Gilbert and Ellice say they're

ready for next step, too

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony’s House of Representa tives, at its May-June session, resolved to set up a select committee “to consider” a new constitution.

The motion for the select com mittee was proposed by Mr. Reuben Uatioa, the House’s Chief Elected Member.

One of the jobs of the committee will be to decide what sort of legisla tive body will replace the present House of Representatives, formed two years ago and due to be dis banded this year.

Since no decision has been made about a replacement, the House will remain the legislative body for another year, during which time the committee can decide upon another legislative body.

Various other points, resolutions and comments made at the session of the House included:

Airways

• The House adopted a motion for the GEIC Government to ap proach Air Micronesia Ltd. to negotiate extension of this company’s air services to Tarawa. • By the end of this year air services by Fiji Airways from Tarawa to Fiji would probably be increased from the current weekly flights to three flights a fortnight. Ways of strengthening the colony’s airline in terests were being considered. The GEIC’s half seat on the board of Fiji Airways was not enough.

Agriculture

• It was resolved to scrap the Copra Export Duty Rebate System because of general dissatisfaction with this scheme and to examine how other subsidies or incentives could produce better results. • It was possible Christmas Island could be resettled in “the near future”, provided current copra replanting work on the island is successful. • An agricultural survey of the uninhabited Phoenix Islands would be made in July with regard to copra collection from these atolls.

Phosphate

• Discussions had already begun with the Nauruan Government for assurances that Nauru would con tinue to recruit workers from the GEIC for Nauru’s phosphate mines after the Nauruan Phosphate Cor poration took over the British Phos phate Commission’s operation of the mines next year. • By 1978 Ocean Island’s phos phate deposits would be exhausted and there would be a substantial increase in the population of the GEIC. There would also be a deficit of $3 million, provided that current living standards were maintained.

Development

• Generous overseas aid, mostly from Britain, would continue if the GEIC itself did the utmost to develop its economy. It was suggested that if people in the GEIC denied them selves non-productive services for the “next few years” there would be a

much better future than some people had prophesied. • No funds were yet available for the Betio-Bairiki causeway although the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific (which promised $lOO,OOO for this project last year) had so far collected SUS2O,OOO as “a contribution”.

Education, Population,

Shipping

• Current education expenditure $424,000 annually would be about as much as the GEIC could afford in future years. The govern ment would not be taking a bigger hand in education—a policy contrary to the wishes of missions, which have long urged the GEIC Govern ment to take over most of their schools. • Population growth was still too great. If the population continued to grow at its present rate, poverty and hunger would be widespread. • Other shipping lines besides China Navigation and Columbus had shown interest in the colony’s Teraka merchant seaman training scheme— the only new employment field dis covered for GEIC men in recent years.