As the second year of the popularization of radio broadcasting, Arthur's implementation speech this Christmas has also attracted a lot of anticipation.

According to the estimates of the Propaganda Department, the current radio wave signals have covered almost all major cities, covering a total population of more than 11 million people.

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

Because it can be seen from the sales of radios in this year that the penetration rate of radio in Australasia is not low.

Of course, this is a big deal with the low price of the radio. In particular, the simplest ore radio, the cheapest even only needs a salary of one or two months, and ordinary people can buy it even if they grit their teeth.

While giving a speech, Arthur also had to lament the speed of time passing.

It feels like it's still a short time, but it's actually been more than 20 years since I came to Australia.

However, when you think about what Australasia has achieved so far, the efforts of more than 20 years have not been in vain.

A few days after Christmas, Arthur convened a new cabinet meeting to draw up a plan for the development of the government for the new year, 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 situation in Australasia, the industrial railway, the northern railway and the central railway have been completed, and the total length of the railway has reached 43,000 kilometers, which seems to be quite developed.

But if you compare it with other powers, especially Australasia, which is so extensive, it still seems a little backward.

Let's take a look at an exaggerated statistic, in 1850, the total length of railways 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 railway mileage can be seen.

Even Australasia currently has the sixth largest railway mileage in the world, less than 1,000 kilometers more than mainland France.

Mainland France covers an area of only 550,000 square kilometers, and Australasia is more than ten times the size of mainland France.

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

Arthur looked at the Minister of Transport, Martin Pospisil, and asked, "Minister Martin, what are the plans for the transport sector for the new year?" ”

Knowing that this was a test for himself, Minister Martin did not dare to be careless in the slightest, nor did he dare to delay time, and replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, in addition to maintaining and consolidating our current railways and roads, I believe that we should continue to build railways, and expand the total length of railways to 50,000 kilometers within five years, and to 100,000 kilometers within 20 years, so as to initially meet our demand for railway transportation." ”

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

"Not really, Your Majesty." "It's not that 100,000 kilometres is enough, it's 100,000 kilometres that we can initially meet our needs," Minister Martin explained. ”

"Oh?" Arthur was more interested, and asked with a smile: "You know, the total length of the current railway in Australasia is only 43,000 kilometers, and it has been built for more than 20 years. Are you going to spend almost the same amount of time building the remaining 57,000 kilometers of railways? ”

"Admittedly, this is a difficult problem, Your Majesty. But railroads are important to the country's development, and the total length of railways in the United States is as high as 430,000 kilometers. If we don't want to be left behind in this area, it is necessary to continue to improve our railway mileage. Minister Martin explained.

"Moreover, the development of the Murray River basin will require the construction of a large number of new railways, as well as the expansion of the industrial base, as well as your majesty's new capital territory and northern Australia. Australasia is vast, and there's no reason why we shouldn't build a longer railway, Your Majesty. ”

Arthur nodded in satisfaction, approving with Minister Martin's rather enterprising ideas.

Leaving aside the huge 430,000 kilometers of railroads in the United States, even the other colonies of the British Empire, Canada and India, have more railway miles than Australasia.

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

However, it cannot be denied that these railway miles 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 to sit on airplanes and airships, on the land, trains have become the only option for the vast majority of civilians to travel to distant areas.

This will not only speed up the economic movement between the various regions of Australasia, but also improve the mobility of the population, which will also be very helpful for the tourism industry in Australasia.

"The Ministry of Transport will come up with a plan as soon as possible, as well as the funds and manpower needed for the railway construction plan." Arthur did not agree with it, but his words proved Arthur's point.

"Yes, I will hand it over to you as soon as possible, Your Majesty." Minister Martin nodded excitedly, thrilled that he had won Arthur's support.

The reason why Arthur agrees with Minister Martin's idea of making the railway mileage 50,000 kilometers in five years and 100,000 kilometers in 20 years is actually to see the gap between Australasia and other great powers in terms of railway mileage.

Although the demand for railway miles due to population is not as great as that of other great powers, the population will always grow, and it will not be maintained at more than 20 million forever.

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

Moreover, in 20 years, the average annual construction of railways is only 2,850 kilometers, which is promising for the current railway construction needs.

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

At a time when the machinery and equipment are sufficiently developed, the construction of 2,850 kilometers of railways a year is challenging, but hard work can still be done.

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 work in the evening.

But Minister Martin's kind of ambition for railroad construction is something that some cabinet members do not currently have.

In terms of national development, although there is also a need for conservative officials, enterprising officials are also important.

I have to admit that some officials are still too conservative about the country's development. The construction of the country needs to balance between conservative and aggressive, which is why the political arena needs to constantly inject fresh blood.

For now, Minister Martin, who first joined the cabinet only two and a half years ago, is undoubtedly the rather enterprising official.

As long as the remaining year and a half of his term is in office, Minister Martin can make some achievements in the transportation sector, and Arthur does not mind letting him serve a second term to see if Minister Martin is just talking on paper, or if he really has ideas and abilities.

As for some officials to tend to be conservative, this is actually unavoidable for any country or government.

Especially in Australasia now, as long as there are no problems during the term of office and the tenure is spent diligently, there is hope for a knighthood, which no official can refuse.

As the saying goes, if you don't do it, you can't go wrong, if you make mistakes in your work because of some more extreme ideas, you will not only lose the title you hope for, but you may even become a sinner in Australasia, which is what these officials fear and why they become conservative.

You know, there have never been officials in the history of Australasia who have made big mistakes in their work, which means that if they make mistakes, they are likely to be the first to go down in history.

This kind of long-term infamy is impossible for these officials to bear, as the so-called higher they stand, the more they cherish their feathers, which is also the real reason for the increase in conservatives in the political arena.

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

This is also the reason why Australasian prime ministers can only serve two consecutive terms, and cabinet members can only serve three consecutive terms.

Even the highly decorated Prime Minister of Kent, after this round of term, will step down from the prime minister's post to pursue other cabinet positions, or take a break for a while.

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

After all, it is neither a time of war, nor has it experienced a huge crisis, and there is no reason to be re-elected unusually, and the gains outweigh the losses.

Minister Kent has been Prime Minister for almost 11 years since he was Prime Minister in 1911. Counting the remaining year and a half in his term, he has been Prime Minister for 12 years, and has experienced a major period of development in Australasia.

In such a situation, in fact, experiencing the development of Australasia in a different capacity can have more gains.

As the so-called authorities are obsessed, bystanders are clear, and sometimes as a bystander, they can see the shortcomings in the government's development.

Moreover, Australasian politics cannot always be dominated by one person, and it is easy to breed factions and forces.

Although it is controllable for now, it does not prevent future monarchs from facing this situation.

Arthur also had to think about the next monarch, and it was not in the monarch's interest to cultivate a high prestige in Australasia, even if it was a close confidant that Arthur believed very much.

Although this is a bit too realistic, it is true of any country's monarchy.

Officials in a monarchy are always to serve the monarch, and if there is an official whose prestige is comparable to that of the monarch, then who should the other officials listen to?

The current Arthur is completely able to hold it down, but what about the next monarch? The development of a country cannot avoid such problems, and the best way is to avoid the production of high-prestige officials as much as possible.

3200 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

Today, 10,000 days, it has been changed to 6200/10000, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)