Chapter 565: The Battle for the Budget

Building railways is definitely a big expense, especially under the premise of building at least 57,000 kilometers of railways in 20 years.

Some hilly areas still need to take detours. After all, current technology cannot build tunnels of dozens of kilometers, so it is more realistic to take detours.

Of course, there is another solution, which is to dig mountains and fill pits when encountering mountains. This is also a common way of railway construction in various countries.

But doing so will increase the cost of manpower and time. Unless it is the only option, it is better to avoid it as much as possible.

The good news is that Australasia currently has sufficient funds, and there are many ways and means to raise funds.

Even if faced with multiple major projects including the construction of the Grand Canal, there is no need to worry too much about funding.

At worst, we can issue government bonds, raise enough funds from the private sector, or borrow from other countries. Anyway, many countries will give up their gold standard position in a few years, and their currencies will experience a large depreciation in a few years.

In fact, the situation is far from that serious. After all, countries around the world are still very enthusiastic about building railways, and the people have a strong desire to build railways.

It is entirely possible to adopt a segmented contracting approach, contracting some commercial railways to the private sector to reduce government spending.

Most of these commercial railways can still make money. As long as someone has tasted the sweetness of contracting railways, there will be no shortage of funds for the subsequent railway construction.

Of course, some railways in mountainous areas still have to be built by the government. After all, the railways in these areas lack the so-called sweetness and cannot make any profit.

Perhaps Minister Martin was well prepared. Before the National Day, a brand new railway construction plan was freshly released and delivered to Arthur's desk.

In Minister Martin's construction plan, the first five years of railway construction will be carried out around the National Capital Territory and Northern Australia to improve the railways of these two newly added state-level administrative regions.

These two regions will build at least 7,000 kilometers of railways in total, which will just allow the total railway mileage in Australasia to exceed 50,000 kilometers.

At the same time, some defects in the current railway range will be modified, and the railway construction in southeastern Australia will be improved.

It is expected that within five years, a total of at least 12,000 kilometers of railways will be built, with an average of 2,400 kilometers per year.

According to the cost of railway construction in Australasia in recent years, the cost of each kilometer of railway is about 4,000-6,000 Australian dollars, which also means that at least tens of millions of Australian dollars are spent on railway construction every year.

However, considering that Australasia's annual income last year was as high as 208.7 million Australian dollars, the railway construction cost of more than 10 million Australian dollars is not a big number.

Referring to the fiscal expenditure of 8 million Australian dollars in the transportation department last year, it should be increased to at least 20 million this year, and the fiscal surplus can still be maintained.

Although the German loans have been reduced under the leadership of the British, and even no repayment is required in the past two years.

However, because of the compensation from the Americans, the Australasia government still has a lot of extra income, which is completely enough for the construction of railways.

Of course, if the railway construction can be contracted out, it should be contracted out as much as possible, and there are still many places for the government's funds to be consumed.

After confirming that this railway construction plan is feasible, Arthur waved his hand and ordered the Ministry of Transport to immediately start bidding for railway construction and external share issuance.

Yes, this time the construction of the railway is not only bidding, but also the corresponding sale of shares.

To this end, Arthur specially established the Northern Australian Railway Development Company and the Capital District Railway Development Company, and sold the initial shares of these railway companies in exchange for funds as the start-up capital for the corresponding railway projects.

After the railways built by these railway companies are completed, the profits obtained are the returns of all those who bought shares.

For example, in this bidding, the railway is expected to be built for five years, plus ten years of dividends, and the principal will be returned after ten years.

For the people, buying shares in railway companies is almost a sure win. And because the background of the railway company is the government, there is no need to worry about the company's bankruptcy.

Under such circumstances, a large number of people enthusiastically bought shares in these companies, and soon raised up to 30 million Australian dollars in start-up funds.

According to statistics, a total of 472,000 people bought railway shares this time, and each person bought an average of 63.5 Australian dollars in shares.

In fact, most of the shares purchased by civilians are around 40 Australian dollars. Because they have not had time to buy more shares, the big heads have been snatched away by those nobles and capitalists.

These people also know that such railways are a sure win, and naturally they will not miss such a money-making opportunity.

Of course, in general, the construction of the railway can be regarded as a national participation. As many as 472,000 people paid their half-year work income, which is enough to show the degree of trust these people have in the government.

It is precisely because the construction of the railway is almost participated by the whole people that the masses will always keep an eye on the progress and situation of the railway construction, which can also greatly reduce the quality problems of the railway.

Arthur does not even have to worry about the subsequent construction of the railway. Hundreds of thousands of people will keep an eye on it for him, which is also related to their vital interests.

Even some capitalists and nobles who bought shares are more anxious than Arthur, because they are waiting for the dividends after the construction of the railway, and naturally expect the railway to be completed earlier.

Under the urging of many people, exploration teams organized by various railway companies have begun to explore in Northern Australia and the Capital Territory to explore the most suitable railway lines, while connecting as many cities as possible and improving the transportation development within the state.

The construction of railways is actually complicated. After clarifying the main line, the route of the branch railway must be determined.

There can never be only one railway. Multiple railways are intertwined, and there is also a difference between single-track and double-track railways. It is still difficult to design.

Often there will be certain differences between the construction of railways and the design. The actual construction distance of railways is farther than the design, because some problems are inevitable.

Because a large number of people have purchased shares, the quality of this railway construction has also become a hot topic among the people.

The people are very interested in the progress of railway construction, the railway companies responsible for the construction of railways, and the previous railway construction of these companies.

This also led to many companies not daring to be careless in this railway construction.

Because these hundreds of thousands of "supervisors" once find problems in their railway construction, especially quality problems, it will be a fatal blow to the reputation of the railway company.

The 30 million Australian dollars raised by the shares is also good news for Australasia. It also means that the railway construction in three years will not cost much and will be contracted by the people.

This can also save the government budget and facilitate more projects to be launched next.

The transportation department has raised enough budget, which makes other departments feel relieved. After all, the government's annual fiscal expenditure budget is limited. If a department increases its budget, it also means that the budget of another department will be reduced.

Everyone is a cabinet department in Australasia. Some people are willing to have their fiscal budget reduced. After all, this is related to the importance of their department and their political achievements.

Especially Defense Minister Raul, who directly asked Arthur for a budget with a military expenditure report.

"50 million Australian dollars?" Arthur frowned, looked at Minister Raul, and asked puzzledly: "I remember that last year's military expenditure was only 42 million Australian dollars? Why did it increase to 50 million Australian dollars this year?"

Military expenditure in Australasia has always accounted for the largest proportion of all fiscal expenditures. Even education and medical care, which Arthur attaches great importance to, only add up to the same proportion as military expenditure.

However, the annual military expenditure of more than 40 million Australian dollars is already quite exaggerated. If it increases to 50 million Australian dollars, it will be close to a quarter of last year's total fiscal revenue.

"Your Majesty, this year we have three battleships to be launched for testing, and a large number of small and medium-sized warships will continue to be built. Add to that the training costs of the three armed forces and the salaries of the soldiers, and 50 million Australian dollars is really not much." Minister Raul shamelessly argued for himself.

The total number of the three armed forces of Australasia is as high as about 250,000. According to the average salary of about 70 Australian dollars per person in the army, this is an expenditure of 17.5 million Australian dollars.

And this is just the salary of the soldiers. If the food expenses and logistics of the soldiers are taken into account, it will be at least 30 million Australian dollars.

The remaining money is the material expenses for the training of each army and the maintenance costs of many equipment.

Especially for those gold-eating beasts, the cost of maintaining battleships is simply a waste of money, which has also made the navy cry poor in front of Minister Raul.

So, the annoyed Minister Raul decided to throw away his face and strive for an additional 8 million Australian dollars in military funds.

One is to deal with the more exaggerated size of the navy, and the other is to increase the food and training costs of the soldiers.

"The size of the army is only three more battleships than last year. The construction of the navy is going on every year, not just this year." Arthur said unhappily: "Other departments also need sufficient funds. Let's do this. The military expenditure will increase to 47 million Australian dollars, and a part of the reserve funds must be reserved for the government."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Minister Raul replied excitedly.

Although it was cut by 3 million Australian dollars, the 47 million Australian dollars also met Minister Raul's expectations.

Even Minister Raul initially only hoped for a fund of about 45 million Australian dollars, and the extra 5 million Australian dollars was just for bargaining.

It can only be said that the desire for fiscal budgets in various departments is the same. After seeing off Minister Raul, the Minister of Livelihood, Philip, was welcomed in the afternoon.

As an old man who has also been re-elected for two terms and served as a cabinet minister for nearly 11 years, Philip was not so restrained in front of Arthur, but he still handed in his plan very respectfully and put forward his budget request.

"30 million Australian dollars?" Arthur rubbed his brows, and was already very tired of the budget requests of these ministers.

At this time of year, there is a fight for the budget, and this is also the time when ministers quarrel the most fiercely in their work of the year.

"I remember that the fiscal expenditure of the Ministry of Livelihood was only 17 million Australian dollars last year? 30 million Australian dollars is almost doubled. Is there any big move in the Ministry of Livelihood?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"Your Majesty, in addition to maintaining the previous policies, there are still a lot of policies that need to be implemented. These policies also require considerable expenses, and 30 million Australian dollars is already a practical consideration." Philip explained.

"You should tell Prime Minister Kent these words." Arthur said: "Ten departments and many units are asking for more financial budgets. You should fight for it yourself. How much you can get depends on your ability."

Arthur would not intervene in the financial budget competition between departments, but this year he took a fancy to the railway construction plan proposed by Martin, so he directly designated the construction tasks and funds of the railway department.

Unexpectedly, the ministers of various departments came to Arthur one by one like cats seeing blood, trying to get Arthur to agree to more financial budgets.

Except for the Ministry of Defense that Arthur needs to control, Arthur is still willing to delegate power to Prime Minister Kent for other departments, so that the government can fight for it.

Moreover, he really has no intention of listening to the competition between these ministers for the budget. Each of them behaves like those businessmen. In order to fight for more budgets, they can lie without blushing.

Hearing that Arthur does not intend to manage the financial budget of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Philip can only nod and retreat.

He had originally planned to rely on Arthur to get more fiscal budgets directly, but it seems that he can only join the battle with other departments as before.

The last person who asked to see Arthur was the Minister of Finance Kevin Noble, and Arthur did not refuse to meet with Minister Kevin.

After all, defense and finance are the two departments that Arthur controls in the government, and Arthur still needs to understand the situation of these two departments.

Minister Kevin's report is nothing more than two points. The first is the government's financial situation and the approximate fiscal budget this year, and the second is the request for instructions on the fiscal budget of each department.

Arthur naturally would not take the initiative to express his opinions, and asked Minister Kevin to make certain improvements based on the plan of this year on the basis of roughly maintaining last year's fiscal budget.

Last year's total fiscal revenue has exceeded 200 million Australian dollars, which also makes this year's share of the total fiscal budget of the Australian government around 195 million Australian dollars, an increase of 5 million Australian dollars compared to last year.

At present, military expenditures have divided 47 million Australian dollars, plus the transportation department's funding of 10 million Australian dollars, the budget that each department can compete for is about 138 million Australian dollars.

Among these, the largest proportion is medical care and education, as well as the livelihood issues that Arthur usually cares about the most.

Together with military expenses, these four expenses accounted for 57% of the total fiscal expenditure last year, and the remaining six departments and government operating expenses only accounted for the remaining 43%, which is enough to show the government's attention to these four expenses.

Of course, the remaining 43% is not a small number. According to this year's total fiscal expenditure budget, it is about 84 million Australian dollars.

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