Twynam
Commonwealth of Twynam Gemenebest van Twyland | |
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 Flag
 Coat of Arms
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| Motto: In Truth & Solidarity, Twynam Advances | |
Anthem: "I Vow To Thee My Country"
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| Capital | Enbarr |
| Religion | Beoin |
| Demonym(s) | Twynamese |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Ernest II |
• Governor-General | Marcel Lusseveld |
• Prime Minister | Marysa Verhulst |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| House of Representatives | |
| Independence from the United Dominions | |
• Vote against Dominion unification | 1841 |
• Federation, Constitution | 1912 |
• The Enbarr Agreement | 1942 |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 92,340,157 |
| HDI (2020) | 0.939 very high |
| Currency | Sovereigns (SOV) |
| Date format | ddmmyyyy |
| Driving side | right |
Twynam, officially the Commonwealth of Twynam, is a federal constitutional monarchy comprised of 6 states and territory in Northern. Twynam is bordered by the United Dominions to the West and Merrain also to the West. The capital and largest city is Enbarr, with 1,812,000 living in the Enbarr territory. Other major cities include New Albion, Launceston, and Tamworth. The country was recorded to have a total population of 92.4 million people in 2020.
The country has a primarily humid sub-tropical climate, though the rest of the country varies from Continental to Sub-Artic. Executive authority in the commonwealth is shared between the Prime Minister and elected members of parliament who are in cabinet. The legislature is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives elected by full-preferential instant-runoff voting and the Senate who are elected by optional preferential voting.
Twynam was historically for most of it's history a land of native tribes. During the 16th Century colonists arrived from the United Dominions and determined the land to be free for settlement despite the extensive proof of native inhabitance. Colonial efforts continued into the late 18th century which then Dominions dominated the vast lands of Twynam. After a vote in 1841 determined that Twynam would not become part of the United Dominions, Twynam became a Commonwealth in 1912 and now maintains a large international presence thanks to it's sizeable navy and army.
Modern Twynam is a center for education, sciences, and tourism. Twynam is a developed country with high performance in a number of international metrics, including a very high standard of living and fairly low income inequality. Twynam is heavily involved in international affairs and participates in a number of international bodies.
Etymology
The name Twynam was used as a geographic term describing a mountain in the modern day Dominion of Arundel near the border of the United Dominions, which eventually became the name of the local settlement during the colonial era. Which was eventually used to name the colony itself. While the settlement eventually changed it name the mountain maintains it's name and is now a popular tourism spot for hikers across Olympus.
The modern demonym for people from the nation of Twynam is "Twynamese" however sometimes they are incorrectly referred to as "Twynamians" .
History
Native era (before the 16th century)
The oldest evidence of pre-human ancestor life in what is now Twynam, a flint arrowhead in 1987, dates from approximately 1.3 million years ago. The earliest modern humans are believed to have entered Twynam by 40,000 years ago. Over the eras of time, Early humans in Twynam were confronted by the harsh weather of the north and suffered over multiple ice ages.
The natives societies grew more complex and there are traces of city-states made from towns carved into cliff sides across Twynam. Societies like the one in the Southwestern regions evolved through the use of experimental agriculture however most tribal societies in Twynam maintained the hunter gather style of living. Evidence of metal experimentation was discovered in 1976 but the progress came too late as colonialists intruded into tribal societies as the 16th century started.
Estimation of the native population of Twynam before arrival of colonialists from the Dominions is difficult but is estimated at 5.2 million.
Colonial Era (16th century-1850)
While colonialism in Twynam was a long-term success for the United Dominions colonialists suffered hardships such as food shortages, disease, and attacks from native tribes. Tribes were often at war with both their tribal neighbours and the neighbouring colonies but gradually came to depend on the colonies with settlers giving weapons and tools and natives giving food and pelts. Natives also taught many settlers to cultivate various local crops. However settlers believed they were responsible for "civilising" the native population and natives found themselves being driven from their homes or were slaughtered so that the settlers could use the land for expansion. The native population declined during this era, primarily to disease.
Settlers from the Dominions were not the only people arriving, disenfranchised religious groups experiencing discrimination in Lira as well as cultures experiencing wars started arriving in significant into Twynamese dominions shortly after the start of the 18th century. Whilst most of these peoples were accepted various Dominions enforcing white immigration policies.
The colony also faced rebellions, primarily opposing the authority of the colonial authorities who had at various times taxed without representation and were profiting from expensive licenses which resulted in civil disobedience. In the infamous Mandurah rebellion, disgruntled farmers rose up against colonial authority because of various taxation issues that occurred within the area. However the rebellion was crushed after various colonial mounted forces supported by infantry stormed the stockade, killing numerous rebels.
In the mid 19th century the possibility of federation with other dominions that later became the United Dominions became a highly debated topic as nationalism flared across the Twynamese dominions. Thanks to the efforts of figures like Lincoln O'Brien the Twynamese dominions voted no for federation which laid the foundations for modern day Twynam.
Industrial era (1850-1940)
Modern Twynam (1940-present)
Geography
Forested area, Mount Gambier
Snowy mountains, Albertan National Park
River Djarlgarra, Launceston
Fremantle Beach, Fremantle
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Climate
The vast majority of the climate is humid sub-tropics, with hot summers and mild winters. There is no distinct dry season, with consistent precipitation throughout the year. The nation's north is a sub-artic climate which has heavy snow and below freezing average temps.
| Climate data for Enbarr (TCT), 1980-present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) |
35.4 (95.7) |
37.0 (98.6) |
38.7 (101.7) |
38.9 (102.0) |
41.2 (106.2) |
40.0 (104.0) |
41.7 (107.1) |
37.9 (100.2) |
33.7 (92.7) |
30.7 (87.3) |
29.0 (84.2) |
41.7 (107.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
25.7 (78.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
28.3 (82.9) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.2 (86.4) |
29.1 (84.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.0 (71.6) |
26.6 (79.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.2 (61.2) |
17.1 (62.8) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.5 (74.3) |
25.0 (77.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
24.7 (76.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
19.2 (66.6) |
16.2 (61.2) |
21.5 (70.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.8 (56.8) |
16.4 (61.5) |
18.8 (65.8) |
20.4 (68.7) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.4 (70.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
13.8 (56.8) |
11.9 (53.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.6 (36.7) |
4.1 (39.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
8.8 (47.8) |
10.8 (51.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
17.0 (62.6) |
16.5 (61.7) |
12.2 (54.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
2.6 (36.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 25 (1.0) |
36 (1.4) |
28 (1.1) |
78 (3.1) |
91 (3.6) |
129 (5.1) |
140 (5.5) |
150 (5.9) |
115 (4.5) |
61 (2.4) |
62 (2.4) |
67 (2.6) |
982 (38.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 81.7 |
| Average snowy days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 44 | 43 | 48 | 51 | 56 | 57 | 57 | 59 | 57 | 54 | 49 | 52 | 52 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 239 | 270 | 267 | 270 | 273 | 264 | 267 | 235 | 233 | 237 | 239 | 198 | 2,992 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Source: Bureau of Climate | |||||||||||||
Dominions and Territories
The territories of the Commonwealth of Twynam are divided into five dominions and two territories.
The Dominions essentially have plenary legislative power to legislate on any subject, whereas the Commonwealth (federal) Parliament may legislate only within the subject areas enumerated under the constitution. However, Commonwealth laws prevail over Dominion laws to the extent of the inconsistency. In addition, the Commonwealth has the power to levy income tax which, coupled with the power to make grants to Dominions, has given it the financial means to incentivise Dominions to pursue specific legislative agendas within areas over which the Commonwealth does not have legislative power.
Each dominion and major mainland territory has its own parliament — unicameral in the Northern Territory, the TCT and Albany, and bicameral in the other dominions. The dominions are sovereign entities, although subject to certain powers of the Commonwealth as defined by the Constitution. The lower houses are known as the Legislative Assembly; the upper houses are known as the Legislative Council. The head of the government in each state is the Premier and in each territory the Chief Minister. The King is represented in each state by a governor; and in the Northern Territory, the administrator. In the Commonwealth, the Queen's representative is the governor-general.
Politics
Government
Twynam is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Constitution of the Commonwealth was formally signed in when Twynam federated in 1912. There have been a number of constitutional amendments made, the most well known being the various amendments changing the status of the natives who reside in Twynam. The head of state is the King, who is also the King of the United Dominions. The role of head of state in Twynam is mostly ceremonial with only emergency powers that are handled by the Governor-general who is the king's representative in Twynam. The head of government is the Prime Minister who is also the leader of the governing party in Parliament. As Prime Minister they chair the cabinet who consists of Government ministers.
The Twynam legislature is bicameral. The House of Representatives, also known as the Lower House elects it's members through full-preferential instant-runoff voting. Each member represents a political division and the amount of divisions is adjusted depending on the population of Twynam thus the amount of members in the lower house changes each election. The Senate or the Upper House houses the senators who are elected by optional preference. Unlike the Lower House the amount of members is fixed so twelve senators are elected for each dominion and two for each territory. Whilst the government often has a majority in the House of Representatives, it often doesn't in the Senate and needs to negotiate with the other parties in order to pass bills through. A senate majority has not been held since 1998.
Foreign Relations
Twynam is heavily involved in international affairs. It maintains productive relationships with nations and international bodies across Olympus, mostly with nations who follow liberal democratic values.
Twynam is particularly involved with other nations on the continent through it's doctrine of opposing colonialism which it shares with the United Dominions. Whilst most colonial nations have fell apart Twynam still continues this doctrine today against the last colonies on the continent who still are under nations like the Liraian nation of the Rodaves.
Another main component of Twynam's foreign policy is the opposition of revolutionary socialist states. Indeed, Twynam has been involved in numerous interventions with the goal of undermining or preventing a revolutionary socialist state making it a key competitor against revolutionary socialist states in the dominance of the seas.
Twynam has an extremely positive relationship with it's fellow northern nations on it's continent. Despite separating from the United Dominions culturally, politically and economically the two nations maintain a positive relationship with Twynam even keeping the same anthem to this day.
Twynam uses both soft power and hard power to achieve it's interests in the world. Whilst this makes Twynam an untrustworthy mediator it still holds influence within Olympus.
Common Twynam philosophy on international affairs is by promoting liberal democratic and opposing socialism through interventions, it will both protect the integrity of Twynam and eventually enable people across the world to live in peace and enjoy their numerous human rights.
Military
The Royal Twynamese Armed Forces are the military in Twynam. The Governor-General serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, though this ceremonial role is only exercised on the advice of the government.
The Twynamese Armed Forces is divided into an number of distinct branches. These are the Twynamese Army, Twynamese Airforce, National Marines and the Twynamese Royal Navy.
While the Army, Airforce, and Navy fulfill conventional roles as the three main branches of the armed forces, there is also the National Marines who are responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, armor, artillery, aerial and special operations forces. Sometimes the standard army supplement the Marines in their operations.
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Twynam's ground forces are primarily trained and equipped for offensive combat. The primary military doctrine of Twynam is one of significant combined arms operations, where ground, air, naval, and strategic units actively and rapidly cooperate to amplify all military capabilities. Twynam's ability to be proactive militarily is built primarily from its army and naval forces - Twynam's Navy is one of the highest quality and largest in Nezlotah.
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Today Twynam has a significant navy shipbuilding industry from which it sources it's naval boats from. Otherwise Twynam's military equipment in the modern era is predominantly sourced from high-quality international manufacturers, with some capability for retrofitting and upgrades in the Commonwealth.
Twynam's strategic capabilities include a range of high-quality ballistic and cruise missiles. The warheads on Twynam's long-range missiles are purportedly all conventional, as the government has never publicly announced it's nuclear capability. Twynam claims not to maintain any reserve of biological or chemical weapons other than small, publicly disclosed collections used in scientific research.
Economy
The Twynamese Economy, measured by GDP, is around the average for Nezlotah, though it is wealthier than average in GDP per capita. Twynam has used the Sovereigns as its currency since 1942 when it replaced the Dominion's Guilder after the Enbarr Agreement.
Twynam has a highly developed mixed economy. That means that within the context of a capitalist market economy the use of indicative planning, state-directed investment, active use of market instruments, and state-owned monopolies in strategic sectors (such as rail, energy, and telecommunications) allows the Federal government to curb inefficiencies and market failures, and effectively action its policies within the broader economy.
This economic system has it roots in previous governments, especially in post-war years where the population were largely sympathetic for socialist policies. Popular examples of left-wing Prime Ministers include Brian Keating and Hayden Hawke both who are regarded as inspirational figures among the Labour party members.
Agriculture
Twynam is a historically major producer of agricultural products. Extensive fertile lands in Twynam's many fields allowed the nation to be among the leaders in agricultural production and exports in Nezlotah. In the modern era, increased population density and a significant shift in economic exports has led to the Commonwealth being unable to compete in scale with leading agricultural exporters like the Dominions, though Twynam remains one of the more significant agricultural producers in Nezlotah and is a moderate exporter to its overseas neighbours.
Cash crops comprises the bulk of Twynams's farm production, centered in large-scale corporately owned farms. However, bread-basket regions are common with wheat being grown across the Continental Dominions which makes up the vast majority of Twynam's food production.
Twynam is also somewhat involved in animal husbandry, with animal farms found across the sub-artic Northern Territory. Common animals include Goats and Sheep.
Natural Resources
Historically Twynam had been host to small amounts of natural minerals and the old Gold Rushes, where people traveled to the fields in droves to find gold, are a memory forever immortalised into pop culture.
The exception to this is the significant production of copper from quarries within the Twynamese Highland regions, which remains a major economic factor. Much of the production from these quarries is used in the production of electronics, construction and alloys or is exported abroad to neighbours through trade.
Twynam is committed to the protection of it's forest preserves and parks and as such Twynam has very little forestry industries. The Commonwealth has significant maritime area, though no economically viable resources have been discovered in Twynamese maritime area other than fishing zones.
Heavy Industries
Twynam is home to a broad base of secondary and manufacturing industries. These typically include apparel, foodstuffs, furniture, luxury items, textiles, and measuring instruments. These industries are generally small and uncompetitive with international sources, but continue to exist due to the protection of, and support from, Twynamese economic policies which encourage the use of Twynamese products. There is virtually no export market for these goods.
Twynam is home to several industrial sectors of international economic relevance, particularly in advanced and high-technology naval and construction industry. Twynam is a major hub for construction industries, which involves construction, demolition, renovation, maintenance or repair of building and infrastructure. It covers a wide range of services, from planning and surveying to structural construction to finishing services such as painting and decorating. Naval ship construction is another sector which the Twynamese economy performs well in; Twynamese ship yards produce a wide range of naval ships not only for Twynam itself but also for like minded nations across Olympus.
Tourism
Twynam is home to a significant hospitality sector, and is particularly known for its cultural activities and institutions such as the numerable museums and art galleries in the major cities of Twyanm. Whilst Twynam's cold north receives little attention from tourists the hot humid tropical Dominions receive numerous cruise ships.
International tourism to Twynam is not competitive with the large numbers that visit nations like Illyntheria each year, but the Twnyam hospitality sector is supported by unusually large levels of domestic tourism thanks to the population of the north who visit the south for warmth in winter and vice versa.
Infrastructure
Most Dominions operate their own public transport authorities; in rural areas this typically takes the form of bus routes, but several cities also have communally operated metro and tramway systems. Dominions, Territories and Shires are responsible for construction and maintenance of roadways outside of the primary network maintained by the Federal Government with some exceptions.
That network consists nation-wide highways which generally connect cities to other cities. The Dominions and Territories are responsible for building the national networks however the federal government compensates them for approved projects.
Twynam has relatively few commercial airports, though there are a multitude of small aerodromes used irregularly and for hobbyist aeronautics. Domestic travel regularly comes through these airports in the absence of a national passenger train network. Multiple governments have promised construction of high-speed rail but promises have been left unfulfilled to the disappointment of some voters.
Demographics
Major Cities
The Commonwealth is highly urbanized. In common with many other developed countries, Twynam is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2020 the average age of the Twynam population was 38.8 years. In 2018, 2.15% of the Twynamese population lived overseas, one of the lowest proportions worldwide.
Religion
Religion in Twynam, 2020
Twynam has historically held a Beoin majority, though that religious affiliation has become more split between increasingly distinct sects as time has gone on. Twynam consists of a small portion of other religions, mostly followed by immigrants from outside Twynam.
Over the past thirty years, Twynam has seen a significant rise in the non-religious affiliation, which includes both Atheists and Agnostics. Non-religious affiliation is predicted to overtake Beoin in the future.
Health
Life expectancy in Twynam in 2018–2020 was 80.4 years for males and 84.6 years for females. Twynam has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, while cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and disease, responsible for 7.8% of the total mortality and disease. Ranked second in preventable causes is hypertension at 7.6%, with obesity third at 7.5%. Nearly two thirds (63%) of Twynam's adult population is either overweight or obese.
Each dominion and territory is responsible for their own public hospitals, as well as the dominion or territory's health department. States often target services for specific health problems, such as native health programs or school dental heath centres.
Rural areas which often have poor access to health systems are serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor Service that provides both emergency and primary health care using aircraft.
There is Medicare system which is a single-payer universal health care scheme that covers all Twynamese citizens and permanent residents, with other programs providing additional coverage for specific groups, such as veterans or Indigenous Twynamese, and various compulsory insurance schemes cover personal injury resulting from workplace or vehicle incidents. Medicare is funded by a Medicare levy, which currently is a 2% levy on residents’ taxable income over a certain income. Higher income earners pay an additional levy (called a Medicare Levy Surcharge) if they do not have private health insurance. Residents with certain medical conditions, foreign residents, some low-income earners, and those not eligible for Medicare benefits may apply for an exemption from paying the levy, and some low-income earners can apply for reductions to the levy.
The federal government-administered Medicare insurance scheme covers much of the cost of primary and allied health care services. States and the federal government provide the majority of spending through Medicare and other programs. Individuals contribute more than half of the non-government funding.
Education
School attendance, or registration for home schooling, is compulsory throughout Twynam. Education is the responsibility of the individual dominions and territories so the rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from the age of about 5 until about 16. In some states, children aged 16–17 are required to either attend school or participate in vocational training, such as an apprenticeship.
Twynam has a high-performing education sector, supported by Federal and Private institutions. In particular, Twynam is home to a number of institutions of Higher Education with international acclaim. Twynam is host to a large number of international students and boasts a large international education export.
Culture
Since colonisers settled in Twynam, the primary influence behind Twynamian culture has been Dominion based, with some Indigenous influences. The divergence and evolution that has occurred in the ensuing centuries has resulted in a distinctive Twynamian culture. The culture of the United Dominions has served as a significant influence, particularly through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighbouring countries, and through large-scale immigration from nations in Lira.
Modern day Twnam has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all its people. Multiculturalism is often cited as one of Twynam's significant accomplishments, and a key distinguishing element of Twynamian identity.
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Art
Twynam has over 100,000 Aboriginal rock art sites, and traditional designs, patterns and stories infuse contemporary Indigenous Twynamese art. Early colonial artists showed a fascination with the unfamiliar land. The first distinctively Twynamese movement in Western art—gave expression to nationalist sentiments in the lead-up to Federation. The school remained influential into the 1900s. The national and dominion galleries maintain collections of local and international art. Twynam has one of the world's highest attendances of art galleries and museums per head of population.
Media
Twynam has two public broadcasters, three commercial television networks, several pay-TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Each major city has at least one daily newspaper, and there are two national daily newspapers. Twynam is considered to have high freedom of the press however it suffers from low diversity of print media with the vast majority of papers being owned between two major corporations.
Cuisine
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Twynam has had it Cuisine transformed by immigration from other countries. While the colonisers from The United Dominions brought their customs over but it would be transformed further by immigration from Lira and the other continents with Twynamian variants being created for all sorts of food. Lira has helped developed a coffee culture in Twynam alongside the tea that was originally imported by the colonisers. Many foods are consider staples in Twynam, such as the Twynamian meat pie.
Twynam cuisine in the 21st century reflects the influence of globalisation, with many fast-food restaurants and international trends becoming influential. Organic and biodynamic foods have also become widely available alongside a revival of interest in bush tucker. While fast food chains are abundant, Twynam's metropolitan areas have restaurants that offer both local and international foods. Restaurants which include contemporary adaptations, interpretations or fusions of exotic influences are frequently termed Modern Twynamese.
Sports
Cricket and football are the predominate sports in Twynam during the summer and winter months, respectively. Twynam is unique in that it has professional leagues for four football codes. Originating in Twynam in the 1850s, Twynam rules football is the most popular code in all dominions. Soccer, while ranked fourth in popularity and resources after Rugby, has the highest overall participation rates. Cricket is popular across all borders and has been regarded by many Twynamese as the national sport.
Twynam is also notable for water-based sports, such as swimming and surfing. The surf lifesaving movement originated in Twynam, and the volunteer lifesaver is one of the country's icons. Nationally, other popular sports include horse racing, basketball, and motor racing. The annual horse race and the yacht race attract intense interest. In 2016, the Twynamese Sports Commission revealed that swimming, cycling and soccer are the three most popular participation sports