Constructive

Proposals From

Un Mission

From a Canberra correspondent As some people predicted, so it happened the United Nations’ McEwen Mission to New Guinea earlier this year turned out to be more critical in its report than most New Guinea

people had expected.

But the report is not likely to have any real impact on the Australian Government’s policies in Papua-New Guinea, for the criticism was reason able, constructive and couched in such terms that will allow Australia to pigeon-hole the report with an easy conscience.

The debate in the Trusteeship Council, held in early June, was the tamest for many years. With the usual exception of the Soviet, members of the council congratulated Australia on its development in the territory, gave their support to the recommendations of the mission and asked that Aus tralia put them into operation.

Russia interpreted the report as indicating that New Guinea was in a chaotic state of misery, exploitation and military control—a deduction which got Australian representative K. H. Rogers on his feet to ask whether his Soviet colleague was dis cussing the same country as the rest of the council.

Leader of the UN mission, Mr. J.

M. McEwen, NZ Secretary for Maori and Island Affairs, is an old Islands hand, and his knowledge of South Pacific conditions is clearly reflected in the constructive nature of the re port. Other members were Mr. P.

H. Gaschignard, counsellor with the French Mission to the UN; Mr. A. F.

Caine, of the Liberian State Depart ment, and Mr. Ward Allen, of the US State Department. The mission visited P-NG from February 24 to April 6,

Recommendations

These are the main recommenda tions of the mission: 9 P-NG is lacking a sense of nationhood and Australia should do more to develop it. The country needs one flag, one name and an anthem. ® The Assembly should be in volved without delay in real financial

responsibilities, and local government councils given more autonomy. • Because of inadequate delega tion of authority between Canberra and Port Moresby and Port Moresby and the rest of the territory, the central administration and the dis tricts do not have scope to exercise initiative and discretion. There must be greater flexibility and decentralisa tion. • The new Ministerial Member system is the right step, but the Assembly should not hesitate to ask for full ministerial responsibility in two years or less. ® New Guineans made it “un mistakeably clear” to the mission that they were not ready for self government or independence now.

Nevertheless the people were con fused as to the meaning of self government and suspected it meant withdrawal of Australian aid; they should be assured that this is not so. • New Guineans should be given a political education to prepare them for self-determination, and their pre sent conservative attitude should not be used as an excuse to delay pro gress towards self-determination.

Every effort must be made to asso ciate the people more closely with the exercise of power, for it is better to meet events than to be overtaken by them.

Salaries

• Difference in salaries between local and overseas officers is causing widespread dissatisfaction, and one scale (with special allowances for overseas officers) should be intro duced quickly. Permanent territory residents, or their wives, joining the Public Service should be given the same conditions as local officers. • A speeding-up of Papuanisation of the Public Service should be achieved by fixing a date when no officer below a designated grade may be appointed. This cut-off point should be raised regularly. • The “A” and “T” system of primary schools should be scrapped in place of one integrated school system.

The New Guinea newspapers have seen as a major point the mission’s criticism of Canberra controls. But when the Department of External Territories issued from Canberra a news release giving a summary of the mission’s main recommendations it did not include this point as being among them.

There are, of course, none so blind as those who will not see.