Peralia

Peralia
Flag Coat of arms
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Motto: "Peace and Prosperity"
Capital and largest city	Creswick
Official languages	Ingerish
Demonym	Peralian
Government	Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
• Monarch	Geoffrey VII
• Governor	Andrew Daniels
• Premier	Jacinta Gambier
Legislature	Parliament of Peralia
Population
• Census (2019)	7,228,361
HDI (2020)	0.937 very high
Timezone	WUT+08:30
Currency	Deodecan Dollars (DCD)
Drives on the	right

Peralia, officially the Commonwealth of Peralia is a province in north-eastern Deodeca. It is one of the largest provinces in terms of population density, but this is largely due to its smallish area. The province is known for its mixed nature, with large agricultural areas in the east, mining in the south and hilly forest in the north-east, although this is inconsistent with some forested areas in the farming and mining areas etc. It borders Queen Adelaide Island in the west, Clamash to the north and east, and [undeveloped province] to the south.

Peralia has been settled for tens of thousands of years by first nations people. Beginning in the late 18th century, Deodeca as a whole began to be colonised by the Ingerish Empire, with Peralia itself being colonised beginning in 1832.

The largest city and the provincial capital of Peralia is Creswick, although within Creswick there are various other "cities" (old towns that eventually merged into the metropolitan area), such as Hastings. Creswick is located on the estuary of the Jersey River, which flows from Western Clamash.

Peralia has x seats in the TBD (Federal Lower House) and x seats in the TBD (Federal Upper House). At provincial level, the Parliament of Peralia consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Labour government, led by Jacinta Gambier as premier, has governed Peralia since 2017, defeating the incumbent Conservative government led by former premier Colin Serres. The Governor of Peralia, the representative of the Monarchy of Deodeca in the state, is currently Andrew Daniels. Peralia is divided into x local government areas, as well as a handful of unincorporated, very rural and sparsely populated areas governed by the state

History

Aboriginal Peralians

Before Ingerish settlement, the province was settled quite extensively by First Nations peoples. The original inhabitants of Peralila were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in the area about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before Ulethan settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. However, no large settlements were developed, instead with smaller spread out communities.

Ingerish Settlement

Ingerish settlement of the area began in 1834. Peralia was named due to the abundance of oysters and pearls in the area. The penal colony of Peralia was founded as a way for the Ingerish Government to deal with the massive overcrowding in British prisons and prison ships.

In 1812 Lieutenant Henry Baker charted the unmapped coast of the land south of the Limestone Hills, and claimed the entire coastline that he had just explored as Ingerish territory. Baker first named the land Pearlia which was later amended to Peralia (PER). The land was named as such due to the abundance of oysters, clams and pearls on the coast.

In January 1834, Thomas Stokes arrived in Morrison Bay with a Fleet of 11 vessels, which carried over a thousand settlers, including 736 convicts. A few days after arrival at Morrison Bay, the fleet moved north to the more suitable estuary of the Jersey River, where Stokes established a settlement there at the place he named St. Albans Cove, and naming the new settlement, Creswickton, later known as Creswick. on 26 January 1834. The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Stokes on 7 February 1834 at Creswick. He remained as governor until 1842.

The settlement was initially planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and ship building were banned in order to keep the convicts isolated. However, after the departure of governor Stokes, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also farmed land granted to them and engaged in trade. Farms spread to the more fertile lands surrounding the Cobalt River and what is now Hastings, and by 1854 the colony was self-sufficient in grain. Boat building developed in order to make travel easier and exploit the marine resources of the coastal settlements. Sealing and whaling became important industries.

The second largest city, Merburra, was first settled in 1846, 12 years after the proclamation of Peralia as a crown colony. Merburra was first surveyed by a team of explorers 9 years earlier sent by Governor Stokes. Merburra officially became a town in 1849 and its streets grid laid out by Lieutenant Richard Marshall. The unique grid layout is now known as the Marshall Grid. The city achieved city status in 1865.

Self-government

In 1859, Peralia achieved responsible government with the introduction of a bicameral parliament comprising a directly elected Legislative Assembly and a nominated Legislative Council. The property qualification for voters had been reduced in 1851, and by 1859 95 per cent of adult males in Creswick, and 55 per cent in the colony as a whole, were eligible to vote. Full adult male suffrage was introduced in 1867. In 1869 the Peralian parliament legislated land reforms intended to encourage family farms and mixed farming and grazing ventures. The amount of land under cultivation subsequently grew from 246,000 acres in 1869 to 800,000 acres in the 1880s. Wool production also continued to grow, and by the 1880s Peralia produced almost half of Deodeca's wool. Coal had been discovered in the early years of settlement and gold in 1851, and by the late 1890s wool, gold and coal were the main exports of the colony.

Geography

Peralia's northeastern border consists of a series of straight lines running through the Limestone Hills, a large hill area in the northeast. These hills extend into neighbouring Clamash. The border has been altered a few times throughout history, with the current border dating to 1987 following a death, which resulted in uncertainty over which territory the death occurred in. Subsequently the two neighbouring countries and subdivisions worked together to draw a proper boundary. The western border sits 20-22km into the ocean. The southwestern border is situated within the watercourse between Queen Adelaide Island and Peralia in the water. Due to the link bridge between QAI, Peralia and AR060-11 sitting in 2 provinces and less than 5km from Peralia, the bridge maintenance and upgrades are funded by all 3 provinces on a shared agreement. The southern border is a straight, east-west line running through very sparsely populated areas.

Peralia has a number of different topograhically, climatically and geographically differing areas. This includes the very hilly, wet and cold areas in the Limestone Hills, Azure Mountains and Merburran Hills. The major cities of Creswick and Merburra are wetter than the rest of the state due to close proximities to hilly areas, though this is not consistent, with the outer southern suburban areas of Merburra being drier than the northern parts. The rest of the province is predominantly flat, being used for farming, mining and various other uses. This is except for a somewhat hilly area in the mid-southeast, stretching for about a third of the A3 between Argyle and Materton. There are numerous rivers around the province. The most notable are the Jersey, McLeod and Mullumbidgee rivers, which stretch for long lengths within the province.

The geographic centre of the province is ___.

The main cities in Peralia are Creswick, with a population around 2.3 million, and Merburra, population around 1 million. This is alongside numerous inland major cities such as Walpoora, Corromatta, New Lynchester, Hope Lake and various others. Creswick and Merburra however account for around half of the province's population.

Government

Deodecan Parliament

The Deodecan Parliament assists with funding projects within Peralia, interprovincial projects, and Deodeca as a whole, and is a bicameral legislature.

Peralian Provincial Government

Diagram of the 2020 Peralian Provincial Election results (Lower House).

Peralia has a bicameral provincial government which funds projects within Peralia as well as some projects that link other provinces to Peralia. The parliament consists of the lower house (legislative assembly) and upper house (legislative council). The legislative assembly has 104 seats with a population range between 43,478 in the electorate of Williamstown and 59,365 in the electorate of South Creswick. The upper house has 40 seats divided into 5 regions, each electing 8 members. These regions are: Creswick western, Creswick southern, Merburra, Rural southeast and Rural northeast. 4 MLCs (members of the legislative council) are elected at each election, serving either a minimum of 6 years or 2 terms of government.

The electoral system is a preferential voting system for both houses. In the lower house, all electorates are single-member, with candidates requiring 50% of the vote to win after preferences (the electoral commission stops distributing preferences once a candidate has hit 50%). In the upper house, all electorates have 8 members, with 4 members elected at each election using proportional representation with preferential voting and optional group voting tickets. Candidates require 24% of the vote to be elected.

Diagram of the 2020 Peralian Provincial Election results (Upper House)

Elections may be held at minimum 6 months in between and at maximum 3 years. To form a government, a party or coalition of parties must have at least 53 seats in the legislative assembly, either as a majority government or a minority government with confidence and supply from enough crossbenchers to reach 53 seats. If a government goes below 53 seats, there is an automatic no-confidence vote, which if passes results in the dissolution of parliament and a new election. The most recent election was held on Sunday, 18 June 2023. The incumbent Labour government was defeated by three new political parties, resulting in a hung parliament. The Alliance of Peralian Progressives have agreed to participate in a coalition with the Peralian Civic Movement, but details are yet to be finalised.

Results of the 2020 Peralian Provincial Election

Name		Primary Vote (Assembly)	Legislative Assembly	Legislative Council	Primary Vote (Council)
	Peralian Civic Movement	22.34%	23	12	37.24%
	Liberal Party of Peralia	20.38%	21	14	35.71%
	Peralian Conservatives	19.87%	21	5	11.58%
	Peralian Labour Party	17.67%	19	3	5.22%
	Alliance of Peralian Progressives	16.43%	17	4	5.56%
	Independents	2.45%	3	2	4.69%

Premier and Cabinet

Incumbent Premier of Peralia, Jacinta Gambier

The Premier of Peralia is the leader of the political party or coalition with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Premier is the public face of government and, with cabinet, sets the legislative and political agenda. Cabinet consists of representatives elected to either house of parliament. The current Premier of Peralia is Jacinta Gambier.

Politics

Peralia is a mostly progressive state, and this is reflected in its voting habits. Historically, the state was conservative however, as from federation until the 1978 election there was only about 21 years of progressive government. However, from 1978 to 2020, there have only been 2 Conservative governments. The first was from 1991 to 2002 following an economic recession caused by the previous Labour government, while the second was a one-term government from 2013 to 2017. However, the Labour vote has only dropped from 1978 to 2020 over this period, mostly as a result of the resurgence of the socialists from near-oblivion and the rise of the Greens.

The major parties are the centre-left progressive Peralian Labour Party (PLP), the right-wing conservative Conservative Party of Peralia (CVP) and the left-wing environmentalist and progressive Greens (GRN). Labour's heartland has traditionally been the working- to middle-class suburbs of Creswick and Merburra, however with gentrification, the inner-city traditional Labour seats are seeing swings toward the Greens. Labour is also strong in New Lynchester and Walpoora. The Conservatives' main support lies in Creswick and Merburra's more affluent suburbs, as well as the regions and some conservative outer suburbs. The Greens are strongest in the inner-city with highly educated and progressive populations, beidng able to take seats both from Labour and the more affluent Conservative suburbs. The Greens support Peralian regionalism and advocates for an independence referendum. The Socialists are strongest with the working-class, with their lower house seats reflecting this. Hastings and Point Macleod are both mostly working-class poorer industrial cities and are both are held by the socialists. The United Peralian Party is an ultra-conservative, right-wing party, which also supports Peralian Independence.

Due to the nearly complete annihilation of the party's moderate wing in the 2020 election, the Conservatives have shifted further to the right in the political spectrum since that time. The popular former premier Alex Howard is the leader of the new Liberal Party, which was established after the 2020 election and is seeking to reclaim the seats that Labour won in 2020. In contrast to the present Conservative Party, it is much more moderate, and many of its policies and viewpoints are similar to those of the early Conservative Party and its classical liberalism.

Another recently formed party is Peralian Civic Power. Founded in February 2023 by Edward Budgen, an author and a professor at the University of Creswick, known for advocating for Peralian autonomy, have recently surged in the polls.

Peralia celebrated 100 years of being its own colony/province in 1934, with 150 years in 1984. There has been some talk about splitting off from Deodeca and becoming an independent nation in recent years, however polls indicate only around 15-25% of Peralians support this proposal, with consistent polls indicating most Peralians wish to remain in Deodeca.

Parliamentary Parties

Name		Abbreviation	Leader	Position	Ideology
	Peralian Civic Movement	PCM	Edward Budgen	Centre	Peralian autonomism Populism Radical centrism
	Liberal Party of Peralia	LPP	Alex Howard	Centre to Centre-right	Liberalism
	Peralian Conservatives	CVP	Matthew Jones	Right-wing	National conservatism Right-wing populism
	Peralian Labour Party	PLP	Jacinta Gambier	Centre-left	Social democracy
	Alliance of Peralian Progressives	APP	Benjamin Corey and Sylvia Waters	Left-wing to Far-left	Left-wing populism Democratic socialism

Registered parties outside Parliament

Party	Leader	Ideology	Largest MP caucus	Political Position
Peralian Democrats	Collective leadership	Economic liberalism Anti-corruption Social progressivism	18 (1991)	Centre to Centre-left
Liberal Democratic Party		Conservatism Right-wing populism Economic liberalism	9 (1991)	Right-wing to Far-right
Hunters, Fishers and Farmers Party	Isabella Sullivan	Right-wing populism Green conservatism	5 (2017)	Right-wing
People's Party		Left-wing populism Peralian regionalism	5 (2017)	Left-wing to Far-left
Peralian People's Party*		Peralian regionalism Populism Economic interventionism	1 (1977)	Right-wing
Peralian Christian Democratic Union		Social conservatism Socialism	1 (1987)	Centre-left to Left-wing
Peralian Civic Power	Edward Budgen	Indigenous rights Radicalism Republicanism Localism Populism	0 (new party, founded after the 2020 election)	Centre
United Peralian People's Party	Pauline Nanson	PPP	2 (2020)	Peralian regionalism Ultraconservatism Right-wing populism	Right-wing to Far-right

*The Peralian People's Party split into the United Peralian People's Party in 1978, but is still registered today. Some members of the more moderate faction of the party joined the CVP after the split.

Opinion Polling for the Next Peralian Provincial Election

Graphical Summary

Administrative Divisions

Peralia is divided into __ Local Government Areas. (incomplete section)

List of Local Government Areas

Name	Council Seat	Largest Suburb/Town	Area in km²	Population	Population per km²
City of Creswick	Creswick	Creswick
Glebe Council
City of Hastings	Hastings	Hastings
City of Jagajaga
Nerring Peninsula Shire	Possum Point	Western Bay
City of Cockatoo
City of Mullawaree
City of Oakcrest
City of Gannawarra
Rural City of New Lynchester	New Lynchester	New Lynchester
City of Merburra	Merburra	Merburra
Rural City of Hope Lake	Hope Lake	Hope Lake
Arthur Shire Council	Arthur	Arthur
Walpoora Town Board	Walpoora	Walpoora
Riverlands Shire
Williamstown Council	Williamstown	Williamstown
Corromatta City Council	Corromatta	Corromatta
City of Bridgewater	Goolwa	South Creswick
City of Western Ranges	Woorodong	Woorodong
Central Ranges Council
City of Cobalt River
City of Greater Bourkestown	Bourkestown	Bourkestown
Point Robe Council	Port Lodsdale	Port Lodsdale
Karawatha Shire Council	Karawatha	Karawatha
Macmillan Shire Council	Port Warren	Normanville
Lake Ayles Council	Aylesford	Aylesford

Municipalities

Municipalities are divided into four classifications based on population. The twenty (20) largest municipalities as of 2020 are listed below under their respective class.

Major City (above 800,000)

• Greater Creswick
• Greater Merburra (both of these statistics include "cities" within the metropolitan area of these two, such as Hastings in Greater Creswick and Williamstown in Greater Merburra)

Minor City (50,000 - 799,999)

• New Lynchester
• Williamstown
• Hastings

Major Township (5,000 - 49,999)

• Walpoora
• Nowel
• Hope Lake

Rural Shires (Predominantly rural areas)

• Riverlands Shire
• Nerring Peninsula Shire

Economy

The largest sectors in Peralia's economy are agricultural, mining, forestry, transportation, healthcare, financial and education. A majority of the province's economic activity occurs in the Creswick and Merburra metropolitan regions.

Education

There is a public education system between kindergarten and year 12 as well as private universities and schools.

Transportation

The primary road routes in Peralia are the A2/M2 running from the southern border through New Lynchester, Creswick and Merburra to the northern border, the A3 running from the outskirts of Creswick to the southeast, and the A4 running from Point Robe to Nowel.

Primary railway routes include the North/West Coast Line from the Clamash border to the southern border through Merburra, Creswick and New Lynchester, the Eastern Railway from the eastern border through to a junction with the west coast line, the Riverlands/Nowel railway from Creswick to Nowel, the Walpoora line from Solomon to Walpoora, and the Great Peralian Heritage Railway through the limestone hills.