Ever-Rising Costs Worr

P-NG Producers

Disregarding the bo* caused in Papua and M Guinea by lavish grants from Australian Commonwealth, oo contributor, “Daika Tau” (an planter and trader) makes pessimistic survey of pri m as production conditions in the P-I- Territory.

Can anyone really honestly any long-term profitable future Papua-New Guinea?

Of late years, the country has 1 come the parade-ground of part of perigrinating politicians; but 1 things which mostly come of sir; visits are new flocks of absurditi in the daily press—such as the 11 lot about floggings, blackbirding ss rations to natives.

Judging by the numbers of flsJ young native hooligans about t town areas, there is something ; the saying that to spare the rocb to spoil the child. It is far and aw better to give a youth a cut witH cane—which is all that “flogging” —than to gaol him in close contd with adult criminals where he o learn the higher arts of crime.

The charge of “blackbirding” iss ridiculous that the serious sides apt to be overlooked.

Employers are competing wv each other for labour and are offll ing conditions which often me that very little drop in the pro margin would prove uneconomics: All the recruiter does is to g£ the native the opportunity to ts. advantage of these conditions, 'll native is not bound to go to as place: he can stay in his villas or do as he pleases. He need n stay at his place of employment!

But the employer is bound strict laws to provide him wv rations, and other articles, even j the extent of being fined for n supplying them when not availar in the area. Inspectors come rouL regularly and inspect each natf and investigate each individvi complaint, no matter how trivialL If any “exploitation” is going » it is exploitation of the employ and very definitely, not of ti native.

The ration scale is laid down law and I have yet to see a nat:f suffering from starvation whir working for a European. Tbl usually fatten up, after the pern spent in the village.

The difference between villa natives and those just paid off frm work is very noticeable. No od would starve a native and exptc him to work. The news would sod get around and that employer wout get no more labour.

rHE public service has grown so large so rapidly that it looks like snowballing to the eventual nancial bankruptcy of the country. urely a halt must be called soon nd l reoreanisation ° f consolldatlon rr.lt n f hvfnp- has risen so much no f oni Quarrelled w?th toe

ablic Service’s orilnisld aonli-

tibiic service s wen 01 ganisea appn

to| h amumenfs U fo? tooAer

5t follow the arguments lor snorter AlT'that can be done here with nrp Iciturp fs to absorb mor? of iat fluid which the medical pvid d aid Ts neceiarv to ife in

a f/ „ i,® tv,

£ut w P hat a rotten Dlace d if fs It takL ales to get an answer om a Government Department )wadays; and it would be worse shorter hours were worked. When ade unionism was started in Ausaha years ago “a fair day’s work r a fair day’s pay” was a slogan; it it appears to have been disrded now. Government employees iving for private enterprise rule t a lot of the shorter-hours argu- ?nt itjtt u, x, IHB bulldozmg-through of the new import duties shows what the Administration can do when

its mind is made up. It is so different from the many promises about other matters which have passed the sound-barrier, into the Great Silence of official inertia.

There was certainly a great silence on the part of the official members of the 9 oun £ l when the Import Bill was l om f through—they resembled a m ob G f stunned robots. Many of them are clever and able men—who know w hat is required of a De- P ar tmental head. The disrespectful Dlggers had a saym g that “when a ™ an knew , m ° re and more ’ about J ess and less ’ until he even tually knew everything about nothing, he was promoted 1” There may be somethlDg m that - The higher import duties must hit the employers hardest. Natives’ wages have never been the greatest cost of production-it always has been the rationing, etc. To break down the cost of labour into its various individual items—recruiting, rationing, wages, etc.—and to compare them with pre-war, is an interesting study. It is also an interest-

Jafou C r° mPariSOn Wlth European

Any increase in production costs will tend to price Papua-New Guinea out of world markets.

m HE desiccated coconut induct™ 1 killed so ent ? d shnw^thi! 7 land its nrodiict in Austri?f/lbl™v than it can be C fl h f ea f h e factory here. It is doubtful if any factory will ever open here again.

The native co-operatives may: but no one apart from them would ever think of investing money in it The rubber industry is rather delicately poised and, although of immense importance in time of war, ha s no guarantee of stability. The * opra da ? try has two years to go to reach the same stage; and it is because toe ten-years MOF agree ment gives stability to the industry momlnt' 8 S ° y3nt at the preSent There is nothino- define then on Who wants to h,,v nlantatio’n on such an & P I knn But what whl l hannen African product sets moving a^n

Mrkan Tabour S

c heaoer much

2nd Pliable efficient

The ti^r industrv aDDears nav

abl

costs are rising there.

It is amazing that, in view of two adverse reports by auditors on Ad ministration accounting, and other

pomalies (including uneconomic id wasteful expenditure of public nds) the revenue has been raised [higher import duties to give more oney to waste. If the Adminis ition had been a public company, ere would have been an immediate restigation and upheaval and more icient methods and personnel hi

lled.

OME months ago a project was being discussed, which required ; considerable capital and would t become payable for several ars. [t appeared to be a good pro sition; but it was not proceeded ih because of word from a group brokers in Australia. They ted: “In regard to long-term in itment in P-NG, at the moment ► market is very dead. The high it of native labour and the in asing difficulty of getting suf ent labour for large concerns is 11 known to us.

Over the last few months several our clients have visited your area i have decided against investing ley there. Small retail businesses 1 others of similar type appear to the best at the moment.

We suggest you wait until the ire becomes more predictable and rernment policy clarified. The eral uneasiness in world affairs a big influence on this matter.” fill there ever be an improvement onditions? Can we expect a firm

marketing policy for Territory pro ducts? Can we expect some means of combating the irresponsibility of native labour, Or is the country to remain an expensive political play ground, a happy hunting-ground for top-brass bureaucrats?

Those are our No. 1 questions.