[?] Parliament

Acific Affairs

4 round-up of comment and estions on Pacific matters heard the Commonwealth Parliament ring the month.

ENATOR Nancy Buttfield, speaking of New Guinea native schoolchildren; “The point I jh to stress here and to which I c the Minister to give attention the fact that when these natives ne down to the coast and get ,o closer contact with European ilisation they appear to lose their mtaneous gaity -and cheerfulness personality. They become what called up there ‘sophisticated’, d their cheerfulness is replaced a somewhat sullen attitude”. * * * Vlr. A. W. Luck, in a question to ime Minister Menzies: “I refer the introduction of income tax the Territory of P-NG, and the nciple of ‘No Taxation Without presentation’. I ask the Right nourable gentleman whether it proposed that a representative of NG should take his place in this rliament?" —Mr. Menzies: “I am t aware of any such proposal”. * * * Senator Justin O’Byrne: “The tive hospital at Kokopo, near ,baul, could be described as a il eye-opener. It is in a disgrace state of disrepair. It keeps nding only because it cannot ike up its mind which way to 1”. * * * vlr. Paul Hasluck, Minister for rritories, speaking about Terri ies Department staff at nberra: “I fear the officers at adquarters, like all headquarters icers, have sometimes received due criticism simply because they ppen to be at headquarters. The ne sort of thing happened during j war. The frontline soldier >ught everyone at the base was )bably a fool, and the brigade nmander probably thought he uld have won far more battles d it not been for someone at dbourne who was impeding the oration of his genius. The same ■t of thing happens in public ministration”. ♦ * senator Spooner, introducing a 1 to encourage search for :roleum in Australia: “Approx ately £5O-million has been spent the search for oil in Australia d Papua-New Guinea during the t 50 years—no less than £33llion of it in the last four years... :erest in the search for oil ebbs d flows. . . In the Sahara, 2,000

holes were drilled before oil was discovered in commercial quantities More than 3,000 holes were drilled over 30 years before the great oil fields of Alberta were tapped In cluding the recent West Australian drilling and the companies operat ing in P-NG, the number of bore holes put down in Australia in the search for oil is insignificant. The total is about 400”.