Chapter 227 New Cabinet, New Plan
On June 19, 1907, the third day after the election, the first meeting of the new cabinet government officially began.
Because there are many new faces in this cabinet government, coupled with the relocation of old employees, this meeting is necessary, and Arthur also sits in person.
For political newcomers like Agriculture Minister Mark and Transportation Minister Lauren, they need more time to adapt to their positions and more time to understand all the materials and information in their departments.
Of course, for the new cabinet government Prime Minister Walter, he will also need some time to adapt to his identity. After all, the Prime Minister is the person who coordinates the cabinet. He must coordinate the cabinet as much as possible in order to properly complete all the tasks assigned by Arthur. Task.
This meeting was held at Sydney Palace. The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister and ministers of the cabinet government, as well as the deputies selected by these ministers, that is, the deputy ministers of each department.
Of course, although these deputy ministers can also participate in this meeting, their more role is to assist their respective ministers, especially the newcomers, by providing materials and information from various departments.
Of course, before the cabinet meeting begins, there is a more solemn ceremony, that is, all cabinet government members swear allegiance to Arthur.
This is a tradition that goes back to Australia and is the best way for these cabinet members to understand who they are working for.
Arthur was already calm about such a scene. After accepting the oath of allegiance from all cabinet members, Arthur said: "Everyone, I am very happy to see the establishment of a new cabinet government in Australasia. Become a cabinet After members, your every move represents the government and the country. I hope that all of you can keep your heart, be loyal and unswerving, uphold the constitution of the Kingdom of Australasia, love all the people of the kingdom, be loyal to the royal family, and use Fearless and firm belief, to jointly develop our great country. I believe that in the past few days, you have also understood the current status of various departments. Now, it is time to formulate new plans to determine the development of the country during your tenure. A new goal.”
In any case, the new cabinet is definitely different from the previous style of Prime Minister Evan.
Whether it is the completely different personalities of Prime Minister Evan and Prime Minister Walter, or the different current situations in Australasia, it means that Australasia's policies will be different from before.
After Prime Minister Walter takes office, he is bound to take some actions. If the actions of Prime Minister Evan continue to be the same as before, this will not be a good thing for Prime Minister Walter.
"Each department will briefly talk about their respective situations first! Everyone will first have an understanding of the country's situation, and then discuss specific plans." Arthur said with a smile.
The main thing is to let the new Minister of Agriculture and Transport, as well as Prime Minister Walter and Minister Henrys who have changed their positions, understand the situation. If you want to formulate a detailed and reasonable development plan, you must first understand the current development situation of the department.
This link naturally starts with old employees like Minister Pierre who have been reelected for two or three terms.
"Your Majesty, the current development of the industrial sector is good. With the help of the Germans, we have made up for the basic industries, especially the chemical industry, and solved the problem of insufficient basic industries." said Industry Minister Pierre.
"On top of this, our industrial scale is also developing rapidly. At present, the number of our large industrial zones has exceeded eight, and the total number of small and medium-sized industrial zones has been nearly fifteen." Minister Pierre introduced with a little pride. arrive.
The industrial development in Australasia can be said to be smooth, and the speed of industrial development is also very smooth, with basically no obstacles encountered.
Coupled with the fact that Australasia has a large amount of industrial equipment from the United Kingdom, aid from Germany, and its own rich mineral resources, it only took Australasia just over seven years to become the current industrial power. First, the total steel production has even surpassed that of major powers such as Italy, ranking among the top ten in the world.
Of course, this does not mean that the total industrial scale of Australasia has reached the first level among the great powers.
Compared with European countries with strong foundations, Australasia still has many shortcomings, which will take some time to make up for.
But in any case, the development potential of Australasia is visible to the naked eye, and industrial development is much smoother than imagined.
"Currently, we have been vigorously cultivating domestic factories. So far, Australasia has hundreds of private factories, including machinery, papermaking, cement, glass, wood, chemicals, etc., and some even have certain capabilities. scale, and can achieve lasting profits." Minister Pierre continued.
Although most small factories still require funding from the Ministry of Industry, there are also factories that are profitable on their own.
These factories, large and small, of all kinds, the finished products they produce flood the Australasian market, and they are potential stocks of Australasian civil industry.
Of course, most of the military industry is currently controlled by Arthur, and a small number of them are jointly operated by the royal family and the government.
Australasia has not yet had a private military enterprise. After all, Arthur's military factories and shipyards have achieved technological supremacy. This kind of technological transcendence cannot be compensated by the current capital of Australasia.
After the Department of Industry, the next person to be introduced is Thomas, the Secretary of Public Security.
"Your Majesty, everyone. After a long period of development, our police training system has begun to bear fruit. As of now, Australasia has a total of more than 4,000 police officers distributed in more than 300 police stations of various sizes. Our police training system can train more than two hundred police officers for us every year, which can basically meet our security needs due to the increase in population." Thomas, Minister of Public Security, introduced.
"According to statistics from the previous year, within the Kingdom of Australasia, there were less than a thousand criminal incidents in 1906, of which less than one-tenth involved human life." Although nearly a thousand criminal cases can be
seen It sounds like a lot, but Australasia has a total population of more than six million, and the crime rate is less than one in 6,000.
Even compared with later data, this crime rate is definitely very low.
In fact, it is understandable that chaotic order and a turbulent environment often cause an increase in crime rates.
But the environment in Australasia is very stable. Even if it merges with New Zealand, it will be conducted through a peaceful referendum.
Coupled with Arthur's emphasis on the poor civilians at the bottom, the Royal Relief Committee spends a large amount of money every year to relieve all civilians at the bottom.
This is also why crime rates in Australasia are so low.
Of course, current case statistics only include all relatively serious criminal cases, ordinary incidents similar to fights, and even if the police are alerted, they are basically just a few words of advice.
However, for more serious incidents such as theft and robbery, the supervision of the security department is still relatively strict.
This is also Arthur's request. In order to create a good immigration environment for Australasia, theft and robbery are also serious crimes in Australasia. If they are serious, they may even lead to life imprisonment and death penalty.
After all, the Royal Relief Committee has ensured that every Australasian civilian will not starve to death. Under this premise, those who can still steal and rob are basically criminals who are just for money, and they will die. Not a pity.
Arthur nodded with satisfaction.
Arthur is very satisfied with the crime rate in Australasia. You know, guns are currently not prohibited in Australasia. Although large-scale gun ownership is not supported, herders and residents living in remote areas can legally possess shotguns to protect their lives when encountering wild animals or other dangerous situations.
You know, Australasia has a lot of barren areas, as well as a lot of virgin forests and mountains.
These areas have not been explored by humans and are home to a large number of wild animals and poisonous insects.
If there is no shotgun for self-defense, I am afraid that the safety of people near the suburbs cannot be guaranteed.
After the Sheriff's Department, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health also introduced the situation.
The development of education and medical care in Australasia is also very smooth. Especially after the Victoria Award solved the problem of the source of high-end talents, Australasia's medical development has been going smoothly, and the construction and development of hospitals can basically meet domestic needs.
At present, not counting the Royal Hospital built by Arthur at Sydney Palace, Australasia has more than fifteen large hospitals and more than ten medium-sized hospitals.
In particular, the Capital Territory, the most developed region in Australasia, has two large hospitals and one medium-sized hospital.
Even Western Australia and South Australia, which are relatively deserted, each have one large hospital and one small hospital.
Coupled with the current proliferation of private clinics across Australasia, Australasia's medical problems have finally been solved.
In particular, the first few large hospitals built, as well as the Royal Hospital built by Arthur, housed many medical experts from Europe, and the medical level was considered advanced.
Especially the Royal Hospital, although it was established relatively recently, it is prepared for the royal family and senior government officials, and its medical level and equipment can even reach the top level in Europe.
The education situation in Australasia is also very good, and six universities can barely meet the needs of college students.
On this basis, the proliferation of primary and secondary schools everywhere is the foundation for the development of education in Australasia, and is also the key to the continuous increase in the population literacy rate.
Even some Australasian factories currently have academic requirements for some key positions. Fortunately, immigrants from the UK and Germany have at least primary school education, and there are even many people with middle school education.
Those with relatively low academic qualifications were Russian immigrants, but fortunately these immigrants were more obedient and able to obey the rule of the kingdom more.
Anyway, Australasia also has supplementary education for adults, so it is not difficult for the vast majority of the Russian population to have a primary school degree.
The current main plan of the Ministry of Education is to build the current six universities in Australasia into top universities, attract more European students, and keep them in Australasia.
At the same time, the number of universities in Australasia is still too small, and they need to increase at least two or three times to temporarily satisfy Arthur's appetite.
Minister Andrew has nothing to report. Australasia basically does not participate in international affairs. Apart from communicating with a few better countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has basically nothing to do.
Defense Minister Kent simply reported on the number of soldiers and the current training status. The Ministry of Defense is currently relatively special. Although it is part of the cabinet, the Ministry of Defense is only responsible to the Royal Parliament and Arthur.
Next is Finance Minister Roger. Australasia's financial situation is quite good. Not only does it have 230 million Australian dollars on its books, but its fiscal revenue in the past six months has also reached a new high, reaching a gratifying 15.31 million Australian dollars.
If it can continue to be maintained, the total government revenue in 1907 is expected to exceed 30 million Australian dollars, achieving a government fiscal surplus for the first time.
Because the government's total fiscal expenditure in the first half of the year was only A$14.12 million, this was despite the launch of the northern railway construction plan.
In the second half of this year, the construction of the industrial railway will be completed, which also means that the government will have one less major expenditure project.
The government finances have turned from losses to profits, which also made many ministers smile.
The improvement of government finances also means that various departments will receive more financial budgets and will be able to use their skills more easily.
Minister Henrys went directly from the low-status Minister of Agriculture to the Minister of People's Livelihood, and became one of the top leaders of the cabinet government.
Although he is responsible for completely different affairs, many years of government affairs experience have allowed Minister Henry to quickly become familiar with the situation of the Ministry of People's Welfare, and he is more comfortable handling government affairs.
Although it lasted only half a year, Australasia's population grew rapidly.
As of now, Australasia has a total population of 6.77 million, of which Australia has a total population of 5.4 million and New Zealand has a total population of 1.32 million.
Visible to the naked eye, Australia's population size and development rate are much faster than those of New Zealand. This depends on Australia's land area and also depends on Australia's original population size.
But this is also a good thing for the current Australasia. Arthur's basic base is Australia. The stronger Australia is, the more stable the situation of Australasia's unification will be.
While the growing gap between Australia and New Zealand may displease some New Zealanders, Arthur has tools to deal with it.
In addition to building a large number of buildings in New Zealand to allow New Zealand to truly feel the changes brought about by joining the Kingdom, it also vigorously promotes the concept of Australasians, subtly merging Australians and New Zealanders into one nation, which also It can eliminate the possibility of estrangement between two ethnic groups and regions.
Next is the report of the two new ministers, namely the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transport.
The first is the Ministry of Agriculture, which is the report of Minister Mark.
Agriculture in Australasia also developed rapidly, which was also attributed to the labor of a large number of indigenous people.
Due to the large investment in indigenous people, the total area of cultivated land in Australasia has been steadily increasing at a growth rate of at least 1.5% every year, and the grain output has been growing at an even more impressive rate. From the initial two million tons in Australia, it has achieved In 1906, the annual output was more than 5.5 million tons.
This kind of food production can already feed a population of 20 million, but Australasia also has a large amount of cultivable land, which is a valuable resource in Australasia and the key to feeding a larger population.
The obvious difference from before is the area of cultivated land currently given to immigrants in Australasia.
Although each immigrant was previously allocated three acres of land, less than one-fifth of it was ready-made farmland, and the rest needed to be cultivated by the immigrants themselves.
But now Australasia’s immigration policy has been upgraded again. Not only could each immigrant obtain at least five acres of land, at least one-third of which was arable land, but they could also hire indigenous people for cultivation at low prices.
Especially in the New Guinea colony, immigrants who went to the New Guinea colony could even get ten acres of land. The colonial government would also send indigenous people for reclamation. They could even hire indigenous people at low prices for farming and harvesting, and they became farmers.
There is also an episode in this. The Dutch East Indies also felt the crazy speed of Australasia's development, and they also did some tricks on the indigenous people.
At present, the frequency of transportation of natives from the Dutch East Indies is obviously much lower, and most of the people sent over are women or old people, who are not qualified as laborers.
Although they are also more affordable, there is no need to spend money on waste in Australasia.
According to estimates of the indigenous population of the Dutch East Indies, there are at least 40 million indigenous people in the entire Dutch East Indies.
At present, the indigenous population of the Dutch East Indies transported to Australasia is only over one million, which is a drop in the bucket for the Dutch East Indies.
Therefore, the reason why the Dutch East Indies reduced the frequency of indigenous transportation was most likely because they were afraid of the development speed of Australasia.
Perhaps they also realized that continuing to transport a large number of indigenous people would only make Australasia's development rate continue to increase.
When Australasia develops to a certain level and possesses sufficient military strength, the Dutch East Indies, as Australasia's closest neighbor to the north, will surely be the first to suffer.
Arthur understood the Dutch's fear, but now it was too late for the Dutch to react.
Judging from the current development of Australasia, the Dutch may not be Australasia's opponents.
If the Dutch East Indies want to reduce the scale of transporting natives, it depends on whether Arthur's loyal army agrees.
This kind of important issue regarding national development can definitely make two friendly countries quarrel.
If the Dutch are unwilling to continue to maintain the previous scale of indigenous transportation, then they can only let them taste the power of the Australasian army.
Of course, this also requires an opportunity. Arthur will not take the initiative to attack the Netherlands without sufficient reasons.
After all, this is a legal colony recognized by the great powers, and Arthur does not want to ruin Australasia's favor in the eyes of the great powers.
The reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transport were basically based on the data. Australasia's transportation construction was also very smooth. At that time, the industrial railway, which was expected to be built for ten years, was mostly completed in just over six years, and will be completed. It will be officially completed and opened to traffic in the second half of this year.
This will greatly alleviate transportation problems at the east and west ends of the Australian continent. The rich mineral resources of Western Australia and South Australia can also be transported very efficiently and quickly to the most developed southeastern region of Australia.
If the construction of the Northern Railway is completed, the exchanges between Australian states will also become very effective, which is also a good thing for the development of Australasia.
Of course, if the Northern Railway can be successfully constructed, Australasia will be able to better control Australia's northern region.
The northern part of the Australian continent is very close to Southeast Asia, especially some islands of the Dutch East Indies.
This also sets the stage for possible expansion of Australasia, and parts of Southeast Asia are also important to Australasia.
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(End of chapter)