Guinea

Copra Plan In Operation In New

All Copra Pooled :: Marketing Committee Appointed in Sydney :: NG Chairman Tenders Resignation

BY regulations gazetted in Canberra on October 1, the New Guinea Copra Pool came into force from that date.

The following day, a New Guinea Copra Marketing Committee, was set up in Sydney to arrange and handle all copra sales from the Mandated Territory.

It comprises.— J. F. Murphy, Secretary of the Com monwealth Department of Com merce (Chairman); J. R. Halligan, Department of Ex ternal Territories; and C. E. Leake, head of the New Guinea Trade Agency in Sydney (Exe cutive Member).

This Committee will function until the full Pacific Marketing Board is established when Central Pacific Territories are brought within the orbit of the scheme expected to be within the next few months.

Under present arrangements, all copra produced in New Guinea, either by in dependent planters or on the estates of the big commercial firms, will go into a compulsory pool. Collection of copra within the Territory is under the super vision of the New Guinea Copra Com mittee (Messrs. Gerald Hogan, J. C.

Archer, and F. J. Mackenzie) and it will use the commercial organisations already in existence.

The NG Board, in September, notified that copra would be received at the fol lowing depots;— RABAUL: Stores of W. R. Carpenter & Co. Ltd.. Bums. Philp & Co. Ltd., and Colver Watson (NG) Ltd.

TIMBUR: Stores of Burns, Philp and W. R. Carpenter.

MADANG; Stores of Burns, Philp and W. R. Carpenter and the Administration store, used by Colyer Watson.

KAVIENG: Old Administration store (W. R. Carpenter) and new Adminis tration store (Colyer Watson).

MANUS: Salami and Lorengau stores of Colyer Watson.

It is understood that the firms con cerned will receive 17/6 per ton for all copra handled by them.

Additional Payments Later

PLANTERS will receive the guaranteed £4/10/- per ton. on the plantation.

Periodically, probably at six-months’ intervals, the Copra Committee will make additional payments to producers from the profits of copra shipments, after all expenses have been met.

The Sydney Committee is of opinion that no difficulty should be experienced in disposing of New Guinea’s pooled copra at a fair price. In recent months, large consignments have been lifted from the Territory and there was little accumulation of copra stocks when the Committee took over on October 1.

One or two copra shipments loaded at Rabaul early this month were granted exemption from the new regulations by the Minister—arrangements already had been completed before the regulations were gazetted. The Minister has power to grant exemption to any person or firm at any time, but it is unlikely that this will happen in the future.

Papua, as yet, has not been broueht into the copra marketing scheme —the Territory’s present production is not much more than 5,000 tons p.a., and ordinary trading channels will take care of that.

The position in Fiji and other Central

Pacific Territories is dealt with separately in an article on page 12.

IT was reported from Rabaul on October 10 that the Chairman of the New Guinea Copra Control Board, Hon.

Gerald Hogan, MLC, has tendered his resignation as a member of the Board to the Minister for External Territories.

No official announcement has been made, as we go to press, whether it has been accepted or not.

Moratorium In Force

THE NG Legislative Council, at the end of September, passed the Mort gagors’ Relief Bill, which was held up in July by direction of the then Minister for Territories (Mr. McDonald).

By its provisions, planters whose estates are under mortgage are relieved of the obligation to pay interest. The measure does not apply to future loans or ad vances. Mortgagees can obtain redress from the NG Supreme Court if sufficient grounds be shown for such action. The currency of the ordinance is until Sep tember, 1942, when the position will again be reviewed.