Impressive Summer School Address

Hasluck Reviews Hasluck's Seven Years In Papua-New Guinea

With Some Notable Omissions

When Mr. Paul Hasluck, Australian Minister for Terri tories, prepared a lengthy address for the Summer School of the Australian Institute of Political Science (Canberra, Jan. 25-27) he made of it practically a review of the seven years in which he has been virtually Dictator of Papua and New Guinea. He called it Australia in New Guinea—Present Tasks and Policies.

MR. HASLUCK is a man of statesmanlike vision, and of marked literary ability. His address becomes a useful historical document, because he describes analytically the difficulties which Australia faces in P-NG, and he in licates where she has succeeded, md where failed.

Mr. Hasluck perhaps is unique imong politicians, in that he is traightforward and honest in dis ussing his own difficulties, as a Minister.

Incidentally, this is a different linister to the Hasluck of seven ears ago. Then, he approached his ask with irritating cocksureness— ery much the leader-writer getting ito action. Since then he has lamed a good deal—and honestly anfesses his inability to get over Jrtain hurdles. For that reason, he a more impressive Minister. He as got his focus adjusted.

If given a few more years in the b—an unlikely contingency—he mid get a sufficient hold on this laotic mass of tropical islands and imitive men and undisciplined iropeans to really shape It into mething worth while.

No other Australian Minister ever ought anything like Mr. Hasluck’s lent and vision to the Territories b.

In his early days, one got the im ession that Minister Hasluck, -alist and planner, kow-towed to s Trusteeship Council, and en rsed many of the views of the liticaliy-unbaked gentlemen who me out here from UNO and de luded prompt liberation of the w Guineaites from the exploiters, d their establishment as a sch eming unit.

'fow, after years of struggling h the P-NG headache that repre ss his portfolio, Mr. Hasluck is reshingly frank.

"Need New Society"

tfr. Hasluck describes at length J extreme difficulties of making J cohesive society out of the in merable primitive communities, united and speaking countless

languages, that live in P-NG; and he emphasises that until there is one social entity in the country, it is impossible to create a self-governing state.

“Unless a society of a new kind grows in P-NG, there will be no life of a new kind”, he says. Obviously, there can be no “society of a new kind” while the tasks of introducing civil order, better living standards and complete illiteracy remain un done.

“We cannot predict with certainty the nature of the society which will finally develop in P-NG, and hence we cannot predict with certainty the shape of the institutions, or the successive stages in the growth of that society,” says Mr. Hasluck.

“This is the final answer to the stupidity of those positive fools in the United Nations who are always talking of target dates for political advancement .”

Thank you, Mr. Hasluck, for those simple words. The PIM often has tried to express the same senti ments. They come much more effectively from the Australian Min ister who has had the problem right in his lap for seven years. .The Minister is equally emphatic about the misuse of the term “self determination”. Surely, he says, these dependent people of P-NG must be left—after a suitable period of training and tuition—to do what they themselves want to do—not what the United Nations votes that they should do or some neighbour ing power wants them to do!

"Can't be a Policy"

It is in that connection that Mr.

Hasluck develops his principal argu ment. “The ward has to grow up before the trustee relinquishes his trust to it”—and he points out that it is the duty of Trustee Australia not only to prepare these primitives for nationhood, but to base Aus tralian planning on the belief that Australian interests and the in terests of P-NG are either identical or cannot be considered apart from one another. . . We have to recognise that if we want to maintain that

view we have to give constant care to keep the interests of Australia and P-NG as a common interest”.

Mr. Hasluck indicated that he had been often nagged at by politicians and Press because he had given no clear-cut “policy” regarding Aus tralian intentions and planning in New Guinea. It is impossible, in existing circumstances, he says, to lay down a “policy”; “There are so many unpredictable forces at work both in the Territory, and outside, that only those who know they are omnipotent or do not know they are foolish would declare emphatically what they would do.”

There again we may agree entirely with the Minister. The over-all purpose of Australia’s presence in New Guinea and Papua is to create there an independent nation, allied closely with Australia; but how and when it is to be done depends upon a score of factors now in process of development.

Australia’s administrative policy must be adapted to factors which, in many cases, are not yet clear.

Actually, there is little in Mr.

Hasluck’s long, admirably-presented address to the Summer School with which his critics could disagree. (Over)

Reading it, one gains increased re spect for this young member of the Menzies’ Government.

38,000 Sq. Miles Left

With justice, he says that Aus tralia deserves full credit for her performance in three or four fields of administration.

Australia’s first and most import ant task was to bring the 183,540 square miles of Papua and New Guinea under “control”—and that has been done through a system of patrolling in which the young Aus tralians excel. To-day, the Minister claims, only 38,000 sq. miles are not under control; and of that area, some 28,000 sq. miles are under some kind of Administration influence.

Australian achievement has been equally impressive in the field of health. These natives have no con ception of health needs —they had to be taught the most elementary things, trained as individuals and as communities. The beginning was made by Europeans, and the services enlarged as natives were trained to become medical and health officers.

Gradually, a health service, equipped with clinics and hospitals, has been spread across the Territory—and the work goes on, and must continue on an increasing scale.

Much also has been accomplished in the field of economics—through direct tuition, through co-operative societies, the natives are being taught to produce and market food stuffs and materials in an organised way. The figures are impressive.

The natives are being trained in self-government. A large group of Dfficials is giving direct tuition to hundreds of village councils.

So far, so good. The record—sup sorted by statistics—deserves netti ng but praise.

Much Left Unsaid But, having read the long address, ne is left with the feeling that here is much the Minister left un aid —much that might have been xplained to the Summer School, iere, presumably, the politician was n control of the statesman.

For example, WHY is Australia in lew Guinea at all, giving so freely ►f her valuable young men, and of ler treasure (at least £lO millions )er annum) in an administration ask for which she receives no inter lational thanks or kudos?

Australia, with a vast and almost mpty continent at her disposal, Ices not seek colonies. No one ever las accused her of hunger for new erritories. All her men and her reasure can be used most profit bly inside Australia.

Everyone, of course, knows that

Australia holds New Guinea for security reasons. Left unprotected, this vast tropical area soon would be occupied by Asians —and it would be in the highest degree dangerous to have Asia right on our doorstep.

For the same reason, we support the Dutch in their continued occupancy of Western New Guinea.

Why cannot the Australian Min ister say so, instead of leaving his

cogent and logical arguments up in the air? Australia is engaging in huge expenditure of money, men and effort in order that there may be, in New Guinea, a strong economic backbone, supported by ll million natives, for Australia’s ad vanced line of defence against Asia.

Mr. Hasluck does makes a refer ence to the danger of Asia: but he does it indirectly, and puts the cart before the horse: “The trust to the people of P-NG can be carried out only if there is peace, with freedom from enemy

invasion of their country. The de fence of P-NG means defence by Australia. The power of Australia to defend all her Territory depends in part on the security of P-NG/’

Quite true. But Australia is in New Guinea primarily to keep the other fellow out, and not to dis charge any trust to the people of

P-Ng.

Need for Settlers Mr. Hasluck describes his plans for the economic development of P-NG —the encouragement of old industries and the establishment of :iew —by the natives; and properly claims credit for some excellent •ecords.

But he says practically nothing— except by inference—about the need or settling in New Guinea as many uitable Europeans as the economy pill hold —Europeans who will build ip production, create larger civil irganisation and —this above all— how the natives how to become armers and industrialists, and ccustom themselves to less primitive Dims of living.

The Minister, a logical man whose even years on the threshold of New ruinea have taught him much that e did not know as a leader-writer, ow acknowledges privately that, leasuring one thing against another, lere is no factor more likely to Emulate among the New Guineans le kind of progress he wants than lenty of European settlement. Yet e will not say it.

Another example of the politician nothering up the competent states lan. Politicians seem to go ever stingly in terror of being called colonialists”.

Mr. Hasluck pleads for the co aeration of the P-NG Europeans i the task of stimulating native 'ogress in P-NG. Yet Planters’ ssociations and Returned Soldiers’ 3agues appeal to him in vain for mething more positive and active the way of European settlement.

In this Summer School address, ; spits boldly at the “fools” of e United Nations. Why then let e United Nations scare him oif a oper, forthright and long overdue inouncement on the subject of )re European settlement in P-NG?

Native Education

Mr. Hasluck is particularly vague d unsatisfactory on the subject native education.

T would want to see develop in pua a society with a common iguage,” he says; and then goes to explain that a society with a

tnmon language and a cultural ■

:ce of its own is impossible while e majority of II million natives

are illiterate, and divided among scores perhaps hundreds —of language groups.

He describes educational needs and says: “We cannot build except on this foundation; and I would frankly confess that the achieve ments in education, subjected to this very simple test, to-day fall a very long way below the requirements of policy or the demands the Govern ment has been making.”

“The first job we have to do, and the job we have not yet succeeded in doing to my satisfaction, is to bring a sound elementary education

in English to every child in the con trolled areas.

“Over and above this, of course, we have to do many things; but none of the additions can be made until the foundations are laid.”

This journal could not agree more —the Minister is saying what the PIM has been saying, year after year, for a long time.

But the Minister, after making this candid confession, stops there.

Where does the failure lie? Is it in the conception and organisation of a Department of Education? Or —which is much more likely—is it due to the fact that primary educa tion, in Papua and New Guinea, is widely divided between a Govern ment Department with precise plans,

and hundreds of village schools conducted by a multiplicity of Missions, each of which clings stub bornly to its own conception of village needs?

One suspects that the Minister had something specific in his mind when he said this: “I have some misgivings, due to the unevenness, both in aims and teaching efficiency, of some of those engaged in school-work in the missions in the Territory. God knows what some of them are trying to do! I trust that He approves.”

Mission Difficulties

It has been apparent for a long time that there is lack of co-ordina tion between Administration and Missions in the field of education.

The Administration knows that it jannot make satisfactory progress in Its chief task unless there is a jteadily growing volume of literacy tmong natives, based on an accepted ind approved pattern.

The Missions greatly value their lold over village schools, as part )f their work of introducing Christianity—and we may not forget hat, until very recent years, they ;ave to the natives practically all »f the little education the natives eceived.

But times have changed. The re ponsibility is plainly upon the Ad ministration. If it cannot reconcile ts urgent education requirements nth Mission machinery, it will be iamstrung in its principal activities.

Instead of apostrophising God, the linister might be wiser to deal very rmly and justly with God’s servants, i the Missions. Knowing something f the grimness and strength of the fissions in P-NG, one is not sur rised to see the Minister shrinking little from the task which con *onts him in this field.

Another field in which the Min ter outlines a policy, but seems ly in indicating the shape of the )reseeable future, is that of native ,bour.

He says that his policy for the mtrol and regulation of native hour is intended to serve three ain purposes—the general ad incement of the native people, the ’otection of the native workers fainst unfair and improper treat ent, and “to ensure that the native srker honours his obligations”.

He goes on to explain that his iministration in this connection eks measures “that maintain ilage life and the attachment of e native to his land”, the educa )n of the native in better ways of r ing, use of tools, and so forth; id “it is to be remembered that e parallel policy of economic de lopment means that industrial iterprise requires efficient use of bour”.

That is fine; but it is too vague.

All that we know is that in recent ars the laws controlling native

labour have been mostly for the native worker and little for the European employer. As in the case of European settlement, P-NG residents would have warmly wel comed a Ministerial finger-post, showing the future shape of native labour regulations.