New Guinea

A Step Towards Self-Government

New Moves In New Guinea Public Service

From a Correspondent

Port Moresh

1 Official statements made Port Moresby towards the end I January concerning the future of U Public Service in Papua-New Gum had a mixed reception although me Territorians agree that what is pr posed is another step toward eventu self-government in P-NG.

THE statement that triggered tl reaction was made by Admii strator, Sir Donald Cleland, ( January 25. It concerned the broj proposal of the Australian Goveß ment to reorganise the Territo Public Service and absorb into it t! present Auxiliary Division (for natii public servants) and about 10,0 t other natives who are at prese classed merely as “administrate servants”.

The way had been cleared for ti Administrator’s statement the pi vious day when the Public Servi Arbitrator and the Public Servi Association announced agreement relation to claims lodged by the PS on behalf of members of t Auxiliary Division.

But what Sir Donald said was,= fact, a reiteration of what t Minister for Territories, Mr. Pa Hasluck, had already said in Parli ment in Canberra on October 2 1961. This had been mixed up wi a general statement on “education; social and economic advancement Papua and New Guinea” (see PII Nov., p. 59), but was introduced the last week of that Parliamen life and failed to attract any atte tion. (Except from the Opposite which was not concerned so mu< about what he said as when he sa it—they claimed that he gave the no time to debate what he said). ' The Minister’s statement concern the five year period commencing Ju 1, 1962. The Minister said that those five years, it was expected ttr 2,000 expatriate officers and 2,5 i indigenous staff would be recruits to the P-NG Public Service. I addition, consideration was bein given to the idea of absorbing soir thing like 10,000 “administrate servants”, at present employed outsii (next page please)

PS as drivers, agricultural cers, postal workers, firemen, etc., the service in a section com ble to the Fourth Division of the iralian Commonwealth Public ice. If this were done, it was cted that the percentage of native 2rs in the PS would be over 66 :ent. by 1967. r. Hasluck did not say anything ific about the abolition of the ;nt Auxiliary Division of the PS it the Administrator did: ’he broad intention of the Gov lent was the inclusion of the ‘T Administration native servants he Public Service proper, the fion of the Auxiliary Division as , and the absorption of its mem into divisions of the new Public ice. This reconstruction would ably result in a Public Service )ur divisions, arranged according lalifications and nature of duties. objective is a unified Public ice which in due course would vithin the capacity of a self rning Territory to recruit and ce.”

(Continued on p. 138)

The Auxiliary Division of the Public Service was set up in early 1957 to allow native people to enter the service on a permanent basis.

Recruitment was by competitive

examination and there are probably no more than 500-700 officers in this division at present. Salaries range up to £7OO per annum but there was a salary bar at a little over £5O0 — advancement beyond that was con tingent on passing an examination.

One of the concessions made to Auxiliary Division officers under the agreement announced on January 24 was that this bar is now removed.

There were provisions in the regulations for Auxiliary Division

officers to qualify for the Third Division of the P-NG Service.

The people who are pleased with the new reorganisation proposals are the private enterprise group in the Territory, and what pleases them is contained in the last sentence of the Administration’s statement quoted page 17: It will eventually be within the economic capacity of the Terri tory to recruit and finance its Public Service.

It has long been a point at issue between commercial interests and the Administration that the Public Service was planned on an Australian scale and could not, without Australian aid, be supported by the P-NG economy.

Wages in private industry had to follow those in Administration, and thus a false economic climate was created.

Those who were not so happy about the statements —which are, of course, in the nature of a major policy matter—are public servants, about 88 per cent, of whom at present are

expatriates. Although supporting

what is proposed in principle, and although assured by the Minister and the Administrator that there will be no whittling away of salaries or privileges for those now in the service, they feel that the January statements should immediately be followed by some practical details of what is involved.

There is already a feeling of con siderable unrest amongst members of the P-NG Public Service—and with the lessons of Africa and other newly independent countries before them they have reason. There is no other wky for them to see the new proposals than as the preliminary to the end, which of course it is.

This affects young men coming into the service far more than it does those near the top, because whatever happens, P-NG is likely to hold together long enough for heads of departments and other VIPs to see their terms out. This, no doubt, reconciles many of them to having to toe the official line.