Tolais Wont Pay

From a Rabaul Correspondent

A group of 250 natives in

Tinginagalip Village in the

Gazelle Peninsula area of New Britain is refusing to pay tax money, and will probably face court action.

Tinginagalip is next door to the trouble spot of Navuneram where a policy of non-co-opera tion flared into open activity in August, 1958, culminating in the deaths of two natives under rifle fire from an Administration patrol.

Although the final trouble and the unfortunate clash with the patrol occurred at Navuneram, it is generally accepted that the major share of the unrest originated in Tinginagalip. In fact one of the men killed had spent more of his time in Tinginagalip than in Navuneram, and a big number of the onlookers during the clash were Tinginagalip villagers.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Navuneram incident brought light to bear on the fact that some Tinginagalip villagers appeared dis satisfied with their membership of Vunadadir Local Government Coun cil.

Natives living in local government areas actually have two taxes to pay —a £2 poll tax to the Administra tion, and a council tax which varies from council to council, but averages about £4.

No Council Tax In practice one can be claimed as a deduction against the other, so that the native in a council area never pays more than the equivalent of his full council tax.

Some Tinginagalip natives have been willing to come forward and pay their Administration poll tax, but have been told first to put it toward their council tax. The council tax covering Tinginagalip is £4, which means each native could first pay £4 to his council and then forget the Administration poll tax.

Apparently on a matter of prin ciple, however, the Tinginagalip natives are prepared to pay the poll tax but not the council tax.

This attitude, combined with com ments on council dissatisfaction which were made at the Navuneram inquiry, tends to suggest that a senous situation is developing in relationship between Vunadidir Local Government Council and

Tinginagalip Village.

fo? e °P le intere sted in native wel fare (some inside the Administra

tion as well as many outside) are now beginning to ask two major questions.

They are wondering, in the first instance, why the hint thrown out in the Navuneram inquiry was not followed up in an attempt to get to the bottom of the relationship between Vunadidir Council and Tinginagalip Village.

In the second instance they are asking why can’t a direct question be put straight to the Tinginagalips: “Do you want to stay in the coun cil or don’t you?”

Why Stay?

It is considered that if the Ting inagalips want to break away from the council, there should be no reason why their village should not be dropped altogether from the council area.

A Rabaul man who knows the subject well and has spoken with the natives about the council puts it this way: “The Administration has spent a lot of time and thought in setting up native councils, and is still spend ing much time in helping the coun cils in their work towards native development.

“It is quite understandable that the Administration might feel some loss of face if one section of a native council area suddenly decided it was no longer interested in the system and wanted to get out.

“But there is no need for the Administration to feel that way.

Free Choice

“In the first place, the natives were given a free choice of whether or not they wanted to join a coun cil. There has been some sugges tion that the Tinginagalip answer was not unanimous or that the affair was misconstrued on both s ides, but that is beside the point immediate argument.

“The fact remains that five years have now passed, which is a good testing time, and there would be no shame in letting one small group again exercise a choice and get out if it wants to.

“The success of the council scheme in many other parts of the « a * e A. le Penin sula is sufficient proof that the scheme as a whole well » een a £° oc * one and is working In early March one of the village natives announced the village was prepared to raise money to legally appe al , on the ground that the village should be freed of its asso ciation with Vunadidir Council.