Ward On Defensive

Australian MP's and Press Support Colonel Allan In Giving Effective Publicity to New Guinea Grievances

IJOLITICAL repercussions, stemming from Colonel H. T. Allan’s attendance £ at the RSL Conference in Canberra in October, have given New Guinea the largest slice of publicity since the Japanese invasion. As a result the Minister (Mr. Ward) will probably visit the Territory in the New Year Territorians will do well to take advantage of this visit when (or if) it occurs"

Any apathy on their part will be construed by the Minister as “satisfaction at what is being done.”

1N October, Colonel Allan was given per mission to represent Territories’ war veterans at the Federal Conference of the RSSAILA, then being held in Can berra. During this conference he criticised sharply the disabilities and frustrations which Europeans in the Territories, a large proportion of them returned service men, have suffered under the Ward regime. Colonel Allan created a great deal of interest among delegates, and with the Press, and as a result New Guinea grievances were prominently dis played in Australian newspapers.

One of the grievances concerned the Commonwealth Bank, in Rabaul, which at present has a monopoly there and which had refused planters an advance on their copra—a policy which has now been altered.

Mr. -Chifley, then in the process of see ing the Bank Nationalisation Bill on its stormy way through Federal Parliament, and, naturally, hyper-sensitive to such criticism coming at that time, sent for Colonel Allan and interviewed him in the presence of Mr. Ward and Mr. Anthony (CP). As a result of this interview, Mr.

Chifley promised that an investigation should be made into New Guinea’s griev ances and that reforms would follow.

With these assurances, Colonel Allan thereupon withdrew certain matters which were to have been discussed by the RSSAILA Congress, until the Prime Min ister had had time to take action.

C COLONEL Allan then returned to j Rabaul (November 5). Mr. Chifley apparently asked Mr. Ward to get on with the promised “investigation”; and Mr. Ward proceeded to stir up his bureaucrats, who went into their usual routine of denials and buck-passing.

Mr. Ward, backed by the Prime Min ister, thereupon lost no time in beginning his campaign of belittlement, directed mostly against Col. Allan, but including also Opposition members of the House who had ventilated New Guinea griev ances.

Most of Colonel Allan’s statements, par ticularly with regard to Europeans having to live in tents and other temporary accommodation, were, according to Messrs.

Ward and Chifley, “without foundation.”

Those who were complaining were a “few disgruntled planters.” Most residents of the Territories were “satisfied with what was being done for them.” This had been proved, said Mr. Ward, by investigations made by the Government Secretary, and a Mr. lan McDonald, of the Recon struction Department.

ON reaching Rabaul, Colonel Allan found that public affairs had de teriorated during his absence in Australia, due mostly to total cessation of shipping to that port, from Australia.

This he reported to Opposition Members White and Anthony, in Canberra, who promptly renewed in Parliament their at tacks on the New Guinea administration.

Considerable, space was given to the attacks by metropolitan newspapers, not reluctant to discredit Ward’s administra tion in New Guinea or anywhere else.

Territory s affairs and Territorians generally have had a poor press from Australian newspapers in recent years with the result that the Australian public (which is footing the bill for this ex pensive excursion into Socialism in the formerly rich New Guinea territory) is ignorant of and indifferent to the real state of affairs there. The poor press was mainly due to Australian newspaper indif ference and the belief that New Guinea is “not news”; and partly because men who have voiced complaints before have often been anxious to preserve their .anonymity through alleged fear of victimisation Colonel Allan apparently was prepared to risk reprisals. His distinguished record m both World Wars, his standing with the RSSAILA in New Guinea and Aus tralia, and his length of residence in New Guinea made him a figure not easy to ignore, anyway.

What he had to say about Mr. Ward’s New Guinea was taken up enthusiastic ally, and flung in Mr. Ward’s teeth with journalistic vigor, by the “Daily Tele graph” in Sydney, and the “Herald-Sun” group of newspapers in Melbourne, who since the defeat of the Cain Labour Gov ernment there in November have pulled no punches in a straight-out fight against socialisation.

Thereafter, Australian newspaper readers were treated, on the one hand, to Mr. Ward’s ceaseless campaign of denials and smears, backed by his officials who were evidently working overtime in Rabaul to prove that everything in that neck of the New Guinea woods was better than it had ever been; on the other hand, they had the renewed protests of Colonel Allan and other New residents who joined him, and the championing of the New Guinea cause by Messrs.

White and Anthony, in Canberra.

The wordy war culminated on No vember 28, when Mr. Anthony moved the adjournment in the House for the pur pose of discussing: The complete breakdown in the proper administration and provision of services in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and particularly the failure to provide reasonable living accommodation for many white men and women, the breakdown in continuity of fresh food supplies and essentials, and the unsym pathetic attitude of the responsible Minister towards Australians attempting to re-establish themselves in these Territories.

AS pointed out by Mr. Anthony in opening his speech, a period of two hours is usually devoted to a motion of this character. However, on .this occasion, the time was cut down to 50 minutes by a ruse of the Minister for In formation (Calwell) who took that oppor tunity to read a statement of 25 foolscap pages instead of moving for the printing of the paper, as is usually done.

“Instead of moving the gag,” said Mr.

Anthony, “the Government now adopts ‘smother’ tactics.”

He said his reason for moving the motion was because the people of New Guinea had no representation either in the Federal Parliament or in the Terri

tory itself; and because of misrepresenta tion on the part of both Mr. Ward and the Prime Minister, who had set out de liberately to discredit Colonel Allan and present him as an irresponsible, whose statements had no foundation.

Mr. Anthony warned the Minister that any attempt to victimise Colonel Allan for his outspokenness would be met, not only by the Federal Opposition, but by the Returned Soldiers’ League through out Australia.

Mr. White (Lib., Vic.) spoke in support of Mr. Anthony. He said that for over a year he had been pressing for a select committee to investigate affairs in Papua- New Guinea, but that his requests had been ignored, or answered with personal abuse. He said that he was prepared to go to the Territory at his own expense, and report what he saw.

Mr. Ward, in reply, employed his usual tactics: denial, personal abuse, references to the private business affairs of Opposi tion members, which had no bearing on the points at issue, and long-winded “plans for the future” —which Territorians have learned to expect from this Min ister, but which do nothing to satisfy their grievances of the present.

In defence of his policy, he said that 24 houses had been constructed in Port Moresby (these were constructed in 1946 at a cost of £2,400 each) and that 12 more

were planned. In Port Moresby, plans were in hand for the construction of a £lOO,OOO hydro-electric plant; earth-mov ing and road-making machinery was be ing sent from other islands to Port Moresby for road-making.

Presumably, in case Rabaul residents might feel, with justification, that these plans for Port Moresby gave point to their complaints of the Administration’s pro- Moresby attitude, he hastened to add that plans were well advanced for the con struction of a new workshop in Rabaul. (How a workshop is to solve Rabaul’s difficulties he did not state. They are un likely to provide housing for those living in tents and humpies, copra sacks for cm copra now lying at plantations, or fresh food.) Mr. Ward said that within a few days, both the “Montoro” and “Malaita” would be leaving for the Territories with several thousand tons of supplies. (He neglected to state, however, that “Montoro” had not made a visit to New Guinea since September; and the “Malaita,” on her last trip, had called only at Port Moresby and Samarai).

MR. WARD has an inexhaustible fount of words, which flow with sufficient ease to bamboozle his hearers. Many of the Wardists in Australia doubtless be lieve that their hero has created, in New Guinea, a heaven upon earth where everyone, with the exception of a few wicked planters who are no longer able to "exploit” the poor, down-trodden natives, enjoys unalloyed happiness.

The publicity that has been given New Guinea in recent weeks may. however, have found its mark among the not-so spellbound who have a right to wonder why it is necessary, two years after the war, to pour millions of Australian money into the once self-supporting Territory of New Guinea.

It has pleased Mr. Ward, in the past, to dismiss any criticism of his adminis tration in New Guinea, arrogantly, and with contempt. On this occasion, feeling the breeze of public disapproval, he was forced onto the defensive and. although it cannot be said that it made him more conciliatory in manner, that in itself is an achievement. 11HE debate on November 2 was pre maturely cut short after Mr. Ward had spoken when the Government applied the “gag.” The war, however, has been carried on by the newspapers, who have since printed a long radiogram from Colonel Allan, in Rabaul.

Colonel Allan, radioed, on December 4, that he was prepared to confirm all his statements and produce evidence at any inquiry. The seriousness of the position in Rabaul because of shortage of supplies had already resulted in his own firm hav ing to close down their trading agency because of lack of petrol, copra sacks, lubricating oil, etc. The scheduled arrival

of the “Malaita” on December 15, he said, would be too late to help many planters and traders who have also stopped operating, through lack of essential supplies.

He said tnat in order to test the truth of the Minister’s Parliamentary state ment that there were four months’ sup plies in the town, his partner on De cember 3 had applied to the District Officer for milk, flour, soap, petrol, lubricating oil and timber.

The DO had advised that some Army flour would be available when unloaded from the ship then in the harbour —but this flour was two years old. Army flaked soap was available, but was hard to dis solve. Fifty drums of petrol would be given to firms when the ship arrived, but was not then available, and tinned meat had been made available the previous day from Administration Stores —a course not usually adopted. The DO had been unable to provide or promise milk.

The local bakery, Col. Allan said, had advised that no bread would be available after December 5. He said that deep re sentment was felt in the town at the denial, by responsible officials, that these conditions existed.

Federal Parliament has now risen for the Christmas recess, during which Government members, no doubt, hope that the New Guinea question, with many others, will be conveniently forgotten by the Australian public.

The airing of New Guinea affairs in Parliament has achieved nothing in it self, because of the Minister’s attitude.

What is needed now is an official inquiry, which would establish, beyond all doubt, whether there was any basis for the allegations of Colonel Allan and other re sidents and organisations who have pre viously or since come forward.

If these people were upheld by public inquiry, then it should be ascertained why officials, sent to Rabaul by Mr. Ward, should have found it necessary to deny that such conditions existed. A list of people living in tents or humpies, for ex ample, was supplied by Col. Allan to Mr.

Anthony, who produced it in Parliament in reply to a challenge by Mr. Ward. Yet, although this same list had been sup plied to Mr. McDonald, in Rabaul, he in formed Mr. Ward that no Europeans were living in this way.

The chances of a Royal Commission, however, are slight. The present Gov ernment is notoriously reluctant to in quire into anything that might reflect discredit upon itself. A demand for an in quiry now is no more likely to bear fruit than did the demand for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of several hundred civilians to the Japs in Rabaul, in early 1942.

Something, however, may be gained from the visit of the Minister—if this

visit is carried out in January as has been suggested. It will be less easy for Mr. Ward to airily dismiss complaints of frustrated planters, traders and miners in New Guinea, than it is for him so to do in the privileged sanctuary of Parliament House, Canberra.