The Terms Upon Which Traders May

Enter the Territories

Y'HE following circular letter, dated

September 12, has been sent to various Islands interests by the

Australian Department of Exteffial

Territories, Canberra ; IT is the transfer to Civil Administration of Papua and that portion of New Guinea south of the Markham River will be effected during October, 1945.

With regard to future trading and other commercial activities in the Territories, recent decisions of the Government in clude the following, namely:— (1) Private enterprise will be permitted to establish trading activities for the supply of stores and other requirements, except native trade goods. (2) Individual Europeans—e.g., mission aries, planters, etc.—will be permitted to indent stores and equipment direct from Australia. (3) Private enterprise will be permitted to re-open hotels and boarding-houses. (4) The Australian-New Guinea Pro duction Control Board will continue, for the time being, to conduct native trade

stores and, also, to handle the market ing of the products—e.g., copra, rubber — from native industry and from European plantations.

These decisions, so far as they relate to private enterprise and private indivi duals, are subject to the following con ditions, namely:— (a) That the undermentioned commo dities must continue to be obtained through the Production Control Board; — Meat, tinned—native ration pack; salt; wholemeal sharps. (b) That satisfactory shipping arrange ments are made with the Shipping Con trol Board and the Movement Control Section of the Department of the Army Territorial Customs duty will apply to goods imported into the Territories.

Commonwealth legislation relating to prices control and to coupon goods is applicable to the Territories.

With the impending return of mem bers of the staff of the Provisional Ad ministration, and the gradual return of other civilians, it is necessary that there should be available, particularly at Port Moresby and Wau: — (i) Residential hotel and boarding house accommodation for these people; and (ii) Retail store facilities to meet the normal requirements of these people.

If you are desirious or resuming activi ties within the area to be covered by the Provisional Administration, and within the limits of the Government’s decisions mentioned above, I would be glad to learn your intentions and what preliminary steps you desire to take in this connec tion. If you wish to proceed to the Ter ritory, or to send a representative there, to see what arrangements you will need to make, a permit will be necessary and a form of application for this purpose is enclosed. Transport arrangements will aiso be necessary.

At the present time, accommodation in Port Moresby for civilians is extremely limited, and those civilians who have been permitted to return have done so on the clear understanding that the only supplies available are based strictly on Army ration scales. What facilities are available at present in this connection are under the control of the Australian- New Guinea Production Control Board.

I would appreciate an early reply. (Signed) J. R. HALLIGAN, Secretary.

Anyone wishing to proceed to the Ter ritories must fill in the usual form (appli cation for a permit to enter the Tern tones). editorial n otE Mr WARD’S plan is now clearly dis closed. Planters and traders are to be “permitted” to re-enter the Ter ritories soon; but they are „.to ke com pletely under the control of the Ward directed Production Control Board Private individuals may establish a store or bording-house; but they may not touch native trade, in any shape or form; they may not trade in any way in the products of the Territories; they cannot organise or control their own transport, they must comply with all sorts of re strictive new Regulations. „ , v These conditions, of course, effectively bar out the Big Firms and place a}} the control in the hands of the PCB. Tern torians who used once to nil the “Macdhui’s” smoke-room with maledictions upon the Big Firms will presently, after a cycle of Ward-ism, lift up their voices in prayer for the return of the good old days.”