Restlessness In

New Guinea

Is Bureaucracy in the Saddle Again?

Letter to the Editor.

T\o the people down South know that Bureaucracy has been completely re established in New Guinea, and that the morale of the service is being undermined by petty, harassing tactics? Do you know that all the fine work done by General Griffiths, in forming a policy of progress and development, and in checking the more autocratic officials, has been de stroyed, and that there is murmuring and discontent all through the Territory?

The belief here is that the new Adminis trator leaves most of the important de cisions to Canberra, and that our Depart ment in Canberra is being run by the janitor and the office cat. I have not heard a good word for the Government for months, and I am in daily contact with officials, traders, planters and miners.

The main complaint of the responsible officials is that they are treated like naughty children by a gentleman who, whatever may have been his military record, has not had one-tenth of their experience of tropical administration.

Why cannot Australia, in filling these positions, get an experienced Colonial Gov ernor from the British Colonial Office?

This is done, as a matter of policy, by other British countries—why does not Australia do the same?

If someone in authority in Australia does not soon become aware of what is hap pening here, and take steps accordingly, there will be a first-class row, which will not be much credit to Australia’s adminis tration of the mandate.

I am. etc..

Trader.

Rabaul,

New Guinea, 9/5/36.

EDITORIAL NOTE: We publish the above letter not because we subscribe to the views expressed, but because it is only one of half-a dozen of the same character recently received.

We do not know exactly what it is that our correspondent complains of. Apparently there has been a good deal of pin-pricking in certain sections of the Public Service, and the officials are irritated and restless. General Griffiths was a kindly, humane man, who valued the personal contact method of doing things, rather than the harsher method of discipline, routine, and official formality. General McNicoll belongs to the official school; and no matter how just and conscientious he may be, the people make a comparison, and do not like the result.

There is nothing to show that there is anything very seriously wrong in the New Guinea Ad ministration. If there is any trouble, it can be traced to what our correspondent calls the re establishment of bureaucracy in New Guinea, The Administrator necessarily leaves much to his departmental heads; and some of those officials have been too long in New Guinea, and have been spoiled by having too much authority. They are good, capable officers, no doubt, but they should be moved on. But how, and where?

Here is where one sees the merit of the “Tropical Service Corps” idea, put forward by Sir Charles Marr, when he was Minister. Under such a plan, the trouble in New Guinea would end when two or three prominent officials were moved to other responsible posts. As it is, we suppose that unconscious bureaucracy will con tinue unchecked on its distressing way; and the life of the Administrator will be made increasingly miserable by the discontent within his service, and the growling of the populace without.

A tropical territory cannot be run like a military camp. They found that out in Samoa — but too late to prevent an administrative scandal.