isance-Value of Unofficial Members

G Legislative Cl.

Meeting

isance-Value of Unofficial Members Saves the Council from Failure

Port Moresby, May 31.

The May meeting of the Papua and New Guinea Legislative ;>uncil produced nothing of great importance in the way of legislation; it it did have two evening “circus performances,” for the entertain ent or enlightenment of the local inhabitants, who attended in large imbers.

IS was the idea of the President (Acting-Administrator Wilson). and events were ed at these two evening bouts s to spare the customers the s regular and deadly business of tiing out machinery bills (in re n to straying dogs or to rant barbers, or amendments existing legislation). Instead, bers paraded their pet subjects ig “adjournment.” is May session, postponed from :h, has been sandwiched into :ek before a holiday week-end, its real purpose has been to supply until the end of the icial year. iginally it was to have been ‘important” session, extending 10 days or so, but there has nothing in this sausage line legislation to hold up

proceedings for more than these four or five days. Most amicable part of the proceedings was the presentation of the report of a select committee on finance—such report being generally acceptable to all.

Bills dealing with native marriages, land, and that hardy perennial, the new Native Labour ordinance, which were all supposed to make an appearance, have apparently been lost in the Canberra maze of red tape. At all events, they are missing from the agenda, without apologies.

FOUR official members have been absent on other business or on leave, and so has the regular President, Administrator D. M.

Cleland, who also is on leave.

This, in theory, left the unofficial

members in charge of the Council.

In practice, this was adequately taken care of by the President’s vote, plus his extra casting vote.

In one instance (see legislation was got through the Council by virtue of this casting vote, and one presumes, from the methods used to ensure that the official will prevailed, that if one of the official members had been run over on the way to the Council by one of Moresby’s crazy lorry-drivers, some means would have been found for suspending proceedings entirely.

A bomb dropped on the Council “chamber” (the local Red Cross hall) would probably have been regarded as a small price to pay

for keeping voting power out of the reckless hands of the 12 good citizens and true who make up the unofficial opposition.

SO members in the torrid heat of a fitful SE season melt in the fanless local hall and go through the motions of a fully adult Parliament: A Clerk of the Council in his black gown; a Mr. President to bow to; and imitation Cabinet Ministers to introduce bills by some apparently arbitrary roster system? whereby Mr. K. McCarthy, who has no Latin and little legal knowledge, finds himself floundering in the legal terminology of a Wills Ordinance: and Mr. T. Grahamslaw, Customs chief, introduces a Bill for licensing barbers’ shops.

And the Bills are read a first, and a second and a third time; and they “go into committee” and those in favour say “aye” and to the contrary “no” (and, of course, the ayes have it!) What emerges after all this is that probably Papua will, in future, have the same Ordinance in relation to mad dogs or intinerant barbers as New Guinea.

As a matter of simple truth, the Council after five years of life has not emerged from* its status —as one member put it —of a glorified

debating society; and the total practical result of its deliberations on the administration of P-NG has been almost the same as if the Territory were ruled by edict from Canberra, without the formality of thrusting measures through the Council.

FEW members would, howev agree that abolition of t Council would be anything V a retrograde step. The machim —over elaborate and sligh ridiculous for the sort of totalitari set-up that exists here today there; and may someday be t

is of soiree system closer to locracy. In addition, it affords fficial members opportunity of ng their views, even if they invariably over-ridden; and isionally it drives official nbers into the very unhappy ition of having to state publicly r intentions and their policy, or the nuisance-value of its fficial members, then, the ncil can be regarded as worth keep, OOTNOTE: One of the most aordinary angles to government this Territory of Papua and r Guinea is the desperate savours that are made to frame slation that will take care of ua, which is a Territory of tralia, and at the same time :orm to what the United Nations steeship Council thinks fit for Trusteeship Territory of New nea. The emphasis on divided Ity—i.e., to the Crown in Papua, to UNO in New Guinea —is h greater today than it was re World War 11, when NG a Mandate.