Sugar Preference?

Will Papua Get Colonial Sugar Preference?

Two Big Plans Depend on News of Ottawa.

CERTAIN information, the character of which is as yet unknown, but which may have a direct bearing upon the future of Papua, is being brought to Australia from the Ottawa Conference by Mr. Harry Gullett, Mini ster for Customs.

The information —which is awaited with considerable eagerness in certain quarters—has to do with preferential duties on sugar, which have been promised or already granted to the im perial units by Great Britain. It will be remembered that, several months ago, Britain granted to her Crown Colonies a substantial preference for sugar grown in those Colonies. But that preference did not extend to Dominion-grown sugar. Britain held that up her sleeve as something with which to bargain at Ottawa. It was obvious, of course, that if Australian grown sugar is to freely enter the British market on the same terms as colonial-grown sugar, Australia will have to give something substantial in the way of preferences to Britain, in return.

So far, so good. But the position of Papua, in relation to sugar-growing, is most anomalous and unfortunate.

Papua, although a territory of Aus tralia, has an independent life of its own so far as customs duties are con cerned. That is to say, the import duties imposed by Papua are applied to all goods, quite irrespective of their country of origin. They are not Aus tralian duties, in any shape or form.

In any event, the Customs duties im posed by Papua, being purely revenue duties, are comparatively low.

It was quite a fair thing, therefore, that Papua should enjoy the same con ditions in regard to British sugar pre ferences as the Crown Colonies. If this were granted it would make a considerable difference to the future of Papua. It would permit the early es tablishment of the sugar industry in Papua on favourable conditions, and this would take the place of the rubber industry, which has collapsed, and of gold, on which were built high hopes which never materialised.

Before the Australian delegation left for Ottawa, the Ministers were asked by Sir Hubert Murray to specially bring before the British delegation in Ottawa the desirability of giving to Papuan sugar the same preference as is given to sugar grown in the Crown Colony. It is not yet known at Can berra whether this has been granted —the secret remains with Mr. Gullett, along with all the other details of what has been arranged on Australia’s behalf at Ottawa.

But if Papua is to have Colonial preference for sugar, at least two huge sugar-growing concerns will begin to operate immediately in Papua, and the effect upon the future of the Territory will be profound.