Nutshell

In A Nutshell

“No bona fide grower wants a r enewal of the present sugar cane contract. If he does, he is either a itooge of the millers, or mad”, said J Fiji National Federation Party ’pokesman, Mr. K. C. Ramrakha, in March when “PIM M asked for his 'omment on a crisis threatening Fiji’s ugar industry.

Mr. Ramrakha said that by refus ng to recognise the growers’ desire or a new contract (the present one rith the millers expires in March, 970) the party considered the sugar ompany “itself was on strike”.

Attention was focused on the ituation in March when the NFP ewspaper Pacific Review, quoted arty leader, Mr. A. D. Patel, as aving called for funds for “the rowers’ strike”. Was there to be nother strike in Fiji’s major in ustry?

Mr. Ramrakha said the Pacific eview had paraphrased Mr. Patel.

Growers’ struggle, or growers’ fight, ould have done just as well”, said lr. Ramrakha. “Basically a strike a negative action. Looked at this ay the growers can be said to be ready on strike—a ‘don’t sign newal’ strike”.

If satisfaction was not achieved, id Mr. Ramrakha, growers could •ut up their own mills, they could fuse to plant, they could refuse to it”. In any event, funds were eded at this stage.

Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd.’s huge deposits of copper on Bougainville came two steps closer to exploitation when CRA announced in March a further big upgrading of the known deposits, and a $29 million share issue to partly finance the development.

Estimates of available ore for open pit mining jump from 500 million tons to 760 million tons, of an average grade of 0.47 per cent, copper and 0.4 dwt gold per ton.

CRA, which has a two-thirds stake m the deposits (New Broken Hill Cons. Ltd. has one-third), will make a one for 50 issue of its 50 cent shares at a $13.50 premium.

CRA’s decision to go ahead on Bougainville could be very close.

In late March trouble was loom ing over NG Administration attempts to resume a big area of plantation }^?. d „ at Arawa (including Territorian Kip McKillop’s long-established copra-cocoa plantation) for CRA to develop as a town for mine workers.

The Bougainville District Advisory

Council opposed resumption of the land on the grounds that it was valuable for local cocoa production.

Price offered for Mr. McKillop’s plantation was said to be about $500,000. * ♦ * Mr. Pierre Angeli, French Polynesia’s new Governor, arrived in Tahiti from France on March 11.

Less than a week before his arrival, his wife gave birth to a daughter. * * * The appeal to restore the Anglican Cathedral at Dogura in the Milne Bay District of Papua is to be extended to Australia because of a poor response in the territory.

Experts have estimated that $12,000 is needed to restore the 30year-old cathedral. Originally it was decided to exclude Australia from the appeal because the church hoped to raise most of the money from within the Territory, * * ♦ Fiji’s very hot weather over the Christmas and January-February period didn’t prevent the spread of the Hong Kong flu. People went down like ninepins and many office and factory staff found their ranks drastically depleted.

By early March the total for the year of notified cases was almost 7,000. Doctors predicted that the flu would continue to spread until the majority of people had contracted it and acquired a natural immunity.