Let Canberra Do It! (Says Canberra)

If Quality of Mercy Must Be Strained:

The prerogative of mercy in the case of a criminal convicted !by the Papua and New Guinea Court, will in future be exercised !by the Governor-General of Australia.

PREVIOUSLY the power of mercy has rested in the hands of the Administrator of the Territory. : This and several other minor Amendments to the Papua and New 3uinea Act were introduced in the Australian Parliament in August.

In introducing the amendment joncerning mercy (“a pardon, free ,r conditional, or a remission or jommutation of sentence. ”) the Minister for Territories, Mr. Paul lasluck, said that it “was quite m ippropriate for an official to be re mired to exercise such powers in -egard to a sentence of death. Only it the highest level should such mthority be exercised.”

Mr. Hasluck made haste to assure he House that the introduction of his amendment, at this time, had 10 relation to recent events —and hat the present Bill had been in Iraft form for many months.

The “recent events” to which the Minister refers are, of course, the incalled-for clamor in Australia hat the Telefomin murderers, entenced to death recently m Vewak by Mr. Justice Gore, should lot hang.

If what the Minister says is cor ect, then the timing of the Bill is infortunate as it merely raises in he minds of sensation-hungry Aus ralians the idea of last-minute egislation to save 30-odd natives rom this “official” who it is in erred, could rush off and hang hem out of hand.

Australians, by and large, know lothing of native psychology or how Jritish justice is taken to them, and he whole Telefomin affair, as we iave pointed out previously, is one hat could safely have been left in he hands of experienced Adminis ration officials.

It has been claimed on numerous (ccasions that it is unfitting that he man at the head of an import mt Territory like PNG—the man dr. Hasluck refers to as “an official -should be called an Administrator, men the men at the head of much ess important neighbouring tern ories are “Governors” or “High Commissioners,” entitled to be iddressed as “His Excellency” and aking precedence over Adminis rators.

As amendments to the P-NG Act rere on the agenda, attention to this tbsurd situation would have been in »rder. fWTHER amendments to the Act L/ proposed by Mr. Hasluck in August were;

• The title of Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory to be changed to Chief Justice, and accompanied by a provision to appoint the present Chief Judge, Mr. Justice Phillips, as Chief Justice with continuity of office.

* All references to Native Village Councils in the principal Act to be replaced by the words “Native Local Government Councils,” because, in practice, the majority of Councils established have not been set up in relation to individual villages but have been formed to represent several groups of villages. • An official member of the Legis lative Council to be enabled to re sign his seat—there previously has been no provision for this. • The Governor-General to be able to withhold assent from any part of an ordinance—instead, as at pre sent, being able to give or withhold assent from any ordinance only in its entirety.