Chapter 290 Revenue Breaks 60 Million
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a request to the Chilean government, stating that the super battleship requested by the Chileans has been designed, inviting the Chileans to come to Australasia for on-site inspection, and sign a formal purchase order for warships.
However, Chile is located on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, separated from Australasia by the entire South Pacific.
It would take some time for the Chileans to arrive. Before the Chileans arrived, Arthur also ushered in the end of 1910.
On December 31, 1910, the Cabinet Government Annual Report Meeting was officially held at Sydney Palace.
This year's cabinet government summary report meeting has become more important than last year. In addition to the situation in Europe becoming more severe, the cabinet government is also about to usher in a new round of elections next year.
This will also be the first election after the cabinet reorganization, and many senior cabinet ministers will also face more important choices in their political careers.
The maximum term for a cabinet minister is three terms, which means that if these cabinet ministers want to continue to stay in the cabinet government, they must move towards different positions.
What allows them to remain in the cabinet government is that in addition to the two highest positions of the cabinet government, the Prime Minister and the Minister of State, there are also three important positions: the Justice, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minister of Royal Affairs.
However, the level of competition for these positions is higher than one after another, especially the Minister of State, the Chancellor and the Minister of Royal Affairs, which need to be nominated by Arthur before they can be elected.
This also means that if Arthur is not optimistic about them, then they can only work towards the two positions of Prime Minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
However, in addition to other cabinet ministers, the contenders for these two positions include current Prime Minister Walter, former Prime Minister Evan, current Minister of State Kent, etc.
Coupled with the five senior ministers of the cabinet government, there may be more than a dozen contenders for the two positions, and they are all top politicians who have served as cabinet members. The pressure on these cabinet ministers is not unbearable. big.
Therefore, these cabinet ministers regard the annual summary report meeting at the end of this year as very important. This is their last opportunity to show their political achievements, and it is also the last opportunity to gain Arthur's trust and make Arthur optimistic about them.
The atmosphere at the large conference table in the palace had become very serious.
Prime Minister Walter stood in front of the conference table with a serious and respectful face, and was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, colleagues, please allow me to start the annual summary report of the Australasian Cabinet Government in 1910. The first thing I want to report is the overall domestic situation. Throughout 1910, our development was in good condition, and all aspects were developing in an orderly and intensive manner."
After a series of reports by cabinet officials, the current specific situation in Australasia was finally reported.
The first is the population issue that Arthur attaches most importance to. By the end of 1910, the total population of Australasia had exceeded 9 million, and the accurate number was more than 9.43 million people. Compared with the previous year, the total population increase was 910,000, including more than 850,000 immigrants, more than 100,000 newborns, and more than 40,000 deaths.
As the core of the country, the population of Australia has exceeded 7.54 million, and the population of New Zealand has exceeded 1.81 million.
The populations of the two colonies, New Guinea and Timor, have also exceeded 60,000 and 20,000 respectively, and the overall population growth is very good.
In terms of population structure, the number of British immigrants has decreased, but it has remained at 68.1% of the total population.
For the first time, the Russian population exceeded the German population, accounting for 14.4%. The German population has dropped to third place, accounting for 13.9% of the total population.
As Russian immigration to Australasia increases, the proportion of Russian immigrants should continue to increase.
But Arthur's bottom line for the proportion of British immigrants is 65%. If the proportion of British immigrants is lower than 65%, then Arthur will consider reducing the number of immigrants from other countries. After all, the stability of the country is far more important than population growth. .
Melbourne is also developing very rapidly. As of this year, the population has exceeded 950,000.
If nothing unexpected happens, Melbourne's population should exceed 1 million within 1911, becoming the second city in Australasia with a population exceeding one million.
But the bad news is that in a short period of time, these are the only two cities in Australasia with a population of over one million. The current third and fourth most populous cities are Wellington and Newcastle, with populations of more than 470,000 and 450,000 respectively. .
These two cities are still far away from having a population of one million, and there is no hope even after the end of World War I.
However, for a country like Australasia with a population of less than 10 million, having too many cities with a population of more than 1 million is a drawback to national development.
After all, Australasia has a vast territory of millions of square kilometers. If most of the population is concentrated in certain cities, the development of other regions will be restricted.
Because of the construction of the Leonora Industrial Base, Western Australia has also become the main area where the Australasian government sends immigrants. At present, the population of Western Australia has exceeded one million, and the restrictions on industrial development are not that great after all.
Speaking of industrial development, the completion of the construction of the Leonora Industrial Base and the attraction of factories to move in and officially put into production have brought various industries in Australasia to a better stage of development.
At present, the scale of steel production in Australasia has also been greatly improved. The current annual output of iron is 2.1132 million tons and the annual steel production is 1.4005 million tons.
In terms of the chemical industry, the Leonora Industrial Base has attracted more than a dozen chemical plants, two agricultural machinery plants, a synthetic ammonia plant, two small fertilizer plants, 17 civilian plants, etc., producing agricultural machinery and fertilizers. and various chemical products, which have made considerable contributions to the development and construction of Australasia.
The Leonora Industrial Base has more than 50 factories of various sizes, creating more than 10,000 jobs and driving considerable economic development in Western Australia.
At present, the per capita income in Australasia has reached 48.7 Australian dollars, and the per capita income in some Australasian regions has exceeded 50 Australian dollars.
The construction of the two colonies is almost on track. The per capita annual income of the 60,000 people in the New Guinea colony is 41 Australian dollars, and the per capita annual income of the 20,000 people in Australian Timor is 40 Australian dollars.
In fact, logically speaking, the income of the colonies will not lag behind that of the mainland. However, because the colonies are still receiving a steady influx of immigrants, the income of these immigrants will certainly not be too high in a short period of time, which lowers the overall income of the colonies. Per capita annual income level.
Of course, the government's total fiscal revenue has also seen considerable growth. Thanks to the disaster in East Asia in 1910, Australasia made considerable profits from grain exports.
Coupled with the large amount of aid from the United Kingdom, Australasia's financial aspect can be regarded as adding vitality.
Throughout 1910, the government's total fiscal revenue was 64.17 million Australian dollars, an increase of nearly 10 million Australian dollars compared with the previous year.
Of course, if we do not count the additional profits brought by exporting grain to East Asia, the growth of total fiscal revenue is actually similar to last year, about 8 million Australian dollars.
Of course, with the growth of fiscal revenue, the level of government expenditure has also experienced considerable growth.
For the whole year of 1910, the government's total financial expenditure was as high as 57 million Australian dollars, an increase of 8 million Australian dollars compared with the previous year.
Among them, military investment exceeded 20 million Australian dollars for the first time, reaching 21.35 million Australian dollars to be precise.
Starting this year, the size of Australasia's navy will reach three battleships, two battlecruisers, more than a dozen frigates and destroyers, two submarines, and more than 20 small patrol boats.
Although the naval strength has increased a lot, the increase in naval expenditure has indeed been considerable, causing Australia's military expenditure to rise steadily.
But the good news is that the government is still in a state of surplus. Although the surplus is only about 7 million Australian dollars, after all, it takes less than 10 million people to support a navy at the level of a great power. It is already very good to be able to achieve a surplus.
The royal family's special funds have also increased from 542,500 Australian dollars last year to 641,700 Australian dollars. The royal family's special funds are also slowly growing with the development of the Australasian economy.
This can be regarded as a little benefit that Arthur left to future generations. After Australasia develops in the future, it will be no problem for the royal family's special funds to increase to millions or even millions of Australian dollars.
Even if the royal family's consortium does not manage well in the future, it can still rely on the funds it receives from the government every year to allow all members of the royal family to maintain a noble and luxurious life. At least it is no problem to become a rich man.
This is also Arthur's idea. Arthur spared no effort in cultivating his descendants and heirs, but if the heirs in the future are not very capable, and Arthur is not sure that he can control the entire country, then Arthur will consider reducing the royal power and pulling Australia into the country. West Asia moved toward constitutional monarchy.
Doing so can also alleviate the conflict between the royal power and the government. It may be difficult for future generations to become a king who expands territory, but with the royal family's financial group, it should not be a problem to be a king who maintains the status quo.
No matter how bad things are, you can still stay in this three-acre land of Australasia and live your own luxurious and ordinary life.
As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. An incompetent autocratic monarch is likely to push the entire royal family into the abyss.
Thanks to the fiscal surplus, the Australasian government's available funds have reached A$240 million, and more and more funds have been spent.
This will be of great benefit to Australasia's future expansion in the navy or other aspects. After all, only with sufficient funds can things be done easily, and only in the face of huge consumption such as war can we be guaranteed.
Agriculture continued to maintain the level of last year, with per capita cultivated land increasing slightly. If last year's per capita cultivated land area was around 2.28 acres, then this year's per capita cultivated land area has officially exceeded 2.3 acres. Of course, it is only around 2.3 acres.
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