Chapter 366 The Disadvantages of Urban Population
In his speech on National Day, Arthur also adhered to his previous plan, which was to vaccinate all Australasians. Australasia may not be far away from war.
It is said to be a speech, but in fact it also means a bit of mobilization. After all, according to Australasia's geographical location, Australasia can completely ignore this European war, sit back and watch as a neutral, and even take the opportunity to sell large amounts of food and weapons resources to both sides.
However, if Australasia wanted to emerge as a true world power, it would have to participate in this war.
Without participating in this war, it is impossible to obtain distribution of benefits after the war. Without benefit distribution, Australasia will always remain the eighth power.
What's more, in doing so, the gap between Australasia and the United States will grow wider.
When Europe gradually loses its leading position due to internal friction, no one will be able to stop the United States from becoming stronger.
As for another country born in Russia in the future, from the perspective of national system, it is impossible for this country to become an ally with Australasia.
The real reason why European countries generally encircled and suppressed this country after its birth was precisely because the terrifying system and ideas brought by this country were enough to subvert most of the European monarchies.
The good news is that Australasia has been well run by Arthur. The royal family and the government have made great contributions to people's livelihood, and the living standards of Australasians have also skyrocketed.
The happy life that ordinary people want can be basically realized in Australasia.
This also led to the fact that the civilians of Australasia actually had high support for the government. Coupled with Arthur's prestige, the country's stability was very guaranteed.
In Australasia, at least, there was no way out for a revolutionary party like this. The country is stable and strong, and the people live a happy life. Who would risk their own lives to oppose such a country?
Most of the people with real ulterior motives have been discovered by the Royal Security Intelligence Service and either sent to work in the mines or directly executed secretly.
Even if there are fish that slip through the net, in a stable political environment like Australasia, one can either choose to escape, or they can only lurk and wait for opportunities.
But will opportunities really be given to these people? As long as the people's happiness in life in Australasia does not decline, there will be no chance for these revolutionaries.
The good news is that the response from Australasians after Arthur's speech was still supportive of the decision made by Arthur and the government.
In fact, many people who are fanatical and loyal to Arthur are already clamoring to actively prepare for war and actively join the army.
The public supported the country's participation in this avoidable war, which was good news for the government and Arthur.
Taking this opportunity, Arthur also announced a donation of AU$5 million to the Royal Relief Committee, which further aroused cheers from the audience.
At present, the Royal Relief Commission can receive 2 million Australian dollars in funding from the royal family every year, plus various donations from outside.
But the combined value of the two will not exceed A$3 million. The 5 million Australian dollars donated by Arthur is equivalent to the relief funds required by the Royal Relief Committee for two years.
All of these funds go to low-income people in Australasia, which is why the Australasian crowd cheers.
In addition to donating to the Royal Relief Committee, Arthur also announced the lifting of restrictions on residents purchasing food.
Previously, each family could not purchase more than 500 kilograms of grain at a time, but now it has been increased to one ton, which is 2,000 kilograms.
Based on the average number of people per household in Australasia, which is 6.3, if each household purchased the maximum grain quota, approximately 2.21 million tons of grain would be needed.
You know, the total annual grain consumption in Australasia is less than 3 million tons.
This also means that one ton of grain per household can basically satisfy the family for more than half a year.
The 2.21 million tons of grain is actually only about one-tenth of Australasia’s strategic grain reserves.
Letting it be sold to the people can not only alleviate the food anxiety caused by the upcoming war, but also send a message to the people that the country's food is completely sufficient and there is no need to worry about famine.
In order to ensure the stability of food among the people, Arthur also specifically stipulated that when selling food at this stage, the price of food must be consistent with last year's selling price, and no significant increase is allowed.
Australasia is a major grain-producing country, and Arthur will not tolerate any behavior of buying grain at a low price and selling it at a high price.
Anyone who makes it difficult for the country to make money is a betrayal to the country and a stain to the nation.
Australasia's meat and grain production has always been very developed, and it is also a famous meat exporter and a major exporter of cattle and sheep.
Coupled with the currently relatively developed agriculture, Arthur can even confidently say that even during the entire First World War, Australasians did not have to worry about lack of food.
Of course, rising food prices are inevitable, and Arthur and the Australasian government will also control food prices within a more reasonable range.
For Arthur, it is more cost-effective to export food abroad to earn foreign money than to earn his own money at home. No matter how much food prices rise abroad, Arthur will not allow them to rise significantly in Australasia at any time.
After the customary flag-raising ceremony, this National Day event was concluded successfully.
The crowd gathered in Sydney Palace Square was in no hurry to disperse, because Australasia's military parades have been held at Sydney Palace over the years, and a quite prosperous economic chain has already been formed outside Sydney Palace.
Even around the avenue from Sydney City to Sydney Palace, there are many shops and vendors, which can also show the current prosperity of Sydney.
As the most populous city in Australasia, Sydney's development is unquestionable.
It is also because most of Australasia's population are immigrants, which has also led to some distortions in the domestic population distribution.
Although many improvements have been made due to various policies, Sydney and Melbourne are two strong domestic cities in Australasia without any rivals.
At present, the combined population of Sydney and Melbourne alone is nearly 3 million people, which is more than one-fifth of the total population of Australasia.
Although various government policies have had certain effects, the states surrounding these two major cities, as well as Western Australia, which is building an industrial base in the west, have experienced considerable population growth.
But immigrants still have a great right to choose where they want to go. No one wants to go to a bigger city, which leads to at least one-third of the more than 1 million immigrants every year choosing to stay in Sydney and Melbourne.
According to statistics from the People's Livelihood Department, Sydney is expected to exceed 2 million people this year and become one of the largest cities in the world.
A population of 2 million is not a small number, and a city with a population of 2 million has a considerable status in the world.
Judging from the current population of the capitals and developed cities of the major powers, cities with a population of more than 2 million include London in the United Kingdom, New York in the United States, Berlin in Germany, Paris in France, St. Petersburg in Russia, and Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Among them, the populations of Berlin, St. Petersburg and Vienna are all over 2 million, and the population of Paris is only about 3 million, which is enough to show that the current population of 2 million cities is indeed very huge.
Of course, there is still a certain distance compared to London, the most populous and most developed city in Europe.
London's current population is nearly 8 million. This population size is larger than many small and medium-sized countries, which is enough to show the current strength of the British Empire.
As one of the major powers in Europe, Italy's capital, Rome, currently has a population of just over 600,000, which is almost one-third of Sydney's.
You know, the population of Italy is more than twice the population of Australasia.
The population of the Italian capital is only one-third of that of the Australasian capital, which is enough to show the current uneven population distribution in Australasia.
Counting another large city, Melbourne, the population distribution situation in Australasia will be even more serious, and has even hindered the development of other Australasian states.
One-third of immigrants stay in the Sydney and Melbourne regions every year, and many others stay in New South Wales and Victoria.
This resulted in only about half of the total immigrants going to other states, and they were also diverted to New Zealand regions and colonies.
Except for Victoria, New South Wales and the Capital Territory, the number of immigrants that other states can allocate each year is basically around 100,000.
Regions like Western Australia that focus on industrial development only receive about 200,000 to 300,000 immigrants each year, which is completely unable to meet the needs of urban and regional development.
The two cities of Sydney and Melbourne have grown larger and larger. The population of any one city is larger than the population of some states, and management is also very troublesome.
If necessary, reducing the functions of these two cities, especially Sydney, will allow cities and regions in Australasia to develop better.
Sydney is currently the administrative center, religious center, cultural center, economic center and military center of Australasia.
If it were not for the construction of the Leonora Industrial Base, I am afraid that Sydney would still be known as an industrial center.
Although this makes Sydney the largest city in Australasia, it is also among the top six cities in the world by population.
But for Australasia, which has a population of less than 14 million, Sydney’s overpopulation is a problem.
Among other things, Sydney's urban planning was revised early. But so far, Sydney's population has tripled in more than ten years, and some urban areas are already chaotic and congested.
To properly solve this problem, in addition to spending a lot of time and money on re-planning the urban area, re-finding the location of the capital is also an effective solution.
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