Advisory Councils

In New Guinea ae, Wau and Morobe District

From Our Own Correspondent LAE, Sept. 4.

VHE announcement that the Ad ministrator has approved of the formation of “District Ad -sory Councils,” and has appointed s nominees thereto, has rather nfused the matter of advisory ocedure.

We now have the Legislative mncil, the Town Advisory Coun s, and the District Advisory •uncils.

There are only three elected per is in the whole of the triple set —these are the three elected ople on the Legislative Council— the rest are nominated by the Iministrator. far as can be ascertained, the strict Advisory Council will deal th matters—in an advisory aacity, of course—which are out e the province of the Town Ad orv Councils, whose “advisory” ictions are confined to the town ?as. rhis is exemplified so far as the >robe area is concerned, by the ced question of the Markham idge. The interest shown by the iu Advisory Council, and the Lae visory Council, in the proposal it the river be spanned at Kirk ids, is, according to local authori s, entirely misplaced, as those lies should be interested only in ;n matters. apparently, this is where the Dis ’t Council comes in—by the jointment of representatives who i deal with matters in a wider a.

Juite laudable, it may be said; in the selection of the addi lal body, the powers that be, in r ising the Administrator as to )ointments —in an advisory acity—have nominated men who -ady are members of the Town /isory Councils. That might have n avoided: although these obare men with interests in n and district and they provide iseful liaison between town and ntry.

’he following have been

lointed by the Administrator to stitute the Morobe District Ad >ry Council:— orman White, Snr., Wau, agri ;urist, and member of the Wau dsory Council. i orman Wild, Wau, mining aager, and member of the Wau risory Council. redk. G. Rose, electrical engi r, Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd. ames A. Birrell, manager, Morobe nsport Co., and member of the Town Advisory Council.

A. J. Bretag, Lae, manager of New Guinea Industries Ltd., and chair man of the Lae Advisory Council.

Jas. A. Peterson, Lae, manager of Burns Philp (NG) Ltd., and vice chairman of the Lae Advisory Council.

Rev. Frerichs, Lae, Superintend ent of the Lutheran Mission.

Tang Kam Hong, Lae, Chinese businessman, and representative of the Chinese community in Lae.

The inaugural meeting of the new body will be called at an early date by the District Commissioner.

It is a good Council; but we can not help asking why some of the highly respected pioneer residents of the Morobe district, who surely have a wide knowledge of district, matters, have been passed over in favour of town merchants who al ready are members of the Town Councils.