Papua-N. Guinea

More Amendments to Papua-N. Guinea Native Labour Ordinance But All Administration- Sponosored

THE most amended piece of-legis lation in the statutes of Papua and New Guinea is cer tainly that of the Native Labour Ordinance, which turns up regu larlv for minor or major operations at each sitting of the Legislative Council.

Even greater amendments are contemplated. At the May session, the Chairman (the Administrator, Mr. D. M. Cleland) said that the Director of District Services would, by the end of May. submit to the Minister for Territories a review of the whole basis of the Ordinance and policy in regard to native labour generally. The review and Ministerial recommendations would then be further considered by the Administration and by the time the Legislative Council met again this year, they should have a consoli dated Native Labour Ordinance.

The amendments before the Council at the current session had been approved by the Minister and agreed to.

Mr. D. Barrett, member for New

Guinea Islands, proposed to intro duce a bill at the May session which would amend the Ordinance so as to curb the native who walked out on his labour agreement.

However, Mr. Barrett did not bring forward this legislation. In stead, Mr. J. R. Foldi (Acting Assistant Director of District Ser

vices) submitted a bill to amenc other aspects of the 1951-52 Ordin ance.

One amendment concerned thi place of final pay-off of nativ< labour. The 1952 Ordinance specifie< that this must be in the Distric of employment. The new ordinanci made the place of final pay-off j

Eatter of mutual agreement be r'een the parties.

Native Labour Desertions

?This was generally welcomed by iivate members; but Mr. Barrett iid that, otherwise, the wishes of Lost employers in New Guinea had )en completely disregarded.

IHe later sought unsuccessfully to tve several amendments made to re proposed legislation. He said jat, in 1952, there were 600 native hour desertions in New Britain :one: some of these natives quite wiously had intended to desert tfore they left their home village, s suggested that similar conditions iculd apply to native labour as [•plied to Europeans who came to ■e Territory to work under a con act. That is, if they returned home left their employment before 12 onths they could be compelled to Iturn their forward fare to their iployer—or, their employer could s them for it.

He said that in New Britain, an tempt had been made to bring me native offenders to book by arging them with not working the urs set out in the Ordinance. A nviction was secured in the Lower •urt; then an appeal was made the Director of District Services d the decision reversed, com

;tely nullifying what they had set

t to do.

Mr. Fairfax-Ross, nominated miber for Papua, said he appre ited what Mr. Barrett was seek- I. But, if one did sue a native, d got a verdict against him, how •uld one set about getting money t of him? He could not be thrown ;o gaol, or a debtors’ prison.

Mr. Barrett was supported by nogen, native member from jwak, TNG. Through an intef- Jter, Simogen said that native ►our affairs in Rabaul, which he d recently visited, were far from 11. There were many Sepik men. d men from the NG mainland jre who had originally gone under reement, and had deserted for good reason that he could see. would like to see a law enacted it would compel a native labourer work if he had entered an agree nt to do so—and we would like see that same law insist that the ourer be returned to his village er the agreement had expired, f a man did not honour his •eement, and deserted, said Simo i. he became as a wild man. mtually he had no money for his e home, and the district suffered > of him. Many men com ted an agreement or deserted m it, and did not return to their ages; instead they entered into at was called “business work,” unofficial agreement with an ployer on a plantation whereby y given a certain area of property to work, or from which make copra. n the clause relating to the

repatriation of a native employee and his dependents, Mr. Barrett moved that the words “until such time as he or they desire to return home” be replaced by “for a period of three months, at the expiration of which time, if (he or they) have not returned home, the liability of the employer ceases and he is en titled to a refund of any amount deposited under this subsection.”

His motion was not carried.

En route to the Coronation as representatives of Fiji, Hon. George

Cakobau, MLC, and Hon. H. Maurice Scott called on Rugby officials in Canada, to discuss Fijian oversea tours. Depending on results of these talks, a Fiji team next year will tour either Canada or Aus tralia.

Two men, over 100 years old, died in Fiji about the end of May. Mr.

Shandra Maharaj, of Suva, was one of the earliest immigrants under the indenture system. The other, Atunaisa Camaibau, was a Fijian of Tamavua-i-Wai.