Chapter 28 The Cleanup Plan
The cost of building an advanced university, along with its subsequent expenses, is equivalent to the cost of constructing numerous primary schools across Australia.
At first glance, this may seem surprising and absurd, but upon closer consideration, it is entirely reasonable.
As the starting point of basic education, building primary schools is relatively inexpensive. In fact, even high school graduates can become primary school teachers.
Under such circumstances, the expenses related to staffing a university are indirectly reduced by more than half. Moreover, primary schools require no research equipment—just textbooks and desks and chairs. With these, even a modest primary school can begin operating.
"Minister Richard, I will grant you a total of five million pounds in funding, and allow you to apply for an additional one million pounds in the next three years if needed. My requirement is that by the end of this year, at least one hundred primary schools must be established, and within two years, there must be visible progress in the university's construction. Can you do it?" Arthur asked with a meaningful smile as he looked at Minister Richard.
The difficulty of developing education is quite different from that of building an industry. For industrial construction, one only needs to follow proper procedures, designate appropriate industrial zones, and install the equipment for production.
But with education, not only do you need to consider qualified teachers, teaching materials, and reasonable distribution of resources, you must also take into account the student population and the needs of each city.
Blindly establishing schools might result in wasted funds without any real benefits, making it a fruitless effort.
"No problem, Your Highness! I guarantee that we will see results from basic education within one year, and progress on the university within two years," Minister Richard stood up and said solemnly.
Arthur had given him a fairly difficult task, but if accomplished, it would bring tremendous merit.
Both Minister Pierre and Minister Richard were elite political figures from Britain, and now in their forties or fifties—the prime age for statesmen.
They were not willing to let their political careers end without impact. Even if they had to go through fire and water, they would fight for success, let alone face a slightly difficult challenge.
"Very good," Arthur nodded in satisfaction and addressed Ministers Richard and Pierre. "Over the next three years, both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry have heavy responsibilities. But if you can complete your missions, you will receive great merit. Australia is now in its most critical golden age of development—and this is when we need talents like you the most."
Hearing this, both Minister Pierre and Minister Richard beamed with joy and inwardly made a firm resolution to fulfill their three-year missions.
"Minister Thomas, how is the state of the Ministry of Public Security? After integrating the six state police departments, how many police officers does Australia now have?" Arthur turned and asked the Minister of Public Security, Thomas Czech.
Following the establishment of Australia, the original six state police forces were naturally merged and brought under the Ministry of Public Security's authority.
However, due to the previously decentralized nature of the state forces, managing them effectively would still take some time.
"Your Highness, Australia currently has 41 municipal police departments and 6 state police departments, with a total of just over six hundred police officers. But both the number of departments and officers are far from sufficient to maintain proper law and order. Also, the distribution of police departments is highly imbalanced—New South Wales alone has nearly as many as Western Australia and South Australia combined," Minister Thomas Czech stood up and reported truthfully.
Arthur clicked his tongue in surprise. He hadn't expected Australia's law enforcement forces to be so weak. No wonder the economy had struggled during the colonial era.
"What is our national crime rate? How many criminal cases have occurred since the nation was established?" Arthur asked with a serious expression.
A weak public security force meant Australia's social order was unstable.
Moreover, the previous state-level administrations were lax, with frequent street brawls and even gunfights.
If such severe cases occurred and police failed to respond in time, it would lead to public disappointment in the government.
Once such incidents piled up—even if resolved later—the reputation lost by the government would be nearly impossible to recover.
Thus, public safety had to be quickly addressed. It would not only improve Australia's law and order but also increase its attractiveness to immigrants.
After all, no one would want to migrate to a country plagued by gun violence. If personal safety could not be guaranteed, even the greatest incentives would leave people hesitant or unwilling to settle.
"Your Highness, due to the inefficiency of our police departments, crime statistics are currently unreliable. But based on my investigation, just in New South Wales alone, over one thousand criminal cases have occurred since the founding of Australia, with at least fifty involving homicide," Minister Thomas said with a slightly ashamed tone, lowering his head.
"It's alright, Minister Thomas. The lack of complete statistics before wasn't your fault," Arthur said, noticing his embarrassed expression and offering reassurance.
"But I hope that Australia's chaotic situation will be resolved within one year. By next year, I want to see a significant drop in crime. Ideally, there should be no homicides. If serious crimes do occur—especially murders—they must be handled swiftly and fairly. Compensation must also be provided to the victims' families," Arthur continued with a change in tone, issuing his requirements.
"At the same time, I want every city to establish police stations—even if they are small ones with only two or three officers. Australia should be a prosperous and safe home, not a breeding ground for those damned criminals," Arthur said firmly, scanning the room. "But that doesn't mean the Ministry of Public Security can recruit officers without strict requirements. First, every officer must pass a rigorous identity and background check. Then, they must undergo extensive training before taking up duty.
Until our police are fully trained, we cannot just sit and watch Australia suffer from poor law enforcement. The Ministry of Public Security must immediately launch investigations. Anyone with gang affiliations is to be a primary target.
If there is conclusive evidence of crimes committed by any individual or group, they must be arrested immediately. If you're short on manpower, I'll dispatch a thousand soldiers to assist you."
Arthur's words were a direct death sentence for all of Australia's dangerous gangs.
No matter how powerful a gang was, it could never stand against a nation.
Everyone in the room couldn't help but pity those gangs. Faced with a thousand fully armed regular soldiers, even if all of Australia's gangs combined their strength, they wouldn't stand a chance.
(End of Chapter)
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