Nearly £3,000,000 Per Annum!

What Australia is now Spending on Her Pacific Territories

An analysis of the Australian Budget for 1946-7 shows that Aus tralia is now spending nearly £3,000,000 per annum on the Administra tion of her Pacific Territories and on allied services.

SINCE the Australian Socialist Govern ment decided to chase private enter prise out of the Australian Pacific Territories, and make them virtually a close preserve for Papuan and Melanes ian natives, many people have specu lated about the size of the new burden that has been thrown upon the Austra lian taxpayers. Up to now it has been hidden under several kinds of official smoke-screen.

However, we have obtained a copy of the Budget presented to the Australian Parliament on November 14; and, after examination of the figures, we are able to give an indication of the minimum amount which it costs Australia to carry on her various services in the Pacific Islands. We emphasise “minimum”, be cause officialdom spreads these figures through half a dozen Departments (only a part of them are under the heading of “External Territories”) and we may easily have missed some. The following are the totals we found.

Here are the appropriations made dir ectly under the heading of Papua-New Guinea, together with the expenditure of this section in the previous financial year:

In another part of the Budget, provision is made for the following, which may be described as a legacy from the bad old days before World War 11, when the two Territories actually paid their own way by taxes out of local production, and received only an occasional loan from; Australia, for which they paid interest, thus:

The following appropriations are set out in another division, called “Defence and Post-war Changes”—which apparent

ly are not to be regarded, like the little lot totalling £1,685,000. as recurring:

Here are four other items, from other sections of the Budget, which are di rectly connected with the Territories:

That £200,000 item, from the previous year’s accounts, is not strictly expend iture—it evidently was an advance to the Production Board, which thereafter was expected to finance itself from its profits on copra, etc. Territorians will be inter ested in the item, however.

The Budget provides a sum of £40,000

for salaries and expenses for the Depart ment of External Territories, Canberra.

The Department cost £32,165 in the pre vious year.

The Budget also earmarks £12,000 for shipping and mail subsidies for the Paci fic Islands services—last year’s cost was £11,954.

All the foregoing represents expendi ture incurred directly on account of the Australian Pacific Territories, and it may be summarised thus:

(Continued next Page)

Estimate Spent 1946-47 19'45-46 £ £ Inquiry into Suspension of Civil Administration in Papua Laws of Papua and New Guinea, consolidation and ■ 581 printing Papua-New Guinea Adminis- 20,000 922 tration, expenses Research, Development and Native Welfare, Papua— New Guinea Adminis- 400,000 208,509 tration Australian School of Pacific Administration — For 100,000 43,675 Training of Staff Film Record of Return of 11,000 1,874 Civil Administration . ..

Provision of Shipping Service 2,000 1,987 for Papua-New Guinea ..

UNO — Representations Re- 400,000 30,021

garding Trusteeship . ..

Contribution towards cost of Chair of Anthropology at 250 Sydney University ..

Grant to Papua-New Guinea Administration for purchase of equipment from 1,750 1,750 War Disposals Commission 750,000 — Total £1,685,000

Estimate Spent 1946-47 l&'45-46 Interest on Loans made to Papua £4,250 £4,490 Interest on Loans made to New Guinea .. 3,090 2.164

Estimate 1946-47 Spent 1945-46 Evacuation of Civilians from £ £ Territories Payments on account of Papua and New Guinea Administrations (no de- 500 206 tails) ' Restoration, re-establishment and reconstruction expenses of New Guinea- 24,500 .27.766 Papua Administration Clearing secondary growth 500,000 — Irom reopened plantations Compensation to Papua-New Guinea natives for war 280.000 6,853 injuries and war damage 200,000 Total £1,005.000

Estimate Spent 1946-47 1945-46 £ £ New Guinea Civilian War pensions and Education Benefits 32,000 4.441 Native Training and Reconstruction Papua-NG . . . 50.000 Advance to Australian New Guinea Production Board (Trust Account) — 200,000 Cost of Norfolk Island Administration 4,000 4,000 Total £86,000

Items in first list, above, many of them recurring £1,685,000 Interest on loans, recurring . . 7,34j Items in second list, above, mostly non-recurring . 1,005,000 Items in third list, above some (like war pensions) recurring 86,000 Departmental salaries and shipping subsidies, recurring 60,000 Making a total of .. £2,843,340

But that is not the end of it. The Australian taxpayers, through their open handed Government, maintain a most impressive array of Ministers, Legations, Consuls, Trade Commissioners and what not in other countries; and, of these, the following are in the Pacific area. Their total cost, is as follows;

In other words, £32,000 may be added to the huge total of £2,843,000, required to pay for Australian activities in the Pacific Islands —a sum calculated to shock any Australian taxpayer who may be prepared to think about it.

The provision, in the Australia Budget

of £5,000 to cover cost of the South west Pacific Regional Conference at Can berra in January, and Australian repre sentation thereat, is so small by com parison that it does not count.

SOME of the items we have enumerated probably will stir the deepest feel ings of the older. Territorians—es pecially those who are in danger of see ing their life’s work destroyed by Mr.

Ward’s New Order. We direct attention especially to the following: £20,000 for printing the laws of the Territories; £ll,OOO for the maintenance of the School of Pacific Administration; £2,000 (making £4,000 altogether) for a film record of the Civil Government re turning to the Territories; £400,000 for a shipping service. We can only guess what this may mean—there are no details. £750,000 for the purchase of War Dis posals equipment. Details of that would be most interesting. £280,000 for clearing secondary growth from plantations. Here, also, details would be read with interest. £200,000 for war damage compensation to natives. Perhaps this includes the £120,000 for Mr. Ward’s model village, which is not specifically referred to any where. But why should not New Guinea natives, like Europeans, be com pensated out of the brimming War Dam age Commission Fund, and thus make no call on the Australian taxpayers? £32,000 wherewith to provide war pen sions for New Guinea civilians: This is a very interesting item. We have asked Canberra to supply us with particulars of the pension scale and how pensions are to be applied for; and, if we get it, the information will be published.

Salaries Expenses £ £ Netherlands Indies 6,402 3,000 Philippines 9,705 5.000 New Caledonia 2,200 1,900 Portuguese Timor 2,232 2,000 20,509 11,900