Democracy

Mr. Evatt Gives Democracy To Lord Howe Is.

THE priceless Mr. Clive Evatt, NSW Chief Secretary and brother of Dr.

H. V. (Manus') Evatt, turned his attention from the activities of the Fiji tuna clipper Senibua in December and visited Lord Howe Island for a week.

Since then the usual peaceful atmos phere of the island has been rent by feuds and private wars—brother against brother, they say; father against son.

Nothing like it has happened to the 185 inhabitants of Lord Howe before. And it certainly never happened to their grandfathers who settled the island about 100 years ago.

In early February the Sunday Sun devoted a whole page to the efforts of Mr. Evatt on behalf of the Island. They called it Turmoil in Paradise.

The present “Islanders” of Lord Howe are descendants of about 100 neople who settled there 100 years ago without per mission. They hold no legal right to the land —all of which is Crown Land —but the Government of NSW, which owns the island has always granted them permis sive occupancy, and this has, in the past, enabled land to be passed from father to son. The affairs of the Island are run by a Board of Control, which has its head quarters in Mr. Evatt’s own Department in Sydney. The island has an Advisory Council of three to make recommenda tions to the Board of Control.

It has been felt by some that permis sive occupancy does not give the settlers protection and the Board has suggested that each islander receive a perpetual lease of three acres and a five years’ re newable lease of the rest.

Mr. “Pixit” Evatt, however, disagreed with his own Board and proposed another nlan. It was with this imnortant plan that he flew to Lord Howe in December.

According to the Sun, when he stepped to the jetty from the flying-boat launch he announced to the welcome committee: “Here is your Minister.” Then, turning to Mt. Gower, he said simply: “I am monarch of all I survev.” This would be hard to believe—if it did not concern the incredible Mr. Evatt, DURING his stay he held a rowdy meet ing in the Soldier’s Memorial Hall, and told the 52 Islanders present that he proposed to bring Democracy to Lord Howe. He also said that he would like to abolish the Board of Control and that he would give them 99 year leases of their holdings. So far, so good. Mr. Evatt re turned to Sydney.

In mid-January he went back to Lord Howe with a draft of his land tenure pro posals; and in it, according to the Islanders, was a clause that was not dis cussed at the December meeting. The clause gave them the right to sell or sub let their leases—and it is this that is causing the turmoil in paradise. For, say the islanders, could not this result in Sydney transportation and tourist in terests, and new and old Australians with money and no Island interests, gaining a foothold in the last unspoiled area in the world; and would not, in time, the Islanders merely become hangers-on in an ostentatious tourist resort for the

wealthy?

It should be stressed here, perhaps, that to be an Islander you have to be born one. A secondary sort of Islander can acquire that distinction by marriage.

There is no other way—and the Islanders are fussy. Only they can hold permissive occupancy rights.

Islanders are fearful of Australian

tourist companies becoming established there. If there is to be a tourist industry they want to control it themselves.

Evatt in due course departed—but the battle still rages. To help untangle their troubles the Advisory Council in vited the NSW Minister for Lands and their State member, Mr. Dan Clyne, to pay them a visit. Perhaps, then, we will again have the pleasure of seeing some of his own political brethren giving Mr.

Evatt a swift kick in the pants. Since he became Chief Secretary Mr. Evatt (to quote a fellow Minister) has shoved his nose into everything; he has concerned himself with size of prawns, fruit machines in clubs, tuna fishing, the bank ing practises of the NSW fire brigades, and any other piffling thing normally taken as a matter of routine.

IT is worth repeating the Sun’s story of his meeting with the Island Council: On his first visit, Evatt formally met the advisory council of three. On his second visit in January with the draft land tenure proposals, Evatt did not call the advisory council together.

“Council member Roy Wilson said; ‘Who runs this island, Mr. Evatt or the Board

of Control? There has been trouble and quarrelling ever since Mr. Evatt set foot on it.’

“ ‘He scarcely seemed to listen when we placed before him our views on land tenure. Mr. Evatt practically turned his back on council chairman Willie Thomp son and, in my opinion, treated him out rageously. Mr. Thompson is nearly 84.

His age alone merits courtesy.

“ ‘I heard later that Mr. Evatt referred to me as a boneheaded adolescent. He told Tom Payton, third member of the council, he could order him off his land at five minutes’ notice.’

“Wilson, a man in his middle twenties, won the George Medal on September 28, 1948, when he dragged two bodies from a blazing Catalina which crashed on the island. Payton, nearly 50, occupies land which his grandfather settled. Chairman Thompson, who was born on the island in 1867, sees merit in both the board’s land tenure plan and Evatt’s, provided Evatt will drop the clause permitting con ditional transfer of leases outside the island.”