The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 854 - 638: Advanced Food Production

After the matters of education were settled, Arthur then shifted his gaze to the other Cabinet Ministers, waiting for the others to raise their concerns.

Although there had been some disagreements within the Cabinet about whether to relocate the capital immediately, the relocation had become a fait accompli, and the attention of the Cabinet members naturally turned to creating greater political achievements. The work in Saint Arthur Castle thus appeared particularly important.

Even though the population of the new capital had surpassed 250,000, its overall development was not as comprehensive as Sydney, so the Cabinet Ministers had considerable work to do.

Of course, this was true for the entire Capital Region. If the Capital Region could be well-developed, it would not only earn Arthur’s trust but would also be seen as a political achievement for the people.

"Your Majesty, the Capital Region is the core area of Australia and should possess a sufficiently large industry," said the Industry Secretary Joey reverently, presenting a plan for the construction of a new industrial area. "This is the Ministry of Industry’s plan for a new industrial base, please look it over, Your Majesty."

Arthur nodded, took the construction plan of the industrial base, and read it carefully.

The site chosen for the industrial base was located more than 200 kilometers north of Saint Arthur Castle, in Broken Hill, a town famous for its mining industry.

The reason for siting the industrial area here was explained in detail by Minister Joey. Broken Hill had a highly developed railway transportation system, making it easy for minerals and industrial products produced here to be quickly transported west to Piri Harbour and Augusta, or south across Saint Arthur Castle to the capital of South Australia, Adelaide.

With just the railway transport, it was easy to reach the harbor or other main railway lines, making Broken Hill’s geographic location very suitable for an industrial base.

Moreover, because the industrial base was located inland in Australia, there was no need to worry about dangers from the coast, which slightly increased the future safety level of the industrial area in Broken Hill.

Certainly, another important factor was the east-west layout of Broken Hill and Leonora, two cities. The development potential of Broken Hill, located in the Capital Region was certainly greater than Leonora, situated in the arid deserts of West Australia State. This was also significant for the development of the Capital Region.@@@@

According to Minister Joey’s construction plan, the construction of the Broken Hill industrial base would be implemented in two phases. The scale of the first phase was equivalent to the second phase of Leonora Industrial Base’s construction, while the second phase was comparable to Leonora Industrial Base’s third phase of construction.

Although the industrial base in Broken Hill was inevitably smaller in scale compared to Leonora, the two phases combined would still create over 500,000 jobs and accommodate thousands of enterprises in a vast industrial area.

Minister Joey provided a construction period, with the first phase set to continue from early 1926 to the end of 1927, entering production in 1928.

The second phase was expected to begin in 1929, with production anticipated by 1931.

This also meant that in five years, Australasia would welcome another vast industrial base, and its industrial strength would climb another rung.

"What is the expected amount of funds for the construction of the new industrial base, as projected by the Ministry of Industry?" Arthur asked, satisfied with the construction plan for the industrial base and inquired about what concerned him most, which was the expenditure of funds.

"The estimated annual investment is 12 million Australian dollars, and the construction of both phases of the industrial base can be completed within a maximum of six years," Minister Joey hurriedly explained.

The cumulative cost was about 72 million Australian dollars, which was worth it for an immense industrial area expected to support over 500,000 jobs.

After the plan to construct an Industrial Base was approved by Arthur, the Minister of Agriculture immediately stood up and presented his plan, "Your Majesty, after a more detailed survey of the Capital Region, I’ve found the Mure River Basin to be highly suitable for developing agriculture and has the potential to become our largest grain depot.

According to estimates, if we carry out comprehensive agricultural development in the Mure River Basin, we could support the entire country with just this region alone.

Therefore, I request an increase in agricultural development work in the Capital Region, encouraging civilian agricultural development while also building a large number of State-owned farms to increase the percentage of farms controlled by our country."

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If you include the entire Mure River and the Darling River Basin, the area of this land has long exceeded 1 million square kilometers.

Millions of square kilometers of land used for agricultural development undeniably speaks for itself in terms of development potential.

You see, looking out over all the Powers in the World, there are only a few whose Native Land area exceeds a million square kilometers.

Even without exaggeration, currently, besides the Russia Country, United States, and Australasia, the Native Land of the other Powers do not exceed a million square kilometers.

Even if only half of that area were used for agricultural development, the amount of Grain produced would likely be more than just enough to feed the entire country.

You should know that, at present, the total area of Cultivated land in Australasia is around 41 million Acres, which translates to approximately 166,000 square kilometers.

The total area of Cultivated land in the entire country is not even one-fifth of the Mure River Basin, but Food production has already reached a terrifying 21 million Tons and there is still potential for increase.

And 21 million Tons of Grain, in theory, is enough to feed about 55 million people for a year. Paired with Australasia’s extremely developed animal husbandry and the abundant fisheries provided by its expansive seas, feeding over 60 million people is no problem at all, and that is on the premise of some wastage.

What kind of exaggerated concept is this? Even with the current development of food in Australasia, the Population could already support a doubling.

If we further develop the Mure River Basin, supporting a Population of over 100 million is entirely possible, signifying that Australasia will not face any issues with food, which is an important sign and symbol of national stability.

No matter what crises the country experiences, a lack of food is definitely the biggest problem brought on by a crisis. Even in an economic crisis, the fact that people cannot afford food is a key factor that deepens the impact of the economic crisis.

If people can still eat well during an economic crisis, doesn’t it mean that the impact of the economic crisis has been reduced by more than half?

Being well-fed allows people to work better, and working ensures that the Order of Australasia remains largely unaffected.

Aside from the Economic Crisis possibly affecting the import and export scale of Australasia, it seems it could no longer impose too significant an impact on present-day Australasia.

Of course, one should not be too complacent about this famous Economic Crisis. A certain level of economic reserve is necessary; it ensures that the government can provide some work for the large number of unemployed people it faces.