Chapter 25 Funding Crisis

The week set aside by Arthur is not only to give these newly elected cabinet members time to become familiar with their positions, but also to give them time to have access to and in-depth understanding of data on all aspects of the country.

Among the eleven cabinet members, except for the original six governors, although the others also have official backgrounds, they do not have permission to access data and information across Australia, and naturally they do not understand it very clearly.

Under such circumstances, if they were asked to immediately devote themselves to the work of the cabinet, they would be like flies.

Therefore, it is better to give them a period of understanding and adaptation time first, so that the cabinet government can work better.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed quickly, and soon it was the day of the cabinet meeting that Arthur mentioned.

The cabinet members were also very obedient. They had resigned from their jobs even before today.

It's just that because the state house elections in each state are different, the governor's position in each state must be temporarily held concurrently.

The familiar government building and familiar conference room, but the number of people conducting the meeting has dropped sharply from 199 to 12.

Sitting in the center, Arthur looked at the expectant crowd and said with a smile: "Everyone, I believe that after a week of understanding, you have already understood the basic situation in Australia. Now, we can officially start Discussions about Australia’s development plan have officially begun the country’s rise.”

"Let's talk about the status of your respective departments and your ideas first. Everyone can speak freely. As long as it is an idea that is beneficial to the development of the country, everyone can put it forward and discuss it together." Arthur said with a smile.

Although Arthur has the soul of a time traveler, he can basically make no mistakes in grasping the general direction of the country's development.

But as the saying goes, when everyone adds fuel to the fire, those who can be elected as cabinet members are more or less capable, and some of the opinions put forward may not have been thought of by Arthur.

"Let's talk about the Ministry of Finance first. What is the current financial situation of our country? How much available funds are left in the country?" Arthur looked at Treasury Secretary Roger Joseph Ebert and asked aloud.

As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first. The same is true for national development. Before formulating various development plans, it is very necessary to ensure that the country has sufficient development funds.

Without sufficient funds, developing a country will ultimately be just empty talk.

"Your Highness, it's not very ideal. Although after the original six colonies are integrated into one country, our economy and various industries will also see a certain growth. But for now, the government's funds are relatively lacking, and it can only "Keep the government running," Roger Joseph Ebert said with regret, shaking his head.

After all, Australia's integration time is too short. Although various economies have already shown a development trend, it is impossible to obtain more fiscal revenue in less than a few years.

What's more, Arthur had previously reduced a large amount of taxes for Australians, which directly led to a reduction in the Australian government's revenue.

"How much money are there on the books now?" Arthur asked with a frown.

After the colonial reforms, the original state tax collection and independent development was changed to the state tax collection, most of which was handed over to the government and a small amount was used for its own use.

However, so far, it has only collected taxes once, and because of Arthur's substantial tax reduction, the government's tax revenue is only over one million pounds.

Including other revenues, the current total revenue of the Australian government is less than 3 million pounds. After deducting various expenditures, the government's available funds are less than 2 million pounds.

"Your Highness, after deducting all expenditures, the government's available funds are just over 1.9 million pounds," Minister Roger Joseph Ebert said.

There is still so much money because the previous Australian interim government took no action at all, so the expenditure was only to pay the salaries of government personnel.

But less than 2 million pounds of capital is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the development of the entire Australia, and it is even like sinking into the sea, unable to make any waves.

Everyone was in an uproar when they heard Secretary Roger Joseph Ebert say this.

While everyone was thinking about their department's plans, Secretary Roger Joseph Ebert's words undoubtedly poured cold water on everyone and directly destroyed the plans that had not yet been born in their minds.

"Minister Roger, is this true? If the government only has such a small amount of development funds, it won't even be enough to purchase equipment." Prime Minister Evan was the most surprised. During his tenure as Prime Minister of New South Wales, New South Wales spent every year How come the integrated government funds don’t even have two million pounds? "Of course it is true. According to our tax policy, if you want to receive income again, you have to wait until October of this year." Roger Joseph Ebert nodded.

Everyone turned their attention to Arthur. After all, one of the main reasons why the Australian government is short of funds is because Arthur has significantly reduced taxes.

Now everyone's idea is very simple. Since the government is in trouble, it is up to Arthur, the ruler, to find a solution.

"Okay, let's do this! In the name of the royal family, I will lend the government 100 million pounds interest-free, and then provide the government with 50 million pounds of industrial equipment at market price. In this way, the government does not have to buy industrial equipment from Europe at high prices, and can still have sufficient funds for development." Arthur made the final decision, ending the embarrassment of the meeting.

Seeing that the government had funds and their own plans were expected to be realized, everyone was motivated and tried to share more funds.

"Industry is the top priority, let's talk about the plan of the Ministry of Industry first." Arthur named Pierre Silvio Berlusconi.

Minister Pier Silvio Berlusconi was not at all nervous. He stood up and said, "Your Highness, our country's industrial development is very backward at present. Both basic industries and advanced scientific and technological industries are very scarce in our country. My suggestion is to focus on developing basic industries at present. Relying on the minerals in the west of our country, we can build a large industrial base. After our basic industries are developed, it will not be too late to find ways to study those advanced scientific and technological industries."

To put it bluntly, Australia is currently too weak to become a fat man in one bite.

Only when Australia's relatively basic facilities and industrial construction are completed can it concentrate on studying those relatively advanced technologies and industries and catch up with European countries.

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