SPC Review

Conference Next Year

From a Special Correspondent The 24th session of the South s acific Commission, held in Noumea in October, was notable nore for the important matters liscussed informally than for any iecisions it arrived at officially. rHE official transcript of the pro ceedings has little to say about rrangement of finances following the /ithdrawal of the Netherlands from tie Commission, and nothing at all d say about Western Samoa’s parti ipation in the SPC, possible changes i the South Pacific Conferences and tie need for a review conference on tie work of the Commission. But all liese matters were discussed.

The most important informal dis ussions centred around the review onference. The member Govern lents have yet to finally agree on le details, but it seems likely the re iew conference will be held early ext year and probably in Wellington, JZ.

This conference will discuss the PC agreement and hammer out hanges that are necessary because of le march of time in the South Seas, 'he review conference will discuss illy a formula for admitting Wes ;rn Samoa to the SPC. It will dis uss a new arrangement of the nances and a new scheme which my result in the three-yearly South acific Conferences being given a ew direction.

In the interim, the five member rovernments that are left following le withdrawal of the Netherlands t the end of this year (for all prac cal purposes the Netherlands has Iready withdrawn), have agreed to lare the extra financial burden aused by the Netherlands’ depar ire. The Netherlands in the past as put in 15 per cent, of the an ual cost.

The review conference will give the inited States an opportunity to make nancial proposals. The US has made clear that it feels it ought to be [lowed to make a greater contribu on. The US also would like to see lore exchange of personnel between le US, US Pacific territories and le South Seas, and would like to ork out a satisfactory formula for achieving this.

One of the points to be discussed on the matter of Samoan membership is how a Government can have mem bership while not having any depen dent territories. If admitted under the present agreement Samoa would be a member Government yet pre sumably be entitled to benefit as a dependent territory at the same time.

At the 24th session Western Samoa was represented by the Hon. Afoa fouvale Misimoa, MLA, who was a member of the NZ delegation.

The most important public an nouncement following the conference was undoubtedly that of the appoint ment of Mr. W. D. Forsyth as Sec

retary-General in succession to Mr, T. R. Smith, of New Zealand ( PIM, Nov. p. 8).

Mr. Forsyth, an Assistant Secretary of the Australian Department of Ex ternal Affairs, will arrive in Noumea in March. He is already well-known and popular in Noumea, for he set up the SPC headquarters in Noumea as the Commission’s first Secretary- General in 1949.

The 24th session established the 1963 budget at a level of f5tg.293,000, which is about the same as was available for 1962. It approved a wide range of regional projects—some of them SPC-run

id others in co-operation with the >ecialised agencies of the UN.

Among the decisions were: • A conference on rural health ill be held in April, 1963. Internazmal specialists will attend. The SPC esearch Council will meet in Tahiti imediately following the confence. • The Commission will compile, to a practical textbook designed for immunity use, the findings of nutri- Dn research workers in the South acific. It will also continue to give lancial aid, and help such projects 1 th( : ca J, orie i ntak , e research recently impleted at Kundiawa in P-NG. • Ihe SPC will approach ternnes to see if they will be interested a survey to determine to what exnt urban living is resulting in nuitional deterioration, and to plan a irve yif ls agreeable. • The SPC agreed in principle to ■ganising inter-regional training or fr^v h l r „» C i OUrSeS :K laS fi ,i ?l fl ? m fOUr S‘X weeks, ,n the fields of preven- LTi , an s Public health. vet Mk / condu ,‘: ,ed °" c « y ln ’l w ° u dbe f 9 r auxiliary staff local health services. • The SPC stressed the impornce of collecting medical statistics id will invite territories to define eir needs for a medical statistician id will appoint a short term consulnt to see whether a full time ecialist is required. • The Commission said that it )ped that territories in malarial eas will seek help from the SPC id benefit from the experience

gained from the British Solomons where a malarial eradication pro gramme is being carried out. • More money will be spent in the coming year towards helping the Uni versity of Hawaii in its investigations on the toxicity of fish and into the courses of eosinophilic meningitis, • In 1963 the SPC will prepare a Directory of Agricultural Research and Experimentation in the Pacific and a Directory of Agricultural Training in the South Pacific. A tropical agriculturalist will also be appointed for a three-year period. Work win also go on next year on fisheries projects, and a Handbook Q n fisheries will be prepared, which w jjj include main fish species of economic importance in the South Pacific, fishing methods, and fishing craft adapted to South Seas condi tions. The possibility of organising fisheries training courses will also be looked into • Two new boat building courses, Nouvil e , New Caledonia and at ki Brit| ’ h Solomon Islands> wi|| be begun when the final dates are settled B with the territories concerned, ,„ . . • The Commission will ask tern tories to determine the type of ser vices they would like from the SPC for the improvement of forms of am husbandry; the results of the survey to be submitted to the next session together with a proposed

work plan.

• The SPC will recruit in mid -1963 an additional entomologist to search in South Africa for parasites

BEST BABIES. These bonny babies were the winners in the three sections of the annual baby show of the New Britain Women's Club held in Rabaul recently. The babies, each with their mothers, are from left to right: Anthony Williams (winner of under 6 months section), Riina Baldwin (1 to 2 years) and Vanessa Hayes (6 to 12 months). Riina was also the grand champion. Vanessa was runner-up.

Photo; Chin H. Meen

predators of the Rhinoceros tie and related insects. > An economist and an economist istician will be appointed in 1963. i The work of the Literature eau is to be reduced because of F circumstances, and the training research and inquiry functions of bureau will be progressively ged with the activities of com lity education. ► The Literature Production ining Centre at Honiara, BSIP, ch was established in 1960, and ch has been training staff to pro e Islands printed matter will finish he end of this year’s course —its k having been successful. t A report on library services for Islands made in 1962 by a ESCO library expert, Mr. H. V. my, was received by the session will be distributed to all terri es. The report is to be followed after the territories have given r opinion on it. t A second regional educational iinar (the first was in Brisbane in /ember, 1959) will be convened 1964. The theme and agenda will considered at the SPC’s next ses © The next session will also dis -5 a plan for the establishment of education research centre for the iy and development of new educa i techniques, I The SPC will help, with the

FAO and the Fiji Government, in establishing a homecraft training centre in Fiji as the first step in the development of a community educa tion centre for the South Seas (see P- 71). @ An Urban Local Government Technical Meeting is to be convened in 1964 to discuss responsibility of local government in the Pacific. ® The SPC will support a sug gestion by the BSIP for a study group on “The Development of Small-Scale Enterprise” to be held in Honiara in 1963, and it hopes that the group may visit P-NG. © In 1963 the Commission will also hold a conference on low-cost housing. The conference will be held in Fiji and will discuss such things as design, materials and finance. © The first South Pacific Games, to be held in Suva next September, will be helped by the SPC with its day-to-day organisational expenses and the Games will also get a grant towards technical equipment needed for its staging. © The Sixth South Pacific Con ference, the session decided, will be convened about May, 1965, but no topics for discussion or a site for the conference were discussed. Territories will be invited to suggest them.

Meanwhile, next year’s proposed SPC review conference may make deci sions altering the format of the con ferences.

GUARD OF HONOUR: Tongan schoolchildren lined the route from the Royal Palace to the Legislative Assembly building recently when Queen Salote drove from the Palace to deliver her address to close the Assembly sittings.

The Queen's car and its escort can be seen turning the corner past the Treasury office. —Photo: Tulua Bros.