Minister Not Helpful Over Lae Building Muddle

A SERIES of incidents relating to the \ allocation of sites for particular buildings, in the new town of Lae, lew Guinea, indicates that some of the eople concerned are either knaves or ools.

Lae, originally, was built on an alluvial at, at the head of Huon Gulf, near the louth of the Markham River. It was r iped out entirely by bombs during the 'ar.

When the volcanoes exploded at Rabaul i 1937, the Australian Government de ided to remove the Administration [eadquarters from Rabaul to Lae. For lat purpose a town plan for Lae was irefully made. The removal of Admin tration Departments was actually going a when the invasion occurred early in )42.

After the war the Administration pro ;eded with a plan for a new Lae, but Dandoned the idea of placing Adminis ation headquarters there. It seems ear that between 1945 and 1948, when irious private persons and institutions ere eager to get on with rebuilding in ae, the Administration was working to particular plan, in accordance with hich it made allocations of building ts.

Two people who were given such affe ctions were the Reverend W. E. Moren, •iest in charge of the Anglican Church . Lae, and Mrs. Florence Stewart, who ‘fore the war owned the Hotel Cecil in te (completely destroyed). Mrs. Stewart ace has conducted an hotel in a conce rn of unsuitable huts over a mile from le and, for two years, she has been ying to get permission to build a good >tel on a suitable location.

Both of these well-known people de

dare that they were given particular sites for their buildings by the Adminis tration, in places that, according to the existing plan, were suitable, from their points of view.

Late in 1948, to their astonishment and anger, they found that the town plan on which they had been working had been scrapped, and that it now was the in tention of the Government to build the new township of Lae at a place between 14 to li miles from the township site proposed prior to 1948. This, of course, meant that the sites, which were quite suitable according to the pre-1948 plan, were now completely unsuitable.

Both Mrs. Stewart and Mr. Moren pro tested to the Administration, and asked that they be given opportunity to change their building plans to sites more suitably placed in respect of the new township: but they have been fobbed off ever since with Ministerial evasion and official shilly-shallying.

The statement of Mr. Moren—who did not mince his words —was published in the June “PIM.”

IN June, in the Australian Parliament, Mr. Howard Beale (after two at tempts) was able to bring this matter before the House. He stated the facts outlined above and demanded an ex planation from the Acting Minister for Territories, Mr. Chambers.

This Minister —who is by no means an impressive personality—said that he had interviewed the people concerned when he visited New Guinea last January and that he left them “quite satisfied.” He said that the original proposal to build Lae township near where it was in 1941

had been scrapped because it was found that the Markham River was steadily eroding the flat ground; so the township site was moved over one mile back on to a low plateau, and the plan was drawn accordingly. Although he was pressed by Mr. Beale and other members, he insisted that the sites allotted to Mr, Moren and Mrs. Stewart had been chosen in accord ance with the later plan—he even said he knew nothing about any earlier plan on which Mr. Moren and Mrs. Stewart might have selected their sites.

This, of course, is in direct conflict with the statement of Mrs. Stewart and Mr.

Moren. * The Minister took the opportunity to make slighting references to both Mrs.

Stewart and Mr. Moren. He said, for example, that nothing that he could do would make Mrs. Stewart happy; and that Mr. Moren “is completely antagonis tic to the present administration.” He also said, “I repeat that there has been only one plan for the new township.”

There was no indication given by the Minister that he would review the posi tion in order to assist Mrs. Stewart and Mr. Moren out of a serious difficulty.

One of the three people concerned is either a knave or a fool. Our readers can select the person for themselves.