New Nng-P-Ng

Hollandia As Site

Conference

Will Be Vital

Australia and Netherlands Gov ernment officers will meet in Hollandia in the first week of March to survey progress made in the administrative liaison between Papua-New Guinea and Netherlands New Guinea. r' will be a vital conference.

Both sides, in the light of what has occurred in the last 18 months, will hammer out the policy for the future.

The plan for co-operation be tween the two countries was initiated in 1953, and formally con firmed in a joint Australian- Netherlands declaration in Decem ber. 1957.

The Hollandia conference is the sequel to the Canberra conference of October, 1958 —the first between the two countries—which set the pace that has been followed.

In purely administrative matters the two Territories will have much progress to report since 1958.

There have been new and im proved sea, air and telephone communications between the Terri tories; there has been a widened exchange of technical personnel, and a widening of co-operation in the education field. One result has been an understanding by the Dutch of the value of English to the whole island, and there is to be an increase in English classes on the Dutch side of the border.

Political Progress

Probably the most important item to be discussed at Hollandia will be the matter of political progress.

The Dutch have some definite views on this. Political progress in NNG since the October conference has been greater than in P-NG.

During 1959, NNG made a vital step towards self government when it established the first regional council—in the Schouten Islands sub-district. The council is a local government, with authority over Europeans as well as natives. It is a law making and taxing authority; and will establish village councils in its district.

A network of regional councils will be established, and by 1962 NNG hopes to set up a New Guinea Council, which will be a legislative council of all the people of NNG.

Because of the regional council system, most of the members of the New Guinea Council will have been elected P-NG still has a Legislative

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Council with an official majo only three elected European m bers and not one elected ns member.

Will Become One

At Hollandia in March the Di are not likely to back down their view that if the island New Guinea is eventually to bee one, there will have to be cl political liaisons established i At the October conference Dutch pressed for a consults union, pointing out that dependence in the two Territc could come a lot more quickly t Australia seemed to think.

Australia rejected the scherm

being premature.

Some leading Dutch offi( believe that NNG may have ( 10 years before it can run its < affairs. The Australian attitude, its side of the Territory, puts time at double that, or treble.

The Dutch also want co-opera in the administration field to widened to a full fledged finan economic and military co-opera (PIM, December, p. 37).

Fence Sitting

They think Australia has I doing too much fence sitting the vital issues between the Territories, and that Australia have to make up its mind £ what it wants, even if its deci means antagonising Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Australian Pr i Minister Menzies returned from official Indonesian visit in Decen without making a public staterr on the results of his talks \ President Soekarno.

The Prime Minister was war received in the Republic and tl is a possibility that Presic Soekarno will return the visit October, 1960.