Ng-Papua Merger

Not Yet Approved by the Trusteeship Council

ALTHOUGH the Australian Minister for External Territories has intro duced to the Australian Parliament a Bill providing for a joint Administra tion of Papua and New Guinea, it is not possible to say that that plan will be brought into operation until the Trustee ship Council of the United Nations has approved of it. The Bill is reviewed in another part of this issue.

The proposal (a joint Administration) came before the Trusteeship Council in New York on July 8. The Secretary of the Australian Department of External Territories, Mr. R. J. Halligan, went from Canberra to New York in order to ex plain the plan to the Council; and he was accompanied by an official of the Department of External Affairs.

It is understood that at least four im portant members of the United Nations —United States, Russia, China and Mexico —are critical of the plan because, in their view, the idea behind the Man dated Territories of the League of Nations (now Trusteeship Territories of the United Nations) was that such Terri tories shall have free international rela tionships and shall be open to the people or the trade of any nation. New Guinea, for example, when it was a Mandate, could not impose tariffs in favour of Australia. Its 10 per cent, tariff on im ports was entirely a revenue tariff and was imposed on the goods of all nations.

How would a merger affect that set-up?

No decision by the Trusteeship Coun cil had been reported to Australia when this issue went to press.