The Money Came From Everywhere!

The people of Papua-New Guinea made donations of £ 2,500 in five days when a sudden change in arrangements brought an alarming increase in the costs of their taxation case in the High Court of Australia. *

AFTER 12 months of disappointing waiting for the case to come up for hearing, interest revived with a rush with the news that the case would open in Melbourne on June 6.

But organisers of the appeal at Port Moresby and Rabaul had a moment of sunken hopes when they first heard the news. There had been such a substantial increase in anticipated costs that there was insufficient money in reserve to meet the needs of the case.

They need not have worried.

Money poured in from all parts of the Territory as soon as the people were assured that a definite date had been set Said one donor: Our hopes were sinking because we thought we were

getting a run-around. But now we know the date has been set we can get plenty of money to meet the additional costs.”

The appeal is being made nomin ally by Rabaul accountant Mervyn Wallace Fishwick to test the validity on several major grounds of the Papua-New Guinea Income Tax Ordinance.

The reason for the increased costs was a decision by the High Court that the case would be held in Melbourne instead of in Sydney This was to suit the convenience of the court, Immediate steps were taken to raise the extra money In five davs £2,500 poured into the fund and more was arriving. Rabaul alone raised £5OO in five minutes at a

nnblic rally, and subsequent dona- Sons more than doubled the figure 1 In the first five days of the appeal the following amounts were re ceived- Port Moresby, £5OO and more coming; Rabaul, £1 500 including an anonymous single donation of Lac £500; Kavicng, £5O, Wewak £150; Goroka, £l5O with a Sll public appeal still to be organ ised’ Madang, £lOO with a full public appeal still to be organised. (These figures total more than the £2,500 quoted above as some of the amounts include funds in hand from earlier appeals). • The two major organisations be hind the appeal were the Taxpayers Association of Papua and the New Guinea Taxpayers’ Association. They were helped by chambers of com merce and at least one primary pro ducers’ association. .

The president of the New Guinea association, Mr. Dudley Jones, said: “The response brought us back to the right perspective. We could see the matter was still popular with the people and there could be no turning back.” , „ ‘ Mr. Jones estimated that the direct expenses of the hearing itself were probably doubled by the switch fro yv ' Sydney to Melbourne.