"Your Highness, because the current number of workers and labourers in Australia is such that we cannot undertake a large-scale rail and road construction programme. Therefore, in the last year, our main goal was to rehabilitate the streets and roads of the cities and to build some important areas and connecting roads between the cities. Minister Conwleit replied by standing up.

The construction of roads can also be considered a big project, especially given the complex terrain of Australia.

Coupled with the disadvantage of population shortage, there is no longer enough manpower to invest in the construction of roads in the case of large-scale construction in the country.

This has also led to the fact that the main task of the transport sector is to renovate existing urban roads, plus at most the construction of connecting roads in industrial areas and other important areas.

Arthur nodded with a slight headache, and his brow furrowed.

Population is currently one of the most important factors limiting Australia's development, and while immigration from Europe can alleviate the problem, it will not improve it completely.

Australia currently lacks, if not very much, a large number of people at the bottom to serve as a labor force for Australia's industrial development and various constructions.

Immigrants from Europe play more of the role of ordinary civilians, and if they are squeezed too much, it will reduce their recognition of the state and affect social stability.

It is necessary to bring in from abroad the more populous peoples, and who can be exploited at will, to improve the conditions for the improvement of Australian industry and development.

At present, in addition to Australia's own New Guinea, there is also the Dutch East Indies Colony in Southeast Asia.

New Guinea has only about 900,000 indigenous people, and although it can solve some of the labor shortage problems, it will have to rely on colonies like the Dutch East Indies, which have tens of millions of indigenous people.

The Dutch East Indies Colony also had a large land area, and unlike Australia, the Dutch East Indies had a large indigenous population, conservatively estimated to be close to 40 million.

But the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which rules the region, has just surpassed five million in population, which is not much ahead of Australia.

To make matters worse, the Dutch mainland was too far away from the Dutch East Indies, which meant that most of the Dutch control was not strong except for a few important areas such as Java and Kalimantan.

In addition to the support of the British Empire, the balancing policies of the major powers were also important factors in the Dutch rule in this land.

Of course, Arthur's goal in the short term is not to snatch the land. Before Europe was plunged into war, Arthur didn't want to cause more trouble.

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

What's more, the large indigenous population was also a burden for Dutch rule, and it was also a good choice to be able to convert this bloated population into a certain income.

Thinking of this, Arthur looked at Foreign Minister Andrew and instructed: "Minister Andrew, the Foreign Ministry will try its best to communicate with the Netherlands to see if it can bring in a group of natives from the Dutch East Indies. If the Dutch wished, we could conclude a treaty for the introduction of natives at the cost of a good sum of money and support for Dutch rule in the East Indies. ”

Australia is an outlier to the balance of domination in Southeast Asia. Because of its proximity to Southeast Asia, Australia can also penetrate its own power into Southeast Asia at any time.

Moreover, Australia's relations with Britain and Germany were not ordinary, and it was not possible to influence the situation in Southeast Asia, especially the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies.

Arthur's promise was therefore good news for the Netherlands, as the resource-rich and rich Dutch East Indies could generate a large amount of income for the Netherlands every year, and the Dutch government was certainly not willing to lose the 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 shortcomings of the population, if Australia develops according to the plan, it will take a lot of time to make up.

However, if a large number of indigenous people can be introduced back and forth to Australia's construction, it can effectively improve the efficiency of Australia's construction and development.

While it may cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of indigenous deaths, who would mind?

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

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

"This year's task for the transport sector is to build roads connecting the states, which will also be the main task of the transport sector in the coming years. I hope that the new roads will strengthen the links between our states, while also improving Australia's transport and economic development. Arthur continued.

"Yes, Your Highness." Minister Conwette nodded hurriedly.

"Is the task of the industrial sector accomplished? I remember when we were asked to triple our steel production, and now it is up to standard? Arthur looked at Pierre, the Minister of Industry, and asked.

What Arthur was referring to was the three-year plan for industry that was laid down at that meeting.

According to Arthur's demands, the industrial sector had to triple Australia's annual steel production of 3,700 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes of iron in 1899, according to a plan to triple each year, eventually to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of steel and more than 140,000 tonnes of steel respectively.

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

"Your Highness, although it has only been more than six months since the plan was formulated, the industrial sector has basically completed the tasks assigned by Your Highness. In terms of steel production, our new industrial park has met our expectations for steel production. At present, the total annual steel output of the steel plant in the industrial zone has exceeded 13,000 tons and 19,000 tons respectively, slightly exceeding the mission 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 more than 50,000 tons by the end of this year. Industry Minister Pierre said with a smile.

The industrial sector is one of the most important and most task-asked sectors in Australia, but because of the £50 million worth of industrial equipment that Arthur brought with him from the UK, the development of industry was not as difficult as expected.

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

Australia's industrial development can be successful based on the actual situation in Australia, combined with the industrial development technology and experience of the United Kingdom and Germany.