Chapter 73 Population Issues and Indigenous Labor

"Your Highness, because of the current number of workers and laborers in Australia, we cannot carry out large-scale railway and highway construction plans. Therefore, last year, our main goal was to repair the streets and roads in various cities and build connecting roads between some important areas and cities." Minister Conlet stood up and answered.

Road construction can also be regarded as a major project, especially in the case of Australia's complex terrain.

Coupled with the disadvantage of lack of population, there are not enough people to invest in the construction of roads when large-scale construction is carried out in the country.

This also leads to the main task of the transportation department to renovate existing urban roads, and at most build connecting roads between industrial areas and other important areas.

Arthur nodded with a slight headache, and his brows could not help but frowned.

Population is currently one of the most important factors restricting Australia's development. Although immigrants from Europe can alleviate this problem, it cannot achieve a thorough improvement.

Australia currently lacks, or even lacks a large number of low-level population to serve as labor for Australia's industrial development and various construction.

Immigrants from Europe are more likely to play the role of ordinary civilians. If they are exploited too much, it will reduce their recognition of the country and affect social stability.

It is necessary to introduce a large population from foreign countries and to exploit them at will. These are the conditions for improving Australia's industry and various developments.

At present, the only way to solve Australia's labor problems and to quench its thirst is to use New Guinea, which Australia owns, and the Dutch East Indies colony in Southeast Asia.

There are only more than 900,000 natives in New Guinea. Although it can solve some problems of labor shortage, it still depends on colonies like the Dutch East Indies with tens of millions of natives to solve them completely.

The Dutch East Indies colony also has a large land area. Unlike Australia, the Dutch East Indies has a large indigenous population, which is conservatively estimated to be close to 40 million.

However, the population of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which ruled this area, has just exceeded 5 million, which is not much ahead of Australia.

What's more, the Dutch mainland is too far away from the Dutch East Indies, which also leads to the fact that except for some important areas such as Java and Kalimantan, the Dutch control over most other areas is not strong.

The reason why the Netherlands can maintain its rule over this land, in addition to the support of the British Empire, the balance policy of several major powers is also an important factor.

Of course, Arthur's goal in the short term is not to seize this land. Before Europe fell into war, Arthur did not want to cause trouble.

But buying some natives is still a promising thing. Because the natives of the Dutch East Indies have their own religion and culture, it is not easy for the Netherlands to rule them.

What's more, the huge population of natives is also a burden for the rule of the Netherlands. It is also a good choice to be able to convert these bloated populations into a certain amount of income.

Thinking of this, Arthur looked at Foreign Minister Andrew and ordered: "Minister Andrew, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will try its best to communicate with the Netherlands to see if a group of natives can be introduced from the Dutch East Indies. If the Netherlands is willing, we can sign a treaty to introduce natives, and the price is a good amount of money and support for the Netherlands' rule in the East Indies."

Australia is an outlier in the balance of rule in Southeast Asia. Because the mainland is close to Southeast Asia, Australia can also infiltrate its power into Southeast Asia at any time.

What's more, Australia has a very special relationship with Britain and Germany. If it really wants to influence the situation in Southeast Asia, especially the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies, it may not be impossible.

Therefore, Arthur's promise is also good news for the Netherlands. After all, the resource-rich and prosperous Dutch East Indies can also bring a lot of income to the Netherlands every year, and the Dutch government certainly does not want to lose this land.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will contact the Netherlands as soon as possible." Minister Andrew nodded and instantly understood what Arthur meant.

Because of the huge population defect, if Australia develops according to schedule, it will take a lot of time to make up.

But if a large number of indigenous people can be introduced and contribute to Australia's construction, it will be able to effectively improve Australia's construction and development efficiency.

Although it may cost the death of hundreds of thousands or even millions of indigenous people, who would mind?

Counting every European power and colonial country, the rise of any powerful country is accompanied by bloody oppression and exploitation.

Being able to transfer such losses to foreign indigenous people is a good thing for Australia and Australians.

"The transportation department's task this year is to build roads connecting the states, which will also be the main task of the transportation department in the next few years. I hope that the new roads can strengthen the connection between our states and improve Australia's transportation and economic development." Arthur continued.

"Yes, Your Highness." Minister Conlet nodded quickly.

"Has the industrial department completed its task? I remember that we were required to triple our steel production. Has it reached the standard now?" Arthur looked at Pierre, the Minister of Industry, and asked.

What Arthur was talking about was the three-year industrial plan formulated at the meeting at that time.

According to Arthur's requirements, the industrial sector must triple the annual steel production of 3,700 tons and iron production of 5,000 tons in Australia in 1899, and eventually reach 100,000 tons and 140,000 tons respectively.

Now a year has passed, and the steel production should reach 11,000 tons and 15,000 tons respectively according to the plan.

"Your Highness, although it has only been more than six months since the plan was made, the industrial sector has basically completed the tasks assigned by Your Highness. In terms of steel production, our newly built industrial zone has met our expectations for steel production. At present, the annual total steel production of the steel mills in the industrial zone has exceeded 13,000 tons and 19,000 tons respectively, slightly exceeding the task target. With the construction of the industrial zone and the addition of more workers, our steel production is expected to reach 40,000 tons and 50,000 tons by the end of this year." Minister of Industry Pierre said with a smile.

The industrial sector is one of the most important and most tasked sectors in Australia, but because of the 50 million pounds of industrial equipment brought by Arthur from the UK, the development of industry is not as difficult as imagined.

Especially with the assistance from Britain and Germany, the development of industry will enter a period of smooth sailing.

Australia's industrial development can be successful by combining the industrial development technology and experience of Britain and Germany according to Australia's actual situation.

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