TRAVEL REPORT The Hon. Michael Atkinson MP Attorney-General ...

CROATIAGeneral backgroundCroatia extends in a crescent from the plains of the Danube, Drava and SavaRivers in the east to the Gulf of Venice in the west and then southward alongthe Adriatic Sea to the border of Montenegro . It is bounded by Slovenia,Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro (SiM) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) .Its extensive Adriatic coastline on the south-west includes nearly 1,200islands and islets .The 2001 population census put Croatia's population at 4 .44 million, 347,000less than in 1991 . Almost 90 per cent are ethnic Croats . Serbs, the largestminority group, comprise 4 .5 per cent of the population but this figure is widelythought to understate the real number, the likely explanation being that manySerbs chose not to declare their ethnicity .The Bilateral RelationshipAustralia recognised Croatia on 16 January 1992, immediately after itsdeclaration of independence . Diplomatic relations were established on 13February 1992 and the first Australian Ambassador to Croatia (resident inVienna) presented his credentials the following month . On 21 September1992, an Australian Consulate was opened in Zagreb . Australia opened anEmbassy in Zagreb in October 1999 .At the heart of the bilateral relationship are the personal links built by the largeCroatian community in Australia . This helps generate a significant two-wayflow of visitors . The 2001 census recorded 51,860 Croatia-born persons inAustralia, an increase of 10 per cent since the 1996 Census . However, it isthought that the 1996 census figure understated the number of Croatian borncitizens in Australia as many people born in the former Socialist FederativeRepublic of Yugoslavia (S .F.R.Y.) still showed Yugoslavia as their birthplace .The Croatian diaspora is eligible to vote in Croatian presidential andparliamentary elections . In the 2000 elections between 2,000 and 3,000Croatians living in Australia cast votes and, in the more recent November2003 elections, 2926 voted (8,867 were registered to vote) .Trade and InvestmentWith the exception of 1995 and 1997 when merchandise exports totalledA$12m for both years, exports between 1992 and 2001 fluctuated betweenA$3m and A$6m annually . In 2002 Australian exports jumped to A$14 .8million but decreased in 2003 to A$13 .6 million, composed mainly of sales incoal and beef. Imports from Croatia since 1992 have been relatively constantand increased slightly in 2003 to A$12 .9 million . The major components wereprocessed foods and electric power machinery .Bilateral agreementsOn 13 May 2003 the Australian and Croatian Governments signed a bilateralsocial security agreement that will give improved social security protection topeople who have lived and/or worked in both Australia and Croatia . TheTravel Report, Hon. Michael Atkinson, MP. and Ms . Vini Ciccarello MP., August, 2004 29