Plain Talk About Papua-New

Guinea

Roy Kendall’s Address To Australian Senate

SOON after the Australian Parliament assembled, at the end of February, Senator Roy Kendall, of Queens land, who recently made a tour of Papua and New Guinea, placed before the Sen ate an interesting summary of conditions in the two Territories, as he found them.

This probably was regarded by the new Government as valuable information, be cause Senator Kendall was formerly a resident of New Guinea and has had long experience on which to base com parisons.

The prewar administrations of Papua and New Guinea, said Senator Kendall, were recognised throughout the world as being humane and efficient, in relation to native welfare, with a policy directed towards the steady promotion of self government. Furthermore, New Guinea then was self-supporting, and Papua cost the Australian taxpayers only about £40,000 per annum. To-day the two ter ritories were in a deplorable state—and they were costing the Australian taxpayer about £3,000,000 per annum.

The Senator said that perhaps the time had come to revise labour conditions; and the complete dislocation of govern ment caused by the war provided an op portunity of doing away with the old indenture system and substituting, for native workers, an apprenticeship system of training, extending from three to five years, according to trades. Instead, the Wardist administration allowed the old indenture system to remain—but dered it unworkable by introducing new native labour ordinances, one of which limits the period of contract to one year.

All employers know that after the native has been recruited —in itself an expensive business—the native is of little value in the first six months. Consequently the emplover gets no more than six months’ work from his labourer—and the latter is returned to his village without earn ing anything.

For four years, said the Senator, the Wardist administration had been trying to build the second story of its structure without first having laid the foundations.

Native Demonstration

ONE of the worst features of the Wardist attempt at what was called native rehabilitation was the pay ment of war damage compensation to natives who, in many cases, probably did not own half the goods they claimed for.

That money should have been put into village trusts for the betterment of the whole community, rather than for in dividuals. The method followed had been like that of giving £2O to a child of 6 years, and telling him to spend it as he wished.

A large proportion of the money had been spent with Chinese stores and traders, on unessential things. The natives had learned to seek alcohol. Al though the police had no cause against the Chinese storekeepers, the fact re mained that the natives had acquired a taste for spirits, which they were indulg ing.

“Natives who, at the end of the war, were looking forward to cleaning up the country and getting back to ‘good fella time before,’ are now sitting back wait ing for more pennies from heaven,” said the Senator,” and they are now being allowed to degenerate into supplicants, depending on Welfare State govern ment,”

Shipping Services

THE Senator dealt at length with the condition of the shipping industry in New Guinea, concerning which there has been much criticism in recent months. The Act relating to inter- Island shipping, he said, prohibits ves sels which are privately owned from carrying cargoes other than those be longing to the owner of the vessel. It was impossible financially, and economi cally ridiculous, for each plantation owner to maintain a vessel for his ex clusive use—so the Government ships have a complete monopoly. An inquiry into the operation of this monopoly had brought to light the following points: • The vessels are owned by the De partment of External Territories. • European personnel for the vessels is supplied by the Australian shipping Board. • The manning of the vessels by natives, and the maintenance, are done by private companies, on a percentage payment. • All copra produced is bought and handled by the Production Control Board. • Other cargo is supplied by private firms, but is loaded by the PCB. • The territories Directorate of Ship ping is responsible for the routing of the vessels. • The PCB obtains its native labour from the Administration, but the labour is controlled by officers of the Native Labour Department.

“The natural result of this extraordin ary system of divided control is complete chaos, and frustration of everyone con cerned, and delay in rehabilitation,” said Senator Kendall.

The small ships were in such a con dition that never more than two-thirds of the fleet were in operation—usually less —and on January 24 no less than 64,200 bags of copra were lying at plantations, etc., awaitaing shipment—their total value being £275,000. Overseas ships should have been loaded with copra at ports like Kavieng and Kieta, so as to relieve the congestion.

Timber Industry

THE policy at present being followed in the Territory in relation to timber production is of course in keeping with Socialist ideas of the late Govern ment and it has been frequently stated that the timber is to be left for pos terity” said the Senator. “It is my be lief that we are posterity.”

“It is also suggested that we should wait until the Forrestry Department can train cadets competent to survey the existing stands of timber. Everyone ap parently has forgotten that these stands were surveyed before the war by com petent private surveyors.”

The Senator said that he believed that in the Wau area there were 20 million super feet of pine; 190 million super feet in the Bulolo Valley; 250 million super feet of Kumerare alone in New Britain, plus Lope, Callypillum, Quila, Taun and Erima.

Timber was being milled by New Guinea Goldfields at Wau for the Gov ernment to reconstruct the native vil lage at Hanuabada, Port Moresby—but there was no timber for Europeans. Re cently New Guinea, which possessed

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these remarkable timber resources, im ported no less than 250,000 super feet of timber from New Zealand, at 149/- per 100 super feet.

The Fate Of Rabaul

THE Senator commented strongly upon the muddle over the rebuilding of Rabaul. Rabaul was completely obliterated during the war; and, ob viously, if the Administrative centre for that area was to be removed from Rabaul, owing to the earthouake menace, the time to make the decision was on the Australian re-occupation, at the end of the war. But officialdom had shown a singular reluctance to give any real guide.

The people were told, during the past four years, to build temporary structures at Rabaul —and now these structures vere falling down—and still there was no decision. The Department of Exter nal Territories said that a decision tb go to Kokopo was made in 1947: but no one in Rabaul appeared to know of this decision —and. what was more significant, there was no building or wharf construe tion work going on at Kokopo.

Residents Have No Voice

COMMENTING upon the present sys tem of Administration, the Senator pointed out that the European resi dents of the Territory have no voice whatever in the Government. Under the old system, before the war, both Terri tories had at least a Legislative Council, where the voices of the people could be heard. Legislative Councils have been promised, since the war, but have never materialised. The present system of gov ernment by Executive Council was simply a Soviet system—a dictatorship.

High Cost Of Living

THE Senator directed attention to the conditions under which Europeans official and non-official alike—were suffering. They had to pay 7/4 per lb. for tea, 5/1 for butter, 2/1 for a loaf of £56 per ton for rice. The reply that non-official people were* enjoying high prices for their primary products, overlooked the fact that those products paid an export duty while, in relation to imports, the people were treated as if they were residents of a foreign country.

The way in which permanent officials were treated was shown by the high wages and the privileges accorded to the rank and file of the Australian De partment of Works and Housing, now temporarily in the Territory. Works and Housing men were messed for 16/per week, while Administration men— who in many cases got less than half the W. and H. pay, were charged 35/per week for messing.

The Senator directed attention to the fact that the planters had been trying for years to obtain from the Production Control Board a statement of accounts— and especially the amount at the credit of the Copra Stabilisation Fund which, it was presumed, would be distributed among producers. He pointed out that the Department of Lands is still without an Ordinance covering Titles. He directed attention to the fact that patrol officers, medical assistants and agricul

tural inspectors were not now making patrols, except in isolated cases.

The Senator said that the abolition by the Wardist Administration of the native head tax had still further en hanced the natives’ idea of the “welfare state.” He said that a sick benefit or health insurance tax for natives at 20/or 30/- per head should be instituted.

The engagement has been announced of two old Territorians —Marjorie Ross of Rabaul, daughter of Mrs. Jean Hawnt, and Mr. Charles Blake also of Rabaul Mr. and Mrs. Hawnt arrived in Rabaul in 1919 and their three children were the first Australian children in the Territory.

Mr. Hawnt was lost on the Montevideo Maru. Charles Blake arrived in the Ter ritory in 1927, as a member of the Ad ministration staff but soon resigned and has since been interested in mining plantations and lately, small ships. The wedding wil take place at Rabaul Metho dist church in March. Only a few intimate friends will be present.