NG Annoyed By Army 'Exclusiveness'

From a Lae Staff Correspondent Local Papua-New Guinea returned servicemen’s association can get satisfaction out of the Australian authorities as to why ex-Pacific inds Regiment personnel, people of mixed race or Chinese are being isistently refused entry to the Territory’s Citizen Military Forces, called ■e in the Territory the P-NG Volunteer Rifles.

Recruiting campaigns locally for the PNGVR have resulted in a great reuse in membership and there is some belief that the recruitment itself ? been proceeded with simply in order that the authorities can reply awkward questions by saying that there is no room to take in non ropeans.

Some Chinese around Rabaul have been keen to join the unit; and Lae there is at least one mixed race member of the RSL who served the last war and was decorated who has been refused entry to JGVR. In the same area, there are several natives ex-PIR anxious to n but who simply return to their villages and forget all the military ining they ever had.

In a country that, at the moment, is leaning over backwards to wipe f other more piffling forms of discrimination, this exclusiveness on the r t 0 f the Australian Army—or Cabinet —is hard to understand and is Itating a lot of people.