Chapter 270: A Surge in Grain Production
The proportion of British-descended population in Australasia has remained around 70%, which is great news for the country and something that Arthur is quite satisfied with.
Although Australasia is an open immigration nation and theoretically does not reject any white immigrants from Europe, there is always a sense of priority in the kinds of immigrants that are accepted. For both Australasia and Arthur, the closest group of immigrants will always be those of British descent, as both Australasia and Arthur originated from Britain, and British immigrants are the foundation of Australasia's rule.
Secondly, Russian immigrants are another group that is more acceptable and easier to govern than the others. The royal marriage between the royal families of Australasia and Russia has made the two countries close allies. Additionally, Russian immigrants are mostly former serfs, and Russia is an autocratic monarchy, which makes these Russian immigrants more accustomed to and accepting of monarchical rule, with most of them holding affectionate views towards monarchy.
As for the second-largest group of German immigrants, Arthur is not entirely opposed to them, but he does not want to bring in too many. At least, he hopes the number of Russian immigrants will rise to second place in terms of proportion, which would be more to Arthur's liking.
The reason is simple. Although Germany and Australasia currently have very good relations, this is because there are no direct conflicts of interest between them. However, Arthur knows that Germany will inevitably align against Britain in the future. If there are too many German immigrants in Australasia, it will likely lead to conflicts with the British-descended immigrants, which Arthur does not want to see, as it could threaten national stability.
Furthermore, Arthur cannot guarantee that Australasia will always maintain good relations with Germany. For example, after Germany's defeat in World War I and the fall of the monarchy, the rise of the Third Reich made it clear that Arthur would not want to align with such a regime. If Australasia were ever pulled into the Third Reich's sphere, it would put Arthur in a difficult position.
Overall, population growth is a positive development for Australasia. Even in today's world, a country cannot be considered a great power without a population of at least ten million, and without a population of over fifty million, a country has no qualifications to compete with the great powers.
Looking at every great power in the world, none of them are small countries. They all have vast territories and large populations. Resources, land area, and population are major factors that limit a country's development. For Australasia, the only limitation is population. This is why Arthur is so eager to see the population grow to tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. When that happens, what kind of potential will Australasia unleash?
Currently, the state with the largest population in Australasia is Victoria, with a total population of 1,399,795. New South Wales is close behind with a population of 1,396,487. The capital, Sydney, is the first and only city in Australasia to have surpassed one million people, with a population of 1,194,594.
Besides these three state-level regions, the only other state with a population exceeding one million is South Australia, with a population of 1,125,487. Neighboring Western Australia's population has also reached 864,679. These two states have seen significant population growth due to the construction of the Leonora Industrial Base, with the government having transported a large number of immigrants to these areas.
This is also why the population growth in the southeast of Australia has gradually slowed down, as many immigrants were redirected to Western Australia and South Australia to support the development of industrial areas and industrial bases.
It is conservatively estimated that before the Leonora Industrial Base is completed, the population of South Australia and Western Australia will reach 1.3 million and 1 million respectively, fully meeting the labor needs of the early stages of industrial development.
By the time the industrial base is fully operational around 1916, the populations of South Australia and Western Australia could exceed 1.5 million and 1.2 million respectively, bringing life to these sparsely populated regions.
In comparison, New Zealand's population seems much smaller. Currently, the population of North New Zealand is about 920,000, while South New Zealand's population is around 570,000. Except for North New Zealand, which has a population large enough to match some of the Australian states, South New Zealand has the smallest population among the larger states.
In terms of cities, Sydney is the most populous, followed by Melbourne, with a population of over 870,000. Besides the two colonies and the capital of Tasmania, Hobart, the population of the capitals of the other states is over 100,000.
According to information from the Ministry of People's Livelihood, there are 23 cities across Australasia with populations exceeding 100,000, with more than half of them located in the southeastern part of Australia.
This highlights the current development situation in Australasia: the heart of Australasia is in Australia, and the heart of Australia is in the southeastern region.
While the population has grown substantially, the per capita income in Australasia has not been affected and has even increased. According to the Ministry of People's Livelihood, as of January 1910, the average annual income per person in Australasia was nearly 47 AUD, with Australia's per capita income reaching 48 AUD.
New Zealand's per capita income is also not far behind, at around 44 AUD, far surpassing the two colonies' average income of 26 AUD.
Arthur is confident about the increase in per capita income, as the deposit information from the Royal Bank shows that more and more people in Australasia have been saving money. Who doesn't have a few hundred dollars in savings?
Of course, the economic growth is also reflected in the government's finances. In 1909, the total fiscal revenue of the Australasia government was approximately 54.25 million AUD, an increase of 8 million AUD compared to 1908, marking the first time it exceeded 50 million AUD.
In comparison, the total fiscal expenditure reached 49 million AUD, an increase of 6 million AUD compared to 1908, which included some military expenses and other departmental costs.
For the first time, the defense budget for 1909 exceeded 19 million AUD, mainly due to the extensive testing and maintenance required after the completion of the battleships. Combined with the training of naval personnel, this increase in military spending was expected.
More importantly, despite the sharp increase in various expenses, Australasia's finances still managed to maintain a surplus, which was good news for both the finances and the government's future development.
According to the regulations on royal funds, the royal family received 542,500 AUD from the government in 1909, which was used to maintain the operations of the royal family and the palace, as well as for special royal projects.
The royal family had always received 1% of the total fiscal revenue as special funds, a practice that dates back to the Australian era, although the revenue back then was only a few tens of thousands of pounds.
This is why, even though the royal family is now receiving over 500,000 AUD from the treasury, no officials or parliamentarians have objected. After all, when the country was in trouble, the royal family received very little. Now, this 500,000 AUD is what the royal family is entitled to, especially considering that Arthur's personal investments in the people's livelihood and various policies far exceed this amount.
Currently, Australasia's available financial resources have reached a staggering 230 million AUD, which even gives Arthur the illusion that he could never spend it all.
However, Arthur quickly dismissed this thought because he knew that the cost of war is immense.
Even the great powers like Britain and France, with vast colonies, had difficulty recovering for a long time after World War I.
Given that Britain and France, as top powers, earn enormous profits from their colonies each year—profits that Australasia cannot even imagine—it's clear that even such profits couldn't keep them afloat after the war.
For Australasia, which has just begun to enter surplus, the reality of war expenditure is something to consider carefully.
The agricultural development in Australasia is also excellent news. Currently, Australia's total cultivated land area has reached 19.53 million acres, and the per capita arable land area still remains at around 2.3 acres.
Thanks to the increase in cultivated land, Australasia's grain production hit a new high in 1909, reaching around 8.9 million tons.
Yes, the growth in grain production is remarkable. Compared to 1907, the total grain output increased by nearly 2 million tons, but the total arable land area only increased by less than 2 million acres.
The real reason for this massive increase in grain production is the large-scale adoption of agricultural machinery such as tractors in New Guinea and parts of Australasia's agricultural areas.
Additionally, the construction and production of agro-chemical factories and fertilizer plants have helped increase the yield per acre of grain, bringing Australasia's grain production closer to that of Europe.
Currently, New Guinea's grain production has exceeded 1 million tons, accounting for 11% of Australasia's total grain output.
Thanks to the increasing grain output across various regions, Australasia's strategic food reserves have reached 2 million tons, enough to feed all its citizens for a year.
Australasia's total annual food consumption is roughly 2 million tons, and in 1909, the country exported 5 million tons of food, which was shipped to Europe, America, and some colonial powers.
Countries like Britain and France, as old colonial powers, have maintained close cooperative relationships with Australasia, importing significant quantities of food and meat from them.
Due to the favorable grazing environment in Oceania, the beef and lamb from Oceania, or Australian beef and lamb, have become well-known, contributing to the success of Australasia's livestock industry.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997