Chapter 565 The fight for budget

Building railways is definitely a big expense, especially if at least 57,000 kilometers of railways are to be built in twenty years.

Some hilly areas still need to be detoured. After all, current technology cannot build tunnels that are tens of kilometers long. It is more realistic to detour.

Of course, there is another solution, which is to dig mountains and fill holes when encountering them. This is also a common method in railway construction in various countries.

However, doing so will increase labor and time costs. Unless it is the only option, try to avoid it.

The good news is that there is currently plenty of money in Australasia, and there are many ways and means to raise funds.

Even if we are faced with multiple major projects including the construction of the Grand Canal, we don’t have to worry too much about funding.

No matter how bad the situation is, you can still issue national bonds, raise enough funds from the private sector, or borrow money from other countries. Anyway, many countries will give up their capital position in just a few years, and their currencies will experience major depreciation in a few years.

In fact, the matter is far from that serious. After all, countries around the world are still very enthusiastic about building railways, and the people's desire for building railways is also very strong.

It is entirely possible to adopt the method of segmented contracting and contract some commercial railways to the private sector to reduce government expenditures.

Most of these commercial railways can still make money. As long as someone enjoys the benefits of contracting railways, there will be no shortage of funds for subsequent railway construction.

Of course, some railways in mountainous areas have to be built by the government. After all, the railways in these areas lack the so-called sweetness and cannot make much profit.

Perhaps Minister Martin had been prepared for it. Before the National Day, a brand new railway construction plan had been freshly released and delivered to Arthur's desk.

In Minister Martin's construction plan, the first five years of railway construction will be carried out around the Capital Territory and Northern Australia to improve the railways in these two newly added state-level administrative regions.

Together, these two regions need to build at least 7,000 kilometers of railways, which is enough to enable Australasia's total railway mileage to exceed 50,000 kilometers.

At the same time, some deficiencies within the current railway scope will be modified, and railway construction in southeastern Australia will be improved, etc.

It is expected that within five years, a total of at least 12,000 kilometers of railways will be built, with an average of 2,400 kilometers per year.

Judging from the cost of railway construction in Australasia in recent years, the cost of each kilometer of railway is about 4, which means that it costs at least tens of millions of Australian dollars in railway construction costs every year.

However, considering that Australasia’s annual revenue reached 208.7 million Australian dollars last year, the railway construction cost of more than 10 million is not a big number.

Judging from last year's fiscal funding of 8 million Australian dollars for the transportation department, it should be increased to at least 20 million Australian dollars this year, and the fiscal budget can still maintain a surplus.

Although the Germans, under the leadership of the British, have lowered their loans, they do not even need to be repaid in the last two years.

However, because of the compensation from the Americans, the Australasian government still has a lot of extra income, which is enough to use in the construction of the railway.

Of course, if railway construction can be contracted out, it should be contracted out as much as possible. There is still a lot of waste in government funds.

After confirming that the railway construction plan was feasible, Arthur waved his hand and ordered the Ministry of Transport to immediately start bidding and raising shares for railway construction.

Yes, this time the construction of the railway is not just a bidding process, but also a corresponding sale of shares.

To this end, Arthur specially established the Northern Australia Railway Development Company and the Capital Territory Railway Development Company, and sold the initial shares of these railway companies in exchange for funds to serve as start-up funds for corresponding railway projects.

After the railroads built by these railroad companies were completed, the profits earned were the returns to all those who purchased shares.

For example, in this bidding, the railway is expected to be constructed for five years, plus ten years of dividends, and the principal will be returned after ten years.

For the public, buying shares in railway companies is almost a guaranteed profit. And because the background of the railway company is the government, there is no need to worry about the company's bankruptcy.

Under such circumstances, a large number of people enthusiastically bought shares of these companies and quickly raised up to 30 million Australian dollars in start-up capital.

According to statistics, a total of 472,000 people purchased railway shares this time, with an average purchase per person.

In fact, most shares purchased by civilians are around A$40. Because before they had time to buy more shares, the majority had already been snatched away by the nobles and capitalists.

These people also know that such a railway is guaranteed to make money, and naturally they cannot let go of such a money-making opportunity.

Of course, generally speaking, the construction of railways can be regarded as involving all people. As many as 472,000 people paid most of their working income for more than half a year, which is enough to show the level of trust these people have in the government.

Precisely because almost all the people participate in railway construction, the public will always keep an eye on the progress and conditions of railway construction, which can greatly reduce railway quality problems.

Arthur doesn't even have to worry about the subsequent construction of the railway. Hundreds of thousands of people will keep an eye on it for him, and this is also related to their vital interests.

Even some of the capitalists and nobles who bought the shares were more anxious than Arthur, because they were waiting for dividends after the construction of the railway, and naturally expected the railway to be completed as soon as possible.

At the urging of many people, exploration teams organized by various railway companies have begun exploration in Northern Australia and the Capital Territory, exploring the most suitable lines for building railways, while connecting as many cities as possible and improving intra-state transportation. develop.

Railway construction is actually complicated. After the main line is determined, the route of the branch railway must be determined.

There can never be only one railway. Multiple railways intersect, and there are also differences between single-track and double-track railways. It is still difficult to design.

There are often certain differences between railway construction and design. The actual railway construction distance is farther than the design, because some problems are unavoidable.

Because a large number of people bought shares, the quality of the railway construction has become a hot topic among the people.

The public is very interested in the progress of railway construction, as well as the railway companies responsible for building railways, and the previous railway construction status of these companies.

This also resulted in many companies not daring to be careless in this railway construction.

Because there are hundreds of thousands of "supervisors", once they discover problems in railway construction, especially quality problems, it will be a fatal blow to the reputation of the railway company.

The A$30 million raised in shares is also good news for Australasia. It also means that the construction of the railway within three years will cost almost nothing and will be contracted by the people.

This can also save the government's budget for more projects to be launched in the future.

The transport department raised enough budget, much to the relief of other departments. After all, the government's annual fiscal expenditure budget is limited. If a department increases its budget, it also means that the budget of another department will decrease.

We are all cabinet departments in Australasia. Some people are willing to have their financial budgets reduced. After all, this is related to the importance of their departments and their own political achievements.

In particular, Defense Minister Raul went directly to Arthur with a military expenditure report to ask for the budget.

"50 million Australian dollars?" Arthur frowned, looked at Minister Raul, and asked in confusion: "I remember last year's military expenditure was only 42 million Australian dollars, right? How come it increased to 50 million Australian dollars this year?"

Australasia's military expenditure has always accounted for the largest proportion of all fiscal expenditures. Even education and medical care, which Arthur attaches great importance to, only add up to the same proportion as military spending.

However, the annual military expenditure of more than 40 million Australian dollars is already quite exaggerated. If it increases to 50 million Australian dollars, it will be close to a quarter of last year's total fiscal revenue.

"Your Majesty, we have three battleships to be launched for testing this year, and a large number of small and medium-sized warships to continue construction. Add in the training costs of the navy, army and air force and the salaries of soldiers, and 50 million Australian dollars is really not much." Minister Raul He shamelessly defended himself.

The total number of people in the Australasian navy, army and air force is about 250,000. According to the average salary of each person in the army is about 70 Australian dollars, this is an expenditure of 17.5 million Australian dollars.

And this is just the salary of the soldiers. If you include the soldiers' food expenses, logistics, etc., it will be at least about 30 million Australian dollars.

The remaining money is the cost of materials for each army's training and the maintenance costs of numerous equipment.

Especially for those gold-swallowing beast navies, the cost of maintaining each battleship is simply a waste of money, which also makes the navy often cry in front of Minister Raul.

No, the annoyed Minister Raul decided to put aside his shame and strive for an additional 8 million Australian dollars in military spending.

The first is to deal with the more exaggerated size of the navy, and the second is to increase the food and training expenses of the soldiers.

"Compared with last year, the size of the army only has three more battleships. The construction of the navy is carried out every year, not just this year." Arthur said angrily: "Other departments also need sufficient funds, so let's increase military expenditures. To reach 47 million Australian dollars, some reserve funds must be left for the government.”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Minister Raul replied excitedly.

Although it was reduced by 3 million Australian dollars, the 47 million Australian dollars of funding also met Minister Raul's expectations.

Even Minister Raul only hoped for about 45 million Australian dollars in funding at the beginning, and said an extra 5 million Australian dollars was just reserved for bargaining.

It can only be said that all departments have the same desire for the fiscal budget. After sending off Minister Raul, we welcomed Minister of People's Livelihood Philippe in the afternoon.

As an old man who has also been reelected for two terms and served as a cabinet minister for nearly 11 years, Philip was not so restrained when facing Arthur, but he still respectfully handed over his plan and put forward his budget requirements.

"30 million Australian dollars?" Arthur rubbed his brows, already very tired of these ministers' budget requirements.

This is the time of year when budget battles are over and ministers squabble the most during the year.

"I remember that the Ministry of People's Welfare's fiscal expenditure last year was only 17 million Australian dollars, right? 30 million Australian dollars, which is almost doubled. What big moves has the Ministry of People's Welfare made?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"Your Majesty, in addition to maintaining the previous policies, there are still a large number of policies that need to be implemented. These policies also require considerable expenditure, and 30 million Australian dollars is already a practical consideration." Philip explained.

"You should tell Prime Minister Kent these things." Arthur said: "Ten departments and many units are asking for more financial budgets. You'd better fight for it yourself. How much you can fight for depends on your ability."

Arthur would not have intervened in the financial budget competition between various departments, but this year he took a fancy to the railway construction plan proposed by Martin, so he directly designated the construction tasks and funds for the railway department.

Unexpectedly, ministers from various departments came to the door one by one like a fishy cat, trying to get Arthur to agree to a larger budget.

In addition to the Ministry of Defense, which Arthur needs to control, Arthur is still willing to delegate power to Prime Minister Kent in other departments and let the government compete for them.

Moreover, I really don’t want to listen to the fight between these ministers for the budget. Each and every one of them behaves like those businessmen, fighting for more budgets, even if they say panic, their faces are not red and their hearts are not beating.

Hearing that Arthur did not intend to control the Ministry of People's Welfare budget, Philip could only nod and retreat.

Originally, he planned to rely on Arthur to get more financial budget directly, but it seems that he can only join the battle with other departments as before.

The last person who asked to see Arthur was Finance Minister Kevin Noble, and Arthur did not refuse to meet Minister Kevin.

After all, national defense and finance are the two departments that Arthur controls in the government, and Arthur still needs to understand the situation of these two departments.

Minister Kevin's report only had two points. The first was the government's financial situation and this year's approximate fiscal budget, and the second was a request for instructions on the fiscal budgets of various departments.

Naturally, Arthur would not take the initiative to express his opinions. He just asked Minister Kevin to make certain improvements according to this year's plan on the basis of roughly maintaining last year's fiscal budget.

Last year's total fiscal revenue exceeded A$200 million, which also increased the Australasian government's total budget share this year by A$5 million compared with last year.

At present, 47 million Australian dollars have been allocated to military expenditures, plus 10 million Australian dollars for the transportation department. The budget that each department can compete for is about 138 million Australian dollars.

Among them, medical care and education account for a large proportion, as well as the people's livelihood issues that Arthur is usually most concerned about.

Including military spending, these four expenditures accounted for 57% of the total fiscal expenditure last year, and the remaining six departments and government operating expenses only accounted for the remaining 43%, which is enough to show that the government attaches great importance to these four expenditures.

Of course, the remaining 43% is not a small number. According to this year's total fiscal expenditure budget, it is almost 84 million Australian dollars.

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