Canberra

Commentary

From our Canberra Correspondent For a Parliament in which

rious debates raged in 1960 on

ch matters as the exclusion of ofessor Max Gluckman from

NG, Prime Minister Menzies’

€tter - too - soon - than - too - :e” statement, and plans for constitution of the P-NG

jgislative Council, 1961 opened

nely indeed.

>-NG rated only the barest men tions; other parts of the South Pacific none at all.

Fhe Administrator, Sir Dallas ooks, opening the first Federal rliamentary session ever opened an Administrator (the Governor meral died in office in February) 2W attention to the PNG elections d the opening of the enlarged

gislative Council.

Dpenmg of new Departments of hour and Trade and Industry in > PNG Administration showed j increasing emphasis being given the Government to training for iployment and to the encourage >nt of industrial development, trketing and trade promotion, he d. * * * London reports that the Dutch reign Minister, Dr. Joseph Luns, d produced a proposal for an in national commission comprising stralia, Malaya and India to ad nister the whole of New Guinea • the UN might have been ex ited to stir our legislators into >re than passing interest, tfot a bit of it. rhere was one isolated question, e Attorney-General and Acting nister for External Affairs, Sir rfield Barwick, fobbed it off. ie said that he had no informa n which would enable him to say ether there was any basis for the ndon speculation. 3ut no-one followed it up, prob y much to Barwick’s relief, be ise no acting Minister would want buy into that one before Prime nister Menzies arrived home m London with a full report. although the Prime Min er’s statements on South Africa i apartheid brought silent, em 'rassed disapproval from many of own followers and angry Opposi n speeches about the effect on an opinion, nothing was said of ; impact Mr. Menzies’ speech ?ht have in the South and South ist Pacific. rhere were passing references tD

lesser matters.

Territories Minister Paul Hasluck refused to order a departmental investigation into a Madang magistrate’s action in varying a maintenance order made by a Brisbane court against a Madang hotelkeeper. Senator Benn (Labour, Q’ld.) had suggested that there should be an investigation into the relationship between the magistrate and the hotelkeeper. ± . . . * The Minister took a back-handed swipe at the gaol sentences imposed on the natives in the Rabaul trial of natives involved in the “helicopter cult” disturbances.

He said that the sentences were

“perhaps a little heavier than we administratively thought necessary”, but conceded that the sentences were a matter for the magistrate, But he dodged replying to a ques tion on the PHI riot at Taurama Barracks . . . * * * Mr. Hasluck found himself in trouble with the Chair when he sought to intervene in the suspension of the Minister for Social Services, Mr. Roberton—the second Minister to be suspended in Federal history, He was trying to get his fellow Minister off the hook by blaming the acoustics of the Chamber. (Mr.

Speaker McLeay had claimed he heard Mr. Roberton describe Deputy

iposition Leader Gough Whitlam a “dirty old man”, and Mr. toerton refused to withdraw nothing he claimed he was in pable of saying.) But Mr. Speaker was unimpressed, i accused Mr. Hasluck of reflecting the accuracy of what he had id and of discourtesy to the Chair. 3o Mr. Hasluck, as Minister in arge of the House at the time, m had to move for the suspension his colleague. * * * Vlr. Hasluck tangled in Parlia snt with the fortnightly review tion over the closing of South cific, the journal once published the School of Pacific Adminis ition. 3e was replying to a blatant orothy Dix” question asked by *. Cresby (Liberal, Q’ld.), a mem • who has not hitherto shown any table interest in P-NG affairs, t who conveniently sits directly lind the Minister, fhe Minister took exception to an ;icle in Nation suggesting that j Dutch had complained about 3 tone of material in South cific and that two Dutch officials d visited the School to complain.

IM, Mar. p. 11).

Sasluck sought to suggest that 3 article was “a piece of fiction”, d added fuel with some gratuit sly disparaging remarks about tion. 3e said that there were no refer ees “in departmental files” to itch complaints or to any par ular article published in South cific.

'Jow Nation has cracked back. :n March it challenged the Min er to allow it to submit its “care ly gathered evidence” confidenti y to senior counsel to arbitrate the question of “fiction” —so long Hasluck will offer an apology if 3 verdict is against him!

Divil Aviation Minister Shane Itridge told the Senate that the sett £2-million offer for Tasman ipire Airways Limited was not idsaged when the Australian and w Zealand Governments began kering over the sale of the Aus ,lian share of TEAL, fhe Ansett offer is not taken very iously in Canberra, rhe £2 million offered would be a t-cheap price for the TEAL fleet three Electras, quite apart from 3 company’s ground assets, fhe offer completely discounts 3 valuable landing rights which IAL has in Tahiti and San Fran co and takes no account of New aland’s national pride in owning own international airline.

Australia would not be anxi -5 to have a private Australian orator competing with its nation y-owned Qantas on the Pacific ite.

Reports reaching Canberra suggest that R. M. Ansett has been making an impact on New Zealand domestic aviation through the small airline in which he has bought an

merest.

He has introduced New Zealanders to such novelties as hostesses and smoking in aircraft.

Until now, smoking has been forbidden in New Zealand internal air lin e s, apparently because the National Airways Corporation estimated the cost of emptying ashtrays at £BO a year for each aircraft. * * The only legislation passed so far this year, the Marriage Bill, does

not apply to Australia’s external territories, other than Norfolk Island, whose council, oddly enough, said last year it didn’t want it.

The bill, passed by the House of Representatives but still undebated in the Senate, provides a minimum marriage age of 18 for boys and 16 for girls.

When' he introduced it, the Attornsy-G ener a 1, Sir Garfield Barwick, pointed out that a law which was suitable for the main land and Norfolk Island would probably prove inapt in the other island territories.

However, the marriages it enables and the legitimation of children which it effects will be valid throughout all territories.