The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 280:

Chapter 280: Chapter 251: Goodbye Grant Wilson_2

However, the two men belonged to countries with very strong power, which made Edward’s title as Emperor of India and William II’s title as Emperor of Germania widely recognized.

If one day Australasia could develop to the strength of the British Empire now, Arthur having an imperial title would not be too opposed.

After all, in the current international status, fists are much more significant than the law itself; having one’s own strength and the strengths of the countries they belong to are the key principles.

“It’s been a long time, Councilor Grant.” Arthur nodded, returning a slight smile.

Grant Wilson quickly bowed slightly, saying sincerely, “Thank you for your Majesty’s reception, as the leader of the Unity Party, we are extremely honored.”

“How is the development of the Unity Party now? I remember back in New Zealand, your Alliance Party did an excellent job.” Arthur asked with interest.

The smooth integration of New Zealand into Australasia at that time was largely due to the publicity efforts of the Alliance Party in New Zealand.

That made Grant Wilson somewhat impressed in Arthur’s heart; Arthur still had some good feelings for Grant Wilson.

Upon hearing Arthur’s inquiry, Grant Wilson hurriedly replied, “Your Majesty, ever since the Federation’s establishment, the Alliance Party has set our sights on the entire country. We have merged and integrated with the Independent Party and the Progressive Party to form the current Unity Party.”

“I know that the tight union between Australia and New Zealand cannot have any accidents for our nation to develop further. Therefore, I boldly decided to set the new Unity Party’s mission to be upholding Australasia’s unity and the Kingdom, as well as maintaining the position of the royal family. The development of Australasia to its current position and seeking greater status, larger scope of influence, and more power are inevitably linked to your leadership, Your Majesty. The Kingdom is determined to continue developing, and achieving even greater dreams of rise also absolutely requires your command and leadership.”

As early as during his time in New Zealand, Grant Wilson was clearly aware of the political landscape after the merger of Australia and New Zealand.

No matter if it was in Australia or New Zealand, Arthur held an absolute position and had sufficient public support and popularity.

Seeing the development rate of Australia back then, Arthur is also undeniably a capable monarch.

A skilled, popular, and well-supported monarch would only rise higher in status and become more stable. Therefore, Grant Wilson was determined early on to choose his side, to try to enter the upper echelons through another way.

Although Grant Wilson’s words had some sycophancy, Arthur did not get angry but continued to ask, “Councillor Grant, what is your view on the current laws regarding political parties and elections?”

The Party Law and Electoral Law are regulations on political parties and elections that were established during the time of Australia and are now the fundamental laws followed in Australasia’s political party system and election periods.

The reason these two laws emerged was that they greatly enhanced Arthur’s royal power while also weakening the powers of political parties, putting them under the control of the Royal Parliament. Even during the election period, there is monitoring from the royal family and the government.

While these laws allowed political parties in Australasia legal status, they also deprived them of the opportunity to gain greater power.

Despite the smooth development of Australasia to the present, Arthur still decides to listen to other opinions to see the other parties’ reaction to the Party Law and Electoral Law.

“Your Majesty, the Party Law and Electoral Law standardize Australasia’s political parties and the electoral system, and also weaken the influence of the major political parties as much as possible. Although this system is different from Europe, it is very suitable for Australasia at present. What Australasia needs now is to unite and develop the country instead of having new voices,” said Grant Wilson after careful consideration.

“As for the reaction of other political parties, it’s not very important, Your Majesty. As long as the people support it and the government supports it, the party’s response doesn’t matter. Besides, to my knowledge, none of the five major political parties in the country have explicitly opposed the Party Law and Electoral Law, and even the Rural Party and the New Laboour Party are very supportive of the Electoral Law.”

The most significant feature of the Party Law and Electoral Law was that they eliminated any political donations, and placed the party’s income on an almost equal level.

For political parties to gain higher revenues, they had to rely on public support to obtain seats in the House of Representatives and distribute more funds according to the ratio of seats in the House of Representatives.

In 1907, a total of more than 1.2 million Australian dollars were received from various donations from the public. According to the provisions of the Party Law, 30% of it was evenly distributed among the five major political parties, and each party could receive 72,000 Australian dollars on average.

Grant Wilson’s Unity Party gained a 30% share of the remaining 70%, amounting to 360,000 Australian dollars.

The two incomes together allowed the Unity Party to obtain a total of 432,000 Australian dollars in activity funds. Even for the smallest liberal party at present, the scale of funds received exceeded 120,000 Australian dollars.