Commentary

low Unlucky

!an You Get?

lOME people in Tahiti don’t like 1 American hotel interests. They say the local French adminis ition has “sold out to American pitalism” merely so it can get tels built. The whole developing ihiti tourist industry, they say, has en put in the hands of those ghtful capitalistic Americans.

We wonder how many other South cific territories will read the re ft about this on p. 63 and howl aot because they have found miselves in Tahiti’s sorry plight, t because they haven’t! rhere are territories in the South cific who would give the whole next year’s budget if only they ild encourage one good American iel man to come in and boost up ? local tourist trade, the way )se American capitalists are doing Tahiti. f the Tahiti critics have found way of getting free enterprise, ether from America or from any ere else, to develop an industry nothing, we wish they would let all know about it. ☆ ☆ ☆

seise, Mr. Menzies—

More Presents!

VUN as early as March, specula tion was rife amongst the crystal-ball boys as to what ilutionary notion Australian ne Minister Menzies would bring k from the Commonwealth ne Ministers’ Conference this r. It was being freely tipped b it would be a “firm target for self-government in Papua j Guinea. will be remembered that it was n Mr. Menzies came back from Conference in 1960 that he le his historic remark that he believed that it was “better to self-government too early ler than too late”. That was on e 20, and although the remark later qualified, it was a mile e in New Guinea history, lings have not been quite the e since. me 20, 1960, was, of course, be the Congo debacle which has :ht the world that “too soon” sometimes be disastrous, but much this has tempered Mr. zies’ thinking is not known. ie present speculation about set a target date for P-NG self

government is inspired by (a) Mr.

Menzies’ talks with President Kennedy in Washington, which are known to have included the West New Guinea situation; (b) his later with the Foreign Minister in the Netherlands; and (c) the re cently reaflirmed intention of the be out of New Guinea within 10 years if they can possibly manage it (which they may not) There is a school of thought that believes that when independency comes to Netherlands New Guinea, Australian New Guinea cannot afford to be far behind—a school of thought that makes no allowance for the fact that although the Dutch have excellent reasons for getting out of New Guinea, Aus tralians have equally good ones for staying.

In 10 years’ time, if the Dutch have left, does Dr. Soekarno, of Indonesia, go quietly, honour satis fied? Does he still claim West New Guinea as his own? Does he exert any pressure on the new native Prime Minister?

No matter what state of political advancement P-NG has reached at that stage, Australia is still going to have a vested interest in the answers to those $64 questions.

It seems likely, in any event, that the tidy disposal of New Guinea will be small beer at this year’s Prime Ministers’ Conference with South Africa and Rhodesia already on the mat. Mr. Menzies, as a statesman and a realist, no doubt

occasionally thanks his Presby terian God that his forebears chose to settle in Australia and not Africa; and that Fate decreed that he should be, not the PM of a five sixths black South Africa, but of an almost white Australia, where the original inhabitants were disposed of many generations ago.

Where your great grandfather or grandfather happened to settle has a profound effect on the way you view racial relations today although the majority of Australians, Can adians and New Zealanders are so busy yelling “Pull up the ladder, Jack—l’m alright”, they haven’t much time to spare for counting blessings.

One of the toughest roles in which to be cast today is as a member of a white minority in the black country, and —notwithstanding what sort of gift Mr. Menzies brings back for P-NG in his brief case—all the signs are that it’s going to get tougher. ☆ ■& . ☆

BSIP, P-NG Should

Have Those Aircraft

DUE to “circumstances beyond its control”, Trans Australia Air lines has been unable to com mence its Fokker Friendship ser vices in Papua-New Guinea and on the Lae-Honiara, BSIP route.

The “uncontrollable circum stance” in this case is the Terri tory’s old friend, the Department of Civil Aviation, plus, it seems, pressure brought to bear from another quarter.

Up until mid-March, DC A had not issued the necessary licences for TAA to operate the Friendships either in P-NG or on the Honiara route and until the Department does this, there is nothing the airline can do but wait.

TAA had made all the arrange ments for fuel supplies along the routes to be used (the Friendships are turbo-prop aircraft and use a kerosene-type fuel) and had also organised the extra cabin service that the use of these aircraft will permit for the first time in P-NG.

The fact that they have not been permitted to operate has been a keen disappointment to the airline and to SW Pacific air travellers.

There is no doubt at all that TAA will be graciously permitted to pro ceed with its plan eventually—so why not now?

This airline is no fly-by-night organisation.

It no doubt knew that the use of Friendships on the routes proposed was entirely feasible before it ever considered introducing them.

The “certificates” awaited from DC A are a mere formality—so the Department should get on with it despite that pressure from that other quarter.