Nauruans Want

To Go It Alone In Two Years

Two planeloads of VIPs

made special 2,500-mile flights

between Sydney and Nauru to attend the inaugural session of the Nauru Legislative Council on January 31.

THE session was opened by the Australian Minister for Terri tories, Mr. C. E. Barnes, who warned of the difficulties facing countries achieving self-government or inde pendence.

Among those accompanying him in the official party were Sir John McLeay, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senator J. O’Byrne, Opposition Whip in the Senate, Mr.

F. B. Arnold, representing the British Government, and Mr. J. L. Hazlett, NZ High Commissioner to Australia.

Guests of the Nauru Local Govern ment Council included Mr. P.

Shrapnel and Mr. Ken Walker, the Nauruans’ economic consultants; Mr.

J. A. Melville, their legal consultant; Mr. Keith Madden, who has been handling Nauruan public relations for Eric White Associates; Dr. Helen Hughes, of the Australian National University, and Stuart Inder, editor of the Pacific Islands Monthly.

Five Officials

The new Legislative Council has nine elected Nauruan members and five official appointed members, plus the Administrator as president. Head Chief Hammer Deßoburt and all eight other members of the Local Government Council (which replaced the traditional Council of Chiefs in 1951) were elected to the Legislative Council on January 22 at a general election.

The new Legco members will con tinue to hold office in the Local Coun cil. Deßoburt has been appointed leader of the elected members in the House which will begin official busi ness early in February.

All of Nauru was delighted with the announcement by Mr. Barnes dur ing the opening ceremony that the Queen had made Deßoburt an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his years of work for the Nauruan people.

As with the P-NG House of Assembly, the Australian Governor- General will have the right to veto

bills passed by the Nauru Legco. The council is not empowered to enact legislation concerning defence, foreign affairs or the all-important phosphate industry.

The Nauruans are, however, deter mined not to make the council mere ly a debating society. They have pressed hard for its establishment, and even now—at its opening—claim that they are ready for the next step.

In a Press statement on the future of the Nauruans issued after the inauguration of the new Legco, Deßoburt said that the first respon sibility of the elected members would be to prepare and implement a pro gramme which would ensure the at tainment of independence by January 31, 1968.

The Nauruans also summed up their attitude in a booklet released to co incide with the inauguration of Legco.

Copies of the booklet have been sent to all members of the Australian Parliament, to the United Nations, the British Colonial Office, the British Phosphate Commissioners and Australian and NZ newspapers.

In it the Nauruans pointed out that their three major problems were: Restoration of the island following removal of the phosphate, ownership of the phosphate deposits, and in dependence.

They said a committee of experts was now examining the feasibility of restoring Nauru, and expected to make its report by June.

On the ownership problem, the Nauruans said they did not agree that ownership was vested in the BPC, because this claim “stemmed from the original German occupation by force and the exploitation of the phosphate without the consent of the Nauruans”.

They added: “The present stage of the dispute is that the three Trust powers, Britain, Australia and NZ, have suggested a partnership to ex ploit the phosphate and the Nauruans have rejected this and suggested that the BPC should mine the phosphate as their agent. In April, further discus sions will seek a permanent solution to the management of the phosphate industry.”

Independence

On the matter of independence, the Nauruans say in the booklet that “it is an historical fact that most of the initiative has come from the Nauruans, They recognise that in dependence, or self-government, is the goal of all Trust Territories and that as a literate people well-ex perienced in community government they are capable of handling their own affairs. . . .”