Secrets
p. 159 · Read in the full issue
Air Bigwigs Talk Secrets In Melbourne
DELEGATES from the five British countries that form the South Pacific Air Transport Council net in Melbourne from June 23 to fuly 1.
The press hand-out, issued shortly ifter the session ended, said that it las been impossible to reach innanimity on the issue of whether he future development of Nadi Air >ort, Fiji, “should proceed on the >asis of the two existing runways »r whether it would be better to instruct an entirely new runway.”
We, naively, had imagined that he matter of Nadi’s third runway tad been resolved at the 1953 meet ng of the same organisation, at east 12 months ago. It has been liscussed for at least three years.
Thirty-one top-flight bureaucrats ,nd Ministers from UK, Australia.
IZ, Canada and Fiji attended the onference. As well, there were six ,ir-company delegates who at ended certain sessions; and eight ecretaries, typists, “document fficers” and whatnot.
Apart from Nadi’s runway, the est of their deliberations are ap parently to be regarded as top ecret. The press officer informs us ,e is not permitted to go beyond the ress hand-out. The public is there o pay, and ask no questions, pparently.
One of the objects of SPATC according to its book-of-wordsi is d “keep under review and to pro late the progress and development f Commonwealth civil air com zunications in the South Pacific Its first meeting was in 1946, in hat era when the British Socialist Governments felt that they had to et into the air-transport business, ’he inevitable happened, and in ecent months we have witnessed a eorganisation of all South Pacific ir services—which, amongst other hings, has effectively organised uva (the most important city in he S. Pacific) out of any sort of iternational air service at all.
We hope that this was one of he aspects of aviation discussed ehind the closed doors of the con srence lately ended in Melbourne.
Fijian members of the Catholic Mothers in Fiji are being formed ato their own native communi ;ies to be known as the Native Mothers’ Congregation. The first as been established at the Tunu
>a Mission, Cakaudroye, under
irother Saverio Ratu Saha. It will o saw-milling and farming as pait f the self-supporting activities oi ae Mission. Previously, the Fijian nd European Brothers worked to ether.