"No Luxury"

Life of Officials in New Guinea

Letter to the Editor.

WITH reference to your article entit led “Minister and New Guinea Ad ministrator”, published in the “Pacific Islands Monthly” of July, I wish to draw your attention to the statement that “the rich revenues de rived by the New Guinea Administration . . . have been used by the New Guinea Administration in more or less luxurious living”. Does this infer that an officer in this service lives in luxury? If such be the case, then I cannot agree with you. I am closely connected with an officer of the N.G. Service.

To live in luxury, it is essential for one to have an excessive remuneration and exceptional conditions. Such a state of affairs has never existed in the Terri tory.

The salary ranges in New Guinea com pare very unfavourably with other tropi cal countries, and are little better than those of the civil servant in the Com monwealth. The conditions under which they live are extremely arduous, and many hardships have to be borne by the officers.

I speak with assurance and experience, when I say that no such thing as luxury exists in the lives of Administration of ficers. Your statement may give the general public a false impression of the conditions in the Territory. Should there be any truth in your allegation that the New Guinea Administration are using their revenue in ill-advised ways, then it must be elsewhere than in providing luxurious living for its officers.

I am, (etc.,

Hard Living.

Sydney, Aug. 1, 1938.

EDITORIAL NOTE: We hope that, through indulging in hyperbole, we have not given the unfortunate impression in dicated by our correspondent. When we said that the New Guinea Adminis tration had wasted part of its rich gold fields revenues in “luxurious living”, we meant that high officials of the Admin istration were famed for their generos ity to themselves in certain matters re lating to transport, departmental equip ment and expenses, frequent and seem ingly aimless touring around the Terri tory, etc. It is all a matter of opinion, of course: but we argue that all these providential revenues should be earmark ed for a definite policy of opening up the Territory, and encouraging new set tlers and new enterprise.

So far as the rank and file of the New Guinea service is concerned, there is only one opinion. These Australian men are doing a splendid job of work, often under arduous and discouraging conditions. It is unfortunate that at pre sent, owing either to a lack of vision and leadership in Rabaul. or to help less inability and mental confusion in Canberra. Australia is not making full use of this excellent material.

If those young Australians were given only half a chance, they would put up a performance in New Guinea that would bind the Territory to Australia for all time.

Mr. T. Habenstein has joined the staff of the Lutheran Mission at Pinschhafen, New Guinea, as a carpenter.