Comment Is

Bitter

Minister's Visit to Territories

npHE new Australian Minister for the ± Territories, Mr. A. McDonald, is back in Australia, after a three weeks’ visit to New Guinea and Papua.

According to Australian newspapers, he has been impressed by the achieve ments of Australia In these tropical countries; he thinks there are oppor tunities for the use of Australian enter prise and money in developing the Ter ritories; and he has made a close, first hand study of the current problems of the Territories, which will help him in his work.

Just the usual “blah-blah”, which we have heard so many times, on the visit of so many new Ministers—after which there always is another period of official inactivity and deadness.

Personally, Mr. McDonald made an excellent impression. “This is a good chap, and likeable, with a businesslike grasp of affairs,” writes one man, from New Guinea. “He seemed anxious to understand our conditions, and take hold of things. But what chance has he got with a whole retinue of officials tailing him up, everywhere, telling him what to do and say? That was the view we took ;> and we didn’t bother to interview There is restlessness, and discontent with the Administration, throughout New Guinea; but, as is well known, the majority of critics are afraid to manifest themselves, because of the fear of offi cial retaliation upon them. New Guinea in that respect, has a little Gestapo sys tem of its own. * “The Minister appreciated the fact that he could not learn or understand the TerntGiy i n a few days,” says another correspondent. “He gave his attention to outstanding matters—copra control and marketing; relief for the copra plantation mortgagors; the * or the Wau-Salamaua road; whether the activity of Matupi volcano makes a move from Rabaul desirable, and so on.

He did learn much of these matters* but no one even suggested that he should meet the Executive Council in confer ence and discuss these things with the trained and experienced senior men of the Administrative Service. The senior officers, comprising the Executive Coun cil, are the men who take all the kicks when our critics are out on the war path; yet they are never asked, as a body, to meet a visiting Minister.

“So far as this Minister was allowed to see, the Administration consists of Mr. Halligan and Sir Walter McNicoll.

And there you have the basic cause of all the criticism.”

It appears that, at the recent meeting Messrs. Clark, Mullaly and Bretag of the New Guinea Legislative Council, attacked the New Guinea public service in no measured terms. The public ser vants are voiceless, and cannot defend themselves—they just have to take it.

But they know, the New Guinea non offlcial classes know, that the real cause of all the discontent is not the public service, but those who are responsible for the public service.

The Minister, with the Departmental head, Mr. J. R. Halligan, and his private secretary, Mr. Bathurst, went first to Rabaul, where he attended many func tions, met most of the public bodies and leading residents, and visited the adjoin ing districts; thence he proceeded by sea to Salamaua, calling at numerous places en route; he spent several days at the various Morobe Goldfields towns; thence

he proceeded by air to Port Moresby and, using that town as a centre, he visited many districts in Papua; and thence he returned by air to Australia. (For Minister’s decisions regarding assistance for copra planters in New Guinea, see article “Better Copra Out look”, on page 7.) Mr. C. E. Searle, who recently retired from the service of Amalgamated Wire less (A/sia) Ltd., in Papua, has taken up land at Kokoda where he will estab lish a rubber plantation.