Chapter 149 Population Increase

"In our five industrial zones, there are more than 20,000 Australian workers and more than 30,000 indigenous people working here. Industrial output and volume account for the vast majority of Australia's total industrial output." Industry Minister Pierre said with a smile. .

Industrial areas are important sites established by the Australian government for industrial development. After more than two years of long development, the vast majority of Australia's industries have been moved to industrial zones. The scale of the industries scattered in other places is not very large, especially compared to these five large industrial zones.

Australia's current industry has a trend of concentrated development, which has also led to an increasing number and scale of industrial zones.

However, this also faces some problems. In terms of industrial development, although Australia has a vast land area and is also very rich in mineral resources.

But this does not mean that there are no problems in the development of industry. In addition to the population problem solved by the number of indigenous people, Australia also has a slightly more dangerous and thorny problem, that is, insufficient water resources.

The development of industry requires the use of a large amount of water resources, and the population also consumes a lot of water resources.

Now, because the scale of industry is not large and the population is not sufficient, the problem of water shortage has not appeared.

But when Australia's population increases, this will become a thorny issue for the Australian government.

In order to solve this problem early, under Arthur's order, the industrial department has begun to build some large reservoirs and water storage areas near industrial areas. The stored water will be used in industry, and some relatively clean water storage areas will also be used. Will be used in agriculture and people's lives.

Thanks to the efforts of many indigenous people, the construction of reservoirs and water storage areas has been very effective. At present, each of Australia's five industrial zones has a small water storage reservoir, which can meet the water problems of the industrial zones even when water resources are insufficient.

Of course, Australia will build more water storage areas in the future to completely improve Australia's water problems.

After all, Australia's population will also see a surge, and the water problem will need to be solved sooner or later.

Industrial zones have brought more than 20,000 jobs to Australia, which is good news for people in Australia whose income is not high.

The income of these industrial areas is above Australia's per capita income, which is also a key concern of Arthur and the Australian government.

Although this income level may not be high compared to European powers, at least workers do not have to worry about being over-exploited, and basic benefits and wages can still be guaranteed.

"In addition to industrial areas, we have also discovered a large number of new mineral resources in many areas of Australia. These include coal mines, iron ores, silver mines and aluminum mines, petroleum, etc. In particular, the reserves of coal mines and iron ores have been Compared with the end of 1900, it has increased by about three times." Minister Pierre continued to report.

It is not surprising that Arthur continues to discover these mineral resources. Australia is a real country sitting on a mine cart, and the richness of its mineral resources is unimaginable.

You must know that in later generations when the economy and industry are highly developed, Australia can earn huge income by exporting a large amount of mineral resources every year, and there is no sign of depletion of mineral resources. This is enough to prove the richness of Australia's mineral resources.

"The above is this year's annual report of the Ministry of Industry. Please comment on it, Your Highness." After reporting all the information in his hand, Minister Pierre respectfully handed all the information to Arthur's hands and said.

"Well, the Ministry of Industry has done a good job, but the pace still cannot stop. In the new year, our plan to jointly open automobile factories with the British Empire and the German Empire will also begin to be implemented. In addition, our existing domestic automobile factory production Yes, our demand for steel production is not low. I hope that in the new year, our total steel production will reach one million tons, and our steel production will exceed at least 350,000 tons, so that we can initially meet our demand for steel production. Demand." Arthur nodded calmly, and after taking a cursory glance at the complete report, he ordered.

Although it may not seem easy to reach total steel production of one million tons, it is still very simple for Australia's industrial sector.

You know, throughout 1902, Australia's total steel production increased by nearly half a million tons, reaching a terrifying 680,000 tons or more.

This number is only 320,000 tons away from one million tons, which is not difficult according to the industrial development situation of the previous year.

The same is true for steel production. The new target set by Arthur is nothing compared to the growth rate in 1902, but whether it can reach one million tons is indeed one of the standards for measuring whether a country is an industrial country.

Looking closely at all the great powers, the steel production of any one country is as high as millions of tons. Even the most important steel output is generally more than one million tons.

Compared with these powerful countries, Australia's industry has just begun. Although there is a large amount of industrial equipment produced in the UK and assistance from Germany, it will take a lot of time to catch up with these countries, or to keep pace with these countries.

"In addition to the excellent results of the Department of Industry, Australia's population also experienced substantial growth in 1902. At the beginning of 1902, the total population of Australia was approximately 3,996,200; There are 4,263,900 people, with a population growth rate of approximately 6.7%. At present, our total population has officially exceeded four million, and we are working hard towards the initial goal of five million. "After the Ministry of Industry's report, Prime Minister Evan returned to the podium at the center again and continued the cabinet government's general report.

"In 1902, our immigrant population reached more than 190,000, which was by far the year with the largest foreign immigrant population. Among them, there were about 60,000 immigrants from the British Empire and about 70,000 immigrants from the German Empire. The rest are from other European countries, such as France, Spain, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We have about 94,000 newborns and 23,000 deaths. The proportion of newborn babies is almost double, This is also because Australia's per capita income has increased a lot. Only when people have a fixed job and a generous salary can they have enough energy and time to have children, and can they have extra funds to support their newborns." Prime Minister Evan reported.

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