Liquor Laws Seen As Success

Prom a Port Moresby Correspondent It looks very much as if Papua-New Guinea’s new permanent liquor ordinance will follow the main lines of the proposals made in the Liquor Report.

THE new ordinance will be intro duced at the next meeting of the P-NG Legislative Council, to open in Port Moresby on February 25. It will cover all races in the

Territory.

At present there is a special Pro visional Ordinance, introduced last November, which has allowed the native people to drink for the first time. This bill will be absorbed by the new ordinance.

Feeling in Administration circles is that the big drink experiment has been a success and that the native people have proved they can take their liquor. It is not considered likely that the permanent ordinance will place any more restrictions on them than they have now.

Under the present provisions they can drink anything they like on licensed premises, but they are not permitted to take spirits away for drinking at home. They can, how ever, drink spirits if they are guests at somebody’s home or are at a function.

The permanent ordinance will not continue the restrictions on advertis ing liquor.

There is a pretty good possibility that' the permanent ordinance in February will restrict trading hours to some extent. The Liquor Report advocated this.