Future Role?
p. 69 · Read in the full issue
Future of SW Pacific Territories
What Is Australias
There are indications that at last the Australian Government is be ginning to regard the Territories of the Southwest Pacific in a new light, and as a responsibility of Australia.
Conversations which I have had
lately with highly-placed public
men and officials, in Sydney, Can berra, Melbourne and Port Moresby show a new horizon to their think ing. They do not turn away now from the possibility that, sooner or later, Australia must take respon sibility for — The old Australian Territory of Papua; Trusteeship Territory of New Guinea; Dutch Territory of West New Guinea; British Protectorate of Solomon Islands; and, perhaps, Condominium of New Hebrides.
There seem to be three main reasons for this change of think ing: • The growing masses of people in Southeast Asia especially China —will naturally look for more room in the comparatively empty countries of the South Pacific. • The political and economic troubles of Indonesia tend to open Indonesia’s doors to Asian penetra tion. • The Netherlands are reluctant to continue spending huge sums in West New Guinea—which must be done if the Dutch are going to beat off Indonesia’s persistent challenge.
So far as one can learn, there is no definite plan yet in shape under which Australia will extend its Islands administration; but there is no doubt about the trend in Aus tralian thinking.
Solomons' Future
It is well known that for at least ten years Great Britain has been ready to transfer the Solomons archipelago to Australian adminis tration.
Australia has not been unwilling to take over the Solomons; but Whitehall has asked that Australia take over also her other adminis trative headache thereabouts— namely, the British share of the Condominium.
Although Britain is in the New Hebrides because of Australian ac tivities inaugurated 50 years ago— Presbyterian Church missions and Burns Philp colonisation, mainly— Canberra has been consistently
unwilling to accept administrative responsibility there in partnership with the French, who have now a dominating interest.
There is a possibility that, now the new De Gaulle Constitution is ac cepted by France, the position of the New Hebrides may be re considered, with a view to either France or Australia taking full ad ministrative responsibility.
Solomons and New Hebrides are two of the largest and potentially most valuable archipelagoes in the South Pacific.
But both have been Cinderellas in the now-ending period of colon ialism; and both now, lacking finance and developmental im pulse, are poor and expensive to
govern.