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 this cabinet government had many new faces, and the positions of old employees were transferred, this meeting was very necessary, and Arthur also sat in person.

For political newcomers like Minister of Agriculture Mark and Minister of Transport Lauren, they still need more time to adapt to their positions and more time to understand all the information and materials of their departments.

Of course, for the new cabinet government Prime Minister Walter, he also needs a certain amount of time to adapt to his identity. After all, the prime minister is the person who coordinates the cabinet. He must dispatch the cabinet as much as possible to properly complete all the tasks assigned by Arthur.

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 various departments.

Of course, although these deputy ministers can also attend this meeting, their main role is to assist their respective ministers, especially to provide materials and information of various departments for those newcomers.

Of course, before the cabinet meeting began, there was a more solemn ceremony, that is, all cabinet government members swore allegiance to Arthur.

This has been a tradition since Australia, and it is also the best way for these cabinet members to understand who they are working for.

Arthur was not surprised by such a scene. After accepting the oath of allegiance from all cabinet members, Arthur said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to see the establishment of the new cabinet government of Australasia. After becoming a member of the cabinet, your every move represents the government and the country. I hope that all of you can remain true to your heart, loyal and unwavering, uphold the Constitution of the Kingdom of Australasia, love all the people of the kingdom, be loyal to the royal family, and use fearlessness and firm beliefs 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 make new plans to determine the new goals of national development during your term of office."

In any case, the new cabinet is definitely different from the style of Prime Minister Evan before.

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 will inevitably take some actions. If he continues to act the same as Prime Minister Evan before, it will not be a good thing for Prime Minister Walter.

"Each department should briefly talk about their own situation! Everyone should first understand the situation of the country, and then discuss specific plans." Arthur said with a smile.

The main thing is to let the new Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Transport, as well as Prime Minister Walter and Minister Henry 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 of the department.

This link naturally starts with old employees like Minister Pierre who have been re-elected 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 industry, especially the chemical industry, and solved the problem of our lack of basic industry." Minister of Industry Pierre said.

"On top of that, 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 reached nearly fifteen." Minister Pierre introduced with a little pride.

The industrial development of Australasia can be said to be smooth sailing, and the speed of industrial development is also very smooth, and basically there are not too many obstacles.

In addition, Australasia has a large number of industrial equipment from the UK and aid from Germany, as well as its own rich mineral resources. This has made Australasia one of the current industrial powers in just over seven years. The total steel production has even exceeded the tail of the powers such as Italy, ranking in the top ten in the world.

Of course, this does not mean that the total industrial scale of Australasia has reached the first tier under the powers.

Compared with the European countries with strong cultural heritage, Australasia still has many shortcomings, which need some time to make up.

But in any case, the development potential of Australasia is visible to the naked eye, and the industrial development is much smoother than expected.

"We are currently vigorously developing domestic factories. So far, Australasia has a total of hundreds of private factories, including machinery, papermaking, cement, glass, wood, chemicals, etc. Some of them have even reached a certain scale and can achieve sustained profitability." Minister Pierre continued to introduce.

Although most small factories still need funding from the Ministry of Industry, there are already factories that can make profits on their own.

These large and small, various factories, the finished products they produce are flooding the Australasia market, and are potential stocks for Australasia's civilian industry.

Of course, most of the military industries are currently controlled by Arthur, and a small number are also jointly operated by the royal family and the government.

Australasia has not yet produced private military enterprises. After all, Arthur's military factories and shipyards have achieved technological crushing, and this technological transcendence is not something that Australasia's current capital can make up for.

After the Ministry of Industry, the next person to be introduced is Minister of Security Thomas.

"Your Majesty, everyone. Our police training system has been developed for a long time and has begun to show results. So far, Australasia has more than 4,000 police officers distributed in more than 300 police stations of all sizes. Our police training system can also train more than 200 police officers for us every year, which can basically meet our security needs due to population growth." Minister of Public Security Thomas introduced.

"According to statistics from last year, there were less than 1,000 crimes in the Kingdom of Australasia in 1906, of which less than one-tenth were related to human life."

Although nearly 1,000 criminal cases seem a lot, Australasia has a total population of more than 6 million, and the crime rate is even less than 1 in 6,000.

Even compared with later data, such a crime rate is absolutely very low.

In fact, this is understandable. Chaotic order and turbulent environment often lead to an increase in crime rate.

But the environment in Australasia is very stable. Even if it merges with New Zealand, it is carried out through a peaceful referendum.

In addition, Arthur attaches great importance to the poor civilians at the bottom. The Royal Relief Committee has to pay a lot of money every year to help all the poor civilians at the bottom.

This is also the reason why the crime rate in Australasia is so low.

Of course, the current case statistics basically only include all the more serious criminal cases, such as ordinary incidents of fighting. Even if the police are alarmed, they are basically just a few words of advice.

However, for more serious incidents such as theft and robbery, the supervision of the public 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 felonies in Australasia. If they are more serious, they may even lead to life imprisonment and death penalty.

After all, the Royal Relief Committee has guaranteed that every Australasia civilian will not starve to death. Under such a premise, those who can still steal and rob are basically criminals for money, and they are not worth dying.

Arthur nodded with satisfaction.

Arthur is very satisfied with the crime rate in Australasia. You know, Australasia does not ban guns at present. Although large-scale gun ownership is not supported, herders and residents living in remote areas can also legally own hunting rifles to protect their lives when encountering wild animals or other dangerous situations.

You should know that Australasia has a large number of barren areas, as well as a large number of virgin forests and mountains.

These areas have not been explored by humans and are also home to a large number of wild animals and poisonous insects.

Without hunting rifles for self-defense, the safety of people living near the suburbs may not be guaranteed.

After the public security 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 source of high-end talents, the medical development in Australasia has been smooth sailing, and the construction and development of hospitals can basically meet domestic needs.

At present, Australasia has more than 15 large hospitals and more than 10 medium-sized hospitals, not counting the Royal Hospital built by Arthur in Sydney Palace.

In particular, the Capital Territory, the most developed region in Australasia, has two large hospitals and one medium-sized hospital.

Even the relatively desolate Western Australia and South Australia each have a large hospital and a small hospital.

Coupled with the private clinics that are now blooming everywhere in Australasia, the medical problems in Australasia have finally been solved.

In particular, the first few large hospitals built and the Royal Hospital built by Arthur have accommodated many medical experts from Europe, and the medical level is advanced.

In particular, although the Royal Hospital was established relatively recently, it was prepared for the royal family and senior government officials, and the medical level and equipment can even reach the first-class level in Europe.

The education situation in Australasia is also very good, and the six universities can barely meet the needs of college students.

On this basis, the primary and secondary schools that are blooming everywhere are the foundation for the development of education in Australasia, and are also the key to the continuous increase in the literacy rate of the population.

Even some factories in Australasia have set 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 secondary school education.

The relatively low education is the Russian immigrants, but fortunately these immigrants are more obedient and can obey the rule of the kingdom more.

Anyway, Australasia also has supplementary education for adults, so it is not difficult for the majority of the Russian population to have primary school education.

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 to work.

At the same time, the number of universities in Australasia is still too small, and it must be doubled or tripled at least to temporarily satisfy Arthur's appetite.

Minister Andrew has nothing to report. Australasia basically does not participate in international affairs. Apart from exchanges with a few better countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has basically nothing to do.

And Defense Minister Kent simply reported the number of soldiers and the current training status. The Ministry of Defense is currently 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 still good. Not only does it have 230 million Australian dollars on the books, but the fiscal revenue in the past six months has also broken a new high, reaching a gratifying 15.31 million Australian dollars.

If it can continue to maintain, the total government fiscal revenue in 1907 is expected to exceed 30 million Australian dollars, and the government will achieve a surplus for the first time.

Because the total fiscal expenditure of the government in the first half of the year was only 14.12 million Australian dollars, this is still the case when the northern railway construction plan was launched.

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's fiscal deficit turned into a profit, which also made many ministers smile.

The improvement of the government's finances also means that various departments will get more fiscal budgets and will be more comfortable to do their job.

Minister Henry went directly from the Minister of Agriculture, who was not in a high position, to the Minister of Civil Affairs, and came to one of the top leaders of the cabinet government.

Although the affairs he was responsible for were completely different, his many years of government experience also made Minister Henry quickly familiar with the situation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and more comfortable in handling government affairs.

Although it has only been half a year, the population of Australasia has grown very rapidly.

So far, 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.

It is obvious that Australia's population size and development speed are much faster than New Zealand's. This depends on Australia's land area and also on Australia's original population size.

However, this is also a good thing for Australasia at present. Arthur's base is Australia. The stronger Australia is, the more stable the situation of Australasia's unification will be.

Although the gap between Australia and New Zealand will make some New Zealanders dissatisfied, Arthur also has ways to deal with it.

In addition to building a large amount of construction in New Zealand to make New Zealand feel the changes brought about by joining the kingdom, it also promotes the concept of Australasians and subtly merges Australians and New Zealanders into one nation, which can also eliminate the possibility of estrangement between the two nations and regions.

Next is the report of the two new ministers, namely the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transport.

First is the report from the Ministry of Agriculture, that is, Minister Mark.

The agricultural development in Australasia is also very rapid, which is also attributed to the labor of a large number of indigenous people.

Because of the large number of indigenous people, the total cultivated land area in Australasia has been steadily increasing at a rate of at least 15% every year, and the grain output has increased at a gratifying rate, from about 2 million tons in Australia at the beginning to more than 5.5 million tons in 1906.

Such grain output can already feed 20 million people, but Australasia still has a large amount of arable land, which is a valuable resource in Australasia and the key to feeding more people.

What can be felt obviously different from before is the arable land area currently given to immigrants in Australasia.

Although each immigrant could get three acres of land before, less than one-fifth of it was ready-made arable land, and the rest needed to be reclaimed by immigrants themselves.

But now Australasia's immigration policy has been upgraded again. Each immigrant can not only get at least five acres of land, at least one-third of which is arable land, but also can hire indigenous people for reclamation at a low price.

Especially in the New Guinea colony, immigrants going to the New Guinea colony can even get ten acres of land. The colonial government will also send natives to cultivate, and even farming and harvesting can hire natives at a low price, just like becoming farmers.

There is also an episode in this. The Dutch East Indies also felt the crazy speed of Australasia's development and did some tricks on the natives.

At present, the frequency of native transportation in the Dutch East Indies is obviously much lower, and most of the people sent over are women or the elderly, who are not qualified as labor.

Although their prices are also lower, Australasia does not need to spend money to buy waste.

According to the estimate of the native population of the Dutch East Indies, there are at least more than 40 million native populations in the entire Dutch East Indies.

At present, the native population of the Dutch East Indies transported to Australasia is only over one million, which is completely a drop in the bucket for the Dutch East Indies.

Therefore, the reason why the Dutch East Indies reduced the frequency of native transportation is most likely to be taboo about the development speed of Australasia.

Perhaps they also realized that continuing to transport a large number of natives would only increase the speed of Australasia's development.

When Australasia develops to a certain extent and has sufficient military strength, the Dutch East Indies, as Australasia's closest neighbor to the north, will definitely be the first to suffer.

Arthur understands the Dutch's fear, but it is too late for the Dutch to react now.

Judging from the current development of Australasia, the Dutch may not be Australasia's opponent.

If the Dutch East Indies wants to reduce the scale of transporting natives, it depends on whether Arthur's loyal army agrees.

This is an important issue about national development, which can definitely tear two friendly countries apart.

If the Dutch are unwilling to continue to maintain the previous scale of transporting natives, then they can only let them taste the power of the Australasia army.

Of course, this also requires an opportunity. Arthur would not take the initiative to attack the Netherlands without sufficient reasons.

After all, this is a legal colony recognized by all powers, and Arthur does not want to ruin Australasia's good impression in the eyes of the powers.

The reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transport are basically based on the data. The transportation construction in Australasia is also very smooth. The industrial railway that was expected to be built in ten years at that time has been completed in just over six years, and it will be officially completed and opened to traffic in the second half of this year.

This will greatly alleviate the transportation problems at both ends of the Australian continent. The rich mineral resources of Western Australia and South Australia can also be effectively and quickly transported to the most developed southeast region of Australia.

If the construction of the northern railway is completed, the exchanges between the states of Australia 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 built, Australasia will be able to better control the northern region of Australia.

The northern region of the Australian continent is very close to Southeast Asia, especially some islands in the Dutch East Indies.

This is also a prelude to the possible expansion of Australasia, and parts of Southeast Asia are also important to Australasia.

5,400-word two-in-one chapter, please support! I will recommend it tomorrow and strive for 10,000 words!