Chapter 281: Chapter 251: Farewell to Grant Wilson_3

If we look at the situation in Europe, the political party with the least amount of funds must be the Rural Party.

Why? Because the primary target audience of the Rural Party is the rural and low-income population. These people are already struggling to take care of themselves and their families, so the amount of funds they can donate to the Rural Party is naturally even less.

If this continues for a long time, a party like the Rural Party, which genuinely cares about rural and low-income populations, will inevitably face bankruptcy and even the risk of dissolution.

However, it is precisely because of the Party Law promulgated by Arthur that each party can divide the remaining political funds according to their level of support while ensuring a minimum income.

This is not exactly friendly for larger parties, but for the Rural Party and smaller factions, it is the key to maintaining the survival of the party and the real reason why the Party Law has not encountered too much opposition.

After all, the largest party is currently the Unity Party, whose program is entirely for the royal family and can be considered as the royal family’s insiders.

Arthur nodded and looked at Grant Wilson, seemingly casually asking: “Councillor Grant, what is your opinion on the current development of the country?”

Grant Wilson was startled and hurriedly organized his thoughts in his mind, but he didn’t dare to spend too much time. After a short moment, he said, “Your Majesty, I don’t dare to speculate on the national level of development. However, I may have a clearer view of some small-scale issues from the outside. I think there are two problems exposed in the current development, both of which are related to the population.”

Arthur smiled, showing some interest, and continued to ask, “Oh? Issues related to the population? If it’s about population size, this issue is already well-known, and there is no need to repeat it.”

“It’s not about population size, Your Majesty,” Grant Wilson explained, “Although population size is a significant issue for us, our annual intake of immigrants has steadily increased thanks to the efforts of you, Your Majesty, and the government. The problem of population size is gradually being solved. What I want to say is actually related to these immigrants. Regarding their resettlement, I think the current government’s approach is somewhat inappropriate. If we take a closer look at Australasia as a whole, most of our immigrants are located in southeastern Australia and North Island of New Zealand. Even more than 60% of immigrants have chosen to relocate to major cities in these areas.”

“There are advantages to this situation, as our capital Sydney has a population of more than 900,000 and is about to become the kingdom’s first city to exceed one million in population. However, there are also some inappropriate aspects to this approach. The gap between our cities is gradually becoming apparent. Our population is already small, and concentrating most people in large cities is not ideal for the development of the nation and regions.”

Arthur nodded; this is indeed a noticeable issue, and even the government’s previous policies have not eased the situation.

Although Australasia has become a popular choice for immigrants, it does not mean that all regions of Australasia are welcome to immigrants.

Immigrants have diverse choices, but generally, they consider factors such as local development, economy, cultural construction, education, healthcare, and population.

Compared to Australasia’s major cities, smaller cities have noticeably weaker competitiveness and can naturally attract fewer immigrants.

To give a simple example, the population of Perth, the capital of West Australia, has only grown from just under 140,000 to just over 230,000 between 1900 and early 1908, with a total population increase of just 90,000.

In contrast, the population growth of Melbourne, the second-largest city in Australasia, seems much faster.

Similarly, from 1900 to early 1908, Melbourne’s population grew from 440,000 to 710,000, with a total increase of over 270,000, exactly three times that of Perth.

The reason why Sydney is not mentioned is that Sydney’s development is even more exaggerated. As the former capital of the Australian Principality and now the capital of the Kingdom of Australasia, Sydney has always been the focus of the government’s development efforts.

Moreover, with the presence of the Benz Car Factory, the super factory, the Capital Territory, and Sydney have become the most popular destinations in Australasia, even surpassing most cities in the United States.

Sydney’s population size was initially smaller than Melbourne, but it has now reached just over 970,000, moving towards a population size of one million.

This means that Sydney has absorbed more than 500,000 immigrants in these eight years.

How exaggerated is this number? Currently, there are only seven administrative regions in Australasia with a total population of more than 500,000.

The total number of immigrants that Sydney has added in the past eight years is equal to the combined population of Tasmania State and South New Zealand State.

However, this is not a problem with Sydney itself. After all, there is nothing wrong with developing and building Sydney, which is currently the capital and flagship of Australasia. Sydney has played an invaluable role in attracting so many immigrants.

But the development of other administrative regions must also be taken into consideration, so it is necessary to divert some immigrants to other areas.

Particularly in West Australian State and South Australia State, which have a wealth of mineral resources, the combined population of these two states is only about 1.5 million. In contrast, New South Wales State still has a population of more than 1.29 million, even without the large city of Sydney.