The Asian Influence on Political Future

Political Future

A SEPARATE roll for Asians is the only method of guarding • * . r XT r. • J r; J- 5 against the possibility of New Guinea finding itself represented in the P-NG Legislative Council by two Asian members.

This argument, introduced in the last stages of the June meeting of Rabaul Town Advisory Council by Mr. J. L. Chipper, went en thusiastically unsupported by most of the other members —including Mr. D. Barrett, sitting Member for New Guinea Islands who, it is believed, has the goodwill of most of the Asian voters in the community.

Mr. Chipper was also critical of the Legislative Council in what he suggested was its dilatory manner of setting up a select committee to inquire into the composition of future Legislative Councils. (The committee was ctmsen last November and it was believed, at the time, that its recommendations would be made in time to be acted upon before the election of the second Council in October, 1954. It was thought then that the Legis lative Council would meet early in 1954; it did not meet until May, when the report of the committee was tabled. As a consequence it is unlikely that the necessary legislation will be passed—it requires amend ment to the P-NG Act by Federal Parliament —in time to alter the composition of the incoming Coun cil. One of the recommendations was that the number of elected members be increased from three to nine).

Mr. Chipper claimed that, as matters now stand, Asian electors could by force of numbers elect two Asians to be the NG rep resentatives; and that if this happened the European com munity would be unrepresented. To prevent this, he said, the Asians should have a separate roll and elect their own representative, while Europeans elected theirs.

The Asian members of the TAC, either because they did not want an Asian representative to Legco, nr because Mr. Chipper framed the motion, seemed singularly unenthusi astic about the Asian roll.

Mr. Barrett, who was oneoftne architects of the report on the com position of the Legislative Courwil, renlied somewhat tersely that, not counting those who deliberately boy cotted the last election and &d not pnroll there were 400 European voters’ and at present there were about 300 Chinese “Australian pro tected persons” who were entitled to (All 6 Asians who are born in New Guinea become Australian pro

tected persons automatically; but at the age of 21 they are required to either revoke this status and register as aliens, or signify that they will remain “protected.”) IT has been rumoured locally that Mr. Chipper might stand as a

candidate for NG Islands electorate at the next elections on October 2.

And his motion at the TAG meet ing, has been interpreted, by some, as a move to separate Mr. Barrett from the Asian vote.

Whatever the truth of this, it is a fact that Mr. Chipper was one of the leaders of that section of the community (notably the Rabaul Chamber of Commerce) which boy cotted the 1951 elections. They took the line that a Legislative Council so overloaded with official members would be largely ineffective, and as a protest against this they did not register to vote.

Most people in the Territory will now agree that although the non

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official members of the Council are almost never permitted to alter vital legislation, they have at least been the voice of the people and through them public grievances, previously settled out of hand by regulation, have an airing.

The setting up of the first coun cil in 1951 was hurried through in a few weeks and, for some political reason, thrust upon a P-NG com munity insufficiently prepared for it. But it was a beginning and if the recommendations of the Select Committee are carried into effect, it should be a much more effective body.

It is interesting to note that the report recommends that in choos ing nominated members, full con sideration should be given to select ing someone who will represent the Asian community.