Chapter 152: Term Extension
The year 1902 was a prosperous one for Australia. After two years of steady development and construction, the results were finally beginning to show. The benefits brought by extensive infrastructure projects for the Australian people were far from limited to what had already been achieved.
"In the new year, the government's main goal remains to continue our development plans. I hope that the sections of railway already in operation can be connected to the ports this year to effectively strengthen the transport efficiency of industrial zones nationwide. At the same time, public security must be taken seriously. As our cities expand and the population grows, Australia's public safety must remain at a good level," Arthur concluded with a set of instructions.
Overall, Australia's development had been smooth and steady. Although it couldn't yet be considered a global power, there was potential for that in the long run through continued effort.
"Prime Minister Evan, if I recall correctly, your cabinet's term is about to end, isn't it?" Just as everyone was breathing a sigh of relief, Arthur suddenly asked with a slight smile.
"Yes, Your Highness. The first cabinet's term is three years in total, starting from June 1900 and ending in June 1903," Prime Minister Evan immediately replied.
"Only six months left?" Arthur nodded upon hearing this. After thinking carefully for a moment, he continued, "The government should begin preparations for the cabinet election six months from now. Starting from the next cabinet, the term will be extended to four years. Everything else remains unchanged."
Arthur's decision to extend the cabinet's term from three to four years came after careful consideration. A three-year term was ultimately too short. Even if the government worked hard and achieved results, they had only just begun to take shape.
Moreover, every new cabinet would inevitably see changes. A government composed of different members could not guarantee consistency in views or policies.
If development were to be affected due to a cabinet reshuffle, it would be a loss not worth the cost.
Although Arthur had now decided on a four-year term for cabinet governments, it would still take time for this to be officially implemented in the Australian constitution.
Additionally, Arthur did not want the current cabinet members to think the change in term length was made specifically for them. Therefore, the change would only take effect with the next cabinet.
This was, in fact, a test of the current cabinet members' public reputation and credibility. If they could stand out again in the election six months later and retain their positions, they would then benefit from the longer term.
But if their public support proved insufficient and they failed to win enough votes to remain in office, they would become the first—and possibly only—cabinet in Australian history to serve a three-year term.
As expected, once Arthur announced the decision to extend cabinet terms starting with the next government, nearly everyone's face showed a mix of joy and contemplation.
Over the past two years, ministers from every department had achieved measurable success, leading to significant transformations across the board.
Arthur had not been stingy with rewards. Aside from financial bonuses and verbal praise, the most significant recognition for these ministers was being publicly commended in the Victoria Daily and the Australia Daily.
At this stage of development, only two newspapers had truly entered the national market of Australia: the Victoria Daily and the Australia Daily.
Though nominally run by different publishers and serving slightly different clienteles, both papers were, in fact, owned by the Royal Consortium, whose true controller was Arthur.
With the backing of the Royal Consortium, the two newspapers quickly gained control of the Australian market.
It was precisely because their areas of focus were so distinct that the two papers could coexist peacefully.
Of course, during major national events, both newspapers would publish the same key stories—these were the only times when the two publications would share identical layouts and news content.
It was also because officials sometimes appeared in these papers due to Arthur's good mood that they now had such confidence in the upcoming elections.
Even if their feature was just a small section with minimal reporting, being featured in these nationally distributed newspapers was highly significant. In this era with few entertainment options, newspapers were the public's primary source of leisure.
According to statistics, out of Australia's population of over four million, more than 300,000 subscribed to newspapers.
Among them, over 150,000 were regular readers of the two major papers. This meant that the Australia Daily and Victoria Daily together had a daily circulation exceeding 150,000—a powerful channel of publicity.
And that number was likely underestimated. Many households only subscribed to one newspaper, but multiple family members would read it.
In addition, many people would quickly skim through the papers at newsstands. So, while daily circulation was around 150,000, the actual number of readers was estimated to be at least 400,000.
What did that mean? Roughly one-tenth of Australia's population read these two newspapers daily. Being featured in them meant national recognition.
Of course, the massive print volume and wide customer base made distribution difficult for the two newspapers.
As a result, most news published in them was already two days old. Only by publishing stories from two days prior could the papers have enough time for printing and distribution.
Some railway sections were already in place, and that infrastructure was what made it possible to maintain a daily circulation of more than 150,000 across Australia.
This limitation was common to all newspapers at the time. Given the underdeveloped transportation system, printing current-day news would require nearly half a day just for printing—let alone distribution and sales.
By the time printing and delivery were completed, it might already be the next day, and the "news" would no longer be new.
Therefore, most newspapers adopted the practice of printing stories from one or several days earlier. This gave them ample time to prepare and distribute.
It was also due to the limited advancement in technology that the spread of information and news was very slow. For most people, newspapers and word-of-mouth were the only ways to access external information.
Newspapers maintained such high circulation precisely for this reason. Even if the news was a few days old, it was still content that people otherwise had no easy access to.
(End of Chapter)
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