The Heavy Hand Of
p. 92 · Read in the full issue
Canberra
Delay in NG Public Works
Prom Our Own Correspondent.
Rabaul, Feb. 25.
THERE has been some public snarling in the Rabaul section of New Guinea lately over High Authority’s failure to get on with certain promised works. High Authority has said that the work will proceed; everyone is poised and ready; but nothing more happens.
Some remarks at the February meeting of the Advisory Council in Rabaul, by Acting Regional Works Officer S. Dixon were illuminating, therefore. Here, in part, is Mr.
Dixon’s statement: “You frequently hear that the Government Secretary has stated that funds are available when, in fact, they are not available to com mence work.
“The procedure is rather involved.
The Federal Treasurer makes cer tain bulk funds available to the Administration to carry out the running of this Territory. The majority of the funds are allocated to Works, usually unspecified or very loosely specified.
“The procedure then is that a project is decided upon and the Administration—in a matter of Works—usually asks the Depart ment of Works to give an estimate of the cost of these works.
“However, when a firm estimate is arrived at, even though the!
Administration is very keen to start that work, the Administration, un
fprtunately (and probably veryi
rightly) is not the final arbiter of: the matter at all. The matter then is referred to the Committee of Co-ordination that works in Can berra. This Committee decides what! work can be undertaken for the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia, and only that Committee can decide, for example, that the Tunnel Hill work at Rabaul may be carried out, and that it can be done this financial year without inter fering with work that they have] already agreed to have done. ‘The bloke who pays the piper calls the : tune.’ ”
Mr. J. S. Coster, manager for the Union Steam Ship Co. at Papeete, i Tahiti, will retire on April 1, after a lengthy period of service. He will ] be succeeded in the managership by Mr. A. E. T. Poroi, who has been assistant manager for a number of years. Mr. Poroi is the well-known.
Mayor of Papeete.
Twin daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs, Bill Conroy, of Port Moresby, in February. Mr. Conroy is on the staff of the P-NG Depart ment of Agriculture.