Chapter 186: Chapter 180: Australia and the New Zealand Federation

On March 20, 1904, officials from the Australian Government and the New Zealand Government officially met in Sydney, Australia, and began a peaceful discussion period that lasted over ten days.

These so-called peaceful discussions were actually negotiations between the two governments on the process of forming a Federation, as well as discussing how much power the two countries would have in the Federation and the future relationship between the two governments.

Although the formation of a Federation between New Zealand and Australia had become inevitable, the question of who should lead the Federation and how the two regions should merge was still a matter for discussion.

There were many participants in the meeting, mainly the Australian Duchy Government and the New Zealand Government, which came from the temporary reformation of the New Zealand colonial government.

In fact, there is essentially no difference between the current New Zealand Government and the New Zealand Colonial Government, other than Arthur’s status.

In addition to the governments of the two countries and regions, members of the Houses of Parliament from Australia and New Zealand also attended the meeting.

However, in reality, whether it is Australia or New Zealand, whether it is the government or the parliament, both are basically controlled by Arthur.

Therefore, this conversation between New Zealand and Australia to form a Federation can also be regarded as a conversation among Arthur’s subordinates.

Indeed, if Arthur so wished, such talks would not even be necessary. After all, New Zealand’s executive power is also controlled by Arthur. General Pierce, who held military power, returned to the British Empire after the referendum in New Zealand, and the current New Zealand garrison has been renamed the New Zealand National Defense Army, with the commander also being sent by Arthur.

Despite this, the division of power between the two regions after the formation of the Federation still needs to be clearly defined.

After all, any gaps and differences may cause the huge nation to disintegrate in the future, and Arthur’s hard-won Australian base may also be affected.

The meeting lasted for more than ten days, during which various detailed power divisions, including the parliament, government, etc., were discussed, and some analysis and conjecture were made regarding any possible situations that may arise in the future Federation.

On April 11, 1904, Australia and New Zealand jointly issued a statement announcing the establishment of the Australia and New Zealand Federation, with the Federal Capital in Sydney.

Also on that day, at the request of a large number of New Zealand people and many New Zealand high officials, Arthur agreed to become the Duke of New Zealand, serving as an elected Duke to rule the Principality of New Zealand.

Although Australia and the new New Zealand both adopted monarchy, there are still significant differences in terms of structure and other aspects.

Australia is a monarchist duchy similar to a territory, and the whole of Australia can be regarded as Arthur’s private property.

However, the title of Duke of Australia is also under the British Empire’s royal family, which means that the Australian Duchy has an inseparable relationship with the British Empire.

If one day, the Australian royal family where Arthur belongs becomes extinct, the title of Duke of Australia will return to the hands of the British Empire, as it is a duchy under the British Empire.

But New Zealand is different; the Duke of New Zealand can be said to be an elected title. The title comes from the will of the people of New Zealand and is not granted by others.

As long as Arthur does not lose the support of New Zealanders, this title will continue to exist and can even be inherited by people outside the family.

It was also an opportunity for a small change in Australia’s administrative region: a few dozen kilometers near Sydney were designated separately and the Federal Capital Territory was established.

As an administrative unit equivalent to the state, the highest official of the Federal Capital Territory is called the Governor, and their position and authority are equivalent to the governors of other states.

Meanwhile, the Principality of New Zealand was also divided into two states, the North New Zealand State, consisting of the North Island of New Zealand, and the South New Zealand State, made up of the South Island of New Zealand.

This clearly defined the scope and administration of the Australia and New Zealand Federation, which consists of three parts: the Australian Duchy, the Principality of New Zealand, and the New Guinea Colony.

Among them, the New Guinea Colony has a special status, directly belonging to the royal family, with the Governor directly appointed by Arthur, and having independent administrative powers.

Officials of the Australian Government and the New Zealand Government are elected by the Australian House of Commons and the New Zealand House of Commons respectively, while the Australian and New Zealand Parliaments jointly form the Federal Upper House (Royal Parliament) and the Federal House of Representatives.

Representing the rights of the royal family and citizens, the Royal Parliament is appointed directly by Arthur, the Federal Monarch, while the House of Representatives consists of elections held within all federal jurisdictions (including the New Guinea Colony), and eligible voters are all Australian and New Zealand federal residents who have legal citizenship and have lived in the Federation for twenty years.

The new federal government is a typical two-national one, with both Australia and New Zealand having their own independent governments, as well as a unified federal government.

At present, the federal government is mainly composed of the Australian Government. Only a small number of New Zealand government officials have entered the federal government, assuming some not-so-important positions.

The election model of the Australian Government was basically transferred to the federal government. As long as the officials of New Zealand have the ability and confidence, they are entirely capable of participating in the next government election, by which time they may even become the Prime Minister of the federal government.

In order to appease the officials of the New Zealand Government, the North New Zealand State and the South New Zealand State have mostly assigned their officials, and they can choose the positions they want until the next state government election.

This has indeed comforted some New Zealand officials who were originally unhappy, at least knowing that they could not compete against Australian officials in a short period of time.

Serving as an official of a state government was enough to satisfy their appetite. After all, they retained their original positions while gaining some state government positions and powers.

In fact, the least changed were the Royal Parliament and the House of Representatives. These two parliaments were actually a combination of the Australian and New Zealand Houses of Parliament.

This has led to the current total number of members in the Federal Royal Parliament exceeding twenty and the total number in the House of Representatives exceeding two hundred and forty.

All members of Parliament of Australia and New Zealand have joined the current Federal House of Representatives.

At least before the next House of Representatives election, they can temporarily maintain their status.

In terms of functions, the House of Representatives is elected from each state, with Australia’s six states occupying 198 seats and the two states of New Zealand occupying 42 seats.

These members elected by each state make up a total number of two hundred and forty in the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives has legislative powers, supervisory powers, and the power to impeach all officials outside the cabinet government, while all positions in the cabinet government are also elected by the House of Representatives.

In the Royal Parliament, members are composed of current cabinet government officials, adult male members of the royal family, members appointed by the monarch, and colonial governors and territorial governors. Except for adult male members of the royal family, the term of the other members of the Royal Parliament is equivalent to the term of their positions.

The term of office of members directly appointed by Arthur is slightly longer, but no more than five years. Unless Arthur reappoints them, after five years, they will no longer be members of the Royal Parliament.

In other words, Prime Ministers and Ministers of the Cabinet Government, Governors of the New Guinea Colony and the Capital Territory, automatically gain the status of Federal Royal Parliament members.

But similarly, if they are no longer the Prime Minister and Ministers of the Cabinet Government or Governors of the colonies and territories, they will automatically lose their status as members of the Royal Parliament.

The powers of the Royal Parliament are very extensive, possessing legislative powers, judicial powers, supervisory powers, the right to impeach any official, and the right to reject proposals of the House of Representatives.

Yes, the powers of the House of Representatives are enormous, but all of this depends on a precondition, which is that the proposal of the House of Representatives must pass smoothly through the Royal Parliament.

All proposals from the House of Representatives can only be implemented with the approval of the Royal Parliament, and Arthur controls the Royal Parliament by various means.

First of all, the governors of the colony and the capital territory are all directly appointed by Arthur and are naturally loyal to him.

Secondly, although the members of the cabinet government are elected by the House of Representatives, they must also be formally appointed by Arthur before taking office.

Without Arthur’s appointment, at least from a legal point of view, they cannot officially become cabinet members in terms of status or practice.

Therefore, even if they have great ambitions, they must remain loyal to the monarchy that prevails in the Federation of Australia and New Zealand and must remain loyal to the monarch with boundless prestige.

Moreover, besides the Royal Parliament, Arthur still had a trump card – that the monarch had the ability to overturn everything.

With the establishment of the Federation, the Australian Constitution was officially renamed the Federal Constitution and applied throughout the Federation of Australia and New Zealand.

The constitution stipulates that the monarch has supreme power and can dissolve the Royal Parliament, the House of Representatives, and dismiss the cabinet government under special circumstances, forming a provisional government appointed by the monarch.

This means that Arthur can dissolve the powerful Royal Parliament, House of Representatives, and cabinet government in an emergency, turning the Federation into a thoroughly dictatorial rule.

But such power can only become a card that is basically not used because once this card is used, the country may be engulfed in crisis, and the prestige of the royal family and the government collapses completely.

However, in reality, Arthur, who controlled the military power and had a huge reputation among the people, did not worry about the arrival of such a special situation.

Not to mention the present, even in the next few decades, it is basically impossible for a rival to be born within the Federation who can compete with the royal powers. This confidence comes from Arthur’s experience in later generations.