Join the new world

This is a policy article to provide you with more substance and detail. This expands on the in-principal goals presented in the earlier campaign article and gives you a better idea of my practical intentions.
This article will be followed in a few days by the Cabinet List, then I'll release my final remarks before the election.

Grab a tea, get comfortable and fetch your reading glasses: This is going to be a big one.

A warning:
It won't be big on pictures.
You can TLDR by reading the banners.



Bringing Education Back

I will bring back the New Player Rewards Scheme, keep a newbie training channel manned and have my Minister of Education sweep through the education articles keeping them up to date and relevant.
I'll also give specific instructions to redo this index to make it more newbie-friendly and less daunting.

The NPRS pays new players for joining the forums, signing up with the ADF and setting up their IRC account. When managed and publicised correctly this program has proven to be extremely effective at getting players set up in eAustralia.

But I think we need to do more to try to retain these new players after they've been established. The longer they stick around, the more chances they have to mingle with the locals and get attached.

I'll coordinate with both my MoE and the ADF Marshal to integrate the systems and develop a longer-term way to encourage new players to interact, contribute and invest in the community.



Liberation

We'll be making lots of friends this term, cycling through our neighbours and allies with high-profile meetings: passing out olive branches.

Diplomacy will be key to winning back our regions. I'll be making extensive use of my cabinet's Foreign Affairs contacts to build relationships and get our small nation's name on the lips of foreign officials.

We'll be polite, respectful and genuine in all our dealings. We want to leave a positive impression on the world and sell the narrative of our stout and hearty Aussie population fighting for our freedom against the desperate eChilean oppressors.

And when the time is right, we'll call in the favours.

Alliances

I've been asked on several occasions whether, if elected, I'd consider joining an alliance.

Despite our 'neutral' status we are widely seen as pro-eden, effectively making us fair game for our larger neighbours and a diplomatic risk to our neutral friends.

I would be extremely hesitant to rejoin Eden. I believe Lancer450 made the right decision when he resigned eAustralia's membership.

I do (as a citizen and policymaker) enjoy the sovereignty and independence of being Alliance-free, but it has clearly left us open to regular wipes. Therefore I am open to considering joining an alliance, if that's what the citizenry want.

But joining an alliance is no small matter. My cabinet and I will discuss this issue at length and do some windowshopping, then report our findings to the public.

If the population (you) reach a consensus or significant majority view, I'll initiate a referendum.



Balancing the Budget

Our Senate's final act before being disbanded was to transfer 400,000 AUD to the ADF and another 400,000 AUD to the RBA, topping up our reserves.

While our financial position is continuing to deteriorate due to heavy war and next to no tax revenue: the savings made by governments over the past year are able to sustain us for at least a few months longer.

My Minister of Finance and I will run a prudent operation, offsetting domestic programs with donations and possibly fundraisers.

Defence spending will be focused on carefully planned precision attacks and events, rather than broad-blanket resistance.

That sai😛 I can't run a war without funds.
If all avenues of attack fail to secure money-making regions, the defence budget is expended and our allies are unable to assist: We're going to end up with too little revenue to balance the expenditure.

But if we succeed, as in the past, our full nation will provide in one month more than enough to recoup the cost of guerrilla warfare over the same amount of time.

Emergency Measures

When we have a full nation, I believe, the budget must be balanced. That is an imperative.

In the event that the occupation has seriously damaged our population levels or the government finds itself in rough waters fiscally, we have several stages of money saving measures available to us.

Firstly, my Finance team will closely watch the Market Bot and find ways to exploit it. This has provided mountains of revenue in the past.
If that's not enough to balance the budget: audits, austerity and fundraisers would be ramped up and savings found in government expenditure. Also, a greater proportion of money and community attention would be spent on recruitment and retention to solve this issue in the long term.

Thankfully, the vast majority of government expenditure is on the ADF, whose costs are directly related to the number of soldiers they supply to. A lower population would mean less soldiers and less ADF expenses.

If, in some kind of global economic crash or insane player exodus, these measures are not enough: I'll call in some experts I know to work with my Finance team to find the least harmful way to increase taxes. They would develop a revenue raising plan to present to the Senate, once it is re-formed on the 26th.

While I seriously don't expect a budget crisis to occur, it's good to be prepared, and it's important for you to know that my team has got it covered.



Damage Efficiency

One of the first things I'll do if I'm elected is a complete audit of all government assets.
In particular: I want to know whether the ADF is shrinking or expanding, how much damage we get per dollar and what we can do to improve it.

Broadly: I see the ADF as an extremely useful tool to distribute weapons, organise our forces and increase our damage across the board.

I won't hesitate to increase ADF funding, ramp up the supply level for regular ADF members and devote a lot of manhours to finding ways to get more damage for less dollar. I want to milk all the damage I can get out of eAustralia's precious and limited energy - that means more weapons and more precision attacks.

Participation and Simplicity

While increasing membership is technically the responsibility of the Marshal, my subordinates and I will scrutinise the system. It's no secret that many In-game fighters find it outwardly complex and refuse to take part. That's a serious issue that we'll work with the Marshal to address.

Similar to the education changes above, I want to make player interaction with the ADF simple, flashy and rewarding.

My team and I aim to encourage that vital psychological connection between following ADF orders and getting ADF supplies. We want to make the ADF simple enough to be accessible to two-clickers, but retain the essential activity checks and information gathering which make it such a reliable distribution system.



First, on 'Mudslinging'

The term 'mudslinging' was coined and repeated widely in reaction to the abandonment of intelligent and mature discussion and the seemingly spontaneous eruption of attack politics across the political spectrum.

In my opinion, even accusing your opponents of 'mudslinging' is a form of 'mudslinging', which makes things complicated.

I believe it all comes down to the simple problem: both politicians and the general public were attacking each other's failings rather than promoting their own qualities.

With that kind of cynicism from both sides, who could help but feel pessimistic about their choice at the ballot box. It was a dark time.

A Positive New Election

Thankfully, for all of us, that time is over.

With Callumh123 releasing both a positive campaign article AND a few policy statements, plus TJ Norton's 'shuttup and get back to the game' article, I think we're in for a much more progressive, policy-based and friendly campaign.

So we're in the clear for the moment, but how do we keep this spontaneous hate from popping up again?
And how can we run a friendly, helpful and cool-headed government when two thirds of the population went off their rockers?

Friendly, Helpful, Respectful Service

My staff will have sensitivity training. We're here to help you, the citizens, as much as we can. We'll answer your questions, listen to your views and always give you the benefit of the doubt.

Because if the government refuses to help you, why is it even there?

I'll only accept cool-headed Ministers. Emotional outbursts, personal attacks or 'mudslinging' will not be tolerated.

Guilty Cabinet will be replaced or reshuffled. Simple as that.



We're here to help.

Vote me in and we'll raise the bar.


Vote PhoenixGreen
Let's take eAustralia back