capital Commission, and the National Capital Planning and Development Committee continued to plan the further expansion of Canberra in the absence of Griffin; however, they were only advisory, and development decisions were made without consulting them, increasing inefficiency.

Immediately after the end of the war, Canberra was criticised for resembling a village, and its disorganised collection of buildings was deemed ugly. Canberra was often derisively described as "several suburbs in search of a city". Prime Minister Robert Menzies regarded the state of the national capital as an embarrassment. Over time his attitude changed from one of contempt to that of championing its development. He fired two ministers charged with the development of the city for poor performance. He ruled for over a decade and in that time the development of the capital sped up rapidly. The population grew by more than 50% in every five-year period from 1955 to 1975. Several Government departments, together with public servants, were moved to Canberra from Melbourne following the war. Government housing projects were undertaken to accommodate the city's growing population.

Most of rapid expansion was achieved after the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) was formed in 1957 with executive powers, replacing its ineffective advisory predecessors. The NCDC ended four decades of disputes over the shape and design of Lake Burley Griffin—the centrepiece of Griffin's design—and construction was completed in 1964 after four years of work. The completion of the lake finally the laid the platform for the development of Griffin's Parliamentary Triangle. Since the initial construction of the lake, various buildings of national importance have been constructed on its shores.

The newly built Australian National University was expanded, and sculptures and monuments were built. A new National Library was constructed within the Parliamentary Triangle, followed by the High Court and the National Gallery. Suburbs in Canberra Central (often referred to as North Canberra and South Canberra) were further developed in the 1950s, and urban development in the districts of Woden Valley and Belconnen commenced in the mid and late 1960s respectively. Many of the new suburbs were named after Australian politicians, such as Barton, Deakin, Reid, Braddon, Curtin, Chifley and Parkes.

On 27 January 1972 the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was first established on the grounds of Parliament House; it was created to draw attention to indigenous rights and land issues and has been continuously occupied since 1992. On 9 May 1988, a larger and permanent Parliament House was opened on Capital Hill as part of Australia's bicentenary celebrations, and the Federal Parliament moved there from the Provisional Parliament House, now known as Old Parliament House.

In December 1988, the ACT was granted full self-government through an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament. Following the first election on 4 March 1989, a 17-member Legislative Assembly sat at temporary offices at 1 Constitution Avenue, Civic, on 11 May 1989. Permanent premises were opened on London Circuit in 1994. The Australian Labor Party formed the ACT's first government, led by the Chief Minister Rosemary Follett, who made history as Australia's first female head of government. Parts of Canberra were engulfed by bushfires on 18 January 2003 that killed four people, injured 435, and destroyed 487 homes and the major research telescopes of Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory.

Geography

Canberra covers an area of 814.2 square kilometres (314.3 sq. mi) and is located near the Brindabella Ranges, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) inland from Australia's east coast. It has an elevation of approximately AHD; the highest point is Mount Majura at 888 metres (2,913 ft). Other large hills include Mount Taylor, Mount Ainslie, Mount Mugga Mugga and Black Mountain.

The native forest in the Canberra region was almost wholly eucalypt species and provided a resource for fuel and domestic purposes. By the early 1960s, logging had depleted the eucalypt, and concern about water quality led to the forests being closed. Interest in forestry began in 1915 with trials of a number of species including ''Pinus radiata'' on the slopes of Mount Stromlo. Since then, plantations have been expanded, with the benefit of reducing erosion in the Cotter catchment, and the forests are also popular recreation areas.

The urban environs of the city of Canberra straddle the Ginninderra plain, Molonglo plain, the Limestone plain, and the Tuggeranong plain (Isabella's Plain). The Molonglo River which flows across the Molonglo plain has been dammed to form the national capital's iconic feature Lake Burley Griffin. The Molonglo then flows into the Murrumbidgee north-west of Canberra, which in turn flows north-west toward the New South Wales town of Yass. The Queanbeyan River joins the Molonglo River at Oaks Estate just within the ACT.

A number of creeks, including Jerrabomberra and Yarralumla Creeks, flow into the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee. Two of these creeks, the Ginninderra and Tuggeranong, have similarly been dammed to form Lakes Ginninderra and Tuggeranong. Until recently the Molonglo River had a history of sometimes calamitous floods; the area was a flood plain prior to the filling of Lake Burley Griffin.

Climate

Canberra has a relatively dry continental climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Canberra experiences warm, quite dry summers, and chilly winters with heavy fog and frequent frosts. Snow is rare in the CBD but the surrounding areas get annual snowfall through winter and often the snow capped mountains can be seen from the CBD. The highest recorded maximum temperature was on 1 February 1968.

The lowest recorded minimum temperature was on 11 July 1971. Light snow often falls only once or twice per year but is usually not widespread and quickly dissipates. Canberra is protected from the west by the Brindabellas which create a slight rain shadow in Canberra's valleys.

Annual rainfall is the third lowest of the capital cities (after Adelaide and Hobart) but is spread fairly evenly over the seasons, with late spring bringing the highest rainfall. Thunderstorms occur mostly between October and April, due to the effect of summer and the mountains. The area is not very windy and the breeze is at its strongest from August to November. Canberra is less humid than the nearby coastal areas.

Urban structure

Canberra is a planned city and the inner-city area was originally designed by Walter Burley Griffin, a major 20th century American architect. Within the central area of the city near Lake Burley Griffin, major roads follow a wheel-and-spoke pattern rather than a grid. Griffin's proposal had an abundance of geometric patterns, including concentric hexagonal and octagonal streets emanating from several radii. However, the outer areas of the city, built later, are not laid out geometrically.

Lake Burley Griffin was deliberately designed so that the orientation of the components was related to various topographical landmarks in Canberra. The lakes stretch from east to west and divided the city in two; a land axis perpendicular to the central basin stretches from Capital Hill—the eventual location of the new Parliament House on a mound on the southern side—north northeast across the central basin to the northern banks along Anzac Parade to the Australian War Memorial. This was designed so that looking from Capital Hill, the War Memorial stood directly at the foot of Mount Ainslie. At the southwestern end of the land axis was Bimberi Peak, the highest mountain in the ACT, approximately 52 km south west of Canberra.

The straight edge of the circular segment that formed the central basin of Lake Burley Griffin was perpendicular to the land axis and designated the water axis, and it extended northwest towards Black Mountain. A line parallel to the water axis, on the northern side of the city, was designated the municipal axis. The municipal axis became the location of Constitution Avenue, which links City Hill in Civic Centre and both Market Centre and the Defence precinct on Russell Hill. Commonwealth Avenue and Kings Avenue were to run from the southern side from Capital Hill to City Hill and Market Centre on the north respectively, and they formed the western and eastern edges of the central basin. The area enclosed by the three avenues was known as the Parliamentary Triangle, and formed the centrepiece of Griffin's work.

The Griffins assigned spiritual values to Mount Ainslie, Black Mountain, and Red Hill and originally planned to cover each of these in flowers. That way each hill would be covered with a single, primary color which represented its spiritual value. This part of their plan never came to fruition, as World War I slowed construction and planning disputes led to Walter's dismissal by Prime Minister Billy Hughes after the war ended.

The urban areas of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs as well as other industrial areas and villages. There are seven residential districts, each of which is divided into smaller suburbs, and most of which have a town centre which is the focus of commercial and social activities. The districts were settled in the following chronological order: Canberra Central, mostly settled in the 1920s and 1930s, with expansion up to the 1960s, 25 suburbs Woden Valley, first settled in 1964, 12 suburbs Belconnen, first settled in 1966, 25 suburbs (1 not yet developed) Weston Creek, settled in 1969, 8 suburbs Tuggeranong, settled in 1974, 18 suburbs

Gungahlin, settled in the early 1990s, 18 suburbs (6 not yet developed)

Molonglo Valley, development to begin in 2010, 13 suburbs planned.

The Canberra Central district is substantially based on Walter Burley Griffin's designs. In 1967 the then National Capital Development Commission adopted the "Y Plan" which laid out future urban development in Canberra around a series of central shopping and commercial area known as the 'town centres' linked by freeways, the layout of which roughly resembled the shape of the letter Y, with Tuggeranong at the base of the Y and Belconnen and Gungahlin located at the ends of the arms of the Y.

Development in Canberra has been closely regulated by government, both through planning processes and the use of crown lease terms that have tightly limited the use of parcels of land. Land in the ACT is held on 99 year crown leases from the national government, although most leases are now administered by the Territory government. There have been persistent calls for constraints on development to be liberalised.

Many of Canberra's suburbs are named after former Prime Ministers, famous Australians, early settlers, or use Aboriginal words for their title. Street names typically follow a particular theme; for example, the streets of Duffy are named after Australian dams and reservoirs, the streets of Dunlop are named after Australian inventions, inventors and artists and the streets of Page are named after biologists and naturalists. Most diplomatic missions are located in the suburbs of Yarralumla, Deakin and O'Malley. There are three light industrial areas: the suburbs of Fyshwick, Mitchell and Hume.

Governance

Outside Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory has no settlements larger than a village. The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly performs the roles of both a city council and territory government. The assembly consists of 17 members, elected from three districts using proportional representation. The three districts are Molonglo, Ginninderra and Brindabella, which elect seven, five and five members, respectively.

The Chief Minister is elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and selects colleagues to serve as ministers alongside him or her in the Executive, known informally as the cabinet. Whereas the ACT has federally been dominated by Labor, the Liberals have been able to gain some footing in the ACT Legislative Assembly, and were in government for just over eight of the Assembly's 21-year history, mostly during a period of six and half years from 1995 and 2001, when Labor won power. At the 2004 election the Australian Labor Party, headed by then Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, won nine of the 17 seats and formed the ACT's first majority government, but after the 2008 election was forced into minority government with the Greens.

As almost all of the ACT's population lives in Canberra, political trends for both areas are closely aligned. The ACT was given its first federal parliamentary representation in 1949, when it gained a seat in the House of Representatives, the Division of Australian Capital Territory. The ACT member could only vote on matters directly affecting the territory. In 1974, the ACT was allocated two Senate seats. In 1974, the House of Representatives seat was divided into two.

A third was created in 1996, but was abolished in 1998 because of changes to the regional demographic distribution. Both House of Representatives seats have mostly been held by Labor, usually by comfortable margins. Labor has polled at least seven percentage points more than the Liberals at every federal election since 1990, and their average lead since then has been 15 percentage points. The ALP and the Liberal Party of Australia have always held one Senate seat each.

The Australian federal government retains some influence over the ACT government. In the administrative sphere, most frequently this is through the actions of the National Capital Authority which is responsible for planning and development in areas of Canberra which are considered to be of national importance or which are central to Griffin's plan for the city, such as the Parliamentary Triangle, Lake Burley Griffin, major approach and processional roads, areas where the Commonwealth retains ownership of the land or undeveloped hills and ridge-lines (which form part of the Canberra Nature Park). The national government also retains a level of control over the Territory Assembly through the provisions of the ''Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988''. This federal act defines the legislative power of the ACT assembly.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) provides all of the constabulary services in the territory in a manner similar to state police forces, under a contractual agreement with the ACT Government. The AFP does so through its community policing arm, ACT Policing (Australian Capital Territory Police).

People who have been charged with offences are tried either in the ACT Magistrates Court or for more severe offences, the ACT Supreme Court. Prisoners were held in remand at the Belconnen Remand Centre in the ACT but usually jailed in New South Wales. The new prison, Alexander Maconochie Centre, was officially opened on 11 September 2008 by Jon Stanhope, the Chief Minister. The total cost for construction was $130 million. Courts such as a Small Claims Tribunal and a Family Court exist for civil law actions and other non-criminal legal matters.

Economy

In early 2010, the unemployment rate in Canberra stood at 3.9% which is substantially lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.3%. As a result of low unemployment and substantial levels of public sector and commercial employment, Canberra has the highest average level of disposable income of any Australian capital city. The gross average weekly wage in Canberra is $1,392 compared with the national average of $1,223.30 (November 2009).

The median house price in Canberra as of September 2009 was $511,820, lower than only Sydney among capital cities of more than 100,000 people, having surpassed Melbourne and Perth since 2005. The median weekly rent paid by Canberra residents is higher than rents in all other states and territories. As at the March quarter of 2009 the median rent in Canberra was $420 per week, the third highest in the country. Factors contributing to this higher weekly rental market include; higher average weekly incomes, restricted land supply, and inflationary clauses in the ACT Residential Tenancies Act.

The city's main industry is government administration and defence, which accounted for 31% of Gross Territory Product in 2008–09 and employed over 40% of Canberra's workforce. A number of Australian Defence Force establishments are located in or near Canberra, most notably the Australian Defence Force headquarters and HMAS ''Harman'', which is a naval communications centre that is being converted into a tri-service, multi-user depot.

The former RAAF Fairbairn, adjacent to the Canberra International Airport was sold to the operators of the Airport, but the base continues to be used for RAAF VIP flights. A growing number of independent software vendors have based themselves in Canberra, to capitalise on the concentration of government customers; these include Tower Software and RuleBurst. A consortium of private and government investors is currently making plans for a billion-dollar data hub, with the aim of making Canberra a leading centre of such activity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Demographics

As of 2006, the population of Canberra was 323,056 people. The 2006 census showed that 1.2% of Canberra's population were of indigenous origin and 21.7% were born overseas. The largest group of people born overseas came from English-speaking countries, led by the United Kingdom and then New Zealand.

Significant numbers of immigrants have also come from China, India and Vietnam. Recent immigrants have arrived from countries in East and South Asia. Most locals are native speakers of English (81.1%); some have a second language, the most common being Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Greek. These five languages are spoken by a total of 4.8% of the population.

Canberrans are relatively young, highly mobile, and well educated. The median age is 34 years, and only 9.8% of the population is aged over 65 years. Between 1996 and 2001, 61.9% of the population either moved to or from Canberra, which is the second highest mobility rate of any Australian capital city.

As of May 2004, 30% of people in the ACT aged 15–64 had a level of educational attainment equal to at least a bachelor's degree, significantly higher that the national average of 19%. Approximately 60% of Canberra residents describe themselves as Christian, the most common denominations being Catholic and Anglican; 6% of the population practice a non-Christian religion and 23% are not religious.

As of 2002 the most common crimes in Canberra are property related crimes, unlawful entry with intent and motor vehicle theft. They affect 1,961 and 630 of every 100,000 persons respectively. Homicide and related offences—including murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and driving causing death—affect 1.5/100,000 persons, which is below the national average of 4.9/100,000. Rates of assault and sexual assault are also below the national average.

Education

The two main tertiary institutions are the Australian National University (ANU) in Acton and the University of Canberra (UC) in Bruce, with over 10,500 and 8,000 full-time-equivalent students respectively. Established in 1946, the ANU has always had a strong research focus and is ranked among the leading universities in the world and the best in Australia by ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' and the Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings. There are two religious university campuses in Canberra: Signadou in the northern suburb of Watson is a campus of the Australian Catholic University; St Mark's Theological College in Barton is part of the secular Charles Sturt University.

The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon are located in the inner-northern suburb of Campbell. ADFA teaches military undergraduates and postgraduates and is a campus of the University of New South Wales; Duntroon provides Australian Army officer training. Tertiary level vocational education is also available through the multi-campus Canberra Institute of Technology.

In February 2004 there were 140 schools in Canberra; 96 were operated by the government and 44 were private. During 2006, the ACT Government announced closures of up to 39 schools, to take effect from the end of the school year, and after a series of consultations unveiled its ''Towards 2020: Renewing Our Schools'' policy. As a result, some schools closed during the 2006–08 period, while others were merged; the creation of combined primary and secondary government schools will proceed over the next decade. The new policy has provoked significant opposition. Most suburbs are planned to include a primary and a nearby preschool; these are usually located near open areas where recreational and sporting activities are easily available.

Culture

Arts and entertainment

Canberra is home to many national monuments and institutions such as the Australian War Memorial, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Library, the National Archives, the Australian Academy of Science and the National Museum. Many Commonwealth government buildings in Canberra are open to the public, including Parliament House, the High Court and the Royal Australian Mint.

Lake Burley Griffin is the site of the Captain James Cook Memorial and the National Carillon. Other sites of interest include the Black Mountain Tower, the Australian National Botanic Gardens, the National Zoo and Aquarium, the National Dinosaur Museum and Questacon – the National Science and Technology Centre.

The Canberra Museum and Gallery in the city is a repository of local history and art. Several historic homes are open to the public: Lanyon and Tuggeranong Homesteads in the Tuggeranong Valley, Mugga-Mugga in Symonston, and Blundells' Cottage in Parkes all display the lifestyle of the early European settlers. Calthorpes' House in Red Hill is a well preserved example of a 1920s house from Canberra's very early days. Canberra has many venues for live music and theatre: the Canberra Theatre and Playhouse which hosts many major concerts and productions; and Llewellyn Hall (within the ANU School of Music), a world-class concert hall are two of the most notable. The Street Theatre is a venue with less mainstream offerings. The Albert Hall was the city's first performing arts venue, opened in 1928. It was the original performance venue for theatre groups such as the Canberra Repertory Society.

Stonefest at the University of Canberra is a large two-day music festival. There are numerous bars and nightclubs which also offer live entertainment, particularly concentrated in the areas of Dickson, Kingston and the city. Most town centres have facilities for a community theatre and a cinema, and they all have a library. Popular cultural events include the National Folk Festival, the Royal Canberra Show, the Summernats car festival, the Canberra Multicultural Festival in February and the ''Celebrate Canberra'' festival held over 10 days in March in conjunction with Canberra Day.

Canberra maintains sister-city relationships with both Nara, Japan and Beijing, China. Canberra has friendship-city relationships with both Dili, East Timor and Hangzhou, China. City-to-city relationships encourage communities and special interest groups both locally and abroad to engage in a wide range of exchange activities. The Canberra Nara Candle Festival held annually in spring, is a community celebration of the Canberra Nara Sister City relationship. The festival is held in Canberra Nara Park on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

Media

As Australia's capital, Canberra is the most important centre for much of Australia's political reportage and thus all the major media, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the commercial television networks, and the metropolitan newspapers maintain local bureaus. News organisations are represented in the "press gallery", a group of journalists who report on the national parliament. The National Press Club of Australia in Barton has regular television broadcasts of its weekly lunches at which a prominent guest, typically a politician or other public figure, delivers a speech followed by a question-and-answer session.

Canberra has a daily newspaper, ''The Canberra Times'', which was established in 1926, and some free weekly suburban and special interest publications, one of these being CityNews.

Canberra has five free-to-air television stations (analogue and digital) including two government funded networks (ABC and SBS) and three commercial networks (Prime, WIN and Southern Cross Ten). SBS offer digital high-definition simulcasts of their main channel on SBS HD. In addition to ABC1, SBS One, Prime Television, WIN Television and Southern Cross Ten, these networks broadcast ten additional digital-only channels: 7Two on Prime, 7mate on Prime, GO!, GEM, ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24, SBS Two, One HD and Eleven.

Prior to 1989, Canberra was serviced by just the ABC, SBS and Capital Television, which later became Southern Cross Ten, with Prime and WIN arriving as part of the Government's regional aggregation programme in that year.

Subscription (pay) television services are available from Foxtel and local telecommunications company TransACT.

A number of community radio stations broadcast in Canberra, including 2XXfm, ArtSound FM, 1RPH and CMS Radio. There are a number of commercial AM and FM radio stations including those belonging to the Capital Radio Network (2CA and 2CC), the Austereo/ARN owned 104.7 and Mix 106.3, and Raw FM. Public radio broadcasters ABC and SBS operate a number of stations.

Sport

In addition to local sporting leagues, Canberra has a number of sporting teams that compete in national and international competitions. The best known teams are the Canberra Raiders and the Brumbies who play rugby league and rugby union respectively; both have been champions of their leagues. Both teams play their home games at Canberra Stadium, which is the city's largest stadium and was used to hold group matches in soccer for the 2000 Summer Olympics and in rugby union for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The city also has a successful basketball team, the Canberra Capitals, which has won seven out of the last eleven national women's basketball titles.

There are also teams that participate in national competitions in netball, field hockey, ice hockey, cricket and baseball. Manuka Oval is another large outdoor sporting facility where cricket and Australian Rules football are played. The Melbourne based AFL team the Kangaroos played some home games at Manuka Oval until July 2006. Following the move of the Kangaroos' alternative home ground to Carrara in Queensland, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs will play home games at Manuka Oval from 2007 against the Sydney Swans. Canberra is also home to the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament. The historic Prime Minister's XI cricket match is played at Manuka Oval annually. Other significant annual sporting events include the Canberra Marathon and the City of Canberra Half Ironman Triathlon. The Canberra Women's Tennis Classic was held in the lead up to the Australian Open until 2006.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is located in the Canberra suburb of Bruce. The AIS is a specialised educational and training institution providing coaching for elite junior and senior athletes in a number of sports. The AIS has been operating since 1981 and has achieved significant success in producing elite athletes, both local and international. The majority of Australia's team members and medallists at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney were AIS graduates.

Canberra has numerous sporting ovals, golf courses, skate parks, tennis courts and swimming pools that are open to the public. A Canberra-wide series of bicycle paths are available to cyclists for recreational and sporting purposes. Canberra Nature Parks have a large range of walking paths, horse and mountain bike trails. Water sports like sailing, rowing, dragon boating and water skiing are held on Canberra's lakes. The Rally of Canberra is an annual motor sport event and a facility for drag racing is currently being planned for construction.

Infrastructure

Health

Canberra has two large public hospitals, the approximately 600-bed Canberra Hospital—formerly the Woden Valley Hospital—in Garran and the 174-bed Calvary Public Hospital in Bruce. Both are teaching institutions. The largest private hospital is the Calvary John James Hospital in Deakin. Calvary Private Hospital in Bruce and Healthscope's National Capital Private Hospital in Garran are also major healthcare providers.

The Royal Canberra Hospital was located on Acton Peninsula on Lake Burley Griffin; it was closed in 1991 and was demolished in 1997 in a controversial and fatal implosion to facilitate construction of the National Museum of Australia. The city has 10 aged care facilities. Canberra's hospitals receive emergency cases from throughout southern New South Wales, and ACT Ambulance Service is one of four operational agencies of the ACT Emergency Services Authority. NETS provides a dedicated ambulance service for inter-hospital transport of sick newborns within the ACT and into surrounding New South Wales.

Transport

The automobile is by far the dominant form of transport in Canberra. The city is laid out so that arterial roads connecting inhabited clusters run through undeveloped areas of open land or forest, which results in a low population density; this also means that idle land is available for the development of future transport corridors if necessary without the need to build tunnels or acquire developed residential land. In contrast, other capital cities in Australia have substantially less green space.

Canberra's districts are generally connected by parkways—limited access dual carriageway roads with speed limits generally set at a maximum of 100 km/h. An example is the Tuggeranong Parkway which links Canberra's CBD and Tuggeranong, and bypasses Weston Creek. In most districts, discrete residential suburbs are bounded by main arterial roads with only a few residential linking in, to deter non-local traffic from cutting through areas of housing.

ACTION, the government-operated bus service, provides public transport throughout the city. Deane's Transit Group provides bus services between Canberra and nearby areas of New South Wales through their Transborder Express (Murrumbateman and Yass) and Deane's Buslines (Queanbeyan) brands. In the 2006 census, 7.7% of the journeys to work involved a bus; with 7.4% walking or cycling to work. There are two local taxi companies. Aerial Capital Group enjoyed monopoly status until the arrival of Cabxpress in 2007.

An interstate CountryLink railway service connects Canberra to Sydney. Canberra's railway station is in the inner south suburb of Kingston. Between 1920 and 1922 the train line crossed the Molonglo River and ran as far north as the city centre, although the line was closed following major flooding and was never rebuilt, while plans for a line to Yass were abandoned. A 1067 mm gauge construction railway was built in 1923 between the Yarralumla brickworks and the provisional Parliament House; it was later extended to Civic, but the whole line was closed in May 1927. Train services to Melbourne are provided by way of a CountryLink bus service which connects with a rail service between Sydney and Melbourne in Yass, about one hour's drive from Canberra.

Plans to establish a very fast train like a TGV service between Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, have not been implemented, as the various proposals have been deemed economically unviable. The original plans for Canberra included proposals for railed transport within the city, however none eventuated. A railway connecting Canberra to Jervis Bay was also planned but never constructed.

Canberra is about three hours by road from Sydney on the Federal Highway (National Highway 23), which connects with the Hume Highway (National Highway 31) near Goulburn, and eight hours by road from Melbourne on the Barton Highway (National Highway 25), which joins the Hume Highway at Yass. It is a two hour drive on the Monaro Highway (National Highway 23) to the ski fields of the Snowy Mountains and the Kosciuszko National Park. Batemans Bay, a popular holiday spot on the New South Wales coast, is also two hours away via the Kings Highway.

Canberra International Airport provides direct domestic services to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with connections to other domestic centres. There are direct daily flights to Albury and Newcastle in New South Wales. No regular commercial international flights operate from the airport. Until 2003 the civilian airport shared runways with RAAF Base Fairbairn. In June of that year, the Air Force base was decommissioned and from that time the airport was fully under civilian control.

Utilities

The government-owned ACTEW Corporation manages Canberra's water and sewerage infrastructure. ActewAGL is a joint venture between ACTEW and AGL, and is the retail provider of Canberra's utility services including water, natural gas, electricity, and also some telecommunications services via a subsidiary TransACT.

Canberra's water is stored in four reservoirs, the Corin, Bendora and Cotter dams on the Cotter River and the Googong Dam on the Queanbeyan River. Although the Googong Dam is located in New South Wales, it is managed by the ACT government. ACTEW Corporation owns Canberra's two wastewater treatment plants, located at Fyshwick and on the lower reaches of the Molonglo River.

Electricity for Canberra comes from the national power grid through substations at Holt and Fyshwick (via Queanbeyan). Some limited local renewable power is produced via a hydro generator on the main water supply pipeline for Canberra at Mount Stromlo and methane plants at waste landfill sites at Belconnen and Mugga Lane. Power was first supplied from a plant built in 1913, near the Molonglo River. The ACT has the highest rate of computer use and internet connection in Australia.

International relations

Sister cities

Canberra is twinned with:

Beijing, China Nara, Japan

See also

1971 Canberra flood

2003 Canberra bushfires

List of national capitals

List of planned cities

Notes

References

External links

WikiSatellite view of Canberra at WikiMapia

A general Canberra tourist site

The ACT Government webpage

* Canberra region map – all districts

* ACT Locate – land and planning maps

Category:Australian capital cities Category:Capitals in Oceania Category:Planned capitals Category:Cities planned by Walter Burley Griffin Category:Populated places established in 1913 Category:Australian Aboriginal placenames Category:Populated places on the Murrumbidgee River

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Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
Name	Babbu Maan
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 18, 1976
Origin	Khant, Fatehgarh Sahib Punjab
Record label	Point Zero Production
Genre	Punjabi, Bhangra, Romantic, Hindi Pop Punjabi Rap
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Actor, Producer
Years active	1998–present
Website	}}

Babbu Maan (born Tejinder Singh Maan on Mar 18) is a Punjabi singer-songwriter, actor, and producer. Born in the village of Khant Maanpur in the Fatehgarh Sahib District of Punjab, India. Babbu Maan has been very fond of playing music since his childhood, singing on stage for the first time during a school function in his village school at the age of seven. He would see everything through the eyes of a musician, even turning cooking pans into musical instruments as he created rhythmic sounds. He learned how to write lyrics, while at school (Punjab University, Chandigarh) when he was about 16. After college, he started singing and composing music. He is one of the few singers who writes his own lyrics for all of his songs. He sang for Mavi music recording studio and recorded his first album when he was only 23.

Babbu Maan is the only Punjabi singer who sings his own lyrics in his own great music. Babbu Maan is famous for his distinctive music and lyrics, at present he is one of the great Punjabi singers who has given a new trend to Bhangra Music. His sad songs are urbane with the synchronized Punjabi music, as that no one else could create. Now he is entrenched Punjabi pop singer, composer, lyricist, playback singer and actor as well.

Career

Babbu Maan debuted in 1998 with his album Sajjan Rumal De Giya. Unhappy with the album he went back to the drawing board and re-wrote many of the songs, many of which were re-released in his following albums. Tu Meri Miss India, his second album was released in 1999 was a smash hit.

His third album Saaun Di Jhadi released in 2001 was a highly successful album; It sold over ten million copies in India alone and many more overseas. In 2003 Maan was selected as actor and Music Director for the movie Hawayein in which he worked alongside his favourite singer, Sukhwinder Singh. The movie was highly successful. It was followed by his album, Ohi Chann Ohi Rataan. This album also fared well, in both critical acclaim and sales. Pyass was he's next album.

In 2006 Maan started on his first playback movie called Rabb Ne Banayien Jodeian, with its songs scoring another success for Maan. Mera Gham was a highly successful Hindi album. It focused more on slow romantic and sad songs with a few up-beat songs. The song "Ek Raat/One Night Stand" shocked many listeners, but nevertheless, the song has a very catchy beat.

Maan starred in a New Year's special called Aao Saare Nachiye which was also highly successful. Part 1 was released in 2008 and Part 2 in 2009. Maan's Film Hashar... A love Story, was the biggest film success yet in his career; the songs were also a hit. Recently Babbu released a religious album,Singh Better Than King. A song from this album "Ik Baba Nanak Si" was banned by the government. This was followed by a tv survey in which 80% of people supported Babbu Maan, 6% people supported the censorship of the song and 14% people did not participate. Nevertheless, it was successful album and it sold more than 25 million copies in (INDIA). On March 25, 2010, Maan came out with his new Film Ekam - Son of Soil. The film faired well at the box office.

Discography

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2007	''Mera Gham''	Point Zero
2005	''Pyass''	T-Series
2004	''Ohi Chann Ohi Rataan''	T-Series
2001	''Saaun Di Jhadi''	T-Series
1999	''Tu Meri Miss India''	Catrack
1998	''Sajjan Rumal De Giya''	Catrack

Religious

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2009	''Singh Better Than King''	Point Zero

Soundtrack

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2010	''Ekam: Son of Soil''	Point Zero
2008	''Hashar: A Love Story...''	Eros
2006	''Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean''	T-Series
2003	''Hawayein''	T-Series

Compilation

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2011	''Aao Saare Nachiye Vol. 4''	Point Zero
2010	''Aao Saare Nachiye Vol. 2''	Point Zero
2009	''Aao Saare Nachiye''	Point Zero

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Character
2011	''Hero Hiter in Love''
2010	''Crook''	Playback singer
2010	''Ekam: Son of Soil''	Ekam
2009	''Vaada Raha...I Promise''	Playback singer
2008	''Hashar: A Love Story...''	Maninder
2006	''Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean''	Jelly
2003	''Hawayein''	Kanpuria

References

External links

BabbuMaanOnline.com Babbu Mann's official website

Cine Punjab - Information

mannfilms.com/ekam Ekam: Son of Soil official website

pointzeroentertainers.com Point Zero official website

mannfilms.com Mann Films official website

Hashar a Love Story official website

Listen Babbu Mann Songs

http://www.herohitlerinlove.com/

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Indian Sikhs Category:Panjab University alumni Category:Punjabi-language singers

hi:बब्बू मान te:బబ్బూ మన్

Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
background	solo_singer
birth name	Percy Miller
alias	Lil' Romeo, Rome, Romeo
born	August 19, 1989
origin	New Orleans, Louisiana
genre	Hip hop
occupation	RapperModelBasketball playerEntrepreneurActor
college	USC
years active	2001–present
label	No Limit (2001–2002) Priority (2001–2002) The New No Limit (2002–2004) Universal (2002–2003) E1 (2004–2005) Guttar Music (2005–2006) Take A Stand (2007–present) The Next Generation (CEO) (2010–present) No Limit Forever (CEO) (2010–present)
website	http://romeoforever.com }}

Percy Romeo Miller, Jr. (born August 19, 1989), better known by his stage name Romeo (previously Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, basketball player, entrepreneur, and model. He is the son of rapper and entrepreneur Master P and former rapper Sonya C. He is the nephew of rappers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker and the brother of singer Cymphonique. As a rap musician, Miller has released three studio albums and two compilation albums.

Early life

Romeo Miller was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of entertainer and entrepreneur founder P. Miller whose career was at its peak at the time. Romeo was signed to No Limit at the age of 5 after he wrote a rap to his dad.

Music career

''Lil' Romeo'' (2001)

He then released his debut album 7 years later titled after his original alias ''Lil' Romeo''. This offering contained the hit single "My Baby" that charted No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles. The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified certified Platinum by the RIAA for the sales of 1,300,000. Also in 2001 he was featured on his uncle Silkk the Shocker's remix single of "That's Kool", which was also featured on his own album.

''Game Time'' (2002–2003)

In 2002, a year later after his debut album, Miller put out his second studio album, ''Game Time''. It peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It spawned the billboard charting single "2-Way" that charted to No. 66 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It also spawned the album second single "True Love" which charted at No. 16 under the Hot 100 Singles. Though not as successful on the charts as Miller's debut album It still was successful in sales certified 2x Platinum, selling 2,430,785 copies making this Miller's highest selling album.

''Romeoland'' (2004–2007)

In 2004, miller released his third studio album ''Romeoland,'' which was not as successful as his last two albums, but still managed to be certified Gold selling over 459,000 copies in the United States. It was also the last studio album to feature Miller billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2005 Romeo along with his brother Valentino Miller who was known as Young V at that time and their three cousins C-Los, Lil' D & Willie J formed the group Rich Boyz & released their debut album ''Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us''. In 2006 Miller released a compilation album entitled ''Greatest Hits'' the album featured all of his hit songs when Miller was billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2006 Romeo released the two albums ''Lottery'' & ''God's Gift'' on the new label owned by himself and his father Master P, entitled Guttar Music. ''Lottery'' served as Millers first independent release while ''God's Gift'' served as a soundtrack to a movie with the same name. ''God's Gift'' was also Miller's first album to use the name Romeo and to have explicit language. The two albums were also known for containing Miller's single "U Can't Shine Like Me" which was a direct response to Bow Wow, who fans thought dissed Miller in his song "Fresh Azimiz". In 2007 Miller released a collaboration album with his father Master P titled ''Hip Hop History'' it sold 32,000 records worldwide.

''Intelligent Hoodlum'' (2008–present)

In 2008 Miller stated he was working on his fourth studio album entitled ''Gumbo Station''. On June 17, 2008 Miller released the first single from the album which was "Get Low wit It" which featured Akon & his brother Valentino Miller it failed to gain success on the Billboard charts. On March 3, 2009 Romeo released a compilation entitled ''Get Low LP'' that contained songs that were supposed to be on ''Gumbo Station''. It debuted at No. 149 on the Billboard 200 and as of May 5, 2009 it has sold over 20,000 copies. In 2010 Romeo confirmed that he was still working on his fourth studio album but he changed the name of the album to ''The College Boy''. Romeo then announced that the title of the album was going to be ''I Am No Limit''. On January 19, 2010 Romeo released the first promotional single for the album entitled "Tell Me A Million Times" that featured Tempo. Then on January 26, 2010 Romeo released the second promotional single for the album entitled "Ice Cream Man Jr." which was a tribute to his dad Master P. On February 16, 2010 Miller released his debut mixtape ''Patience Is A Virtue'' to promote the album. Then on March 2, 2010 Romeo released two EPs to promote the album which were the ''Famous Girl'' & ''Monster/Practice''. Also In 2010 Miller debuted his newly founded record label The Next Generation Entertainment with his new group the College Boyys. They released a collaboration album on May 25, 2010 entitled ''Spring Break'' which sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. Miller also on this day released three singles which were "You" that featured D'Anna & Lil Twist, "She Bad" that featured Millers cousins Lil' D & Black Don & "They Dont Know" but all of the singles failed to reach the charts. Romeo also performed at the 2010 Hip Hop Honors along with his brother Valentino Miller, his cousins Lil' D & Black Don, & his uncle Silkk The Shocker, along with Trina, Gucci Mane & Mystikal to honor his dad Master P & No Limit Records. In late 2010 Romeo relaunched No Limit as No Limit Forever Romeo also confirmed that he has changed the name of the album from ''I Am No Limit'' to ''Intelligent Hoodlum''. In 2011 It Is confirmed that Romeo is going on a new tour with his dad Master P & his uncle Silkk the Shocker the tour is entitled ”No Limit Forever International". On January 11, 2011 Romeo released his EP ''Dont Push Me''. On May 3, 2011 Romeo released the first official single from ''Intelligent Hoodlum'' which is "Famous Girl (Remix)" which is really the mastered version of the original it still features appearances from Sean Kingston & Miller's cousin Black Don. On August 19, 2011 Romeo released his ''I Am No Limit'' mixtape which was originally supposed to be his fourth studio album before it got changed but Miller just decided it would be best to just release it as a mixtape for his fans.

Other ventures

Acting career

Miller started his acting career with a cameo appearance in the 2001 film ''Max Keeble's Big Move'', as himself. He later co-starred with Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer and Zachary Isaiah Williams in the film ''Honey'' (2003). In ''Honey'', his character was Benny, a young boy looking for a break. Also in 2003, he voiced himself on an episode of the animated series, ''Static Shock'', to which he had performed the theme song. He co-starred with his dad in a movie called ''Uncle P'' in 2005. He also starred in another movie with Zachary Isaiah Williams, ''God's Gift'', which came out in 2006. Recently, he made a cameo appearance, as himself, in ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' as a rapping coach for the teachers. Then in 2007 he starred in film ''ASL'' as himself, Rome, alongside Forrest Lipton and Zachary Isaiah Williams who played the young Romeo; Lil Romey and had also previously starred with Romeo in ''Honey'' and Nickelodeon's ''Romeo!''. He guest-starred as a rapper accused of murder in the 2010 CBS series, ''The Defenders'' and acted in the highly successful film, ''Jumping the Broom'', released in May 2011. In 2011, he also starred in TV commercials for McDonald's & ICDC Colleges.

Fashion designer

On July 24, 2010 Romeo launched his own clothing line titled "College Boyys", which has also been promoted by Miller & his new group the College Boyys. It has also been promoted by artists such as Justin Bieber, Big Time Rush & Jaden Smith. Romeo stated

Basketball career

Name	Percy Miller, Jr.
College	USC
Conference	Pac-10
Sport	Basketball
Position	Point guard
Career start	2008 2010
Nickname	Romeo, Prince P
Jersey	15
Height ft	5
Height in	11
Weight lb	170
Nationality	American
Birth date	August 19, 1989
Birth place	New Orleans, Louisiana
Highschool	Beverly Hills High School
tournaments	y
tournament list	2009 NCAA Tournament
color	DarkRed
fontcolor	Gold }}

Romeo was invited, in the summer of 2006, to the Reebok-sponsored ABCD Camp, which is considered the premier basketball camp in the United States. The Teaneck, New Jersey-based ABCD Camp is an invitation-only basketball showcase previously attended by high-profile players including Kobe Bryant, Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Surrounded by future NBA players such as O. J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, and Kevin Love, Miller looked out of place and averaged less than 2 points a game throughout the camp. ''The Wall Street Journal'' made an article on March 8, entitled "A Hot Prospect," cites Sonny Vaccaro, the longtime director of the ABCD Camp, as explaining, "he invited Romeo Miller to the 2006 camp, primarily as a favor to Percy Miller, whom he knew from the club basketball circuit." In the article, Vaccaro indicated, "If you're looking for the profile of an athlete who plays basketball at USC, he's not it."

On April 13, 2007, Miller verbally committed to the University of Southern California (USC) and signed a letter of intent on November 19, 2007.

Miller, a 5'11" point guard, was a four year starter at Beverly Hills High School. As a junior during the 2005–2006 high school season he averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. As a senior during the 2006–2007 high school season he averaged 8.6 points and 9.0 assists per game.

According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', it appears the decision to grant Miller a full scholarship at USC was largely driven by his relationship with friend and teammate Demar DeRozan, the 6-foot-6 All-American forward who was rated as the number five prospect in the country on Scout.com. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported Coach Tim Floyd as saying, "Last April...Percy Miller called while driving both players from a tournament in Fayetteville, Ark...Percy Miller said 'Demar and Romeo are ready to make their decision, and would you like to have them both on scholarship?'...'I said absolutely.'" Miller and DeRozan began playing in the 2008–2009 season.

Miller had a disappointing career at USC. In his two seasons as a Trojan, he played a total of 19 minutes in 9 games and scored a total of 5 points.

Modeling career

On December 27 Romeo modeled for a new 2011 calender. On April 10, 2011 Miller modeled for the April issue of ''TROIX'' magazine. On April 12, 2011 Miller modeled again for some new pictures. He also modeled with the singer-songwriter Chynna Terrell.

Dancing with the Stars

After originally withdrawing from season two of ''Dancing with the Stars'' due to an injury, Romeo competed in season 12. He was partnered with professional dancer, Chelsie Hightower. They were eliminated from the show on May 10, 2011 and finished in the Top 5, one week before the semi-final.

rowspan="2"	Week #
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"|Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Romeo"
	2		Quickstep/ "You're the One That I Want"		7		8		8		Safe
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	6		Waltz/ "My Heart Will Go On"		10		9		9
	style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f"|Cha-Cha-Cha/ ""Born This Way""Samba/ "Say Hey (I Love You)"
	style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f"|Tango/"Hold It Against Me"Salsa/"Tequila"

In week 7, Donnie Burns was the guest judge and scored the dances.

Personal life

Miller attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California. Romeo sponsors "Loco Tonic", an energy drink he mentions in his newer songs. In 2008, Romeo was ranked No. 18 in the most fit men in the world.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Lil' Romeo'' (2001)

''Game Time'' (2002)

''Romeoland'' (2004)

''Intelligent Hoodlum'' (2012)

;Independent albums

''Lottery'' (2006)

;Collaboration albums

''Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us'' (2005) (with Rich Boyz)

''Hip Hop History'' (2007) (with Master P)

''Spring Break'' (2010) (with College Boyys)

''TBA'' (2012) (with College Boyys)

''TBA'' (2012) (with Resq3)

;Mixtapes

''Patience Is A Virtue'' (2009)

''I Am No Limit'' (2011)

Filmography

;Films

''Honey (2003 film) ''Still 'Bout It'' ''God's Gift (film) ''Uncle P'' ''The Pig People'' ''Down and Distance'' ''Jumping the Broom (film)

Year
2001	''Max Keeble's Big Move''	Himself
2003	Honey'' ||	Benny	Main Role
rowspan="2">2004	|	M.J.	Main Role
''Decisions''	Jamal
rowspan="2"	2006	God's Gift'' ||	Romeo	Main Role
''Don't Be Scared''	Unknown
rowspan="2"	2007	|	Corey Miller	Main Role
''Crush On U''	Rome
2009	|	TJ	Main Role
2010	|	Darren Sheehan	Main Role
rowspan="2"	2011	Jumping the Broom'' ||	Sebastian	Support Role
''Wolf Boy''	''2120''

;Television

''Oh Drama!'' ''The Hughleys'' ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration'' ''Raising Dad'' ''American Music Awards of 2002 ''Proud Family'' ''One on One (TV series) ''Static Shock'' ''All Grown Up!'' ''Romeo!'' ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ''Out of Jimmy's Head ''The Defenders (2010 TV series) ''The Bad Girls Club (season 6) ''Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 12) ''The Cape ''Reed Between the Lines'' ''Charlie's Angels (2011 TV series)

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2001	''The Brothers García''	Ty
2001	|	Musical Guest	Television special
2001	|	Himself
2001	|	Himself
2002	|	Marvin
2002	The 29th Annual American Music Awards'' ||	Himself
2002	|	Himself	"A Hero For Halloween" (episode 24, season 1)
2003	One on One'' ||	Eric	"Spy Games"
2003	|	Himself	Recorded the final theme song for the series.
2003	|	Lil Q	"It's Cupid, Stupid" (episode 8, season 1)
2003–2006	|	Romeo "Ro" Miller	Main Role/Starring as ''Romeo''.
2005	|	Rapping teacher	"Guide to: Emergency Drills and Late Bus" (episode 21, season 2)
2008	|	Himself	"Lunch Tables" (episode 13, season 1)
2010	The Defenders ||	Killa Diz	"The Defenders – Nevada v. Killa Diz"
2011	The Bad Girls Club: Season 6'' ||	Himself	Guest appearance on the reality show (episode 10)
2011	Dancing With the Stars: Season 12 '' ||	Contestant	Romeo was originally supposed to be competing in season 2 but due to a injury he was unable & his dad Master P filled in for him
2011	|	Gangster	Season 1, Episode 9 – "Razer".
2011	|	Darius	Season 1, Episode 5 – "Let's Talk About Competition"
2011	Charlie's Angels'' ||	Royal's son	Season 1, EpisRode 7 – "Royal Angels"

Felipe Solis is schedule to appear in Romeo's new reality show Romeo & Juliet

Awards and nominations

Billboard Music Awards

*2001, Rap Artist of the Year (Winner)

*2001, Music Videos: ''My Baby'' (Winner)

*2002, R&B/Hip-Hop: ''My Baby'' (Winner)

Kids Choice Awards

*2004, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

*2005, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Winner)

*2006, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2004, Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male for: ''Honey'' (Nominated)

Black Reel Awards

*2004, Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male for: ''Honey'' (Nominated)

Young Artist Awards

*2005, Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor: Romeo! (Nominated)

NAMIC Vision Awards

*2005, Best Comedic Performance: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

Image Awards

*2005, Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

References

External links

Official website

USC Athletics Player Biography: No. 15 Percy Miller

http://www.miniature-englishbulldogs.com/celebritypuppies.htm

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African-American fashion designers Category:African American film actors Category;African American child actors Category:African American actors Category:African American models Category:African American rappers Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American voice actors Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:E1 Music artists Category:No Limit Records artists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Beverly Hills, California Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:USC Trojans men's basketball players

da:Romeo Miller de:Romeo (Rapper) es:Lil' Romeo fr:Lil' Romeo it:Lil' Romeo no:Romeo Miller pl:Lil' Romeo pt:Romeo Miller fi:Romeo (rap-artisti) sv:Romeo (artist) th:โรมีโอ มิลเลอร์ tr:Lil’Romeo

Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
name	The Chaser
medium	Print, online, radio, television, stage & Christmas crackers
nationality	Australian
active	1999–present
genre	Satire
subject	Politics
notable work	''The Chaser'' (1999–2005) ''The Election Chaser'' (2001)''The Chaser Decides'' (2004 & 2007), ''CNNNN'' (2002–2003) ''Cirque du Chaser'' (2005) ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' (2006–2009) ''The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour'' (2008) ''Yes We Canberra'' (2010)
website
current members	Charles Firth Andrew Hansen Dominic Knight Chas Licciardello Julian Morrow Craig Reucassel Chris Taylor

}}

The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".

The Chaser

The Chaser's earliest foundations were Charles Firth, Dominic Knight, and Chas Licciardello who went to Sydney Grammar School together and produced a small satirical school magazine entitled ''The Tiger''. Later on, Firth and Knight met Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow at the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel, Morrow, Licciardello, and later Chaser members Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen all went to the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel and Morrow began writing for the University of Sydney student newspaper entitled ''Honi Soit''. In 1999 the four members began The Chaser and their first newspaper project entitled ''The Chaser''. The Chaser members are:

Charles Firth. Firth decided in 1999 that the founding members should produce a newspaper, in an attempt not to "grow up". Firth was the main person who got the project underway and was at the helm of the newspaper until its collapse in 2005. Firth appeared in The Chaser's television and radio productions until 2004. In 2005, Firth moved to the United States so his wife could finish her PhD. Firth, however, became The Chaser's American correspondent for the 2006 series of ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' and wrote a book titled ''American Hoax''. Firth did some final stunts in America for the 2007 series in late 2006 and early 2007, before returning to Australia and going solo. Firth then began his own satirical newspaper ''The Manic Times'' in 2007, which collapsed soon after and now exists online.

Dominic Knight was one of the founding members of the team. He appeared and starred in the 2001 series of ''The Election Chaser'' and the 2005 mini series ''Chaser News Alert''. He also performed in the stage shows. He normally writes and does not perform for The Chaser's television shows.

Julian Morrow. He became the executive producer of the television series after Andrew Denton left the role in 2004.

Craig Reucassel was a founding member of the team.

Chas Licciardello, who had attended Sydney Grammar School with Firth and Knight, started to work on ''The Chaser'' newspaper in 1999, but did not take any credit for his work. However when the newspaper started to go well, he was happy to put his name to his work. Licciardello refers to himself as a writer and not a performer, which is why he does the ‘edgier’ stunts in the television series. He states that he is not very talented and therefore does “lots of dodgy material”.

Chris Taylor had gone to the University of Sydney but never personally knew the four founding members. He moved to Melbourne under a cadetship with the ABC doing journalism. Taylor approached The Chaser, based in Sydney, and asked if they took contributions and The Chaser accepted them. Taylor spent two years emailing his articles to The Chaser, and then quit his job to do a television series based on the 2001 Australian federal election with The Chaser and became a member of The Chaser. Taylor was the anchor with Reucassel in their television productions ''CNNNN'', ''The Chaser Decides'' and ''The Chaser’s War on Everything'' and worked as the script editor for the television shows.

Andrew Hansen worked with some of The Chaser members at the University of Sydney while studying literature and history, performing in their early revues. Hansen started working with the online Chaser website in 2000 writing columns for his ''shITe'' section, which looked at the worst of the internet. After two years, he was considered for a part in the Chaser’s 2002 television series, for the content on ''shITe''. After ''The Election Chaser'' in 2001, The Chaser decided they needed a performer in the team. Hansen then joined in the group in 2002.

The Chaser projects

''The Chaser'' newspaper

The newspaper, first published in 1999, was The Chaser team's first enterprise. ''The Chaser'' only had a limited fan base, with the average sales numbers per issue well under 30,000. When their newspaper was shown as a lead story in all major Australian news broadcasts, not only was the headline widely spread, the concept and the popularity of the newspaper leapt dramatically.

Founding contributors to the newspaper include Gregor Stronach, Johanna Featherstone, Sholto Macpherson, Matt Taylor, David Stewart, and Arion McNicoll. Later contributors include Kara Greiner, Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, and Tim Brunero. Cartoonists Fiona Katauskas and Andrew Weldon drew for the newspaper from its early days.

''The Chaser'' and its writers had its first major controversy when their 21 February 2003 edition published Prime Minister John Howard’s private home number on its front page with the headline "Howard ignores the people. So call him at home on (02) 9922 6189". The release of the number comes after Howard’s attitude to half a million protesters recently marching for peace. Howard’s number was blocked by the afternoon after receiving many calls in the morning and federal police had been to The Chaser headquarters. The Chaser have stated they received the phone number via an SMS message in 2002.

The Chaser have released five annuals based on ''The Chaser'' newspaper:

''The Chaser Annual 2000: The Little-Read Book''

''The Chaser Annual 2001: Bradman, The Cremated Years''

''The Chaser Annual 2002: The War on Error''

''Embedded with The Chaser: Annual 2003''

''The Chaser Annual 2004: Intelligence Failures''

After six years of publication The Chaser decided that, due to an inability to meet production costs and failing audiences, they would cease publication of the newspaper. The paper, which originally circulated fortnightly, was being released more sporadically and their 91st and final paper was released on 6 February 2005. The Chaser still planned to continue their writing online and to continue to write their annuals.

The Chaser has since released six annuals and a "best of" annual which compiled the best of the five preceding annuals:

''The Chaser Annual 2005: By Dan Brown''

''50 Golden Years of The Chaser - 1955-2005''

''The Chaser Annual 2006: Burqa's Backyard''

''The Chaser Annual 2007: The Other Secret''

''The Chaser Annual 2008: The Little Rudd Book''

''The Chaser Annual 2009: The Email Eunuch''

''The Chaser Annual 2010: Eat Pray Vomit''

Current writers online are Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, Dominic Knight, Chas Licciardello, Julian Morrow, and Craig Reucassel with additional material provided by Scott Dooley, Lisa Pryor, David Stewart, Gregor Stronach, and Chris Taylor.

The Chaser on television and radio

After two years of their satirical newspaper, which also included various radio roles, The Chaser had attracted the attention of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) star Andrew Denton. Denton signed them with ABC and stated "They've got the talent, the work ethic, the fearlessness, the desire". Denton then helped the Chaser to perform their first television program ''The Election Chaser'', on ABC TV, which was to be based on the 2001 Australian federal election and in the format of the national tallyroom. Four episodes were broadcast and the show was nominated for the 2002 Logie for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program". Denton acted as executive producer and script editor for ''The Election Chaser'' and would also do so for ''CNNNN''.

The Chaser team have gone on to create other television shows for ABC TV, including the Logie Award winning ''CNNNN'' in 2002-3 and ''The Chaser Decides'' in 2004. ''CNNNN'' was a satire of not only the popular American news networks CNN and Fox News, but also incorporated Australian and world current affairs into the programme. ''The Election Chaser'' inspired a similar programme covering the 2004 election, ''The Chaser Decides''. The coverage, as with all the Chaser productions, was satirical, but a different view on the way the election was covered by the local media.

''The Chaser Decides'' returned again in 2007 to cover the 24 November election. It purported to be broadcasting from Australian Electoral Commission's National Tally Room.

In 2004-5, Taylor and Reucassel hosted the Triple J radio drive programme ''Today Today''. In 2005 the rest of the team produced ''Chaser News Alert'' ''(CNA)'', aired on ABC2. Episodes of this series were only a few minutes long. Between July 2006 and January 2007 Taylor and Reucassel returned to Triple J to host ''Bloody Sunday'', filling the ''This Sporting Life'' time slot while Roy & HG were on leave from the station. Chas Licciardello and Knight also did a brief fill in show on Triple M called ''Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'''.

Cirque du Chaser

In March 2005, The Chaser members, with the exception of Firth but with CNNNN collaborator Rebecca De Unamuno, wrote and performed a stage production for the Sydney Big Laugh Comedy Festival. ''Cirque du Chaser'', the name a parody of ''Cirque du Soleil'', was performed to eight sell-out audiences which performed stand up comedy, sketches, live music, and video satire. The Chaser then took the show on a national tour which was also sold out. ''Cirque du Chaser'' gave the team confidence to perform in front of a live audience in their new television show, which would be similar to the stage show. The Chaser filmed a pilot for ABC TV in mid 2005 under the working title ''Hey, Hey it’s the Chaser''.

The Chaser's War on Everything

The Chaser team signed a contract with the ABC to produce 27 half-hour episodes for 2006, which would be based on news reviews, studio monologues and confrontations with politicians, celebrities, and business leaders. The project would be performed in front of a live audience compared with their previous news format television productions and was named ''The Chaser's War on Everything''. The first season of ''The Chaser's War on Everything'' premiered on ABC TV on 17 February 2006 at . The series aired late on Friday evenings where it developed a cult following, getting an average national audience of between 591,000 and 821,000 viewers each episode. The last episode of the 2006 season was broadcast on 8 September 2006.

The first thirteen episodes of the first season were released on DVD on 17 August 2006. The release included commentary by The Chaser and the show's crew and included bonus features and unaired scenes. The second DVD for the first season contained the latter thirteen episodes. It was in the same format of the first DVD and was released on 1 November 2006.

''The Chaser's War on Everything'' returned for a second season on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 at 9pm, moving from their Friday night timeslot. It regularly attracted more than a million viewers per episode.

After 20 June episode of season two, the Chaser team suspended the series for ten weeks, so the usual production run time of twenty-six episodes per year did not conclude before the 2007 Australian Federal Election. The second season returned on 5 September 2007.

The Chaser then announced that ''The Chaser's War On Everything'' was on hold during 2008, with a new (ten episode) series in 2009 which began airing on Wednesday, 27 May 2009. In 2008, the team (without Chris Taylor, but plus writer Dominic Knight) toured Australia with a stage show, ''The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour'', produced in conjunction with Laughing Stock.

On 29 July 2009, the final episode of ''The War'' was broadcast.

The Blow Parade

''The Blow Parade'' is a comedy series performed by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, and Craig Schuftan, originally premiering on the radio station Triple J on 28 April 2010. This 5-part series satirises the music industry, music journalism and syndicated golden-oldie radio shows. Each episode, the host Captain Blow (Hansen) guides listeners through the making of a classic album from yesteryear, from bands that don’t actually exist. The series was written by Chris Taylor, with music by Andrew Hansen, and was produced by Craig Schuftan. It was released on CD and through the iTunes Store Australia with bonus tracks.

Yes We Canberra!

The ABC confirmed reports in July 2010 that The Chaser would return with a new series covering the Australian federal election.

The new programme, entitled ''Yes We Canberra!'', was formally announced on 12 July. The ABC said that the series would air weekly during the election campaign, with a further episode after the election. It purports to be an audience warm-up for the ABC's flagship current affairs program ''Lateline'' (which does not actually have a studio audience). After the Election date was announced (21 August), it was revealed that the show will premiere on 28 July. A DVD was released 15 September 2010. The Chaser - Election Collection containing all the election shows was released 2 December 2010.

The Chaser's Royal Wedding Commentary

Originally set to air on 29 April 2011 on ABC2, a Chaser special was to be shown based on the Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton featuring live commentary from the team members. However the ABC were advised by the BBC and APTN to pull the show from being aired. In response to the decision by the ABC, Julian Morrow from the Chaser said, "For a monarchy to be issuing decrees about how the media should cover them seems quite out of keeping with modern democratic times... but I suppose that's exactly what the monarchy is." APTN is a private enterprise. The BBC is a corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust.

The Hamster Wheel

In August 2011 the ABC confirmed a new 8-episode series called ''The Hamster Wheel'' to air later in the year. The series will "examine the contemporary media landscape, where everyone from journalists to political fixers is perpetually at risk of spinning out of control".

Public reactions

In July 2006, Licciardello faced charges of "offensive conduct" from the New South Wales Police Force, after turning up at a rugby league football match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons on 14 July 2006 dressed up as a Bulldogs fan and attempting to sell fake knives, knuckledusters and balaclavas for a ''War on Everything'' sketch.

In April 2007, a 15 year old boy duped YouTube into deleting all clips posted from ''The Chaser's War On Everything'' by claiming to be a representative of the ABC. They were later reinstated.

At the 2007 Logie Awards some of the Chaser team were "manhandled" by Crown Casino security staff on the red carpet before being closely supervised for the rest of the evening.

During Dick Cheney's visit to Australia in 2007, members of The Chaser team were included on the official list of terrorists, anarchists, and protesters deemed to pose a threat to the US Vice-President.

The Chaser team gained notoriety and considerable media attention over "The Eulogy Song", written by Chris Taylor and performed by Andrew Hansen on the 17 October 2007 episode of ''The Chaser's War On Everything''. The song satirised the media's posthumous praise of deceased celebrities, regardless of their behaviour in life, and mentioned among others John Lennon, Peter Brock, Stan Zemanek, Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Donald Bradman, and Kerry Packer. The song attracted comment from both the media and politicians including Kevin Rudd and John Howard, the latter of whom used reference to the song in remarks during a sketch later aired on the programme.

APEC arrest

Morrow and Licciardello were arrested by NSW Police on 6 September 2007 outside the InterContinental Hotel after driving a fake motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breaching an APEC security zone. The Chaser crew entered a secure area by masquerading as the motorcade of the Canadian delegation to APEC. They were arrested by police after Licciardello emerged from the car dressed as Osama bin Laden, near the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush was staying. They were subsequently detained, taken to Surry Hills Police Station for questioning and charged with "entering a restricted area without special justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007. Licciardello, Morrow and the nine other production members were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. If found guilty, they were liable to serve a maximum 6 months imprisonment, or a maximum 2 years imprisonment if they also had possession or control of a prohibited item with no special justification. The Chaser team issued a statement on 6 September that they had been given permission by police officers to enter the restricted area. Under section 37(2)(b) of the legislation a person has special justification to be in an area if "the person is required, authorised or permitted to be in the area by the Commissioner or a police officer". Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned until 5 December 2007 at the request of ABC lawyers. The charges were dropped near the end of April 2008.

The day after the APEC stunt, police questioned Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor and Dominic Knight and a film crew from the Chaser after they were involved in a second stunt in central Sydney. The three were released by police after being briefly questioned for carrying around black cardboard boxes dressed up as limousines.

The 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' skit

On 3 June 2009 episode, Taylor and Hansen were involved in a skit which was set in a terminally ill children's ward of a hospital, which centered around a spokesman (Taylor) portraying himself along with a doctor (Hansen), from the fictional 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' (a spoof of the real Make-a-Wish Foundation). The premise of the skit was that if the terminally ill children are only going to live for a few more months before passing away, it is not worth spending money on lavish gifts for them. The one minute long sketch featured Taylor giving one girl a pencil case instead of a trip to Disneyland. Then along the same lines, Hansen gave another girl a stick instead of a meeting with Zac Efron. The skit concluded with Taylor stating "Why go to any trouble, when they're only gonna die anyway". A similar skit had already been performed in sketch titled "A Reasonable Request Foundation" aired on comedy show The Mansion on Foxtel the previous year.

The reaction to the sketch from media commentators was mostly negative. Then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stated that The Chaser team "should hang their heads in shame". He went on to say that "I didn't see that but it's been described to me...I actually don't mind The Chaser taking the mickey out of me or any other politician, at any time and any place....But having a go at kids with a terminal illness is really beyond the pale, absolutely beyond the pale." That morning, the Chaser team along with the ABC managing director, Mark Scott, apologised for airing the skit, with Scott stating that "We have unreservedly apologised for airing that skit,...It's very clear today from the reaction that it's caused considerable offence and distress, particularly to parents of children that are seriously ill....I've spoken to Julian Morrow from The Chaser and my understanding is that certainly wasn't the intention of the script, but that's the consequences of it." The ABC will now change their procedures for reviewing episode content which gets broadcast. Scott continued, "We're going to look at those processes ... I mean we all know that The Chaser push the edges and it's a tightrope that we walk, and I suppose there are many, many skits that they've put to air that have offended someone along the way - that's part of the nature of the satirical and black comedy that they do." The skit has also been cut from any further television airings. The ABC announced on Friday that The Chaser's War on Everything will be suspended for 2 weeks. This was relayed via a message by The Chaser on their website, who stated that whilst they disagree with the decision to suspend the show, they apologise for making the skit, acknowledging that it went too far.

ABC's Managing Director announced on 2009-06-10 that the ABC's Head of Comedy, Amanda Duthie, had been removed from her position after a review of the process which led to the skit being broadcast. He was quoted as saying, "The segment should not have been broadcast. We recognise that it caused unnecessary and unreasonable hurt and offence to our viewers and the broader community and we have apologised for this," adding, "This was an error of judgement." Ms Duthie will continue to be responsible for Arts and Entertainment programs.

In 24 June 2009 episode, the Chaser team acknowledged they had made a mistake by broadcasting the skit. Later on in the show, they recreated the skit, but instead of targeting sick kids, they make fun of Kevin Rudd's anger-management issues.

See also

References

External links

''The Chaser official website''

''The Chaser's War on Everything''

''The Chaser Forum''

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Pranksters Category:Satire Category:Performing groups established in 1999

fr:The Chaser ko:체이서 zh:追趕者

Coordinates	28°36′50″N77°12′32″N
honorific-prefix	Senator The Honourable
name	Penny Wong
Office	Australian Senator for South Australia
term start	1 July 2002
birth date	November 05, 1968
birth place	Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
office2	12th Minister for Finance and Deregulation
term start2	14 September 2010
predecessor2	Lindsay Tanner
office3	Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water
term start3	3 December 2007
term end3	13 September 2010
predecessor3	position created
successor3	Greg Combet
nationality	Australian
party	Australian Labor Party
religion	Uniting Church in Australia
residence	Australia
alma mater	University of Adelaide
partner	Sophie Allouache
website	financeminister.gov.au
footnotes	}}

Penelope "Penny" Ying-yen Wong (born 5 November 1968), is an Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia and the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Wong was the first Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment was amended on 26 February 2010, by the Prime Minister, to the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water. This change in the Government's cabinet was brought about by the controversy of the Home Insulation Program (HIP). On 13 September 2010, she was sworn in as Minister for Finance and Deregulation in the Gillard Labor cabinet. She has been a member of the Australian Senate since 2002, representing South Australia.

Wong is the first openly gay member of the Australian federal cabinet, and the first Asian-born federal minister. Before entering Parliament, Penny Wong was a barrister and solicitor in Adelaide and an adviser to the Carr Government in New South Wales.

Early life

Wong was born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia to a Malaysian Chinese Hakka father and an Australian mother. She moved to Australia at the age of eight with her mother and younger brother Toby, after her parents separated. Toby went on to become a chef in Adelaide, South Australia.

After spending a year on exchange in Brazil, Wong studied Arts/Law at the University of Adelaide. When she was 18, she took over the control of the Adelaide University Labor Club. While at university, she worked part-time for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. She also became involved in political activism at university, winning a position on the National Executive of the National Union of Students. Wong has been a delegate to the South Australian Labor Party State Convention every year since 1989, with the exception of 1995. Her time at university was one where a substantial number of contemporaries became Australian politicians. Senator Natasha Stott Despoja was a contemporary and former boyfriend Jay Weatherill, a senior minister in Mike Rann's South Australian Government among many others.

Career

Wong graduated from university in 1992, and continued on with the CFMEU, working as an industrial officer, gaining admission to the bar in 1993. During 1995 and 1996, she acted as an advisor to the timber union and the newly-elected New South Wales state government, specialising in the area of forest policy in the middle of the fierce 1990s environmental battles over logging in NSW. On returning to Adelaide, she began practising law, won a position on the ALP's state executive, and also took on work as a legal officer with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union.

Wong ran for pre-selection for the Senate in 2001, and was selected for the top position on the Labor Party's South Australian ticket. Wong is a member of EMILY's List Australia, the support network for Labor women, and, until her appointment as a minister following the 2007 election, sat on a number of Senate committees, primarily those related to economics.

In June 2005, Wong was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Workforce Participation and Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility. Following the reshuffle in December 2006, she became responsible for the portfolios of Public Administration and Accountability, Corporate Governance and Responsibility, and Workforce Participation.

In November 2007, in the wake of the Labor Party victory in the 2007 election, Wong was appointed Minister for Climate Change and Water. As a result of this promotion, she is the highest ranked politician representing South Australia. She accompanied then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Bali for the international climate change talks. Wong led final negotiations as Chair of the United Nations Working Group in the closing days of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2007, shortly after her appointment as Minister for Climate Change and Water.

In September 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Wong had been promoted to succeed Lindsay Tanner as Minister for Finance and Deregulation.

Personal life

Penny Wong is openly gay, and was the first sitting member of the Australian Labor Party to "come out" while still in parliament. Her mother, Jane Chapman, and her partner, Sophie Allouache – a public servant and former University of Adelaide Students' Association president – attended her swearing-in ceremony at Yarralumla. Although her father remains overseas, they keep in touch. In August 2011, it was announced that Wong and Allouache were expecting their first child, after Allouache became pregnant with the assistance of the IVF program and donor sperm.

In 2010, Wong was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential lesbian Australians. Wong is a practising Christian, attending Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide.

See also

Rudd Ministry

Gillard Ministry

References

External links

Official ALP website biography

Penny Wong Senate Biography

Category:Australian Labor Party politicians Category:Australian people of Chinese descent Category:Australian people of Malaysian descent Category:Hakka people Category:Lesbian politicians Category:Members of the Australian Senate Category:Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia Category:Government ministers of Australia Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT politicians from Australia Category:Politicians of Chinese descent Category:Uniting Church in Australia people Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:Women members of the Australian Senate Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sabah Category:People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide

de:Penny Wong ko:페니 웡 pl:Penny Wong zh:黄英贤