Rise of Australia

Chapter 655 The big project starts!

He didn't care what kind of sensation the unemployment numbers in Australasia caused abroad, because Arthur was pursuing to avoid the impact of the economic crisis as much as possible.

Seeing that many countries have been affected by the economic crisis, this year's export share will definitely be greatly affected.

On this basis, it is also necessary to make certain changes in national policies.We must first protect the interests of workers and practitioners, stabilize the current number of unemployed people in Australasia, and then strive to obtain more benefits from this economic crisis.

How to reduce the unemployment population in the country?It is necessary to launch major national projects.

Because of this, on August 1926, 8, a cabinet meeting on how to deal with the economic crisis was held on time, with all cabinet personnel participating.

"Your Majesty, our export share has been declining since July. The economies of European and American countries have been unable to recover in a short period of time. We must respond in advance to prevent companies from having to deal with the situation when their export share is significantly reduced. A move to lay off employees." At the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Roger reported to Arthur Hui with a serious face.

The reason why the number of unemployed people in Australasia is relatively low is not only not affected by the stock market crash, but also because the banking industry is relatively stable and the impact of the stock market on companies is very low.

However, the economies of European and American countries have entered a downturn and are unlikely to recover in a short time.Under such circumstances, a reduction in Australasia's export share has become inevitable.

Grain and meat have always been the mainstay of Australasia's exports. A decrease in export share means that the income of farmers and herders will also decrease.

There are also various industrial products. If an efficient market cannot be found, it will become inevitable for companies to reduce production capacity and lay off employees.

This is when the number of unemployed people in Australasia increases sharply, and it is also the time when the Australasian government is most tested.

"What are the government's plans?" Arthur nodded calmly, looked at Prime Minister Roger, and asked.

This is also a time to test the government. It is impossible to let Arthur, the monarch, do everything. The government is the role that advises Arthur.

"Your Majesty, because of your announcement, our current banking industry is relatively stable. This means that corporate layoffs will not happen instantly, but will slowly occur as exports shrink.

I think we need to take two decisions.

First, comprehensively export industrial products to the Sultanate of Kalimantan and the Philippines to help them build more advanced countries.

At the same time, we should also contact all countries that are suffering from economic crises. We believe that some countries are short of food and meat to ensure that our food and meat exports will not be greatly affected and to protect the income of farmers and herdsmen.

On this basis, we will launch large-scale projects at the national level to absorb those who have been forced to lose their jobs due to layoffs in small and medium-sized enterprises, and reduce our unemployment number to a controllable range. "Prime Minister Roger stood up and put forward the plan that he had already prepared.

"Tell me, what are the major construction projects prepared by the government?" Arthur nodded again and asked.

"Your Majesty, regarding the North-South Water Diversion Project you mentioned, I think the ground work can already be started." Prime Minister Roger replied respectfully: "

In addition, our total mileage of railways and roads lags far behind that of the European powers. Now is the best time to build railways and roads.

The industrial scale in recent years should not expand much. I think we should focus on increasing food production.

If we can attract a large number of immigrants from the United States and Europe, our Capital District development plan can also be accelerated, allowing us to have a super-large granary in advance. "

There are really a lot of large-scale constructions to be carried out in Australasia, and any one of them requires tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of laborers.

Previously, due to insufficient domestic population, there was not so much labor force to carry out such large-scale projects.

But now, the increase in the number of unemployed people has become an inevitable reality. These unemployed people can be used to build large projects, which not only meets the country's infrastructure needs, but also allows these unemployed people to have an extra income, so that they will not go hungry in the economic crisis. abdomen.

The North-South Water Diversion is a plan proposed by Arthur to solve the water resources difficulties in Australia. It aims to mobilize large amounts of drinking water from New Guinea, which is rich in water resources, and transport it to Australia.

Because there is an ocean in the middle, cross-sea bridge or undersea tunnel technology is needed, which is not possible with current technology.

But this does not mean that onshore projects cannot be constructed. The tunnel connecting New Guinea and Australia will not be built until the technology is developed in the future. Anyway, there is sufficient labor now, and the government has sufficient funds. At the same time, it will start Several major projects are not impossible.

"What is the current situation in the United States and Europe? Can we attract a large number of immigrants from Europe and the United States?" Arthur then asked.

In addition to having a massive impact on the United States and Europe, the economic crisis has also accelerated population spillover from Europe and the United States.

Historically it was Europeans and Americans who went to the Soviet Union, but now these people have a better option, which is Australasia, which is very similar to Europe and the United States.

"The current situation in the United States is already very bad, Your Majesty." Foreign Minister Dai Ze stood up and said with a smile: "According to the information sent back by the diplomatic ambassador, the unemployment rate in the United States has risen to 13%, and is even continuing to increase.

People looking for work can be seen everywhere on the streets of the United States, but there are very few jobs, and most of them are companies that are still laying off employees.

According to our estimates, in just this half month, at least a thousand banks in the United States have collapsed, tens of thousands of companies have gone bankrupt, and economic losses have reached US$400 billion.

Once our unemployment data were reported, they attracted a lot of attention from Americans.The West Coast of the United States is now packed with Americans who want to go abroad to seek work.

Once word gets out that we are attracting immigrants, I am afraid hundreds of thousands of Americans will come immediately. "

Such a crisis is not friendly to a multi-ethnic country of immigrants, not to mention that the United States is still at the center of an economic crisis.

A country is most stable when it is composed of a single ethnic group.As the number of ethnic groups increases, and there are even racial problems like in the United States, the stability of the country is questionable.

This is actually normal. After all, the history of the United States is too short, and its founding can only be traced back to more than 100 years ago.

At that time, the United States had only 13 states. Now it runs east to west across the entire North America, and also has overseas territories such as Alaska and Hawaii.

It seems that the territory is very vast and the population is large, but there are also many domestic problems in the United States, so many that they can even affect the unity of the country.Originally, those immigrants came to the United States in search of a better environment. Now that the United States is suffering from an economic crisis, it is not surprising that those people immigrated again.

“The Foreign Affairs Department and the Immigration Department should communicate well. What we need more is white British people to prevent black people from coming to Australasia.

As for the rest of the population, we do not prevent them from coming to Australasia, but we must control the number and not affect our population proportion. "Arthur ordered.

As the former jewel of the United Kingdom, the United States still has a relatively large British population.Although Americans are also deepening their impression of the United States as a big nation, Britain is still too glorious now, and no one will deny that they are British.

Among those in the United States, except for black people, Australasia is actually acceptable.

After all, Australasia is also a country of immigrants and does not exclude immigrants from all countries.

But no matter what, British immigrants, as the main ethnic group, are also the country’s policy and cannot be changed in a short time.

When will the national concept of Australasians be properly managed, and when will we be able to attract non-British immigrants in large numbers?

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Minister Dai Ze nodded respectfully.

"In addition to the United States, we will not reject people from Europe. Today is different from the past. We will attract as many immigrants as we can. If we miss such a good opportunity, we will never encounter it again. I hope that the population can grow as soon as possible. Reaching the 4000 million threshold is the key to whether we can become a super power." Arthur encouraged the Ministry of People's Livelihood and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then turned his attention to the Ministry of Finance and said: "

Let’s talk about our infrastructure construction plan. How much funds can the national finance provide? "

Upon hearing Arthur's inquiry, Finance Minister Hunter quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the financial department can use 5.2 million Australian dollars in funds. Deducting 8200 million Australian dollars as the fiscal budget for the second half of the year, our available funds are approximately 4.38 million Australian dollars."

Arthur nodded and continued to give instructions: "The funds are sufficient, and the infrastructure construction can start. If the funds are not enough, we can also issue national bonds to raise part of the funds.

I hope that there will be no problems with infrastructure and relief, which are related to our survival in the economic crisis.

The Ministry of Finance must provide strong support to various departments, and the capital chain must not be cut off no matter what, otherwise all efforts will be in vain. "

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"In addition, the British should also have the idea of ​​​​devaluing the pound, right? If the British start to devalue the pound, we will follow immediately and we cannot be at a disadvantage in this currency devaluation." Arthur said with a smile.

Although currency depreciation brings losses to the interests of the people, it has many benefits for the country's economic development.

Especially in the current economic crisis, printing a large amount of money to build infrastructure can boost the economy crazily, allowing Australasia to avoid losses during the economic crisis and even achieve economic growth.

It is nothing more than that the funds in the hands of the people will become less valuable, and the value of the Australian dollar will be significantly reduced.

However, it has become a not-too-distant reality for all countries to abandon the gold standard. Australasia's insistence on the gold standard will only become an alternative and suffer deeply in its import and export trade.

As for the impact of devaluing the currency on the country, which harms the interests of the people, most of it is borne by the government.

As long as Arthur does not show up, the impact of the devalued currency will not affect Arthur and will not harm the reputation of the royal family.

The apparent leader of the government, Prime Minister Roger and the entire cabinet government, are the targets of people's dissatisfaction, and this matter can be easily resolved.

All it takes is a change of prime minister after the economic crisis is over to soothe public sentiment.As for the current Prime Minister Roger, he can be regarded as someone who has followed Arthur since the Principality of Australia. Arthur will never treat him badly. The title of an earl is the best choice to reward and appease him.

Prime Minister Roger obviously understood this. When Arthur said currency devaluation, he understood the benefits and harms caused by currency devaluation, and also understood his role in currency devaluation.

However, Prime Minister Roger will not refuse Arthur's use. After all, Arthur has been very generous to heroes so far. He will not lack titles, bonuses, and land.

Although this may lead to the end of his career as prime minister in just one term, isn't obtaining a higher title also the pursuit of these officials?
"I understand, Your Majesty. Do we still need to be pegged to the pound during currency devaluation?" Prime Minister Roger nodded, not feeling any discomfort with this result, and asked very responsibly.

"Let's take a look at the actions of the British first, but don't be too deliberately pegged to the pound. Make changes according to our actual domestic situation, and at the same time try not to harm the interests of the people." Arthur ordered.

Once currency depreciation begins, it is not so easy to control.After all, the currencies of other countries are also depreciating, and coupled with the constant changes in import and export trade, it is still very difficult to accurately control the extent of currency depreciation.

However, it can still be generally controlled within a certain range, which is why Arthur said that we should first look at the British actions.

After all, the Australian dollar and the pound were still highly pegged before. It was impossible to break away from the pound all of a sudden, at least there was no need to do so before the British Empire weakened.

Prime Minister Roger nodded, indicating that he understood.

On August 1926, 8, the Australasian government came up with an infrastructure plan that completely ignited world public opinion.

Because in this infrastructure plan, the Australasian government plans to use at least [-] million Australian dollars to carry out infrastructure construction in railways, highways, food, ports, cities, water conservancy and other aspects for a period of eight years.

It is estimated that at least 300 kilometers of railways and [-] kilometers of roads will be built, hundreds of new grain-producing areas will be added, and grain output will increase by more than [-] million tons.

We also need to expand the ports of Sydney, Melbourne and other cities, reconstruct the unreasonable planning of some cities, and expand the scope of St. Arthur's Castle, etc.

There are also some water conservancy projects, reservoirs and hydropower stations, including water pipelines for the North-South Water Diversion Project, etc.

These various projects combined are expected to create 200 million jobs, which also allows the Australasian government to proudly announce that people do not have to worry about the risk of unemployment, because the current number of vacant jobs is dozens of times the number of unemployed people.

　The second update of 4000 words, ask for a monthly ticket, ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)