28-577: The North West , North West Coast , North Western Australia and North West Australia , are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia . However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoining parts of the Northern Territory (NT) – or even the entire NT (see below). It has been described as "best of outback". Major offshore islands include Barrow Island , Monte Bello Islands and
56-710: A number of systems. The most common system is the division of the state by the Government of Western Australia into regions for economic development purposes, which comprises nine defined regions excluding the Perth metropolitan region . However, there are a number of other systems, including those made for purposes of land management (such as agriculture and conservation), information gathering (such as statistical and meteorological), and election for political office. The various different systems were defined for different purposes, and give specific boundaries, but although many of
84-642: A particular region are very specifically focused upon land systems that are based on natural features. Western Australia is divided into approximately 90 land districts for cadastral purposes. There are five land divisions in Western Australia, as specified in Schedule 1 of the Land Administration Act 1997. Western Australia covers the western third of the continent, although the winemaking regions are almost entirely situated in
112-715: A quarantine hotel security guard in Perth tested positive, a five-day lockdown, from 6pm on 31 January until 6pm on 5 February was declared. Schools scheduled to resume on 1 February were to remain closed for another week. The areas affected were: "... the whole Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region ..." The same region names as those used by the Regional Development Commissions Act (RDCA) are incorporated into
140-581: A reputation as being vulnerable to regular and devastating cyclones, with impact on mineral and oil operations. The Anglican and Catholic churches have Geraldton as the base for the north west, the Anglican church used the North West name, while the Catholic diocese is known by the name of the town. Regions of Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is divided into regions according to
168-711: A small part of the state: See also Category:Biogeography of Western Australia There are a number of regionalisations that attempt to provide a regionalisation based on natural features. The best known of these are the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) regions, and the World Wildlife Fund 's Ecoregions in Australia , and the "natural regions" of John Stanley Beard , all of which are based on biogeography . Other natural regionalisations included
196-530: Is economically dependent on agriculture. During the Western Australian government response to the COVID-19 pandemic , travel between regions – other than between Perth and Peel – was restricted, with police checkpoints set up at the borders. Only essential travel was allowed. At some checkpoints, police were assisted by army and State Emergency Service personnel;
224-853: Is exercised by him or her on the advice of the Premier of Western Australia and the Cabinet. The Premier and Ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Western Australia and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under
252-608: The Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 , which defined their extents and established Regional Development Commissions to promote their economic development. In defining the regions, an attempt was made to capture distinct socio-economic communities. For example, the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia has an economy based heavily on mining, whereas the Wheatbelt region
280-1033: The Dampier Archipelago . Apart from land areas, the term "North West" is also used for seabed oil and gas fields of the North West Shelf . The whole area north of the Murchison River was designated the North District by land regulations gazetted in 1862 by the government of the Colony of Western Australia . From February 1865, the North District was officially administered by a Government Resident , Robert John Sholl , initially based in Camden Harbour , then moved to Roebourne in November 1865. The North-West Land Division , created by legislation in 1887, includes only
308-774: The Governor of Western Australia , and the two Houses, the Western Australian Legislative Council (the upper house) and the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (the lower house). Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council , which consists of all ministers and is presided over by the governor. The Governor, as representative of the Crown, is the formal repository of power, which
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#1732772033951336-438: The Northern Territory , should form a new Australian state. The most recent proponent of such a scheme was Federal MP Bob Katter , who suggested that such a state should be called "North Western Australia". The north west has been often designated as a "frontier", or even the "last frontier" in Western Australian history, and in air transport in the 1920s and 1930s the region was designated as such. The region has also acquired
364-735: The Western Australian Government . The Government of Western Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy , was formed in 1890 as prescribed in its Constitution , as amended from time to time. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901 , Western Australia has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia , and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under
392-404: The coastal regions of Western Australia . The South West Land Division has 23 fire districts. Under Australia's three-tiered system of government, Western Australia has four political regional schemes: Many government departments maintain systems of regional and district breakdowns of the state for their own internal purposes. Fisheries tends to separate the state into four main regions for
420-758: The 1960s, a pamphlet published by the State Government stated: "The region is bounded in the west by the Indian Ocean, in the east by the Central Division, in the north-east by the Pilbara, and in the south by the Northern Agricultural Division. It covers and area of 75,731 square miles (196,140 km) and has a population of about 10,000." It has frequently been proposed that the region, alone or amalgamated with
448-533: The 26th parallel as a boundary and delineates smaller regions: the Gascoyne, the " De Grey and Fortescue ", the Kimberley and the "Dry Interior". Two legislated regions of Western Australia , the Pilbara and Kimberley, may be considered to comprise an alternate, popular definition. (The Gascoyne is often added to these, although it may also be considered as comprising a part of the "Greater Mid West".) During
476-727: The Australian Constitution, Western Australia ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth. Western Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system , a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom . Legislative power rests with the Parliament of Western Australia , which consists of King Charles III , represented by
504-829: The Bureau of Meteorology – features such as points and capes are useful indicators of coastal water forecasts. Landgate publishes touring maps that include coastal zones including: For the purposes of statistical geography , the Australian Bureau of Statistics uses the Australian Standard Geographical Classification , a hierarchical regionalisation that divides Western Australia into statistical divisions , then statistical subdivisions , statistical local areas , and finally, census collection districts . Statistical divisions include: The ABS produces regional profiles for
532-1669: The Digital Economy Minister for Science Minister for Medical Research Minister assisting the Minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade Minister for Culture and the Arts Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for International Education Minister for Heritage Attorney-General Minister for Electoral Affairs Minister for Police Minister for Corrective Services Minister for Racing and Gaming Minister for Defence Industry Minister for Veterans Issues Minister for Hydrogen Energy Minister for Education Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister for Training and Workforce Development Minister for Water Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health Minister for Planning Minister for Lands Minister for Housing Minister for Homelessness Minister for Regional Development Minister for Disability Services Minister for Fisheries Minister for Seniors and Ageing Minister for Volunteering Minister for Energy Minister for Environment Minister for Climate Change Minister for Early Childhood Education Minister for Child Protection Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister for Community Services Minister for Mines and Petroleum Minister for Ports Minister for Road Safety Minister assisting
560-787: The ambit of the Australian Constitution. As of 6 November 2023 , the following individuals serve as government ministers, at the pleasure of the King, represented by the Governor of Western Australia . All ministers and are members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Premier Minister for State and Industry Development, Jobs and Trade Minister for Public Sector Management Minister for Federal-State Relations Deputy Premier Treasurer Minister for Transport Minister for Tourism Minister for Finance Minister for Commerce Minister for Women's Interests Minister for Emergency Services Minister for Innovation and
588-405: The army did not have any authority to prosecute or arrest. Remote communities and some "biosecurity areas" had further travel restrictions due to the lack of medical facilities and number of high risk community members. Some inter-regional restrictions were lifted on 18 May, and on 5 June all regional restrictions were removed except for remote Aboriginal communities. On 31 January 2021, after
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#1732772033951616-414: The different systems' regions have similar names, they have different boundaries; the names and boundaries of regions can and do vary between systems. The Western Australian system of regions defined by the Government of Western Australia for purposes of economic development administration, which excludes the Perth metropolitan region , is a series of nine regions. These nine regions were established by
644-466: The drainage basins and catchments of river systems, and highly specialised regionalisations dealing with such matters as geology and soil systems. Administrative regionalisations include Landcare Districts and the Department of Agriculture's "Land-use Zones". However the Department of Agriculture publications – Technical Bulletins – usually titled An inventory and condition report/survey... of
672-531: The nine ABS statistical divisions, and the ten Development Commission regions. In some cases, regions have been grouped into larger areas, to describe a larger area in a single term: Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia . It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or
700-440: The purpose of regulating recreational fishing: The department produces statistical data based on the Regional Development Commissions Act regionalisation schema Since the creation of the Department of Industry and Resources some rationalisation of mines administration has occurred, however the mineral fields and boundaries remain the same as when established. There are three regions with regional planning schemes, covering only
728-468: The south-western tip of the state. It has nine regions, and five nominated subregions for wine under the geographical indications legislation as determined by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation . Wine regions include: Western Australia has the longest coastline of any state in Australia, at 10,194 km. The regions can be determined by the underlying geology, and in the case of
756-526: The system used by Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), which uses 14 regions, so the boundaries of the two systems do not coincide. In some of the regions, the BOM designates the forecast area regions with a finer level of detail using points of the compass. Regions numbered 8 to 14 are usually known as forecast areas in the South West Land Division ; coastal zones for sea forecasts are dealt with in
784-576: The western Pilbara , northern Gascoyne and part of the Mid West , but not the Kimberley , thereby excluding many areas usually encompassed by popular definitions. Western Australian law, state government policy and popular culture sometimes creates exceptions for the area "north of the 26th parallel " (latitude 26° south). For instance, a Western Australian Government Tourist Bureau publication, The North West of Western Australia (1963), both uses
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