in the mountains. Australia's labour force was a little less than half of the population in the late 20th century. Unemployment rose to 7 percent in the late 1980s, but some industries reported a shortage of skilled labour. Most unions, organized by industry, are affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions.Except for part of the railway system, industry is privately owned; many of Australia's large companies are subsidiaries of multinational corporations. The government regulates the economy mainly through monetary policy and taxation. Government spending cuts achieved a balanced budget in 1981 after deficits throughout the 1970s, and surplus budgets were achieved in the late 1980s. The principal revenue sources are income taxes, excise and sales taxes, corporate taxes, and nontax revenue. The principal expenditures are for social security and welfare, state-government transfers, health, interest on the public debt, and defense. The Reserve Bank of Australia, located in Sydney, is the central bank, with a separate department for commodity-market finance. The Commonwealth Banking Corporation controls its member development, savings, and trading banks. There are branch banks throughout Australia. The Australian Stock Exchange, located in Sydney, has member exchanges in the six state capitals.The Australian National Railways Commission incorporates the Commonwealth railways and the South Australian (nonmetropolitan) and Tasmanian state railways; other railways are operated by the state governments. About two-fifths of the road network is paved. Major port facilities are located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Fremantle, Gladstone, Gove (Melville Bay), Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Townsville, and Westernport. Most of the nation's inland waterways are accessible only to small, shallow-draft vessels. The busiest international airports are at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.Australia achieved a foreign-trade...
