Spotlight on:

“Grand Ashmore”

The Australian Territory of Ashmore is a gargantuan, economically powerful nation, ruled by Prime Minister with an even hand, and remarkable for its anti-smoking policies. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 14.445 billion enjoy extensive civil freedoms, particularly in social issues, while business tends to be more regulated.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, liberal government stops and the rest of society begins, but it is mainly concerned with Social Welfare, although the Environment and Defence are on the agenda. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Canberra. The average income tax rate is 91%, and even higher for the wealthy. The private sector is almost wholly made up of enterprising fourteen-year-old boys selling lemonade on the sidewalk, although the government is looking at stamping this out.

The tenet of free speech is held dear, Ashmore's children are widely acknowledged as the most foul-mouthed in the region, a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway, and students are known to arrive at school in their pyjamas. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ashmore's national animal is the kangaroo, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Australian Dollar.

Ashmore is ranked 27th in the region and 10,999th in the world for Highest Unemployment Rates.