Politicians and Newspapers Interpret

The Cook Is. for NZ Taxpayers

Minister Webb, the last of the NZ official excursionists to visit the Cook Islands, has returned to the Dominion saying that his visit (it lasted about a week) was an “outstanding success”; two Auckland newspapers have devoted 40 feet of space to the Group since May; and many New Zealanders have discovered the Cooks for the first time.

[T was a group of Rarotonga Island Councillors who started the ball rolling in mid-May when their letters to New Zealand newspapers about taxation made headlines. But t seems that the great official “look see” is just about over, and that the newspapers and the people will, mce more, forget about their Islands territory.

No official statement on the find ngs of the Minister of Island Terri tories and his investigating team lad been released up to late August, )ut the two Auckland papers, in a series of frequently conflicting ,rticles, barely mentioned what must >e the two most important pro )lems: —land ownership and its ‘fleets on the development of the slands; and emigration by the pick >f the young people.

Remarkable, and surely unjust, vas the sharp criticism of the per nanent European population—the mly people currently paying their ;axes—said to have been referred to >y the Resident Commissioner col ectively as “the beach Europeans,” luring the August meeting of the legislative Council.

The Minister seems to have made limself clear to these same beach Europeans, in what has been de cribed as a stormy one-hour meet ng with the Rarotonga Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Webb would not liscuss water supplies, roads, ship >ing or income tax, and members, liter the meeting, reported that hey had been treated as “nothing >ut a group of malcontents.”

Here are the comments of some nembers after this meeting: A: “The meeting was a waste of Lme. We are no further ahead than >efore.”

B: “The Minister did not want o hear about the water situation md has no interest in the Cook slands.”

C: “The Commission Jiad all the mswers worked out before they got lere and are out to whitewash the Administration.”

D: “The Minister was quite cor ect in dismissing subjects that vere up for discussion by Leg Co. le did show marked interest in i banana-replanting suggestion.”

E: “The Minister is an astute nan who has a valuable adviser in dr. Jack Wright, who is familiar vith local conditions. He was quite ight in refusing to discuss matters ilready on remit for Leg Co.”

UNFORTUNATELY, the Admin istration has been insulated for so long from any outside criticism, that local critics have come to be viewed with extreme dis favour, however fair and reason able their criticism may be. Now,

the Minister’s visit has no other effect it probably will have succeeded widening the gap between beach Europeans” and Administra tion.

NZ correspondents who travelled with the Commission, were asked to handle their stories “in a certain way. ttS 11 ? least ref used to do , wl ? J a t the “ wa y” was, or whether it had any effect on their writings, is not known, but it could have influenced one paper’s report on the citrus industry.

The . correspondent found that this had the whole-hearted co-opera tion of the Maori population it has—so long as the Department of Agriculture does the work and ad vances the capital. But to suggest that the citrus industry would sur vive without the constant super vision of the Department is very

:ar from the truth, as everyone in Ihe islands knows.

I How different the fruit industry in he Cooks would be if the unthmk ible happened—that is, land titles tfere freed so that a few European >lanters could lease land and de relop citrus plantations on the same inancial terms as are offered to the Maoris. Over-night, hundreds of icres of idle land would be brought nto cultivation, and hundreds of ocal people would, very happily, find hemselves in receipt of a regular >ay-cheque as employees of the

Curopean orchardists.

But that, of course, is exploita ion, however financially well-off it night make the local people. That ippears to be the attitude to-day werywhere in the Pacific, from New Juinea to Tahiti: If the local people lo not want to develop their land hen certainly no one else is going o be permitted to do so.

This view seems to be reaching ts ultimate absurdity in the sug :estion from the Cooks that the slands are already over-populated, hough great areas of rich land are vergrown with weeds. The cultiv ble land there is 3,946 acres, and he population 2,500.

No one would suggest that the tandard of living in Rarotonga /as lower 100 years ago than it is o-day—yet the population then was ery much higher as the remains f old villages in the, mountains learly indicate.

ON his return. Mr. Webb said that the Cooks’ financial dependence on New Zealand could not be regarded as a liability but as part of the responsibilities of the “haves” to the “have nots.” He said the mission was “an outstanding suc cess.” He was sure it would enhance mutual confidence.

Consideration would be given, he said, to appointing a member of Parliament to look after Cook Islands affairs in New Zealand and to attend annual meetings of the Legislative Council. This appoint ment would not affect in any way the workings of the existing system of local government. He admitted that there was probably a weakness in the existing public relations in the group. Measures would be taken to improve this situation and make the people more aware of the aims of the Government and the admin istration, to avoid misunderstand ings.

Nothing would be done to hurry the transition from the old to new ways of life. If the people wished to retain the Ariki system much the same could be done as was be ing done in Western Samoa.

The Government was not wedded to the New Zealand system of taxation for the group. If the Legis lative Council could put forward some other system more suited to local requirements, it would be acceptable. The people had said that they were ready and willing

to contribute towards their own sup port. He had warned the Legis- ; lative Council of the dangers of* pressing for too much political in^ dependence before achieving a greater measure of economic in dependence. He was satisfied that the people would probably never desire complete self-government. of W the Rarotonga lll heat 0 1 6 Harotonga heat in regard

to taxation—on the part of a small but influential Maori minority—had dwindled. There was even said to be some shame over the spirited cor respondence between these people and the Government.

IF the 40 feet of interesting and sometimes provocative news clip pings reach the Cooks they should produce at least 40 pounds weight of letters to the respective editors from angry “beach Europeans” and an over-sensitive Administration.

But unless the letters are pub lished, news from the Cooks for the next decade will revert to the

rare three lines on a tidal wavi visiting yacht, or hurricane, and th New Zealand taxpayer, forgettin all about the Group, will pay ut whatever the cost.

H Mr. E. M. Derrick, Scout Com missioner for training in Victors has gone to Fiji to help in train ing native Scout leaders.