Australian Rice

Kept at Home While Urgently Needed in the Territories

CONSIDERABLE irritation was ex pressed in Pacific Islands trading circles when it was officially announced on May 6 that the Australian Government proposes to urge the Aus tralian people to eat more rice in place of potatoes, so as to take care of the “considerable surplus” of Australian grown rice.

This shows an appalling ignorance of the labour conditions created by the war in the adjoining Pacific Territories.

Since the Japs invaded Indo-China, Malay, Siam and Burma, the large sup plies of rice which usually came from

those countries to provide the staple food for native and Asiatic labourers in most of the South Pacific Territories have been cut off; the employers have been hard put to it to find substitutes.

Rice is urgently needed in all the Territories still in British occupation— probably the whole of Australia’s surplus could be taken by the Free French Territories of New Caledonia and New Heb rides. Large number of time - expired Javanese and Tonkinese labourers have been retained in New Caledonia because they cannot be returned to their own countries, and no one knows exactly how they are now being fed.

One would have sun posed that Australia would have been glad of an opportunity of making overseas sales and estab lishing overseas credits.

Mr. and Mrs. Standen, who conducted the Bamu River Mission, in the western section of the Gulf region of Papua, were evacuated from the Territory several weeks ago—Mrs. Standen, first, and her husband was sent out later. He had to undergo medical treat ment in Brisbane, for a variety of tropical sick nesses contracted in the unhealthy Bamu country.

They both now are seek ing wartime jobs.