Goodwill Tour

Visit To P-Ng

It Was A Good Goodwill Tour

Mr. John Howse, Parliamen

tary Undersecretary to the

Australian Minister for Terri

tories, Mr. Paul Hasluck,

stirred up some official reaction when he made a goodwill tour of Papua-New Guinea in Oc tober.

HE made his tour to see for him self how Territory feeling stood following the bitter fighting over taxation and legislature matters that has marked relations between official and private interests in P-NG this year.

His decision to go was endorsed by the Minister, although it was not the Minister’s idea. Mr. Howse, who is popular with Territorians, felt now was a good time for a visit —especially as Minister Hasluck himself expects to set foot in New Guinea again before Christmas a step into the lion’s cage which P-NG residents have for months been publicly daring him to take.

As far as the Territorians were concerned, Mr. Howse’s visit was a success. He had taken the advice of influential friends before leaving and made a point of paying in private accommodation in the Terri tory wherever possible, avoiding too many official contacts.

He addressed residents in bodies whenever he got the chance and lent an attentive ear everywhere.

On the way south again in late October he gave Port Moresby’s South Pacific Post a few words on what he had found. Among his points were: What He Found • He had found a general feeling of insecurity among the people, with complaints that the cost of living was too high. • He felt that something should be done to make the burden lighter for the married man to keep him in the Territory. • He believed some assistance should be introduced to give the European settler a guarantee that if catastrophe in some way struck the Territory and the settler was obliged to leave (as with World War II), he would have an assurance that his life work would not be lost. • He would report all this to the Minister, and also tell him that there was need for a change in rep resentation on the Legislative Coun cil, both native and European, although he had no idea of what the changes should be.

Following Mr. Howse’s return there was evidence that Mr. Hasluck approved Mr. Howse’s warm non official contacts—but he did not like the publicity given to Mr. Howse’s statements on discontent and in security. It was not, he thought, very tactful treatment by the news paper. A J Mr. Howse’s findings, as reported to New Guinea readers, also in terested Prime Minister Menzies, who has been taking a greater in terest in Papua-New Guinea affairs since the angry developments of this year.

As most NG residents could have told Mr. Hasluck if he had asked them Mr. Howse discovered, and

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reported on, nothing more than the truth, and there was no need for anybody to ride high horse merely because the findings were not re ported in a way, or at a time, most flattering to the Minister.

Mr. Hasluck would best leave Mr.

Howse’s goodwill tour alone, and concentrate on ways of making his own a success.

Meanwhile, there has been no official indication of what steps the P-NG Administrator will take to fill the three casual vacancies in the Legislative Council, created by the resignation of the three very recently elected members.

The Taxpayers’ Associations made the formal announcement in Oc tober that if another election were held to fill the vacancies they would do nothing further to boycott the election. In their opinion, said the leaders, their purpose had been served by the emphatic vote given by the electors in September to the boycott candidates, which showed lack of confidence in the Minister and in the Legislative Council as at present constituted.

It is likely that the vacancies will be filled by nomination by the Ad ministrator.