Passed In Senate

'T'HE Papua-New Guinea Provisional Administration Bill passed all stages in the Senate on July 27.

Points made by speakers during the debate were;

Senator Sampson (Lib., Tas.): When

you make a personal reconnaissance and see these territories for yourself it makes all the difference in your ability to debate these matters sensibly. The indenture labour system has always been conducted on a voluntary basis, and it is strange that it is condemned almost exclusively by people who know nothing about it,

Senator Grant (Lab., Nsw): We

hope we will deal with people like Mr.

Carpenter and Burns Philp. We will see we are not putting the Japs out of these territories simply to put Carpenters and Burns Philp back in.

Senator Sampson: What’s wrong with Burns Philp and Carpenters?

Senator Grant: Other people do the fighting so they can exploit the natives. * SENATOR BRAND (Lib., Vic.): In order to keep step with Dr. Evatt’s San Fran cisco pronouncements concerning the bet terment of native races the Government has lost all sense of balance between decent treatment of natives and decent treatment of white settlers. . *

Senator Sheehan (Lab., Vic.): When

these children of nature are taken away from their own people they some of their own ideals. Now that the Labour Government is arranging for their regu lar return to their villages they will be able to carry on their traditions. Of course, we hope to develop their ideas. * SENATOR COLLINGS (representing Mr.

Ward in the Senate); The Bill has been compiled and brought down after consul tation with many men who knew New Guinea well. Mr. Ward himself went to both New Guinea and Papua and inves tigated the situation there on the spot.

The Bill is the result of his findings.