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Why Melbourne?

Climate
Victoria has a mild, temperate climate with warm to hot summers, mild autumns, cool to cold winters and sunny springs. The average maximum winter temperature is 14°C, while the summer average is 25°C. The climate varies across the state, with the north experiencing much drier and warmer weather than the south.


Geography
Victoria located in the south-eastern corner of Australia and is the smallest mainland state - it is about the same size as Britain. The state is geographically compact and all regions are within easy reach, from sandy beaches, to sweeping rural countryside, snowfields and untouched native forests.


People, culture and language
About 5 million people live in Victoria - the second largest population of any state in Australia. More than 70 percent of Victorians live in Melbourne, the state's capital city.

Victoria is one of the world's greatest migration success stories. Victorians come from over 200 countries, speaking over 180 languages and dialects and follow over 110 religious faiths.

Almost one quarter of Victoria's population was born overseas - 43.6 percent were either born overseas, or have a parent who was born overseas. More than 100,000 international students study in Victoria. View photos of Victoria's people and lifestyle from the image gallery.


Language
English is the official language, but more than 20 percent of Victorians - and almost 30 percent of Melburnians - speak a language other than English at home.


Economy and industry
Australia has a resilient economy. Much of this strength derives from Victoria's dynamic and broad-based economy. The Victorian economy has averaged a 3.9 percent growth rate over the last 10 years. The state of Victoria comprises 25 percent of Australia's economy.


Primary industry
Victoria produces almost a quarter of Australia's total rural output. Its products include wool, and beef, grain crops, tobacco, fodder crops, fruit, vegetables and dairy products. It is Australia's largest producer of mutton, lamb, and dairy products.


Energy
Victoria has one of the world's largest deposits of brown coal, which is used to produce most of the state's electricity. It also has large oil and natural gas fields, which provide around half of Australia's oil production. Melbourne is headquarters to many of Australia's mining and minerals processing companies and is a major centre for mining project management, research and development.


Manufacturing
Victoria is one of Australia's major manufacturing states - about 34 percent of Australia's manufacturing workers are employed in Victoria's industry. Manufacturing sectors include automotive, food processing, textiles, clothing and footwear, paper, oil refining, petrochemicals, aluminium smelting, information technology and telecommunications and aircraft production.


International trade
Victoria's largest export markets are New Zealand, China, the USA, Japan and Korea. Cars, aluminium, dairy products, medicaments (including veterinary), wool and meat are the state's major exports. Melbourne has the nation's busiest general cargo port and largest container port.


Tourism
Victoria's tourism industry employs about 6.6 percent of the state's workforce. Victoria has about 1.4 million international and 17.3 million domestic visitors each year. Eight domestic airlines and 30 international airlines provide regular services into Melbourne's international airport, Tullamarine.


Government system
Like other Australian states, Victoria enjoys a politically stable and democratic form of government based on the British Westminster style of Government.

There are three levels of government in Australia:

The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth or Federal Government, administers national policy, including income tax and immigration.

The State and Territory Governments, (including Victoria) are responsible for state-specific policies, such as health and policing.

The Local Government in Victoria consists of 79 elected councils that provide leadership and governance, services and facilities to local communities.


Cultural events
Melbourne's city centre has several art and entertainment precincts, such as Federation Square which houses:

the Ian Potter Centre - the Australian section of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)
the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
the Australian Racing Museum
the Melbourne Visitor Centre - an excellent place to visit to find out useful information about Melbourne.
The Victorian Arts Centre houses concert halls and theatres. Further along the arts precinct is National Gallery of Victoria International, as well as many other theatres and arts centres including the striking Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Major events include:

the Australian International Airshow
the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
the Melbourne International Film Festival
the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Victoria is also world-renowned for its exceptional quality wines. Many famous vineyards and wineries are located within a short hour-and-a-half drive from Melbourne, in regions such as Geelong, the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley.


Media
Australia has an open and diverse media system. There are countless sources of information. Australians have free access to public radio and television stations, and can purchase extra television channels through cable television.


Radio
There are a number of radio stations available throughout Victoria. There are two bands of radio, FM and AM. The FM dial has mostly commercial stations playing popular and classical music. AM radio has alternative music options, talk and community stations.

There are also a number of community radio stations that broadcast in ethnic community languages, including:

3ZZZ (92.3FM) - Ethnic Public Broadcasting Association of Victoria, broadcasting in 40 different languages and representing over 60 ethnic groups.
3CR (855AM) - community radio broadcasting programs in 18 different languages covering music, current affairs, women�s issues and more.
SBS (1224AM and 93.1FM) - broadcasting news and current affair programs in 68 languages.
Television
Melbourne has both free-to-air and pay (cable) television. The six free TV stations are:

Channel 7, Channel 9, Channel 10 - commercial networks
ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which is the national, publicly funded network
SBS - Special Broadcasting Service, part publicly-funded and specialises in foreign language programming
Channel 31 - privately owned community network.
Cable or pay TV provides additional channels for a monthly fee. About one quarter of the Australian population subscribes to pay TV.


Newspapers
There are three major daily newspapers in Victoria. The two metropolitan papers are The Age and the Herald Sun. The third paper is The Australian, a national newspaper.

All regional areas have their own local newspapers which can be daily or weekly such as the Ballarat Courier, Geelong Advertiser and the Bendigo Advertiser. Many local newspapers are home delivered free of charge. There are also many foreign language newspapers available throughout Melbourne. Newspapers.com.au has an alphabetical listing of Victoria's regional and metropolitan newspapers.

Mail, phone and internet
Mail system
Australia Post runs Australia's postal system. Mail is delivered to households each week day.

Standard letters cost about 50 cents to send domestically. Stamps can be purchased from Australia Post shops or from retailers such as newsagents and convenience stores.

Express Post delivery costs more but ensures your package will arrive the next business day anywhere in Australia.

Each Australian suburb and town is identified by a four-digit post code. Victorian post codes begin with the number 3. It is important to use postcodes in Australian mailing addresses.

For more details on the postal system including the location of postal offices in Victoria, visit the Australia Post website.

Telephone
There are several telecommunications providers in Victoria including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Providers offer discounts for combining your home phone, mobile phone and internet services.

Local phone calls in Australia are low cost and not timed. Higher rates apply to long distance domestic and international phone calls and mobile phones - these calls are timed. International rates vary from country to country and depend on your service provider and your contract. Pre-paid phone cards are often a cost-effective option for international phone calls. These cards can be purchased at newsagents, convenience store or online.


Telephone directories
The two main directories are:

the Yellow Pages - used for business listings and is organised by category of business

the White Pages - used for residential and business listings, arranged alphabetically.

Hard copies of each are delivered free of charge to households or can be obtained from Australia Post offices.


Telephone numbers

000 is the emergency number for police, ambulance and fire brigade. This is a free call.

Australia's international country calling code is +61.
Victoria's area code is 03. When calling a Victorian number from overseas, the 0 is dropped, so the code you need to dial is 613 followed by the regular phone number.
Mobile phone numbers in Australia start with 04. When calling a mobile phone from outside Australia, again the 0 is dropped, so the number starts with +614, and dial the rest of the number as usual.
To make an international call, dial 0011 followed by the country code, the area code and then the phone number.
1800 phone numbers are free calls from fixed line/home phones. Charges may apply if you call from a mobile phone.
13 or 1300 phone numbers are the cost of a local call from anywhere in Australia.
19 or 1900 phone numbers are premium numbers. These are charged by the minute at a higher rate that can vary from around 55c to $5 a minute.
Mobile phone services
Calls to and from mobile phones are usually more expensive than calls to and from fixed lines. There are several mobile phone service providers offering different phones and packages. Pre-paid mobile phones are also an option.


Internet Services
Broadband internet service is available in most metropolitan and regional areas there are hundreds of internet service provider available across Australia. Some telecommunication companies offer packages that bundle internet services with mobile and landline services.


Timezone and daylight saving
Australia has three standard time zones. Victoria operates on Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Melbourne is 10 hours in front of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) without daylight saving.

The White Pages telephone directory has world time zones.


Daylight savings
Victorians forward their clocks one hour for Daylight saving time in the warmer months, also known as Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). It starts on the first Sunday in October and ends on the first Sunday in April.

For more information, visit the Victoria Online website.

Travel
International air
Melbourne International Airport is Australia's largest, curfew-free passenger and freight airport. It is about 25 kilometres north of Melbourne's CBD and is accessible via the Tullamarine Freeway.

The airport is open 24 hours a day, and provides direct flights to most major international cities, and to destinations within Australia. International carriers include Qantas, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Etihad, Thai Airways, United Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Austrian Airlines, Tiger Airlines, Garuda, United Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.

Domestic air
Victoria has a number of domestic air services including Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar, SkyWest, Tiger Airways and Regional Express (REX). Within Melbourne, you can catch a domestic flight from Melbourne Airport or Avalon Airport, which is located about 60 kilometres south west from Melbourne's CBD.

Smaller airlines also operate in Victoria's regional airports at locations such as Mildura, Albury/Wodonga and Portland.

Sea
Victoria offers a number of sea-based transport for freight and passengers including ferries and chartered sea transit services. The Port of Melbourne is one of Australia's largest ports with shipping services to major ports in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Station Pier is Victoria's primary passenger terminal and services cruise ships including the Spirit of Tasmania, which provides a passage to and from Tasmania for vehicles, freight and passengers.