Consistently Stands

Administration That

On its Head The Strange Record of Expert Commissions in New Guinea

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Rabaul, Oct. 1.

COMMISSIONS, or committees of inquiry, into matters affecting New Guinea function conscientiously, from time to time, submit their recom mendations, and are promptly forgotten.

Some Minister, or some person at the Federal Capital, over-rules the expert advice of the properly-constituted board of inquiry.

In 1937, after the eruption, we had the Woolnough-Stehn Inquiry into the safety of Rabaul. The removal of the capital was recommended.

To find a suitable capital site, another committee was appointed, under Brig.-: General Griffiths, and it travelled far and wide, seeking a suitable area. Lae was recommended as the best location.

The Minister, Mr. Hughes, favoured Salamaua and there was lengthy argu ment. Eventually, the Federal Govern ment said that the capital would remain at Rabaul.

Then came a committee, under Mr. F.

W. Egglestone, to inquire about the administrative merging of Papua and New Guinea. They also travelled many miles, collected much valuable informa tion, and their recommendation was against amalgamation. Now, there would appear to be a move for a unification of the administrations: Papua’s executive head has been brought down to the level of New Guinea’s —a mere Administrator; Canberra is to have more say than ever in its legislative procedure.

A road from Salamaua to Wau, on the goldfields, was provided for by the Legislative Council of New Guinea; a special Bill authorising it went through the Commonwealth Parliament and Mr.

Hughes, himself, undertook to see, per sonally, that the road went through. But there is no sign of the road being built —it is shelved, apparently.

Another local committee was formed to investigate the need for the re-intro duction of the Mortgagors’ Relief Bill; the recommendation of this committee was a negative one. But, at the last meeting of the Council, the Relief Bill was formally brought in and passed.

More recently, there was a local com mittee of inquiry into the Native Labour question. It is some months since the inquiry closed, but there has been no report submitted yet. The betting is a bob to a pinch of copra that, whatever the committee’s recommendations are, Canberra will step in and reverse them.

Why the appointment of these com missions and committees if no notice is taken of them?

The Pacific Islands Society organised a special function in Sydney on Septem ber 25 to assist the Netherlands Relief Fund. The Consul-General for the Nether lands and his wife were the guests of honour, and other guests included the Crown Prince of Tonga, Admiral Feakes (who is an expert on Pacific defence) and Mrs. Feakes, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Purcell (of Penang, Malaya) and Madamoiselle Alix Hagen (of Noumea).

The function produced £2O for the fund.