Utopia In New Guinea

Australia Plans Socialist

Mr. Ward Proposes to Show the World How Native Peoples Should be Governed

mHE full scope of the socialistic plans X made for the future administration of Papua and New Guinea oy the Australian Labour Government was dis closed on July 4, when the Minister for Australia’s External Territories, Mr.

Ward, made his second-reading speech on the Papua-New Guinea Provisional Administration Bill.

The Administration of the New Guinea Mandated Territory was suspended on January 22, 1942, when the Japanese invaded the Territory; and that of Papua on February 12, 1942, when General Mor ris, Commander of the Australian Forces in Papua, was given complete charge of the Territory.

Since then Papua, and all that part of New Guinea recovered from the Japs, has been administered by ANGAU, an Army unit commanded by General Morris, and by the Production Control Board, a body formed by the Army and controlled by the Department of External Affairs. An agitation for the restoration of civil gov ernment, and the return of civilians to Papua, has been proceeding for the last two years: but has been resisted by both the Army and by the Minister, though for different reasons.

Finally, in March, 1945, the Minister promised that civil government would be restored; but—presumably, in order that the Australian Socialist Government could keep private enterprise out of the Territories, and carry out its own ideas in relation to native administration—he announced that the old Administrations would not be restored, and that a Pro visional Government would be established under the authority of National Security Regulations.

Later, without explanation, the Minis ter introduced the Bill, which is to set up the Provisional Government by legis lation, and not by Regulations.

THE last paragraph of the Minister’s Fourth of July speech (reported below) was as follows: “It is the aim of the Government, as the proposer at the San Francisco Con ference of the establishment of the prin ciple of trusteeships respecting dependent peoples, to set an example by the way in Australia carries out its responsi bilities in the Territories under its control.

“Naturally, many of the plans of the Government affecting native education, health, etc. are in the formative stage; and, from time to time, statements will

t 0 the of decisions

taken m various subjects.” fhI ri T\/? 1^ k / ng his sec °nd-reading speech announce d that, as soon as Shi hrnL G< T rnment is established, it Lahn.w r. i" t 0 °P eratlon a new Native Labour Ordinance, in which effect is extraordinary views 6 of the Sor7 Ve u labour indenture system which have been pumped into the Minister bv

vanous missionary and anthropological

to which dl bp n ba the past two y ears > g and to wnich he has given exnressinn in St Mv ll Wa?.H ra - Se V since he to ° k offl ee.

Mi. Waid. in his speech, did not have - to hf,? y £ bout bis

length en™ animadverted at

Phrased ff) SIL P i ans to . (as he has from furthpv o the unhappy natives lurthei commercial exploitation and to show the world how the Austra lian Labour Government fulfils the Wi

gations of “trusteeship” concerning which the Australian delegates “got across the necks” of Great Britain and other great colony-holding Powers at San Francisco. The new Native Labour Or dinance proposes the following “reforms”: • A 44-hours working week for natives. • Elimination of the indenture system. • Elimination of professional recruiters. • Limit on number of natives taken from any village for employment. • Vigorous policy to enable natives to take a greater share in agriculture on their own account than in the past. • Raising of the minimum wage from 5/- to 15/- a month. • A revised, scientifically balanced diet for natives. • No emoloyment of natives under 16 years of age. • No employment of female native labour ex cept under certain conditions. • Ultimate participation in self-government by natives. • Twelve months’ limit on duration of employ ment contracts. • Limitation of the penal provisions of the Ordinance. • Employment compensation for natives. • Control of trading activities. • Appointment of various officers, including Directors of Health, Agriculture and Edu cation.

In the following columns, we have printed Mr. Ward’s speech in full. But, in order to correct his various mis-state ments, and show the destructive charac ter of his plans, we have interpolated our own comment wherever necessary.

EARLIER in the year (said Mr. Ward) I announced that the Government, after consultation with the Aus tralian Commander-in-Chief, had decided to restore civil administration to the Territory of Papua, and that portion of the Territory of New Guinea south of the Markham River. The purpose of this Bill is to give effect to that decision.

At the time of the invasion of the Terri tories of Papua and New Guinea by the Japanese early in 1942, there were sepa rate administrations for the areas, each with an Administrator and Executive and Legislative Councils, a Judiciary and a Public Service. Following the Japanese invasion all persons employed bv both, administrations who were not in the Forces were suspended from office by National Security (External Territories) Regulations; and such functions of civil administration as were necessary to be performed in those portions of Papua and New Guinea not then in enemy occupa tion were vested by National Security (Emergency Control) Regulations in the officer commanding the Australian Mili tary Forces operating in the area. The Australian New Guinea Administration Unit (ANGAU) was formed as a part of the Australian Military Forces and com menced operations in Papua and progres sively extended its activities to the Ter ritory of New Guinea. For convenience, the Territories have been regarded as one administrative area whilst under military control.

Although the Government does not propose at this stage to consider the question of the amalgamation of the tv/o Territories, it considers that it would not be desirable immediately to re-establish two entirely separate Public Services. It proposes, therefore, as a temporary mea sure, to create a single provisional ad ministration to administer Papua and such portions of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea as are now available to

be transferred to civil control. Other parts of the Mandated Territory which have been recovered from the enemy will continue to be administered by ANGAU until the operational position in those areas is such as to allow control to be transferred to civil authorities.

THE administration of Papua was con s“W®d under the Papua Act, 1905 - and that of the Mandated Territorv APt N^Qon Gul ?,*!; un £ er the New Guinea Act, 1920. Although officers of the ad ministrations of the Territories were sus pended in 1942, all laws of the Terri tories have continued in force, and such legislation as has been necessary during military control has been effected under National Security Regulations. , tv? Proposed that the Papua Act and the New Guinea Act should continue in force so far as their provisions relate to the definition of the boundaries of the Territories and the powers of the Com monwealth in relation to the Territories it is proposed, however, to suspend the provisions of those Acts which relate" to the Administrator, the Legislative Coun ts. the Judiciary and the Public Service rhe Bill contains provisions similar to those in the separate Acts in relation to these matters, excepting that the power to make ordinances will 'be vested in the Governor-General instead of the Legisla tive Councils. This course is necessary by reason of the temporary nature of the provisional administration and of the absence of normal conditions and a settled population.

The position will, however, be kept under constant review bv the Govern ment, and as soon as it becomes practic able to do so legislative powers will be restored to the Territories.

The area covered by the provisional ad ministration will be known as the Ter- Papua-New Guinea, and there will be one Administrator, one Supreme Court, and one Public Service for the Territory. rE Bill that the suspension of the 'provisions of the Papua Act and the New Guinea Act relating to the making of ordinances shall not affect the operation of any law made pursuant to those Acts; but any ordinance made under the Acts may be amended or repealed by ordinance under the proposed Act. The proposed Papua-New Guinea Provisional Administration Act will continue in opera tion until a date to be fixed by pro clamation and no longer, but in any event not longer than six months after His Majestv ceases to be engaged in war.

When the Act comes into force the opera tion of National Security (Emergency Control) Regulations will be terminated so far as the Territory of Papua and the portion of the Territory of New Guinea that is being transferred to civil control are concerned; and certain sections of National Security (External Territories) Regulations will be repealed.

The separate Public Services of Papua and New Guinea will be replaced tem porarily by a Provisional Public Service under the proposed Act. Officers of the former Services will continue to be re garded as suspended from office under National Security (External Territories) Regulations, but they will be entitled to. appointment in the Provisional Service under conditions of service and a salary not less favourable than those applic able to them as officers of their respective Public Services. The rights of such officers under the terms of their appoint ments in the separate Services will be preserved to them, and such rights will be safeguarded during the period of the provisional administration.

The classification for the Provisional

(Continued on Page 41)

Service has been prepared on the basis of the salary scales for corresponding positions in the Public Services of Papua and New Guinea, adopting as a general rule whichever rate is the higher for

analagous positions. Any disparity in

salaries paid for positions with similar

duties and responsibilities as between the two Services will thus be removed.

Comment

THE Minister gives no reason whatever for adopting this circuitous method of a “Pro visional Government,” except that it was considered undesirable (presumably by Mr. Ward) that any attempt should be made to re constitute two Public Services. It would have been quite easy for Canberra bureaucrats — whose powers appear unlimited —to have created one Provisional Public Service to administer the two Territories under their own constitution, and restored the latter, undisturbed.

But that would not have suited the Australian Socialist Government. It would have meant (a) the free and early return of civilians to the Territories; (b) the re-establishment of the Legislative Councils of both Territories, which have at least the privilege of making and amending the Ordinances; (c) the removal of the Production Control Board and tfre sub stitution therefor of the principle of private enterprise in the running of plantations and the conduct of general stores; (d) control by the Territories’ own administrations of native labour.

Mr. Ward wants to keep all those powers in his own hands.

These reforms have nothing whatever to do with wartime or post-war conditions. They are something planned by the very Leftist Mr. Ward, who apparently seeks to challenge the fame gained by the late Sir Hubert Murray as. the South Pacific’s wisest and most successful native administrator. Under the guise of wartime necessity, Mr. Ward, very cunningly, is putting into operation his own idea of a native Utopia in Australia’s Pacific Territories.

The Bill gets rid of all possible civilian inter ference with Mr. Ward. He, at Canberra, and not the Legislative Councils, will make the Ordinances. It leaves him, through the medium of the Production Control Board, in supreme control of all planting and trading, so that he can continue his two-year-old policy of keeping private enterprise entirely out of the Territories; and it gives him complete freedom to arrange native policy, and especially native labour, to suit himself.

Unless Mr. Ward, with the Australian Socialist Government, is turned out of office at the general election about September, 1946, this new set-up will operate for the period of the war and for six months thereafter; and it is to be feared that, by then, it will have left its mark very deep upon the economy of the Territories. riIHE occupation by the enemy of most X of the Territory of New Guinea and a large portion of Papua caused dis ruption to the native inhabitants and

destruction of property that will require

considerable sums of money to repair.

Some of this money will be forthcoming from the Commonwealth War Damage

Scheme, which applies to the Territories,

but appropriations will also be necessary from the revenue of the Commonwealth to assist in the reconstruction and re

habilitation of the Territories.

This Government is not satisfied that sufficient interest had been taken in the Territories prior to the Japanese invasion or that adequate funds had been pro vided for their development and the ad vancement of the native inhabitants.

Apart from the debt of gratitude that the people of Australia owe to the natives of the Territory, the Government regards it as its bounden duty to further to the

utmost the advancement of the natives,

and considers that that can be achieved

only by providing facilities for better

health, better education, and for a greater participation by the natives in the wealth of their country, and eventually in its gov ernment. A comprehensive programme is to be followed for the rehabilitation

and development of the Territories, hav

mg regard to the moral and material wel fare of the native inhabitants and the strategic importance of the area to Aus

tralia.

Comment

NO one, apparently, ever has told this Minister that, when the Japanese invasion came, there were 4,000 Europeans and over 2,000 Chinese in New Guinea and 2,000 Europeans in Papua; that they were the hard-working pioneers of these two great tropical Territories; and that —with the exception of the people of Darwin— they were the only Australians who really suf fered the horrors and direct economic losses of war.

Many of them were murdered; many were cap tured, and still are prisoners; the rest were hurriedly evacuated from the Territories—and still, three years later, are not allowed to re turn. Most of them have lost everything. The majority will receive war damage compensation: but this does not really compensate them for all that they have lost—especially the industry of their lives, and their hope of a secure future.

Whatever hope they may have had of re-estab lishing themselves in the Territories is pretty well wiped out now by the Socialistic plans of the Red Minister frem King’s Cross.

Mr. Ward is fearfully concerned for the wel fare of the natives, and devotes nearly all of his long speech to plans concerning them. But he does not —even to the extent of two conse cutive sentences —give any consideration to the present plight and future welfare of the thou sands of Europeans and Chinese who have been rendered homeless, and ruined, by the Japanese invasion.

They, of course, are associated in the mind of this incredible Minister with private enter prise, his especial bete noir. They belong to the

cla ss which exploited his precious Fuzzy Wuzzies.

He is s° in * to show them where they get off rpiHE Government has already taken X decisions on a nhmber of matters, the most important Of which is that