Chapter 50: Australian Papua New Guinea

After hearing Arthur's words, everyone present fell into a frenzy. Everyone wants to see the country peacefully expand its territory, especially when it comes to lands like British Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, which are very close to Australia.

British Papua New Guinea is located not far from northern Australia, with a population of about 700,000.

The value of this land is not high, and the population is not very large, but it can become an important gateway to the north of Australia and a springboard for exploring Southeast Asia.

To the west and northwest of British Papua New Guinea is the Dutch East Indies colony of the Netherlands.

The development potential of the Dutch East Indies colony cannot be underestimated, with a total area of nearly two million square kilometers and a total population of over 20 million.

More importantly, these populations in the Dutch East Indies are all so-called indigenous peoples, or slaves who are not seen as human by Westerners.

As long as a piece of land in the Dutch East Indies can be sought, a large number of free labor can be obtained, and it can also serve as cannon fodder for the development of Australia's industry.

In Arthur's view, these cultures that cannot be integrated into Australia's diversity and cannot become true Australians, their greatest role is to sacrifice their own lives for the development of Australia.

There is no need to say much about New Zealand, although various mineral resources are not as prosperous as in Australia, it is still an excellent country in animal husbandry, which can make up for the shortage of arable land in Australia.

If Australia can fully integrate British Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, then a country with a population of up to one billion is not a problem.

It has to be said that even in the final moments of her life, Queen Victoria fought for Arthur and his Australia to gain a lot of benefits, giving Australia the capital to rise and the potential to become a superpower.

However, for Britain, Queen Victoria's departure is pure loss. As a queen who ruled the country for more than sixty years, Queen Victoria's prestige in Britain is unparalleled, and the sovereign power she obtained cannot be compared with Edward, who is about to succeed her.

It can be said that when Queen Victoria was willful, she could dismiss and appoint prime ministers according to her own intentions without worrying about government and public criticism.

But if Edward dares to do the same, the next day, there will be news criticizing Edward on the streets, and there will be marches against the tyrant throughout the empire.

After all, Britain is still a constitutional monarchy, and the power of the British monarch is still greatly limited.

Even if someone like Queen Victoria, who had accumulated prestige over a long period of time and had the advantage of being deeply loved by the people, could temporarily regain some power from the government, these temporary rights could not be inherited by the new monarch after the throne was passed on.

Prince Edward had two immediate concerns, one was to handle Queen Victoria's funeral, which had to satisfy the royal families of various European countries as well as the British people who loved her.

At the same time, Prince Edward also had to communicate with the government, as he might not be able to suppress the government as Queen Victoria had.

However, Arthur was unaware of Prince Edward's troubles. After arranging the guards and attendants given by Queen Victoria, Arthur held a cabinet meeting the next day to discuss how to take over British New Guinea and New Zealand.

According to the agreement with Prince Edward, all British soldiers and forces would withdraw from British New Guinea after Australian soldiers arrived, and British New Guinea would be officially handed over to Australia for management.

As for whether it should become a new state of Australia or continue to be a colony, that was something Australia had to worry about.

It was precisely because of this that Arthur decided to take over British New Guinea as soon as possible.

With the remaining prestige of Queen Victoria, it was still very easy for Australia to fully control and take over British New Guinea.

However, if they waited until after Queen Victoria's funeral or even longer, Queen Victoria's prestige would gradually dissipate, and it would be difficult to say whether British New Guinea would be willing to accept Australia's management.

It was still the familiar meeting room on the top floor of the government building, and the same familiar faces in the cabinet.

Arthur sat at the head of the table, smiling as he posed a difficult question to everyone present. "According to the Queen's final will, British New Guinea has been entrusted to us for management, and I will serve as Governor-General of New Zealand for twenty years. Now is the time to discuss how we will manage both British New Guinea and New Zealand. What are your thoughts?"

British New Guinea was already a done deal, as it was essentially Australia's already. However, New Zealand was a different story. Arthur was only serving as Governor-General for twenty years, and if Australia's policies were not aligned with New Zealand's, it could lead to Australia losing its management rights over New Zealand, resulting in New Zealand returning to British control.

"Your Highness, why don't we just rename British New Guinea to the state of New Guinea and make it our seventh state in Australia?" suggested Minister of Agriculture Harris. "British New Guinea is very close to Australia, and it also has excellent ports. If we just make it a state, there shouldn't be any issues. It would be just like the smooth transitions we've had when we changed our colonies to states."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Does anyone else have any thoughts?" Arthur nodded expressionlessly and looked towards the others.

"Your Highness, I think in the short term, we shouldn't make New Guinea our new state. We should manage it as a colony first," Prime Minister Evans spoke up, presenting a different opinion. "British New Guinea is different from our Australian states. While it has a population of over 700,000, only 30,000 are British or European immigrants, and the rest are indigenous locals. If we make British New Guinea a state, what will happen to these indigenous people? If we count them all as our legal citizens, wouldn't it be unfair to all Australians?"

Evans' point was simple: if British New Guinea became a state, it would be a tricky issue to handle the indigenous population.

However, if British New Guinea remained a colony, who would care about the life or death of the colonial locals?

"Your Highness, my proposal is to continue managing New Guinea as a colony. What we need right now is an Australian colony of New Guinea, not the state of New Guinea," Evans said, looking at Arthur solemnly.

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