Where Australia Fails To Help

New Guinea

Letter to the Editor

I WAS most interested in several sub jects mentioned in November “PIM”.

In it, you discuss the efforts to establish scrap rubber industry in New Guinea; but you omitted to mention that Australia imposes a duty of 2d. per lb., plus 10 per cent, war surcharge on it.

There is another new industry which, together with scrap rubber, is proving the means of saving many planters from absolute ruin, and that is the cutting of “laup”, or New Guinea walnut. This is cut into flitches, or quarter-logs, and is shipped to Australia; but, again, there is a substantial duty on these. I under stand that whole logs are admitted duty

free. But the handling of whole logs means expensive equipment, quite beyond the means of the average planter.

In the same issue, it is said that duties on several commodities entering Austra lia from New Caledonia have been either removed or lowered. I think this is an excellent idea, as when I was there some years ago, I noticed how trade between the two countries was being hampered by excessive duties on both sides.

But charity begins at home. If there is to be any lowering of duties on Islands products, surely Australian territories should be considered first.

In this connection, I think that we can hardly expect USA to lift the duty on our copra, entering there, as suggested in a recent “PIM”, as a means of help ing Australian planters, while Australia herself charges heavy duties on products from her own territories.

That letter headed “Is NG Foreign or British?” is very timely. For all purposes which suit them, such as commandeering our gold production, foreign credits, etc., and insisting on laws being passed which benefit Australia rather than the Terri tory, apparently we are an integral part of the Commonwealth. But, when it is a question of our getting essential sup plies from Australia, it is quite a differ ent matter. Prices of commodities for internal use are strictly controlled. Prices for export here apparently are not.

There is also the matter of censorship.

I fail to see why letters between Aus tralia and New Guinea should be cen sored, any more than letters between different States. No one wishes to have the liberty of discussing war news; but it is very irritating to have one’s personal affairs pried into unnecessarily, espe cially in a small community like this, where everyone is personally known to the local censors.

I am, etc.,

R. P. Willmott.

Kuraiba Plantation, Rabaul, TNG. 10/1/1941.