Administration
Local Voice In Papua-N. Guinea
Legislative Council Taking Shape After Long Delay
AFTER a remarkable and unex plained delay of about two years, the Australian Depart ment of Territories—under the driv ing force of the new Minister, Mr.
Paul Hasluck—proceeded in October to set up the new Legislative Coun cil with a speed which left most people breathless.
Under the Act there is provision for a Legislative Council as follows: The Administrator ... 1 Departmental Heads and officials 16 Europeans, nominated .. 3 Missionaries, nominated 3 Natives, nominated ... 3 Europeans, elected ... 3 29 It was officially announced on October 3 that the first meeting of he new Council will be held in the ■led Cross Hall (to be thus used mtil the Council can get its own milding) in Port Moresby on Mon lay, November 26.
In order to elect three Europeans, he Territories have been divided nto three electoral districts— -sapua, New Guinea mainland, and Jew Guinea islands (New Britain, Jew Ireland, Bougainville, Manus, tc.). All adults, other than natives nd aliens, who have had 12 months’ esidence, are entitled to vote. Any oter, who has resided at least hree years in the Territories, can »e nominated as a Councillor.
Rolls closed on October 11, lominations will close on October 8, and the elections in the three iistricts will be taken on November 0.
The returning Officers are: *apua—Mr. P. J. Mollison; New 5-uinea mainland—Mr. E. H. B.
Britain; New Guinea Islands—Mr.
G. Ormsby.
The Legislative Council will have o legislative power, of course; but
;s deliberations unquestionably will
erve to guide the Minister and idministrator. It will provide the 'apua-New Guinea communities rith a forum for the airing of their iews, which they now lack.
Advisory Councils
the Administrator TJI has continued to appoint Town and District Advisory touncils, which discuss local affairs fith their respective District Com lissioners—a distinct step forward,
compared with conditions a couple of years ago. The following are recent appointments:—
Bougainville District
Bishop Wade; Rev. A. H. Voyce; Mr. D.
CoUey; Mr. N. Sandford; Mr. F. P.
Archer; (Mr. J. Ellis; Mr. James Joyes; Mr. Paul Mason.
Central District
Bishop Sorin (Sacred Heart Mission); Pastor C. E. Mitchell (Seventh Day Ad ventist Mission); Rev. Percy Chatterton (London Missionary Society); Mr. W. E.
Wyatt (Port Moresby); Mr. J. P.
McKenna, Senior (Kanosia); (Mr. C.
Sefton (Sogeri); Mr. A. L. Baldwin (Port Moresby).
Morobe District
Messrs. N. Wilde, F. Rose, J. Birrell.
A. J. Bretag, anJd J. Peterson; Rev.’
Frerichs; Kam Hong.
Madang District
Messrs. W. M. Middleton, M. Perkins, G. R. Clarke. G. Bliss, G. B. Luff. W.
R. Cahill; Rer. Father W. J. Saiko; Rev.
A. M. Walck.
New Britain District
Bishop Scharmach; Rev. F. G. Lewis; Messrs. D. Barrett, W. Washington, J.
A. Thurston. R. G. Marsland, R. Gallo way, Chin Hoi Meen.
Manus District
Rev. Father C. Patrick; Pastor E.
Boehm; Rev. J. de Roo; Messrs. Bruce Watterson, H. O. Fletcher, R. Booker, Norman Whiteley.
Native Advisory Councils
IN an official statement, made during the month, the Adminis trator (Colonel Murray) said that, now that European Advisory Councils had been appointed in most towns and districts, he was giving close consideration to the setting-up of Native Advisory Coun cils, to assist in the work of local administration. Such Councils would be appointed, in due course.
New Department
With the advent of the new Assis tant Administrator (Mr. Cleland) the P-NG Administration has been somewhat re-arranged.
There has been created a De partment of the Administrator, and apparently Mr. Cleland becomes its actual departmental head. This Department takes over some of the general administrative functions hitherto carried out by other De partments, notably that of the
Government Secretary.
It apparently now is to be the practice that the Assistant Ad ministrator will act as Deputy Ad ministrator in the absence of the Administrator. Hitherto, one or
other of the Judges usually acted as Deputy Administrator in the ab sence of Colonel Murray.
Nominated Members
THE Minister, on October 9,
announced the following ap
pointments to the Legislative
Council:— Official Members—l 6 MR. D. M. CLELAND. Assistant Adminis trator.
MR. C. CHAMPION, Acting Government Secretary.
MR. J. H. JONES, Director, District Services and Native Affairs.
DR. J. T. GUNTHER. Director, Public Health.
MR. I. CHAMPION, Assistant Director, District Services and Native Affairs.
MR. H. H. REEVE. Treasurer. Director of Finance.
MR. W. C. GROVES, Director, Education.
MR. C. C. MARR, Acting Director, Agri culture, Stock and Fisheries.
HR. E. P. HOLMES. Secretary, Lands, Surveys and Mines.
MR. J. B. McADAM, Director, Forests.
MR. W. W. WATKINS, Crown Law Officer.
MR. T. P. BYRNE, Chief Collector of Customs.
MR. H. R. NIALL, District Commissioner, Morobe District (New Guinea).
MR. J. K. MCCARTHY. District Com missioner, New Britain District (New Guinea).
MR. J. R. FOLDI. Acting Assistant Director, Department of District Ser vices and Native Affairs.
MR. S. ETJ.TOTT-SMJTH, District Com missioner, Northern Division (Papua).
Non-Official Members Representing Missions—3 REV. D. E. URE. Chairman of LMS. In Papua since 1930.
REV. J. DWYER, MSC. Head of E. Papua Catholic Mission.
Rev. F. G. LEWIS. Chairman of Methodist Mission, Rabaul. In NG since 1920.
Was member of pre-war Leg. Council.
Non-Official Native Members—3 MERARI DICKSON, of Papua. Described as a man of strong personality who speaks fluent English.
AISOLI SALIN. School-teacher at Tabar Islands. Educated in Melbourne.
SIMOGUN. of Wewak. NG. Won BEM In World War 11, and Loyal Service Medal in NG Police before the war.
Other Non-Official Members—3 MR. B. FAIRFAX-ROSS, general manager of BNG Development Co. Pty., Ltd., Port Moresby.
MRS. DORIS BOOTH, OBE, a pioneer of Morobe gold industry. Decorated for nursing service in epidemic in 1926.
MR. J. B. SEDGERS, managing director of New Guinea Co., Ltd., of Rabaul.
Non-Official European Members—3 to be elected