All Stops Out To

Launch The New

State Of Euphoria

The Christmas-New Year holi days will be the busiest yet for the people of the mid-Pacific phosphate island of Nauru. They will be flat out coping with the work that has to be done before Nauru can declare its indepen dence on January 31.

Australia, which administers Nauru for the UN, announced only on November 7 that January 31 would be Independence Day. In the mean time the island that will become the world’s smallest nation has to get the Trusteeship Agreement terminated, complete a draft constitution, elect by popular franchise a constitutional convention to debate it, establish some administrative machinery to take control of the government, and then arrange for the independence celebrations and the reception of over seas visitors.

If that weren’t enough, Nauru still has to establish a public service and a judiciary, and arrange for general elections and elect its first President, who will also be Chief Minister.

These last matters will not be carried out until after Independence Day, be cause the constitutional convention will not have finished its delibera tions by then.

Elections

The convention will have its meet ing on January 3 on Nauru. Two weeks earlier, on December 16, there will be elections to choose the 27 Nauruans who, with the nine elected members of the Nauru Legislative Council (all Nauruans), will take part in the convention.

The first meeting will have before it the draft of the constitution which, in December, was still being worked on (together with a design for a flag for the new republic).

The convention will have com pleted enough of its deliberations by Independence Day to allow appoint ment of a Council of State, of five members elected by the Legislative Council, to form the executive gov ernment until the convention agrees to the final constitution and it can be brought into force.

The appointment of the Council of State is a short-cut method of obtain

ing legal independence by the date the Nauruans have asked for. Head Chief Hammer Deßoburt had set his heart on that date and pressed hard for its realisation.

The mass of work to be handled has been made more difficult by the serious illness of the Nauruan’s own paid representative in Australia, Mr.

Reg Leydin, a former Administrator.

Mr. Leydin’s duties in the Nauruan Melbourne office have been taken over by a senior Department of Terri tories officer, Mr. Ron Rose.

At the end of November, Head Chief Deßoburt was in New York, with his constitutional adviser, Pro fessor J. W. Davidson, to assure the Trusteeship Council that Nauru was ready to have the Trusteeship Agree ment terminated on January 31. The council agreed and machinery was set in hand.

Petition

However, the council did hear a petition from a member of the Nauru Legislative Council, Mr. V. Eoaeo, stating that independence without a relationship with Australia was “too hazardous”. Mr. Eoaeo had said the same thing in the October session of the Nauru Legislative Council. He said then that many Nauruans sup ported the alternative Australian pro posal that Nauru have full control of its internal affairs and that defence and external affairs be an Australian responsibility. Nauru should have the right to amend its constitution, including the power to end the asso ciation and declare itself fully in dependent, Mr. Eoaeo’s views got no support either in the Legco or in the Trustee ship Council.

The matter was touched on in a different way in Australia in November during the passage of the Nauru Independence Bill through both Houses of the Australian Parlia ment.

The Attorney-General, Mr. N. H.

Bowen, QC, who had taken part in the final independence discussions, in offering his best wishes to Nauru, found the opportunity to mention that Australia had asked for control of Nauruan defence and external affairs “as much for the benefit of the Nauruans as for Australians and other people in the Pacific area.” He managed to give the impression that it was a pity that Nauru had rejected these proposals.

Senator M. C. Cormack, after listening in the Senate to a succession of good wishes for Nauru, jarred what he described as the “state of euphoria in the chamber” by saying that the 3,100 Nauruans should be re

minded that it “was a harsh co] world in which power politics hai their play.” Australia had failed 1 persuade the Naurans that it was ui wise for them to seek independem in the present state of the world.

He said parliament was not solvir any problems by agreeing to ind pendence—it was merely creating spark which could cause an explosic in the area.

“These Nauruans are the riche people in the Pacific,” he said. have learned to understand that tl rich attract hatred, and the Nauruai will attract the hatred of the peop who live on the islands around them The Nauruans were mineral lan< lords who had no real right, in tl Marxist sense, to the possession of tl phosphate and there would be agit tion to share the wealth betwee Nauruan landlords and the slave ra< of Gilbertese and Chinese doing tl hard work of extracting the phosphat Nauru would not remain a garde of Eden, “as the Nauruans believ and as Professor Davidson has taug] them to believe.” Into the islan via the ships of the British Pho phate Commission, would come tl serpent “that always enters any loti land.”

Senator Cormack wanted to kno what Australia’s responsibility was 1 Nauru when this prediction of h came true.

Six top jobs

Senator Cormack got about as muc support for his views as had Coui cillor Eoaeo.

Senator James Mulvihill said th; “whether the petty bourgeosie or tt proletariat rule Nauru in tf future,” Australia should let them di termine their own affairs. He adde< “I cannot help thinking that if th French Government had been as ei lightened in 1946 when the questio of Indo China’s future was unde review, and there had followed resonable transformation to indepenc ance, we should not be occupying £ much time as we are today with othe situations in Asia.”

Meanwhile after visiting the U> Head Chief Deßoburt went on t London for interviews with some c the applicants for six top jobs in th mini-republic’s new administration Nauru has advertised for a Chie Secretary on $A 10,000 a year; Financial Secretary, $9,000; Secretar for Industry and Island Developmer $8,500: and Secretaries for Healt and Education; Justice; and Work and Community Services, each o: $B,OOO. These high salaries are fre from income tax.