Many Matters

For New Guinea Budget Session

From an AAP-Reuter Correspondent in Port Moresby The second session of the P NG new House of Assembly, due to begin in Port Moresby on

September 1, is the first Budget

session for the new House, and is expected to last up to three weeks.

THE long session has been forecast because of the intention of the 54 elected members to speak on the Budget.

At the inaugural session in June, Highland members expressed dis pleasure at the amount of money be ing spent in the main centres.

They claimed that the Highlands were being “starved” of money, and demanded greater allocations for their areas for roads, bridges), airstrips, schools and hospitals.

A House committee, since the sit tings ended, has been examining the feasibility of a road from the High lands to Madang. The report is ex pected to be highly controversial.

The Administration is also ex pected to introduce several new bills.

One, recently hinted at by the Ad ninistrator, Sir Donald Cleland, deals with reclassification of the police force.

Members of the force recently staged a strike at Rabaul, and un rest has also been reported from Port Moresby and Goroka.

Politicians' Pay

Native or European members are sxpected to raise, at some stage this session, the question of Parliamentary ialaries. At present elected members eceive £950 a year, plus expenses.

Some European members claim hat that is not enough to compen sate them for time spent in House jusiness.

Other Europeans, however, are re sisting the move because they feel hat the economy at present will not stand an increase in Parliamentary salaries.

To help the mtant House on srocedural matters, the Principal Parliamentary Officer of the House Df Representatives, Canberra, Mr.

D. M. Blake, will “sit in” on the Budget session.

Smaller Commonwealth Grant .

The announcement in Canberra in August that the Commonwealth grant to P-NG for 1964-5 would be £2B million, an increase of £2,751,000 over the previous years grant, brought fears m Port Moresby that this years Territory budget would be a tough one, with increases m taxes.

The £3 million Commonwealth

increase for this year compares with £5 million for the previous year and could herald the end of the really hig grant increases for the Territory, Internal Territory expenditure this y ear j s eX p ec t e d to increase by about £5 ,280,000, which means a big gap to be met from local reV enue.

The Fe deral Treasurer, Mr. Holt, sa i d Australia intended to “maintain rapid progress” in Papua-New Guinea.