Radio Broadcasting

Why, Why, Why, Ask New Guineans

Problems Of Film Censorship And

In driving on with its hurried programme of “crash training” New Guinea natives for early self-government, the P-NG Administration has run into some queer entanglements—and not the least of these is the regulation under which films must he censored by P-NG officials before being shown to full-blooded natives.

IN the Territory, there are two classes of cinemas—those at tended by Europeans, Asians and Euronesians (persons of mixed blood), and those conducted ex clusively for the native Melanesians.

The latter are under censorship.

Natives generally do not attend the other cinemas—but, if they do, the film to be shown must have the OK of the censorship.

Cinema proprietors now are in sisting that well-dressed and well behaved Melanesians should be ad mitted to all cinemas, and that the censorship already imposed in Aus tralia is sufficient for Papua and New Guinea. There now are four non-native cinemas in Port Moresby, and more planned elsewhere; and it is clear that, if the embargo against Melanesians continues, there will not be enough non-native cinema-goers to justify this ex pansion.

The matter is “under considera tion” by Administration. In view of Canberra’s current “crash train ing” policy, there is little doubt about the result.

Judging by the lurid posters in front of theatres in Asian countries and in some Pacific Islands centres, Western films which would not be tolerated in Australia are regularly shown to native peoples (primitive and otherwise) in other countries.

So, presumably, P-NG natives can not be kept indefinitely in a screened-off chamber.

Anyway, why censor films for natives, when female tourists from Australia and New Zealand, pin headed and generously-buttocked, are now permitted to stroll through Suva and Noumea and Port Moresby and Rabaul, attired in costumes that are only one degree above Bikini level?

More Native Broadcasts

The growing sophistication of P-NG natives is emphasised in a recent article by Alan Ramsey, Reuter correspondent in Port Moresby, describing the growth of the broadcasting services provided for natives.

He says that, where four or five years ago only a few talks on elementary subjects were broadcast to natives, now services of local and international news are beamed out to them three times a day.

Native programmes are broadca three hours each day, except Sui days.

Four Europeans and 12 nativ on the staff of 9PA’s “native broai casts section” do most of the tran fating and broadcasting.

The article does not explain he the language problems are ove come—problems apparent in tl fact that the 13 million natives u between 500 and 600 languages— is the world’s most multi-lingu Territory.

It is merely stated that the broai casts are in English, Pidgin ai Motu, and the “listening audienc is estimated at 26,000.

Probably, it is good policy to u the natives’ eagerness to get rad service to induce them to seek better knowledge of English. T) absence of a lingua franca has be( —and still is—the Number Oi headache of the P-NG Administn tion. An audience of 26,000 (11 p cent, of the population) does n indicate rapid progress.

Some Curly Questions

Mr. Roger Wilson, of the Broa< casting Service, told the writer thi the most popular service amor natives was “Your Questioi Answered”. In the beginning, tl questions were very simple—“Whi Makes the Wind Blow?”, and “W 1 Does the Moon Get Larger ar Smaller?” were typical. But no the section receives such questioi as these: • Why are Australian aborigine and Papuans and New Guineas more backward than America negroes? © Why is it that white people ai more civilised and have a betti background of knowledge tha black and brown-skinned people? • Why doesn’t the United Natioi contribute towards the cost of di velopina Papua-New Guinea? • What are the necessary stej to self-government?

“We try to answer every questio that has general appeal,” explalne Mr. Wilson. “We go to the be* available authority and tape th answer in his own words.

“Many of ihe questions, throug their simple frankness and reason ing are difficult to answer. Man affect Australian government policy and cannot be answered ovc the air. But we do our best.”