Chapter 564 Minister Martin's Ambition

As the second year of the popularization of wireless radio stations, Arthur's implementation speech at Christmas this year also attracted a lot of people's expectations.

According to the Propaganda Department's estimate, the current radio wave signals have covered almost all major cities, with a total coverage of more than 11 million people.

This also means that after a year, Arthur's speech at Christmas this time will attract millions of people to listen.

Because from the sales of radios this year, it can be seen that the popularity of radios in Australasia is not low.

Of course, this is largely due to the low price of radios. Especially the simplest crystal radio, the cheapest one even only needs one or two months' salary, and ordinary people can buy it with gritted teeth.

While giving a speech, Arthur couldn't help but sigh that time passed quickly.

It feels like time is still short, but in fact it has been more than 20 years since I came to Australia.

However, thinking of the current achievements of Australasia, these 20 years of efforts have not been in vain.

A few days after Christmas, Arthur convened a new round of cabinet meetings to formulate the government development plan for the new year, that is, 1922.

As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Arthur attaches great importance to the construction of roads and railways, so the first topic mentioned is also about the transportation sector.

According to the current railway construction in Australasia, the industrial railway, the northern railway and the central railway have been completed, and the total railway mileage has reached 43,000 kilometers, which seems to be quite developed.

But if compared with other powers, especially under the premise that Australasia has such a large land area, it still seems a bit backward.

Let's look at an exaggerated data first. In 1850, the total railway mileage in the United States was as high as 18,000 kilometers, and now it has exceeded 430,000 kilometers, which is 13 times that of Australasia.

Although the United States has a more developed economy and a larger industry, the land area of ​​the United States is not as large as that of Australasia, and the backwardness of the railway mileage can be seen.

Even at present, the railway mileage of Australasia is only ranked sixth in the world, less than 1,000 kilometers more than that of mainland France.

The area of ​​mainland France is only 550,000 square kilometers, and the area of ​​Australasia is more than ten times that of mainland France.

With this comparison, it is clear that the transportation construction in Australasia is still very backward, and the construction of railways and roads is still the main topic at present.

Arthur looked at the Minister of Transport Martin Pospisil and asked: "Minister Martin, what is the plan of the transportation department in the new year?"

Knowing that this was a test for himself, Minister Martin did not dare to be careless or delay time, and answered carefully: "Your Majesty, in addition to maintaining and consolidating our current railways and roads, I think we should continue to build railways and expand the total railway mileage to 50,000 kilometers within five years and 100,000 kilometers within 20 years to initially meet our demand for railway transportation."

Arthur heard a completely different opinion from the previous ministers of transport, raised his eyebrows, and asked with interest: "Do you think our railway mileage needs to be 100,000 kilometers to be enough? ?”

“No, Your Majesty.” Minister Martin explained, “It’s not that 100,000 kilometers are enough, but that 100,000 kilometers can initially meet our needs.”

“Oh?” Arthur was more interested and asked with a smile, “You know, the current total railway mileage in Australasia is only 43,000 kilometers, and it took more than 20 years to build. Do you want to use almost the same time to build the remaining 57,000 kilometers of railways?”

“It is undeniable that this is a difficult problem, Your Majesty. But railways are very important for the development of a country. The total railway mileage in the United States is as high as 430,000 kilometers. If we don’t want to fall behind in this regard, it is necessary to continue to increase our railway mileage.” Minister Martin explained.

“Moreover, the development of the Murray River Basin also requires the construction of a large number of new railways, as well as the expansion of the industrial base, and your newly established capital region and Northern Australia, all require the construction of a large number of railways. Australasia is vast, and there is no reason for us not to build longer railways, Your Majesty.”

Arthur nodded with satisfaction, and agreed with Minister Martin’s aggressive idea.

Let's not talk about the huge 430,000 kilometers of railways in the United States. Even other colonies of the British Empire, such as Canada and India, have more railway mileage than Australasia.

Although a large part of these railways were built by the British, the purpose was only for their own interests.

But it cannot be denied that these railway mileages have played a vital role in the economic development of Canada and India.

If Australasia wants to develop better, it is necessary to build more railways.

Especially under the premise that a large number of civilians cannot afford airplanes and airships, on land, trains have become the only choice for most civilians to travel to more distant areas.

This can not only speed up the economic flow between various regions of Australasia and promote economic development, but also improve the mobility of the population, which is also helpful to the tourism industry in Australasia.

"The Ministry of Transport should come up with a plan as soon as possible, as well as the funds and manpower required for the railway construction plan." Arthur did not express his agreement or disagreement, but his words have proved Arthur's point of view.

"Yes, I will give it to you as soon as possible, Your Majesty." Minister Martin nodded excitedly, and was very excited that he had won Arthur's support.

The reason why Arthur agreed with Minister Martin's idea of ​​rounding up the railway mileage to 50,000 kilometers in five years and 100,000 kilometers in 20 years was actually because he saw the gap between Australasia and other powerful countries in terms of railway mileage.

Although the demand for railway mileage caused by population is not as much as that of other powerful countries, the population will always grow, and it can't always be maintained at more than 20 million.

Moreover, Australasia's vast territory will naturally have more demand for railways, and building railways will not suffer at all, which is very important for the development of a country.

Moreover, if it takes 20 years to round up to 100,000 kilometers, the average annual railway construction is only 2,850 kilometers, which is hopeful for the current railway construction needs.

After all, most of the land in Northern Australia and the Capital Territory, which are in urgent need of building railways, is plain, which will not only save manpower and material resources, but also save time.

Now that all kinds of mechanical equipment are sufficiently developed, building 2,850 kilometers of railways in a year is challenging, but it can be done with effort.

Moreover, even if it is not realistic to build 2,850 kilometers of railways in a year, it is nothing more than a few years of hard work.

But Minister Martin's aggressiveness in railway construction is something that some cabinet members do not have at present.

In terms of national development, although some conservative officials are also needed, aggressive officials are also very important.

It has to be admitted that some officials are still too conservative for national development. National construction needs to balance between conservatism and aggressiveness, which is why the political arena needs to constantly inject fresh blood.

At present, Minister Martin, who entered the cabinet for the first time two and a half years ago, is undoubtedly the aggressive official.

As long as Minister Martin can make some achievements in the transportation department in the remaining one and a half years of his term, Arthur does not mind letting him be re-elected for another term to see whether Minister Martin is just talking on paper or really has ideas and abilities.

For some officials to be conservative, this is actually inevitable for any country and government.

Especially in Australasia now, as long as there are no problems during the term of office and they spend their term of office diligently, they have the hope of obtaining the title, which no official can refuse.

As the saying goes, if you don't do it, you won't make mistakes. If you make mistakes at work because of some extreme ideas, you will not only lose the title you hope to obtain, but you may even become the sinner of Australasia. This is what these officials fear and why they become conservative.

You should know that there has never been an official in the history of Australasia who made a big mistake at work, which also means that if they make a mistake, they are likely to be the first one to be recorded in history.

This long-term infamy is impossible for these officials to bear. As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the more you cherish your feathers. This is also the real reason for the increase in conservatives in the political arena.

How to deal with such a situation effectively? Increasing the vitality of the political arena and continuously injecting fresh blood is the best way.

This is also why the prime minister of the cabinet of Australasia can only be re-elected for two terms and the cabinet members can only be re-elected for three terms.

Even Prime Minister Kent, who had made great contributions, had to step down from the position of prime minister after this term and pursue other cabinet positions or take a break for a while.

Even if Arthur believed in Minister Kent, it was not a reason for him to be re-elected for a third term.

After all, it was not a war period and there was no huge crisis. There was no reason for re-election and it was not worth the loss.

Minister Kent has been prime minister for nearly 11 years since 1911. Including the remaining one and a half years of term, he served as prime minister for 12 years and experienced the main development period of Australasia.

In this case, in fact, experiencing the development of Australasia in different identities can gain more.

As the saying goes, those who are in power are confused, and those who are on the sidelines are clear. Sometimes, as a bystander, you can see the shortcomings in the development of the government.

Moreover, the political arena in Australasia cannot always be dominated by one person, which can easily breed factions and forces.

Although it is controllable at present, it cannot prevent future monarchs from facing this situation.

Arthur also has to consider the next monarch. It is not in the monarch's interest to cultivate a high-prestige meritorious person in Australasia, even if it is a confidant that Arthur trusts very much.

Although this truth is a bit too realistic, it is the same for any monarchy in any country.

Officials in a monarchy must always serve the monarch. If an official with prestige comparable to that of the monarch appears, who should the other officials listen to?

Arthur can completely suppress it now, but what about the next monarch? The development of a country can never avoid such problems. The best way is to avoid the emergence of high-prestige officials as much as possible.

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