Why Not A Colombo Plan

For New Guinea?

From a New Guinea Correspondent One of the best-received statements to come out of the *apua-New Guinea Legislative Council in recent sessions was hat of Mr. John Hohnen, MLC, who suggested that Australia 'hould provide greater aid for her territories at the expense of Colombo Plan aid.

IE comments on Mr. Hohnen’s jstatements have been par ticularly noteworthy because of wide strata of the community ch has indicated support, here has also been some element jpraise for the courage which Hohnen took in making a cement on a subject which can sxtremely touchy at times, tr. Hohnen’s comments were ie during a call for what he de ;oe as “a full-blooded develop jit in Papua-New Guinea”. He i.e right out in the open by sug iing that there were other ntries bigger and more suited to 0 Asia than was Australia. 3e said: “We are getting about ;000,000 a year from Australia, I believe that for the full »ded programme which we need, amount should be closer to ;ooo,ooo.”

Development Scheme

Ir. Hohnen also suggested the mation of a New Guinea Aus iia organisation backed by banks, national companies and govern nts to bring full development to Territory.

Ihe general feeling among many liking men and women in Gov ment and private enterprise in oua-New Guinea is that the :ombo Plan aid dished out by itralia is a magnificent national •ertisement, but little else. . leading businessman in Lae put his way: “To Australians in Aus .ia, the scheme seems good. Here are extending a helping hand countries which are under icloped and over-populated, they .m.

IBut to the Australian out of stralia, the scheme takes on a ierent perspective.

The Australian in Papua—and :iua is an Australian possession— S shocking native housing condi :is around him, and sees a score other uses to which more money Id be put.

The Australian in New Guinea — :sre the people are Australian tected —sees the same problems, li possibly a few more.

Are we fools to throw out money a foreign country when so much needed on our own soil and our 1 protected soil? I think we are.”

In Rabaul, Mr. J. L. Chipper had already been outspoken on the same lines at meetings of the Town Ad visory Council, of which he was a member until the middle of last year.

In some Rabaul circles the feel ing has been even stronger—that Colombo Plan aid was going to nations who gave Australia no guarantee of security, and which might create a dangerous situation in the not so distant future.

In Port Moresby, Mr. V. T. Sanders came straight to the point in ex pressing his opinion. Mr. Sande.s said: “The Australian Government is giving 100 buses to Indonesia under Colombo Plan aid.

“Now we hear a statement from Indonesia that the country must be prepared to go to war if necessary over its claims to West New Guinea.

“In view of these threats to a country adjoining our own Terri tory, I submit that the gift should be cancelled immediately and that the money should be used for the welfare of the natives throughout New Guinea.”

But perhaps the plea with the deepest meaning and sincerity has come from Mr. Harry Spanner, one of the leaders of the mixed race people in the Rabaul and Kokopo districts.

Between Two Standards Mr. Spanner told a meeting of Kokopo Town Advisory Council: “We are the people who are only too often forgotten.

“We are the people who are caught between two standards—we try to live the best possible life and yet our pay is not great.

“We, in the main, want to live as good citizens and want the right to Australian citizenship, but so far citizenship has been denied us.

“We particularly need financial aid for housing and settlement schemes. We admire Australia for her aid to the Colombo Plan, but what about us, her own protected people, and many of us with Aus tralian fathers?

“We suggest respectfully that charity should start as close to home as possible, and that much of the money spent on Colombo Plan aid would be better spent in New Guinea.”