A Symbol

Hould They Seal It?

he N. Guinea Road That's Become A Symbol

From a NG Correspondent

dusty and corrugated strip

oad, with a big job to do few trimmings to recom

d it, is fast becoming the

ect of one of the greatest

roversies on the Australian

inistered island of New

lin.

E road ribbons 20 miles from Flabaul to Kokopo along the shores of Blanche Bay. The roversy concerns whether or L 4 miles of dirt surface along its lie sections should be sealed, lere is nothing new in a public ry for surfacing a road, but the iul-Kokopo Road has ceased to i mere problem of sealing. It become a symbol of attacks on lority, a focal point of hot ,te, a forum of conflicting ion. has brought forth reasoned ments, but it has brought forth Jly wild and unreasoned state ts. >r years now a big section of people, particularly among the .tation community of Kokopo, ; been urging for the complete ing of the road. The subject been thrashed out in advisory icil meetings, in private deputa s and at public meetings.

Many Deputations

at the present phase of the ;roversy goes back only to ember last year when the Aus ian Minister for Territories, Mr. 1 Hasluck, visited New Britain, s usual the Rabaul-Kokopo Road jtion figured prominently on the of subjects discussed. Tired spapermen tended to fling down r pencils each time it was men ed because they considered the ject had been done to death, ortant as it might be. n the eve of his departure, how :, Mr. Hasluck made a revealing ement. He pointed out that no er than five major deputations . brought the subject to his at tion. !e was genuinely interested that subject had figured so minently in the discussion of many groups. He made no logy for saying that he was not iciently versed in the position to e an answer, but he made it

clear that he would take up the subject. . . ...„ Seasoned campaigners took this as a hint that something might happen. The story went the rounds that the Minister’s visit would pro duce two major results—provision of financial aid for native cocoa producers (which it did), and seal ing of the Rabaul-Kokopo Road (which so far it hasn’t).

Dr. Gunther's Views In fairness to Mr. Hasluck it must be pointed out that he made no definite statement on the road question at any time, but his reception of the arguments left a note of optimism. . ...

Things were still basking in this mellow light when the Assistant Administrator of Papua-New Guinea, Dr. J. T. Gunther, visited Rabaul in January. Dr. Gunther listened politely to a few comments on the road during a meeting of the New Britain District Advisory Council. , . . ..

Then he blew the subject wide open again. .

Dr. Gunther had this to say; “Unless we were sure that we were justified in carrying out this pro ject, and unless we knew we could actually do the work in the next two or three years or so, we would be wasting the time of a sorely pressed design staff to draw up designs at this stage. The time spent would be detrimental to other works. In the next two years or so we could find better use for this money, perhaps to open an entirely new road, perhaps to build a road into the Bainings, or maybe to open a new road into the Warangoi Valley. To spend it on the Kokopo Road at this stage would be an extravagance”.

Led by the Rev. Father J. Dwyer, MLC, other speakers at the meet ing said that the onus now appeared to be with the people to prove to the Administration that the money could not be spent more justifiably on any other roads programme.

Violent Reaction

Dr. Gunther’s statement deflated the optimism of many people, and produced a violent reaction at a meeting of Kokopo Town Advisory Council two weeks later.

The retiring president of the council, M. Ron Levi, of Kap Kap Plantation, said that Dr. Gunther had “big-headedly vetoed any chance we ever had of getting the road done”. He said Dr. Gunther’s state ments had sickened him and had shown a complete lack of grasp of the economic value of the road.

The economic value of produce carried over the road has been the main argument generally advanced for sealing the road.

The Kokopo council has asked for reasons governing Dr. Gunther’s attitude, and has expressed a minute of regret at his attitude.