New "Minister For

Islands”

Major C. W. C.Marr

THE appointment of a new Federal Government was a matter of con siderable importance to the residents of New Guinea, Papua, Norfolk Island and Nauru, as it “means that there is

to be a new Ministrial head to whom the various Pacific Administrators will report.

Much pleasure was shown when it was announced that Major C. W. C.

Marr, who had been included in the new Federal Cabinet as Minister for

Health, was to be temporarily the Min ister in charge of Pacific Islands af fairs. Contrary to the usual belief, the administration of Australia’s Pacific

Islands territories is not under the supervision of the Home Affairs De partment, but —for some reason best known to Canberra—is tacked on to the Prime Minister’s Department. The consequence is that the ministerial head is not the Minister for Home Affairs, but one of the Ministers as sisting the Prime Minister.

Major Marr is well-known in New Guinea and Papua, where he has been engaged in various industrial enter prises and is highly esteemed. He is a man of genial manner and is per sonally very popular. His outstanding ability, combined with his wide know ledge of Pacific Islands affairs, have created the belief that his direction of these Pacific Administrations will have the quality of decisiveness—which has been rather lacking in the case of some “Ministers for the Islands,” who know nothing about the Territories.

It is generally understood, however, that Major Marr will not for very long retain these particular duties. It is believed that as soon as Senator Massy Greene recovers sufficiently from his illness to assume Ministerial duty, he will take over from the Prime Minister the work relating to the Pacific Is lands, thus relieving Major Marr of some of the considerable Cabinet duties he has been allotted. Senator Massy Greene is a man of outstanding ability —in fact, it was only a series of pecu liar political accidents in the 1922 elec tion that prevented his becoming Prime Minister instead of Mr. Bruce. He is a very capable, shrewd, far-seeing business man, and the residents of the Pacific Territories will find that he has a wide knowledge of their outlook and requirements. Senator Massy Greene knows a good deal about the development of tropical industries—he had considerable interest in the pro posal to establish the cotton-growing industry in Northern Queensland, which received much attention prior to the depression.

Major Marr

Senator Massy Greene