auguries" for BSIP

Business and

Developncient

New industries "encouraging auguries" for BSIP

Several new secondary industries which are expected to be in full production by the end of the year are “encouraging auguries” for the future of the Solomons, according to the Financial Secretary of the BSIP, Mr. T. Russell.

1/fR. RUSSELL said this in his J-l- “budget” speech at the BSIP legislative Council meeting in loniara in December.

He said there had been a “recognis ible surge forward” in secondary ndustries in the Solomons.

Beche-de-mer processing, rattan □rniture making and tyre retreading fere being, or had already been, stablished.

The Australian tobacco firm, W, D. nd H. O. Wills Ltd., intended to et up a factory in Honiara to make lug, cake and twist tobacco, and if lans went smoothly the factory fould be operating by June 30 this ear.

A new company, Solomon Islands 'isheries Ltd,, had also been formed 3 export crayfish tails.

Mr. Russell said timber exports hould take an upward leap this year nd the possibility of mining develop lent should be known.

Agriculture disappointing

Looking back on 1966, he said it fas a disappointing year for agri ulture.

Copra exports had fallen because f bad weather and lower pro uctivity, and prices had also drop ed. The London market price for opra in January, 1966, had been 195 a ton and only $152.70 in >ctober.

Cocoa production also fell, due to ie slump in the world market and eavy damage to crops on Malaita trough storm damage.

However, 371 tons of rice and 110 3ns of soyabeans were successfully arvested by Guadalcanal Plains Ltd.

The company’s herd of Hereford attle had increased to 360 and > Rice grown by Guadalcanal Plains Ltd. is here seen being sprayed prior to harvesting.— Photo: Ted Marriott,

, T , Lever s Pacific Plantations Pty. Ltd., had an estimated 5,050 beasts at the end of 1966.

Trial plantings of pepper were deemed satisfactory and marketable.

Mr. Russell said several concerns were looking for minerals in the Solomons.

International Nickel Ltd. had shipped 550 tons of ore to Canada for metallurgy treatment; Conzinc Riotmto of Australia Ltd. had completed a helicopter-borne geochemical survey of Choiseul and was now operating at Isabel; and the Department of Geological Surveys was probing traces of bauxite found at Kolombangara.

Mr. Russell said he was optimistic about the timber industry although only 742,000 cu. ft of logs had been exported last year against the 3,600,000 hoped for.

A sign of the sound basis of this

industry was the considerable interest in the development of a further tract of timber at Vangunu.

Mr, Russell said the protectorate had a trade deficit of $4,180,000 in 1966 compared with $1,180,000 the previous year and $1,320,000 the year before that.

Imports rose from $6,200,000 in 1965 to $7,665,000 in 1966 and exports fell from $5,010,000 in 1965 to $3,500,000 in 1966.

The increased 1966 deficit under lined the vulnerability of an economy dependant upon primary produce.

Food imports had increased from $1,031,000 in 1962 to $1,547,000 in 1966—a rise of 50 per cent.; and imports of beverages and tobacco had also doubled since 1962.

Sure sign

Mr. Russell said increased im ports of fuel and lubricants, manu factured goods, machinery and trans port equipment were a sure sign of increasing development.

Since 1962 imports of rice, flour, cigarettes, other tobacco products, fuel distillate, cement, galvanised iron and commercial vehicles had also increased.

Mr. Russell said exports during the past 12 months were a substantial disappointment.

The decline was attributable to falls in exports of copra (and copra

prices), timber, shells and crocodile skins. Cocoa was still low.

Meanwhile, the pattern of trade remained almost the same. Imports from Australia and the United Kingdom dropped slightly while imports from the US, Hong Kong and Japan rose. Exports went mainly to the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.

Honiara, the capital city, was ex panding and its future looked bright.

The population of over 7,000 was growing, electricity consumption and vehicle registration had increased by 115 per cent, in five years and the tonnage handled by Honiara port had jumped from about 30,000 tons to 50,000 tons in the same period.

However, the need for housing lagged and the town council had asked experts to look at the situation.

International Bank

to see P-NG again

AMISSION from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development will visit Australia and Papua-New Guinea in March.

Announcing this in mid-January, the Australian Minister for Territories, Mr. C. E. Barnes, said the mission would look at developments in P-NG since 1963 when a previous mission organised by the bank conducted a general economic survey.

Die report of the 1963 mission was accepted by the Australian Govern ment as a working basis for planning and much progress had been made in implementing the mission’s recom mendations.

Mr. Barnes said the mission would examine and discuss current develop ments in the Territory and a number of projects that might qualify for loans from the International Bank or its affiliate, the International Development Association.

In recent discussions between the Australian Treasurer, Mr. W.

McMahon, and the president of the International Bank, Mr. Woods, it was agreed in principle that P-NG would be considered for IDA finance.

There had, however, been no dis cussion of amounts it might be ap propriate for IDA to lend for projects in the territory. (The International Bank makes loans at rates of interest which are at present between 6 per cent, and 7 per cent., whereas IDA loans are interest free and carry only a small service charge).

Mr. Barnes said the bank team would include economists and experts in agriculture, transport and power.

Discussions would be held in Can berra and Port Moresby and possibly other centres in P-NG.

Mr. Barnes said projects which the mission considered to have pro spects of attracting financial support would be appraised later by the bank in accordance with its normal pro cedures.

To search for oil

in NG islands

THE Continental Oil Company of America is to search for oil and natural gas in New Britain and New Ireland.

It has been granted the first such permits ever issued in the two New Guinea islands.

The permits cover 9,000 square miles of central New Britain from Keravat to Wide Bay on the south coast and on the north coast of New Britain near Talasea.

The permit also covers 1,000 square miles of New Ireland between Kavieng and Namatani.

Japanese interest

in "niaouli"

Representatives of a Japanese company who visited New Caledonia in January have pro posed manufacturing paper pulp from New Caledonia’s paper bark tree.

The tree is known locally as niaouli, and its flower is the country’s national flower.

The Japanese proposed using 600 tons of the bark annually. They also suggested that medicinal oil might

also be made from the leaves of fl tree.

The distillation of niaouli essenr which is similar to eucalyptus oil, w once a flourishing industry in N«1 Caledonia, but competition from tr manufacturers of eucalyptus oil Europe, mainly Italy, eventual killed it.

The niaouli essence was originat marketed in Europe as gomenoill Gomen being the name of a Nil Caledonian village where it was fif produced.

Islands trading

firm sold

AFTER five years’ operation in tt hands of a receiver and a rep;c sentative of creditors, the well-knoT( Islands trading firm of Robe Gillespie Pty. Ltd., has been sold.) The company’s Sydney and BnJ bane offices were bought by D. &i Fowler (Australia) Ltd. in Deces ber, and its New Guinea office wj sold to N. E. Bames Trading O Pty, Ltd., Port Moresby, in Janua:r The new owners of the NJ

uinea company will retain the name obert Gillespie (New Guinea) Ltd.

Gillespie’s was put in the hands of receiver in February, 1962, after got into financial difficulties.

It was reported then that too little ose supervision, too much extended edit and the 1961 economic queeze” had caused the difficulties.

In July, 1962, a creditor, Mr. hades Allen Law, took over from e receiver as official manager of e company.

About two years ago the official anagership was terminated, and the impany continued operations under e control of Mr. Law and his son, hn, who were appointed managing rectors.

Mr. Law, a Sydney chartered ac mntant, told PIM that he and his n would remain in control in as ciation with a creditors’ committee itil the winding up of the com ny’s affairs was completed.

He said there would be an interim port and a first dividend payable to e-extension creditors in March, irther dividends would be payable er the next two years.

The company was established by r. R. Gillespie in 1941, when he ok over the business of Exporters y. Ltd., which was originally rmed in 1932. The original staff imbered three.

Rapidly expanding business in the mediate post-war years, partial ly in New Guinea, brought in its lin the need to establish another mpany, and in 1946 Robert illespie (New Guinea) Ltd. was unded with headquarters at Lae.

A branch was opened at Rabaul the same year, followed by further anches at Port Moresby (1953) and adang (1955).

irst income tax

>r New Guineans

'HE first pay period in 1967 brought for many Papuans and ;w Guineans their first introduction income tax.

At the November meeting of the ause of Assembly a bill was passed provide for payment of income t by all persons with a gross income more than $416 a year, or $8 a ;ek.

The impact of the new measure expected to be most felt in the ivns, where many skilled workers, ;rks, storemen, drivers, and others 11 now be liable for tax.

In rural areas there are fewer iployees who are in receipt of the sic figure.

However, the chief collector of tes has made it clear that rations

and accommodation provided by an employer are to be regarded as an emolument.

Employers may submit figures on cost of rations and accommodation for their employees for assessment and determination by the Taxation Branch, Where this is not done it seems likely that a general figure of $2 a week will be accepted.

Employers will be responsible to ensure that deductions are made from employees’ wages and such deductions are to be forwarded monthly to the chief collector of taxes.

However, recognising that a good deal is being asked of employers, many of them “small” men, the chief collector is considering applications for quarterly or half-yearly remit tances.

There has been no violent reaction to date, and it would appear that like numerous other measures touted as unpopular and trouble-provoking, the income tax provisions will be accepted quietly enough.

What is less clear is whether the measure will “catch” some or all of the self-employed Papuans and New Guineans whom it has long been contended are not contributing as they should.

Bougainville people

still stand pat

THE Administrator of Papua-New Guinea, Mr. David Hay, told a Press conference in Port Moresby on January 19 that proposed copper mining operations on Bougainville Island were still no more acceptable to the local people than they had ever been.

There had been no change in their attitude over recent months since a bill was passed in the House of As sembly granting landowners, on whose property copper was mined, a five per cent, share of royalties on the mineral.

Mr. Hay said Administration officers in the area were still working hard putting the Administration point of view to Panguna landowners and explaining the benefits they would derive from a profitable large-scale mining venture.

Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd. is at present investigating reportedly huge deposits of copper in the Crown Prince Range, inland from Kieta in central Bougainville.

However, company spokesmen have made it clear that Conzinc Riotinto wants a firm assurance of the long term stability of their investment before they will go ahead with a venture of such magnitude.

It has been estimated officially that between $60 million and $100 million would be required for a large scale copper mining operation on Bougainville.

All land in the search area is owned by village groups of the Panguna tribe, who have consistently opposed Conzinc Riotinto’s right to search for, or mine, copper on their land.

Mr. Hay confirmed that the Administration intended to set up a broadcasting station at Kieta to beam special programmes to the Bougain ville people, but indicated it would be a matter of months before it was ready.

In a statement on January 25, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bougain ville, Bishop L. L. Lemay, said that the Administration was now moving in the right direction towards solving the deadlock between itself, Conzinc Riotinto and the native landowners in central Bougainville.

Bishop Lemay said the native people must be given the opportunity to express their views on basic issues such as land, timber and minerals— the ground, what was on it, and what was underneath it.

“Enforcing Australian ordinances, no matter how appealing these are to us Europeans, will not solve ap parently opposite points of view on these three vital issues, wheareas discussions and patient explanation may succeed in doing so,” he said.