The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Cabinet Members

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“The Minister of Health will be Bradford Dillman,” Arthur continued to announce.

This seemed to be a rather unfamiliar name, not a government official or seasoned politician, but a commoner from an ordinary family background. The reason for his election as Minister of Health was very simple – he was a rare graduate from a renowned European medical college and a well-known doctor in New South Wales.

More than half of the more than 3 million people in Australia were attracted by gold mines and gold rushes, and less than one-third were talents attracted by major colonies.

In such an environment, it is not surprising that talents like Bradford Dillman, who have a high level of knowledge in a certain field, are being promoted.

“The Minister of Education will be Richard Noble Chapman,” Arthur continued to announce.

Richard Noble Chapman is the governor of Tasmania, and the one with the least voice among the six governors.

Compared to other states, Tasmania, with a population of just over 70,000, lacks competitiveness. Even though Arthur has already taken good care of Tasmania in the allocation of seats in the House of Commons, Tasmania has only won seven seats in the House of Commons.

But Richard Noble Chapman did one thing very well: knowing that he couldn’t compete with other colonies in terms of economics, he made a correct decision – to run schools and develop education.

Moreover, the natural advantage brought by the small population made Tasmania’s literacy rate reach a horrifying 80%, and the primary school graduates accounted for 70% of the total population. It is the state with the best education conditions among the six Australian states.

His appointment as Minister of Education was precisely because the Members of Parliament treasured his ability and experience in developing education.

Soon, Arthur announced all the cabinet members.

Among them, the Minister of Public Security was appointed by the former Governor of South Australia, Thomas Chekhov, who was successful due to his own reputation and advantage, and does not need further explanation.

The Foreign Minister was appointed by the Governor of Queensland, Andrew Kim Potter. Like Governor Thomas Chekhov, it does not need further explanation.

The Minister of Civil Affairs is appointed by Governor Victoria, Walter Black. Walter Black has developed decent civil affairs in Victoria and has a good reputation in Australia. It is only natural for him to be elected Minister of Civil Affairs.

Positions of Minister of Defence and Finance Minister are held respectively by Kent Crawford Rowan and Roger Joseph Albert.

Kent Crawford Rowan is the son of Hunter Steward and a talent graduated from a British military academy.

Arthur was very relieved to have him as Minister of Defence.

As for Roger Joseph Albert, he was a talent left to Arthur by Duke Arthur. Roger and Hunter Steward are responsible for managing all of Duke Arthur’s assets, with Roger in charge of factory-type assets and Hunter Steward in charge of the castles.

Roger’s contribution to the development of the factories left by Duke Arthur to their present scale is absolutely indispensable.

Both of them came to Australia with Arthur from the very beginning and changed their nationality to Australia in the first place, which enabled them to participate in the election of the House of Commons and achieved success.

And the most important position of Prime Minister was won by Governor Evan.

As Governor Evan was the most influential figure in the original colonial Australia and the leader among the governors, his appointment as the most important Prime Minister of the Cabinet Government not only satisfied the original colonial forces but also stabilized the situation in Australia.

Of course, Arthur doesn’t suffer any loss in this arrangement and can even win the favor of several governors.

After all, at the very beginning, Arthur greatly weakened the rights of the Cabinet Government and significantly lowered the power of the Prime Minister.

The current cabinet government only has administrative power and is still subject to the supervision of the Upper House and Arthur.

In the Cabinet Government, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence, which hold the greatest powers, are controlled by Asa – in this case, no one can have enough power to challenge Arthur, and the Cabinet Government is only a tool for Arthur to rule Australia indirectly.

“Well, that’s all the members of the Cabinet Government. Let us congratulate them on their election and the official formation of the Cabinet!” After announcing all the names, Arthur smiled and said to everyone.

Clap! clap!

In an instant, the meeting room was filled with enthusiastic applause, and those who were successfully elected showed happy and excited smiles.

The Australian Cabinet is different from other monarch cabinets. Take the British Empire’s Cabinet Government, for example. After the election of the Prime Minister of the Government, the Prime Minister is responsible for forming the entire Cabinet.

In other words, the Cabinet members can be appointed by the Prime Minister of the Government. Although the tenure of such cabinet members is basically the same as that of the Prime Minister, the benefit of such a cabinet is that all cabinet members unite under the leadership of the Prime Minister, enabling the government to work better.

But Australia does not need this. All members of the Cabinet are elected by the House of Commons, not appointed by the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

This greatly disperses the unity of the Cabinet, turning it into a tool for Arthur s rule, rather than a power institution comparable to Arthur.

“Upon becoming a member of the Cabinet, all other duties should be automatically removed. Those of you holding other positions should submit your resignation letters to the original institutions within a week. Governors of each state should hold an acting position for the time being, and after the elections in the State Parliaments decide on the new governor, you will automatically lose your governorship,” Arthur said with a smile.

Membership in the Cabinet Government is definitely superior to all other positions, and Arthur would not allow officials to hold important positions in the states while concurrently holding important positions in the Cabinet.

Otherwise, they would be overburdened and unable to fulfill their duties properly. Also, too much individual power could lead to political factions and cause trouble, even though it would not threaten Arthur’s power.

“Yes.”

The governors of each state have already prepared for this. Compared to the powerful cabinet memberships, the governorship seems to have immense power, but is actually controlled by Arthur, the government, upper and lower parliaments, and even the state parliaments. The power that can be exercised is reduced one after another.

Under such circumstances, it is clear to anyone which position to choose and give up the relatively unimportant position, it is not so regrettable.

“Well, that’s it for the House of Commons meeting. The election of the Government has come to an end. The current task for all Members of Parliament is to deeply investigate the current situation in Australia and to fill in the gaps in the Australian Constitution in terms of law,” Arthur said with a smile. “All Cabinet members, starting in the afternoon, take office. Your top priority is to get a clear understanding of the departments you are responsible for and the relevant circumstances. We will hold a cabinet meeting in a week.”