[?]Alk Of New Industries For New Guinea

But RSL Settlement Plan Limps And Falters

LOWLY and creakingly the Papua-New Guinea adminis trative machine, planned to ;ablish new industries in the istralian tropical territories, and ike the latter self-supporting, is :ting from low into second gear, ithin recent weeks, the following /elopments have been announced: ► Government is eager to es )lish cocoa production on a big tie, as an alternative to coconuts. » Government is entering into a -scale plan, with Bulolo Gold edging, Ltd., for the exploitation the huge natural pine forests of ; Mo robe uplands. (Plan des bed elsewhere.) ► Government will actively assist vate enterprise to develop the laf fibre industry—on strategic her than economic grounds. (See icle elsewhere.) ► A new dollar-earning cutch lustry is being developed by vate enterprise in Papua. (See icle alsewhere.) ► Government says it will co- Tate with private enterprise in establishment in New Guinea of and beef production, ome of these industries are tak some shape, such as timber and ch. But most are still in the cing stage, and high authority ms exasperatingly slow in getting vn to practical considerations, h as the availability of land, and encouragement of new planting Europeans.

DR example, the F-NG State Branch of the RSS & AILA (Returned Soldiers’ League) for years been pressing for some ctical plan for assisting ex ncemen settlers to become es lished as planters. Government again and again expressed lively Test and promised to shape a X but nothing has been done, fhen the RSL held its annual igress at Lae on February 16 and the members were ready for tie on this subject, he Administrator. Colonel J K fray, formally opened the Con >s, and he said that there was very real intention” to establish RSL Settlement Scheme in the ntory, and it could be in opera i before the end of the present r. But, he added, there were iy difficulties to be overcome )re any scheme could operate, he gave the following list; reas of land would have to be mined as suitable for the pur reas would have to be purchased [i the natives and surveyed; oads of access, and other trans : requirements had to be met; be land had to be cleared, culti !d, planted and maintained—to

saj’ nothing of the considerable amount of finance involved.

It had been proposed, he said, that prospective settlers should be gainfully emnloved bv a I anri other jobs, with the object of asso dating them with all operations and at the same time providing them with an income. But the alternative of clearing the land on a big scale by contract would not be lost sight °He warned them against the tendency to over-capitalisation, and

referred to mistakes made in soldier settlement schemes in various Aus tralian States.

The products of such schemes should be profitable; and in that

ird he believed the RSL could ; the Australian Government to rantee the purchase, up to Aus ian requirements, of all such lical produce from the Terri es—at least for a period of 10 •s.

Dlonel Murray advocated sures to ensure that the native )les should increasingly feel idship for the white man, and resentment. It was vitally im ant to avoid mistakes made sphere, which had resulted in the jenous population becoming hos- X)wards the administering power. interests and survival of the ve people were wrapped up very 3ly with those of the white ilation. He expressed confidence the Europeans could bring it the economic development of ua-New Guinea and play a inuing, essential role in the itry, and at the same time pro , over the next half century, the general welfare, and the il, economic and political de pment of the indigenous people.

E delegates appeared to ap preciate His Honour’s as nces that something was to be i soon; but they clearly were ing a more definite lead. iey got it from Mr. G. Whittaker, r President, in his annual rt. He said that he and his utive had given “an enormous

amount of time and work’’ to land settlement and service homes and “the conversations with the Minister on those schemes had been most disappointing”.

He said that an official party had inspected the Warengoi Valley lands, outside Rabaul; inquiries had been made concerning a coffee-growing plan near Wau; and much time had been spent on a plan for growing kenaf on land sufficient for 200 servicemen, near Gusap, between the upper waters of the Markham and the middle Ramu. But nothing had come of any of these plans.

He said his last interview with the Minister was “most unsatisfactory”, and “the discussions had not reached a very advanced stage”. He said that if more development was not undertaken, and if the Aus tralian taxpayer refused to provide more cash, “this country will be in a desperate condition financially”.

It was plain, from subsequent discussions, that delegates felt that progress in relation to settlement of ex-servicemen was far too slow and ponderous; and they suspected that the reason for this was re luctance in some quarters to alienate suitable land for new white settlement, and further reluctance to make available the funds that would be required to support new settlers until they became self supporting. (These aspects of New Guinea’s

most vexed problem are dealt with in a special article on another page of this issue).

The following resolution was carried: “That this Congress unanimously approves the endeavour of the Federal Government and the Ad ministration to inaugurate the War

Service Land Settlement scheme in Papua and New Guinea, and desires to have the State Congress do all in its power to get the scheme under way as soon as possible. However, we demand that responsible officers of the State Branch be given the opportunity to be represented on the

Land Board, equal in number to the present membership of that Board.”

Mrs. W. W. Bentley, of Suva, Fiji, with small daughters Jacqueline and Elizabeth, arrived in Sydney to visit her mother at the end of February,