The Rise of Australasia

Due to the impact of the influenza, the second half of 1919 was chaotic and disordered.

The economies of all countries were significantly affected, and Australasia was no exception.

Immigration from abroad, which had been slightly improving, was once again halted. After all, no one could guarantee whether there were any actual infected cases among these foreign immigrants. Strict quarantine measures were taken, or immigration to Australia was temporarily suspended to avoid the severe influenza epidemic from affecting the native population of Australasia.

In September 1919, more than 100,000 foreign immigrants arrived in Australasia, but by October, the number had dropped to less than 50,000. The combined number in November and December was even less than 50,000, which is evident of the cautious attitude towards the flu in Australasia.

This made Arthur frown slightly when he saw the report on the entire 1919 Australasian government.

It must be acknowledged that this sudden third wave of influenza had a significant impact on Australasia’s originally planned four-year development plan.

Even the fourth phase of construction of the Leonora Industrial Base was forced to halt, to prevent mass contagion among construction workers from gathering.

However, compared to the slightly tragic situation abroad, well-prepared Australasia was in relatively good shape.

During the three months of October, November, and December, there were less than 100,000 recorded cases of infection in Australasia, and the number of deaths was reduced to less than four digits. More precisely, it was just over 600 people, which can be considered a relatively good situation.

Most European countries had infections in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. Since there was no specific medicine at the moment, they could only face the flu head-on. Some doctors and clinics prescribed random medications, but the results proved that they were of no use.

Due to the impact of influenza, the National Day in 1920 was very low-key. There were flag-raising ceremonies that nobody attended, all National Day activities were cancelled, and the government encouraged people to stay home and celebrate, avoiding going out if possible.

The good news is that people in this era had no rebellious psychology. Even if the people were asked to stay home, most of them would execute the order obediently.

However, if it were later generations in Europe and America, as soon as the government issued a request and ordered people to minimize going out and wear masks, the public would probably begin to protest against the government for violating their freedom.

This kind of thinking is insane and incomprehensible, and Arthur is committed to eradicating it in Australasia.

The people can seek the rights they deserve, but in the face of major issues, the interests of the country are also important.

At present, the performance of the Australasian people is quite good. Perhaps due to Arthur’s high prestige, the people of Australasia are obviously willing to follow the orders of the government and Arthur and are willing to implement any policies and orders issued by the government.

Although there were no activities, the Australasian government still released data for 1919.

Firstly, to reassure the public, as there were still many people concerned about the government’s various data and the country’s construction situation.

Secondly, the country’s development situation could fully reflect the country’s potential in certain aspects and the corresponding economic environment.

Compared to other powerful nations, Australasia was least affected by the flu. For immigrants who wanted to move to a stable environment, this offered a higher attraction.

As a matter of fact, when the Australasian government released the development data, not only did a large number of people care about the data published by the government, but also many foreign media followed up with reports and sincere admiration.

Although Australasia was affected by the flu, with the support of its peers, its achievements in 1919 were quite remarkable.

Firstly, in terms of population data, as of January 1, 1920, when the data was released, the population of Australasia had increased to 21,694,618, an increase of about 1.5 million compared to the previous year. The data was quite impressive.

If it weren’t for the impact of the flu in the second half of this year, Australasia’s population could even approach 22 million.

In this increase of 1.49 million people, the native population contributed a significant part. There were approximately 570,000 newborns and 70,000 deaths, bringing the net increase in the native population to about 500,000.

The remaining approximately 990,000 were mostly immigrants, with Russians contributing nearly 500,000.

From this data, it can be seen that Arthur has already imposed restrictions on Russian immigration.

If Australasia were to lift the restrictions on Russian immigration, attracting millions or even 2 million Russian immigrants each year would not be challenging.

However, such population growth would not be good for Australasia. After all, if the Russian population is too large, it would have a subversive impact on the governance of Australasia.

Although Arthur has been emphasizing the unified national concept of the Australasian people, it is not an easy task to get this large-scale national concept accepted by all Australasians, and it requires even more time.

At present, it can be said that a certain extent has been reached, as millions of native Australians are willing, and have deeply rooted the acceptance of the concept of Australasians.

Also, the immigrants in the earlier years are mostly willing to accept the national concept of Australasia. After all, the notion of Australasians can bring them tangible benefits, which is the real attraction for these immigrants.

Currently, those who are somewhat resistant or not adapting well are the immigrants who came to Australasia in recent years.

It is not that these people are unwilling to accept the rule of Australasia, but that they have grown accustomed to their original countries and need some time to accept becoming Australasians.

Generally speaking, it takes at least five years of influence for these immigrants to accept and adapt to the rule of Australasia and develop a sense of belonging.

If they are to be brainwashed into becoming loyal to Australasia, the time required will be infinitely extended, and it would take at least 10 to 15 years of influence for them to develop loyalty to Australasia.

Of course, the most effective method is to tie their interests together with those of Australasia.

As long as they share the same interests with Australasia, they will naturally stand together with Australasia.

This can be seen from the Australasian government’s policies towards these immigrants, as the government grants them large tracts of land or provides housing and employment, enabling them to quickly adapt to life in Australasia and possess some assets in Australasia.

In this way, even if their families want to leave Australasia, they will not be willing to do so.

After all, the assets granted by the government are genuine and have a fatal attraction for those who are struggling to survive in their original countries.

If everyone can live happily, who would dare to oppose the government and plunge back into the dilemma of being displaced?

The best way to make an immigrant identify with a new country is to ensure that they live well in that country, finding long-lost happiness and security, as simple as that.

Due to the influence of the Four-Year Plan, Australasia’s industrial growth in 1919 was relatively rapid.

Currently, Australasia’s total steel production has grown to 3.5 million tons and 5.17 million tons respectively. The growth of the chemical industry has reached 17.7%, and the growth of civilian light industry has reached 14.1%.

In this regard, the efforts of the Australasian government in industry can already be seen. Australasia is no longer satisfied with being an industrial country but wants to take a step further and become an industrial powerhouse, even a superpower in the field of industry.

On this point, Australasia indeed has inherent advantages. With the help of the British, realizing this goal is not difficult.

The only problem Australasia faces in industrial development is the slightly small market scale caused by insufficient population, which cannot digest the output value of Australasia’s comprehensive industrialization.

In response to this, the Australasian government also has certain countermeasures.

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Firstly, retaining the Dutch East Indies serves as a reserve market to digest Australasian industrial products when necessary.

The planning of the Philippines also has the same purpose. The rapid growth of the Filipino population is still considerable, and a market of tens of millions of people is somewhat attractive to Australasia.

Secondly, Australasia’s international influence has gradually expanded in the surrounding areas and even in Europe and East Asia.

Australasian agricultural products are exported to Europe and the United States, opening up a certain European market.

Although competing with European and American industrial countries, the European market is still very attractive.

Of course, not much needs to be said about East Asia. As one of the most populous regions in the world, it has the largest market and can definitely absorb a considerable portion of Australasia’s industrial products.

Fortunately, the influenza outbreak began in October, and the economic growth of the first nine months was still normal.

Under such circumstances, the Gross National Product of Australasia in 1919 reached 2.758 billion US dollars, equivalent to 551.6 million pounds or 1.1032 billion Australian dollars.

The overall growth rate is still quite good, with Australasia’s economic growth rate remaining above 10% due to various large-scale construction projects.

In 1919, Australasia’s total fiscal revenue reached 188.7 million Australian dollars, very close to an annual income of 200 million Australian dollars, or 100 million pounds.

Compared with when Arthur first came to Australia, this year’s revenue figure has been multiplied by countless times. Over the past 20 years, Arthur is quite satisfied with the development of Australasia, and the growing fiscal revenue has witnessed his efforts in Australasia over the past 20 years.

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