South Pacific Regional
pp. 15-16 · Read in the full issue
Commission
No Indication of When Organisation Will Function
EXCEPT for an interesting debate in the Legislative Council of Fiji, re ported hereunder, very little has hap pened in relation to the South Pacific Regional Council, since that body was formed in Canberra in February by rep resentatives of British Empire countries, United States, France and Holland.
The delay probably is due to the greatly disturbed condition of all the countries primarily concerned.
It was announced in February, soon after the delegates dispersed, that an organising secretary would be appointed; and that matters of procedure would have attention, such as the selection of a Secretary-General, and preparations for the first meeting of the Commission, which would take place in Sydney in June or July. (The Canberra Conference re solved that, pending the selection of a headquarters site, headquarters should be in Sydney; but that a headquarters site should be selected within six months of
the Agreement coming into force).
In April, Colonel John Kerr, principal of the School of Pacific Administration, Sydney, was appointed to act as Or ganiser-Secretary. Premises for the pre liminary staff and organisation of the Commission have been provided near the School of Tropical Administration, St.
George’s Heights, Mosman, Sydney.
That, so far as is known, is all that has happened.
There is no indication of when the Commission will hold its first meeting.
There has been no announcement by the Australian Minister (Dr Evatt), who was responsible for the creation of the Com mission—probably because half the Aus tralian Ministers are travelling abroad at the present time, and their absence has thrown a tremendous burden ol work upon Ministers at home. (Dr. Evatt, in cidentally, is not at home—he is absent on a brief visit to Japan.)
Some Fiji Public Men Critical of Commission
AMOTION by Mr. A. A. Ragg, Euro pean-elected member or the Southern Division, protesting strongly against Fiji’s inclusion in the ambit of operations of the South Pacific Regional Com mission, was defeated in the Legislative Council on July 25, by 19 votes to 11.
Of the 19 opponents, 16 were official members of the Council. The remain ing three came from the ranks of the Fijian members. All the European and Indian unofficial members and one of the Fijian members voted for the motion.
Mr. Ragg based his attack on the Com mission on three main grounds: ■ He objected to the inclusion of Fiji in the Commission’s sphere of operations without the prior consent of the people of the Colony. ■ He contended that Fiji was more ad vanced politically and economically than Territories such as New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and would therefore be held back by association in the Com mission with such Territories. ■ He expressed the fear that the Com mission would eventually cease to be merely advisory and consultative, and that its recommendations would become mandatory, resulting in the loss of the independence of the territories concerned.
Apprehension that the Commission would be dominated by Australia and New Zealand was emphasised by Sir Hugh Ragg, European-elected member for the North-Western Division, and by Mr. W. G.
Johnson, one of the European nominated members.
Mr. Johnson said that the people of Fiji were awakened, politically and economically, and the Colony was already considerably past some of the stages from which it was inferred by overseas political leaders it was being saved.
“We do not wish to be held back by association with more backward peoples, nor do we wish to be rushed forward too quickly,” Mr. Johnson said.
Sir Hugh Ragg quoted International Labour Organisation conventions which had been incorporated in the Labour Bill passed the previous day by the Council as an example of the findings of an ad visory body being considered binding on participating territories, and he said that there was wide-spread apprehension that the recommendations of the South Paicific Commission would also eventually be con sidered mandatory, thus opening the way
for interference in the affairs of Fiji by the neighbouring dominions.
MR A. D. PATEL, Indian-elected member for the North-western Division, criticised the membership of the Commission on the grounds that while the Governments of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America were democratic, those of France and Holland were reactionary.
He suggested that India should participate in the Commission.
The Acting-Governor. Mr. J. F. Nicoll, pointed out that the agreement consti tuting the Commission specified that only those Powers with dependent territories in the South Pacific could take part.
Mr. H. B. Gibson, European elected member for the Eastern Division, said that the members were jealous of the dignity of Legislative Council, and felt that they should have been consulted be fore matters affecting Fiji were discussed at the Canberra Conference.
Dr. J. C. R. Buchanan (who. besides being Director of Medical Services in Fiji, is the executive head of the South Pacific Health Service) said that a lesson he had learned from 60,000 miles of travel in the Pacific, and from many years spent in the Colonial Service, was that when any Territory was too proud to take ad vantage of the experience of others in any sphere it was extremely likely that it would fall behind, despite the ingenuity and skill of its own people. He agreed that conditions varied, from one South Ps'hfic country to another, but he would not acknowledge that all the problems facing these countries were dissimilar.
General principles which had been proved elsewhere were applicable to each.
Dr. Buchanan recalled the help given by the Rockefeller Foundation in the early stages of the Central Medical School; and he paid a warm tribute to New Zea land’s assistance in maintaining a pool of nursing sisters for hospitals in Fiji.
THE Acting Colonial Secretary, Mr.
A. R. W. Robertson, said that the motion could not be accepted by the Government. He thought that the mem bers who had supported it had shown undue uneasiness. The Agreement estab lishing the Commission was quite straight forward. It stated plainly that the functions of the Commission were to be consultative and advisory. Political and
constitutional matters were specifically excluded, and arguments based on fear of political intereference in the Colony’s in ternal affairs were therefore groundless.
In replying to the debate, Mr. Ragg said that Great Britain had a tendency at present to shed political responsibility, and that others were willing to receive the plums as they fell. He realised that the Commission Agreement excluded political matters: but, when economic forces obtruded, political domination was the result.
Mr. Ragg said that in the Commission the majority would rule: and he believed that this would eventually result in direct interference in the affairs of Fiji, leav ing the liberties and rights of the people to become mere ninepins to be bowled over whenever it suited the sovereign Powers.
M. Joseph Cruciani, member of a pro minent Corsican family, has been ap pointed head of the New Caledonian judiciary. He played a great part in freeing Corsica. In 1943 he was deported to Italy but escaped and joined the Ital ian Resistance movement in Tuscany.
Next, called to Algiers by the French had appointed a lieutenant-colonel, he became Government Commissioner n Corsica.
Government grants to five New Cale donian students in France, amounting to 8500 French francs per month, have besn renewed for the coming scholastic year.
They are made to Messrs. Guy Dubois, Marc Fonquernie, Theodore Siret, Jacques Laplagne and Camille Bastien. Other scholarships have been awarded m Messrs. Roger Liezour, Maurice Costa, Philippe Busiau and Mile, de la Ville, who left Noumea for France recently by the Ville de Strasbourg.
Mrs. Jack McLean has returned to Queensland after some months in Port Moresby, where her husband is Wing- Commander J. McLean, of the RAAF.
The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, recently bought Mr. D. B. Cos tello’s home and property at Muanikau, near Suva, Fiji, for conversion to a con vent, to be known as St, Mary’s. There are 70 Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary in Fiji. Of these, 18 are em ployed by the Medical Department as nursing sisters at the Central Leper Station at Makogai. The remainder un dertake educational work at various Roman Catholic mission stations in the Colony.