Editorial ...

Mr. Hasluck's New Guinea Dictatorship And

The Arrival Of Mr. Downs

A PIQUANT development in New Guinea is the appearance of Mr. lan Downs as a candidate for the Legislative Council, with indications that he is going to attack, in every legitimate way, the distorted dictatorship of Minister Paul Hasluck.

The election of Mr. Downs to the Council seems certain. He already has shown himself to be a fluent and forthright speaker. There is no doubt that he will use his place in the Council to flail the adminis tration of Mr. Hasluck, which is praised by no Territorian —official or non-official.

Mr. Hasluck, since he became Minister, has paid generous lip ser vice to private enterprise. Actually, he has discouraged and restricted individualism wherever he has been able to exercise

his powers.

I He will go quite k distance in en couraging w e 11endowed corpora tions to enter into Territories enter prises, like the cattle ranch near Gusap, and the extension of the BGD timber plans, and the encouragement of the Aluminium Corporation’s Papuan plan. But when individuals with limited re sources try to get esta b 1 i s hed as planters, official dom knocks them back with every kind of obstacle. f There is now no doubt that that is the deliberate policy of Mr.

Hasluck. So far, the Menzies Gov- Brnment has allowed him to carry on in this way. But a show down is coming; and it is nossible that ex-District Commissioner lan Downs will have a good deal to do with that show down. That would be natural justice.

l FTER World War 11, young lan Downs came rapidly into notice as one of the Territory’s most energetic and progressive District officials. He had vision, an eagerness for development, and a veritable passion for getting things done. He left the filing of records, and the gathering of statistics to his office staff, while he got out into the field.

He was given the raw and virgin Eastern Highlands, soon after George Greathead (another fine type of young Australian administrator, who also believed in getting things done) had been driven out by Can berra interference. Undeterred by the fate of Greathead, lan Downs encouraged settlement, built roads, planned water-races, planted thousands of trees.

He saw the immense possibilities of the Highlands land when handled

by Europeans, or by natives under European direction and example; and he went a long way beyond official channels in seeking the right men to come in and settle in selected places among the natives, while giving native life and native land rights the utmost protection necessary.

He was the ideal type of young colonial governor—the ‘type to which Great Britain, in the Victorian- Georgian age, awarded countless knighthoods and earldoms.

But not Mr. Hasluck. That passionate anti-colonialist placed in creasing obstructions in the way of Downs’ activities; and when he found that the whole Territory was watching Downs’ land settlement and development, and acclaiming his success, he jumped upon the Eastern Highlands District Com missioner with both feet.

In 1954, the Minister announced that all such developmental activities by District Commissioners must cease forthwith—they would have practically no discretionary power, and would take their instructions from Canberra.

The allocation of lands in future would be the responsibility of a Board, working in closely with De-