Chapter 9: The First Meeting
A sliver of morning sunlight filtered through the leaves outside the window, casting its glow on the glass and reflecting into Arthur's eyes.
Arthur instinctively reached out in an attempt to block the mischievous ray, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't entirely shield himself.
After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes. His brain seemed to suddenly restart, and he sat up with a jolt.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was already past 7 a.m.
"Damn, it's almost eight. Hopefully I won't be late for the meeting."
He muttered to himself while quickly dressing.
Traditionally, someone would attend to Arthur's daily needs, including dressing him. But Arthur was not used to such extravagance and preferred to do it himself.
After finally washing up, he left the room more than ten minutes later.
As soon as he stepped out, two guards standing at the door greeted him respectfully.
"Good morning, Your Grace!"
"Morning. None of the premiers came looking for me, did they?" Arthur asked.
Today was April 29th, the third day since his arrival in Australia.
As previously arranged with the premiers, they were to hold the first preliminary meeting this morning at eight, to discuss the governance structure of the Duchy of Australia and begin organizing the country.
It was nearly eight, and Arthur definitely didn't want to be late for his first official meeting.
Though as sovereign he could be late without consequence, he was new here and wanted to leave a good impression on his ministers and the public.
"No, Your Grace," the guards replied.
Whew.
Arthur let out a sigh of relief and made his way downstairs toward the meeting room.
During the past two days, he had managed to explore the government building and take a brief tour of the area around Sydney.
His first impression of Australia—or more precisely, New South Wales—was that it was traditional and backward.
The economy depended mainly on mining and agriculture, and a significant portion of that income had previously been sent back to Britain.
As a result, the colonies were not in great financial shape, and the average citizen's income was modest.
In short, Australia was still in the early stages of development. But now that it had become an independent duchy, its economic prospects were bound to improve.
When Arthur entered the meeting room, the six premiers were already waiting.
"Good morning, Your Grace," they all greeted in unison.
"Morning, everyone. Let's get straight to it," Arthur said as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"Your Grace, although under Her Majesty's decree Australia is now nominally a unified and independent country, in reality, our system is still operating under the previous six-colony model," said Evan, the Premier of New South Wales.
"I believe our first step should be to change the colonial system. I propose turning the six colonies into six autonomous states, with the capital decided by vote.
Based on these states, we can establish a unified federal government. We premiers would become state governors, reporting directly to you."
As the drafter of the Federal Council Bill, Premier Evan had a deep understanding of Australia's current situation.
The biggest issue was that each colony still governed independently and without interference from the others.
Though Australia was now technically a single country, in practice, it still operated like six separate nations.
"What do the other premiers think about this?" Arthur asked with a smile, looking around the room.
Evan's proposal closely aligned with the actual historical process of Australia, which had indeed adopted a federal government made up of autonomous states.
The advantage of this method was that it allowed for the formation of a federal government with minimal disruption.
The premiers would retain their power, only their titles would change from premier to governor.
Perhaps because the colonies had already reached some consensus during the earlier Federal Council discussions, none of the other premiers raised objections.
"I think it's essential to establish a unified government as soon as possible," Arthur said with a smile. "But the structure of that government needs to be carefully considered."
"In my view, Australia used to be made up of six separate colonies, each running its own affairs. But now that we are one unified nation, the term 'colony' should be abolished."
Arthur looked at Premier Evan and continued, smiling,
"Premier Evan's suggestion is excellent. I agree that the six colonies should become six states. Their names and capitals can remain the same, but they must now report to the national government."
"As for whether these new states should have autonomy, I believe each should manage only its internal affairs. Defense and other matters should be handled by the central government. What do you all think?"
Arthur glanced around at everyone.
"Your Grace, may I ask—what kind of electoral system will this new government have? Will we model it after the British system?"
Premier Evan asked cautiously.
If any country could be called a model of constitutional monarchy, the British Empire certainly was.
As one of the earliest adopters of this system, and fueled by the Industrial Revolution, it had risen to global dominance.
The Empire's advanced political structure had played a significant role in this, which was why Evan asked the question.
"There's no denying that Britain's system is very advanced," Arthur said.
"But I believe every country has its own circumstances. We can't copy everything, but there are definitely aspects worth borrowing."
"I propose creating an upper and lower house. Members of the lower house will be elected by each state, with representation based on population.
The upper house will consist of royal family members, appointees I select, and individuals elected by the lower house."
"The lower house will be responsible for proposing laws, electing cabinet members, and amending legislation.
The upper house will review proposed laws, vet elected cabinet members, supervise officials, impeach when necessary, and revise the constitution.
Together, the two houses will form the most important administrative body in our nation. The election of their members must be handled with care."
Arthur's proposal for a bicameral system was quite similar to Britain's.
The lower house would be controlled by the people and political parties, while the upper house would remain under the monarch's control.
Though the lower house could draft and amend laws and elect cabinet members, the upper house had final review power.
Without upper house approval, any proposal or election result from the lower house could be nullified. This was one of Arthur's key safeguards.
With this system in place, the future upper and lower houses would essentially remain under Arthur's control, and cabinet members could be replaced at any time with those loyal to him.
(End of Chapter)
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