Bog-Holes And Red Carpets For Ng’S

Political Guests

rHE gloom of long-suffering Aus tralian taxpayers was momen irily lifted at the end of March when : was learned that their Minister for W>rks and Housing, Mr. Kent lughes, and official party, were stuck rith their aircraft axle-deep at a pot no one had ever heard of in the Central Highlands of New Guinea.

It was a comfort to find that these fficial junketings, which air-transpor ition has made so fatally easy, are ot always a matter of red carpets.

The Minister and his party were ispecting Works and Housing De artment projects in the Territory, sing a RAAF Dakota. They spent le night of March 27 in Lae where pparently there was so little W & 1 activity that next morning they >ok off for Garoka in the Central ighlands. Garoka and the Highlands ■e interesting to visit but what the f & H programme is in the area e have not learned. The RAAF lots, unacquainted with the country, mded by mistake at a little-used rip called Finintegu about 20 miles om Garoka. This is the wet season id the Dakota promptly became )gged and the party stranded.

This was 9.30 a.m. Frenzied calls entually (3.30 p.m.) brought in r. L. Crowley, from Lae, with his lall Curtis Robin plane. He ferried e party, one at a time, to Garoka. ie Minister was last to leave, after ; was persuaded that much effort

and dry weather would be needed before the Dakota could be shifted.

The crew stood by, all night.

Senior officers arrived next day. An attempt to get the plane air-borne put her deeper in the mud, the nose dipped, and the props were damaged.

Later, crews were flown in to carry out earthworks and improve the strip. A Dakota, at Finentegu’s altitude (4,800 ft.) needs 3,000 ft. of runway. Finentegu has barely 2,000 ft.

While this went on, eleven other parliamentarians, also taking advan tage of the Autumn recess, were touring Papua-New Guinea in an other RAAF Dakota. Government and Opposition members were in this party and their purpose was to in spect air and naval stations in Queensland. Port Moresby, Lae, Manus and Rabaul.

Air-transport has done much for Papua-New Guinea but on the debit side can be entered the increasing number of perambu lating politicians, bureaucrats, party hangers-on, and “experts” of this and that, who have been wafted in that direction in the past six or seven years.

If it followed that these people returned to Australia able to under stand the Territory’s problems better, it might be regarded as worth the tax payers’ money. But their utterances

in Parliament and elsewhere make abundantly clear that they see onl what is pointed out to them and pu a wrong interpretation on that.

Great dissatisfaction has been e: pressed for years on the Territon activities of the Works and Housim Department. If the Ministerial vis is now followed by a shake-up an more efficiency in that Department Territorians will cheer their hea« off. But more often than not, suo visits afford only an excuse for moi< buck-passing and the Ministers coi* cerned develop even greater abilii for blinding the putter of Questioi in the House with even more bafflin science.

In the Territories, Parliamentarian and other assorted VlP’s come an go and their comings and goings o not affect the majority of resident But to the minority of officials, the wives and their households, the vis tations are very real. Frequently, the smaller Government stations, M and Mrs. District Commissioner ha’j to take the party into their ow home where usually it falls Madame’s lot to provide for their e; tertainment. This she does with sk: and charm, no matter what hr private inclinations and person problems, while her husband speni precious hours showing the offici party the speckless station, loa points of interest, and local gentn Everyone, from the cook-hon “monkey” to the oldest inhabit* of the local calaboose, is on his be behaviour and no mention is mai of the days or weeks of preparatwi for the event.

The official party goes on its was smacking its lips over good food ai drink, chattering of the charm of lii in the tropics, the ease of entertak ing with native servants at hand, tJ smoothness of Administration, tl well-behaved natives, and the “gra potentialities of this vast rit country that could supply Australia every need.”

Mrs. District Commissioner pro ably takes to her bed with ffi blankets and some paludrine; the coo boy decides he has had enough aj must go back to his village; the coo house monkey heats up a tin of Ml V for the Masta’s lunch; and M D. C. gets back to his interrupt work of governing the several tho sands of cranky natives who, fl day before, danced and sang ae grinned for the edification of his en while guests.

Mr. V. Leunig, of Sangara, Papv< has been in Sydney for some tinn He has undergone a severe operatioi and is still seriously ill.