Resettlement Proposals

Sovereignty Issue Delays Nauru Resettlement Proposals

Firm proposals by the Australian Government to resettle the Nauruan population on Curtis Island, off the Queensland coast, have been rejected by the Nauruans because the Govern ment is not prepared to offer them sovereignty.

THE Nauru Local Government Council will submit counter pro posals.

The Australian detailed plan was put before the Nauruans recently by the Director of Nauru Resettlement, Mr. Marsh. The scheme outlined plans for the economic future of the Naurans on Curtis Island, job avail ability on the mainland, and other matters. It gave the Naurans the right to manage their own affairs, and to make domestic rules suitable for their own community. The scheme gave them, in fact, local government rights, but not the right to set up a separate sovereign Nauru state within Aus tralia.

The Nauruans, who would have to become Australian citizens, would come under Australian law.

The council told the Nauruan ad ministration that it rejected the pro posals after “having very carefully and thoroughly studied and seriously considered them”.

It continued: “The council is un animous in its decision to reject the proposals, as they do not meet the wishes of the Nauruan people in re spect of the form of government that they want to have if resettled on Cur tis Island.

“The council will therefore submit counter proposals for due considera tion by the Australian Government, and these will closely follow the line adopted in proposals submitted to the Minister for Territories in June, 1962.”

It is understood that the council did not reject Curtis Island itself or the general resettlement plan. Its ob jection was to the form of govern ment offered.

Curtis Island is easily the best, and possibly the only satisfactory new home available, and will probably be accepted by the Nauruans as such if the sovereignty problem can be solved to everybody’s satisfaction.

The matter of sovereignty was the basis of the proposals of June, 1962, mentioned by the council.

These proposals were put direct to Mr. Hasluck, by Head Chief Hammer Deßoburt, who asked for the creation

of a sovereign independent Nauru nation related to Australia by a Treaty of Friendship.

The treaty would cover such mat ters as trade, customs, postal agree ment, extradition, and the extent to which Australia would be willing to act for Nauru on trade relations and financial matters. It did not go into details.

The Nauru proposal was received coldly in Canberra and the Australian view was put clearly to the UN Trus teeship Council earlier this year. Aus tralia said it could not be expected to allow the creation of a separate sovereign state within Australia.

It is not considered by either side that the problems are insurmountable, and undoubtedly more progress on Nauru resettlement has been made in the months since Mr. Marsh’s appointment than in the several years that the issue has been a live one.

The main centre of population at Rabi[?] Island (pronounced Rambi), in the Fiji Group, which has been resettled by the Ocean Islanders.