LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-13 AT 02:06 AM (EST)
 
>>This version's the brainchild of Clive Palmer, an Australian mining
>>magnate whose other claims to fame include public ally accusing one of
>>our political parties of being run by the CIA, attempting to line his
>>golf course with 150 life-size animatronic dinosaurs and being rich as
>>fuck.
>
>Man, that's what was missing from NXE: no batshit-crazy Australians.
>Then again, is Australia even there any more after Second Impact? I'd
>have to dig up some figures and do the math...

Thankfully, past-you already gave this some thought...

The United States of Australia and New Zealand
Though badly battered by their proximity to the Second Impact, and thus slower to recover than any other major industrialised nation, Australia-New Zealand is a firm supporter of the X-COM/NERV alliance and has supplied considerable manpower for X-COM's emergency military build-up.

Better than I could have hoped for, to be honest. I expect what with rising sea levels and all that most of our capital cities would be flooded, but Canberra and the other inland centres will probably be safe.

>>My girlfriend's got an interest in mining
>
>... wait, as in she's invested in some mining companies, or as in she
>thinks mineral extraction is cool? If the former, OK, fair enough,
>but if the latter, awesome.

She's more interested in taxing the shit out of some of our larger mining companies. I have a friend who does archeology for one of the big mining companies up in the Pilbera (north of Perth) if that's more up your alley.