Commentary

e World (On Your

n Terms)

i£ Australian propensity for look ing after yourself, no matter how 1 it is on the other fellow, is on lay again this month, danders have seen it before. New nea people saw it when Australian Jucers protested at the import into tralia of New Guinea passion t, peanuts and plywood, iji people saw it many years ago n Australian growers protested at import of Fiji bananas, urrently, Australian photographic ers are protesting because icras and equipment are being jght back to Australia in increas amounts by tourists visiting free cheap ports—and apparently the ers are out to stop it. b do it, some of them will go to extent of hounding the tourist self. . report in The Sydney Morning aid in March, apparently inspired the trade, said, “One German :er has already stopped photo )hic supplies to a small free port, :h has close and direct contact l Australia. The maker also is nining possible action for other s and no doubt others will follow lead.” went on: rhe big ‘pay off’ for the tourists n occurs when they return to tralia with their bargain pur se.

Hie need for repairs and servicing ;s with cameras just as it does i any other precision piece of ipment.

Few Australian camera and equip it importers will repair or service is purchased in the free ports.

Iheir recording systems and hods of identification give them jick clue to the country in which as purchased, and they are quick emind the camera owner of this Importers also have pointed out some cameras have been sold i flaws.

Tourists should weigh up the pros cons of the cheap overseas pur se against the possible future Diems after their return.” he “small free port” referred to

is Norfolk Island. PIM reported in March (p. 35) that the Australian traders had started their attack on this Australian territory, presumably because Norfolk Island importers had made the mistake of achieving too much success.

The fact that increased trading helps Norfolk to improve a serious economic plight does not move the traders one jot. Nor apparently are they concerned that the British Crown Colony of Fiji introduced duty-free trading on many items, in cluding cameras, in January to help improve Fiji’s position—in short, to help people eat. From the economic point of view Australia does very well indeed in Fiji—a great deal better than Fiji does in Australia, but this apparently fails to interest photo graphic traders.

Pressure groups like this with ap palling narrow minds would be better occupied by lobbying in Canberra to have Australian tariffs reduced so that Australians at home may pay prices more attuned to the world level. And they may even find room to cut their own profit margins, as traders have in Fiji and Norfolk.

Time to Be Forthright

On the MG Border

WITH Indonesia’s take-over of West New Guinea virtually com plete—May 1 is nothing but a date on a calendar —it would be nonsense to deny that there is disquiet in both Papua-New Guinea and Canberra.

Publicly, Australia takes the atti tude that all is sweetness and light; that Australia and Indonesia have no problems likely to cause dispute be tween them. Fortunately, Australia has not buried its official head in the sand completely and is making an ef fort to protect its new border against the dangers of foreign propaganda and new diseases.

But it will find soon enough that it will have to do even more than it is doing—that it simply can’t depend on Indonesia —or any other govern ment —to always do the right thing by Australian standards.

Australians are entitled to hope, in the circumstances, that Australia s spokesmen can be a little more forth right with Indonesia than they have been.

What is wrong with telling the In donesians that we don’t like their quarantine methods and that we are going to do something about it our selves for our own protection?

What is wrong with telling the In donesians that we don’t support the ideals of their Communist Party and that we can be expected to protect the P-NG people against its machina tions?

What is wrong with telling the In donesians that we are happy enough the way P-NG is being groomed for independence and that we expect no interference from any source under the control of Indonesia?

What is wrong with telling the In donesians —now, this month—that we want to be realistic, straightforward and honest about our mutual border problems—and those that might yet arise—and share the island of New Guinea in a firm, not uneasy, friend ship?

In short, what’s wrong with telling them where we stand and inviting them to be just as forthright?