P.A in N.Guinea

Effects of £10 M P.A in N.Guinea

What Mr. Calwell Wrote

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Based on material from a Port Moresby Correspondent Because it tends to give shape and direction to the future administration of Papua and New Guinea by Australia, a state ment made by Mr. Arthur Calwell in Port Moresby on July 29 may have some significance.

MR. CALWELL is Deputy-Leader of the Australian Parliamentary Labour Party. He spoke on be half of himself and of Messrs. A. S.

Luchetti and G. M. Bryant, MB’s.

He said they went all over the Terri tory, “as a fact-finding mission, on behalf of the Labour Party”. Pre sumably, therefore, their findings — which were quite definite —represent policy.

The following are the chief points of Mr. Calwell’s statement. Our comments are added, in Italic type.

Struck with Progress

There has been great post-war progress in these Territories and the rate of that progress has accelerated over the last few years.

Mr. Luchetti, who has been here before, and I, have been struck with the great progress being made in native education, health and hygiene, and in the construction of roads and public works.

Great as this progress is, the rate of development must be accelerated if Australia is to do its duty by the Territory, and particularly by the indigenous people; and that means the Australian taxpayer will have to support progressively greater grants in each Commonwealth budget, to supplement locally raised revenues. • Australian taxpayers already make a free gift of at least £lO millions per annum to this Terri tory, as one means of defence against Asia —it could not be justified otherwise. Similarly, Australia gives several millions per annum to Asia, under the Colombo Plan.

If it were not vital to Australia’s defences to hold New Guinea, there is no justification—political or social or economic—for the dissipa tion of so much money, which could be used so advantageously in Aus tralia.

It is nonsense to talk about “Aus tralia’s duty” to the P-NG indigen ous people, and of stepping-up the Tate of expenditure.

Australia may have some obliga tions within her own Territory of Papua; but her obligations to her own people are much greater than her responsibilities in New Guinea, so long as New Guinea is merely a UNO Trusteeship. So long as she is there, however, she must care for and protect the New Guineans.

More and Better Airstrins more ana better Airstrips The needs of the Territory seem to us to be more and better air strips, to take modern aircraft, more funds for education, and the establishment as soon as possible not only of secondary schools, but also of a University college in Port Moresby or Rabaul.

It is gratifying to find that in creasing numbers of native people are seeking higher education as doctors, nurses and teachers; and this demand for higher education must be met by establishing a medical school in the Territory, in stead of sending bright young natives to Suva.

It seems to us that it is time for the Australian School of Pacific Administration to be moved from Sydney to somewhere in the Terri tory. • Laudable sentiments, but gener ally impracticable—especially on the subject of higher education.

Before thinking about secondary schools for natives (other than teachers, etc.) P-NG must establish an effective system of village or primary education, so that the next generations can become literate in English, or at least in some common language.

At present a large proportion of native children receive no primary education —mostly because of the multiplicity of native languages and the incredible slowness of the Administration in training natives to take charge of village schools.

Provision of secondary schools (except for training of teachers, medical helpers, police, etc.) should follow and not precede a real primary education system.

A University College would be a useless and unnecessary expense, like the present system of sending scores of native students to secondary schools in Australia, where they gain little and are thrown com pletely out of gear with native life.

No reason is given for abandoning the Medical School in Suva, or shifting the School of Pacific Ad ministration away from Sydney— two systems which work well, after being evolved from years of trial end error.

Europeans Attitude to Natives We have noticed a change in at titude on the part of European settlers, and the business people, towards native problems; and there is a spirt of co-operation existing now which must have beneficial re sults for everybody. • Perfectly true the co-opera tion of non-official Europeans probably is the Territory’s most potent factor in the improvement of the natives’ living standards since World War 11.

Why does Mr. Calwell not carry the logic of his observations a step farther, and point out that more European settlers and traders in P-NG would hasten and simplify the task of bringing these primitive Stone-Age folk to a condition where they could more effectively meet Europeans and Asians, and accept an increasing amount of self-gov ernment?

Does Mr. Calwell not know it is the deliberate policy of Minister Hasluck to keep European settlers and traders (not companies) out of

P-Ng?

Natives' Latent Talent The extraordinary strides made by the native co-operative movement indicate the latent talent and acumen of the native people which, under wise tutelage, will enable the peoples of Papua-New Guinea to ultimately evolve from their tribal conditions and become one people.

When that time arrives, they will determine their own future. • Facts correct; but seen by Mr.

Calwell through rose-coloured spectacles.

Some of these Melanesian types— like the Tolais —may soon be trained to run a trading organisation; but the great majority must undergo two or three generations of experi ence in such matters before they can be left alone to handle money end direct community affairs.

Date for Self-Government • It’s completely unrealistic for certain countries in the United Nations to demand a date for estab lishment of self-government in New Guinea. . It will be time enough to face this issue fifty years hence.

The inhabitants of Papua-New Guinea can then decide whether to become part of the Commonwealth of Australia, or become a new dominion of the British Common wealth, like Ghana, or to become a new independent nation in the south-west Pacific.

• This is exactly the argument of the P-NG old-timers. It comes with a sense of shock from a spokesman of the Australian Labour Party which, in such matters, generally has its head in the clouds.

One can only hope that Mr.

Calwell will not be caned by Dr.

Evatt, or by Eddie Ward, of precious NG memories.

Incorporating P-NG with Australia From our observations, the native people do not want the present re lationship between them and the Australians disturbed, except per haps that there is some support for the incorporation of Papua and New

Guinea in the Commonwealth of Australia. • Quite remarkable. Mr. Calwell and his associates must have been lucky in their contacts.

This writer has been visiting the various centres of Papua and New Guinea for 25 years, and still has not met one native who is capable of discussing New Guinea’s present or future relationship with Australia —or has any constructive ideas at all on the future of the country.

In any event, the boundaries of Papua and New Guinea are com pletely arbitrary, having been drawn 70 or 80 years ago by jealous Euro peans. Within those boundaries are a score of peoples of very different

types and languages; and there is not—and never has been —any sense of national unity among them.

Many generations—and a common language—will be needed to create such a sense.

Even Mr. Calwell must have noticed that the advanced native people in Port Moresby have little in common with the primitive villagers of the remoter parts of the Highlands.

Protecting Markets

Mr. Calwell then goes on to point out that the production of copra, coffee, cocoa, rubber, timber and possibly tea and cotton in the Terri tory should be protected by making the Australian market available to the producers.

If income tax is to be introduced, he says, other taxation now im posed must be remitted, so that the level of taxation is not raised — otherwise Australian residents would be forced out, and the Territories would be harmed. • This, of course, is sound com monsense. It is a pity Mr. Calwell did not go further and point out that, if the great Territory is to be really developed, reassurances and protection should be given to potential investors.

A pity, also, that Mr. Calwell did not make some comment upon the system of placing a head-tax of £2 per annum on natives — which, when it was enforced, by a large Admin istration patrol, on a small Gazelle Peninsula village in early August, led to shooting and the death of two villagers. (See elsewhere this issue).

Mr. Calwell advocated bigger and better airfields, and the use of De fence personnel in the building of more arterial roads. He thought that the Pacific Islands Regiment should be increased from 600 men to three battalions.

Funds Needed

Mr. Calwell concluded by talk ing very vaguely about the need for funds to finance development.

P-NG needs financial help; but (he emphasised) overseas loans bring certain economic dangers in their trail. ® The answer here is very simple.

Is the development and protection of P-NG an Australian responsi bility? If it is, then forget the idealistic nonsense talked at UNO, and in a certain Department of Canberra, about the possible future land rights of natives, and encourage individual Australian planters and traders and industrialists to go and settle in New Guinea. Provide them with the land—with all necessary safeguards of native rights—and the Problems of development, and finance, and the teaching of know now to native landholders, will automatically solve themselves. * * * Mr. Calwell thinks the progress

made in P-NG has been “great”.

Measured against the annual grant o* . milli ons by Australia to P-NG, the progress has been un impressive, and of little material benefit to Australia.

If half that £lO millions per annum had been spent in the past decade in P-NG by Australian planters and industrialists (that would have been £5O millions) in developing the re sources of the country, Mr. Calwell really would have had something to write home to Dr. Evatt about.