NG Councils-Speaker

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Don't restrict local

NG Councils-Speaker

Two of the most important men in New Guinea—Administrator, Mr.

Hay, and Speaker of Parliament, Mr.

John Guise —crossed swords over the future of local government, and the possible effects of the recent swallowing up of local government by the Department of the Admin istrator.

Both were speaking in August at the second annual conference of the Local Government Association, which covers 142 councils looking after 1,900,000 people.

Officially opening the conference, Mr. Guise said: “The development most profoundly affecting P-NG since 1945 was the introduction of local government (in 1950) . . . for the first time hundreds of tiny, separate villages began realising that they needed to forget their ancient squabbles and look at themselves as members of a larger family.

“It was intended that these councils should develop along the lines best-suited to local conditions . . . and in accordance with the people’s wishes,” he said.

“But the present development of the councils tends to make their functions even more like their Aus tralian counterparts—and it’s difficult to escape the impression that some where along the line, a quiet (government) decision was made to restrict P-NG’s local government movement and its authority, to the Australian pattern of local govern ment functions.”

Mr. Guise said the huge differences in the living standards between Aus tralia and P-NG made him wonder whether “this apparent restriction on council authority in this country was a very wise decision”.

He told the Local Government conference that it was high time the kiaps took a new look at their at titudes towards councils, and began working to give people in council areas the benefits of greater skill and patience.

There were some serious tensions growing up between councillors and their government advisers, and this might worsen.

Mr. Hay answered quickly that the government unreservedly sup ported local government, and so did its advisers. He said there had been

“no quiet decision to restrict the authority of councils 44 in P-NG.

He then urged delegates to take a look at the real functions of local government, and to try to decide where councils would stand as the movement was extended to cover the territory’s bigger towns.

On the question of a separate Department of Local Government, Mr. Hay repeated the assertion that the government just did not have the staff . . . “and I would like to assure you that the recent reorganisa tion of local government and the Department of District Administra tion will not make local government councils subservient to executive government”.

Mr. Guise read the Administrator’s statement, and began shaking his head. He was not convinced.

NZ doubles its

exports to Fiji

New Zealand’s share of the Fiji market has more than doubled during the past two years according to acting NZ trade commissioner for the Pacific, Mr. Alan Jacobsen.

In Suva in August, he said sales to Fiji last year were worth $6,432,000 compared with $2,936,000 the previous year. He predicted that the present figures would double again within the next two years.

Mr. Jacobsen attributed NZ’s sales mccess in the Pacific Islands to the

growth of export consciousness among NZ manufacturers, price advantages gained by the devaluation of sterling and the greater range of products being produced by increas ingly more sophisticated industries.

He said that NZ penetration of the Pacific market was now 20 per cent.; five years ago it was five per cent.

Fiji's striking

teachers sacked

A recent strike by 85 trainee teachers at Fiji’s Nasinu College became even more serious when 18 of them were told they could not return to the college.

These 18, according to a govern ment spokesmen, were second-year students who had also gone on strike in April, last year.

On being readmitted, they signed an undertaking to abide by agreed procedures for dealing with their complaints. By striking again this year, they “were failing to honour their undertakings”.

The 85 Nasinu students went on strike in June, claiming they had not received a satisfactory reply to a list of demands they had made.

They were suspended by Director of Education, Mr. J. G. Rodger, after failing to return to lectures.

At the end of July, the 67 suspended first-year students were offered readmission to the college,

providing they agreed to sign under takings that they would abide by college rules.

But the students saw this as “a measure to disunite the strikers for the purpose of victimisation”. A seven-man student action committee said the suspended students had unanimously rejected the readmission offer—the conditions of the proposed undertaking were “severely harsh and stringent”.

Chairman of the committee, Mr, Narendra Prasad Maharaj said the students would take legal action and

would write to the Chief Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, asking for his intervention. Unless the govern ment intervened, he said, the strike would continue indefinitely, At this stage of the dispute, the education department was planning to fill the 18 second-year vacancies with unlicensed teachers, for whom a 16-week emergency training course would be run.

A . , .

Any vacancies caused by the re fusal of first-year students to accept the readmission offer were also to be filled by unlicensed teachers.

Texas leaves its

stamp in Rarotonga

July 4 was celebrated with a

genuine Texan-style barbecue in

Rarotonga this year. American millionaire businessman Finbar Kenny—-in Avarua to view a new

philatelic bureau—arranged the

barbecue, the like of which has never been seen before on the island.

Some 200 invited guests of all kinds crowded the attractive garden patio of Taripo’s Vaikapuangi in Avarua, dancing to the music of Minister of Education’s son, Jake Numanga, and his band. Many just sniffed the aroma of charcoal broiled fillet steak and platters of crayfish specially flown from New Zealand.

The affair was catered by Geoff Everett and his partner Roger Blake, two enterprising foodmen who appear to be gradually filling a long-standing cafe and restaurant need in Raro tonga.

But the high point of the evening was the dispensation of a vast quantity of assorted drinks from a bar where two bartenders spent per haps the five busiest hours of their careers.

By 10 p.m. nobody was feeling much pain. This was evidenced by the fact that a heavy rain, drenching nearly every guest, hardly slowed the pace of dancing or the consumption of the mountains of good food.

The combined effects of food, drink, and the weather however finally turned the hilarious tide. By midnight all was quiet, and the tired caterers and helpers cleaned up the aftermath of what soon became known as “the best do ever remem bered in Rarotonga”—a do that planted Yankee hospitality well in the hearts of a hospitable Cook Islands people, • A giant snail invasion force has been isolated near Kieta wharf in P-NG. Agricultural workers isolated the snails on about three acres of hillside behind the wharf and laid snail baits hoping to kill them off.

The area, however, might have to be patrolled for six months to ensure they are dead. The snails are believed to have been imported from Rabaul in a cargo of building materials.

They originally were brought to P-NG by the Japanese in World War 11.

• A tyre and battery factory seing built in Lae by Dunlop (Papua md New Guinea) Pty. Ltd. at an jstimated cost of $375,000 was ex jected to start operations in early \ugust. Manager of the company, Vlr. D. Hewlett, said that the re reading plant at the factory would >e geared to produce reconditioned yres. The factory would also issemble automotive batteries, repair yres and provide an emergency lervice. Equipment valued at $55,000 vould be installed and about 20 >eople including fitters, retreaders md battery assemblers, would be ecruited in the territory. • London engineer for Crown Agents, Mr. J. P. Casserly, is in 4auru investigating the island’s water iroblems. Results of his investiga ions, especially in the field of utilis ng rainfall, are awaited. • July 19 was a red letter day n the lives of Nauruan dentist Lud /ig Keke and dark-haired Dutch orn Ann Buissink when they were larried at the church of Our Lady, Jueen of the World, at Yarren. Ann’s arents were present, and the recep ion for over 700 guests at Joseph )etsimea’s home, Yarren Lodge, was gay affair. • The International Whaling Com rission in July said there were signs” that the world’s humpback hale population was increasing, .part from an occasional 30 or 40 >oter caught in long boats off Tonga )r purely food purposes, whaling in le Islands has been defunct since Norfolk Island’s whaling business osed in 1962. Humpbacks com bed most of Norfolk’s catches. • The airstrip at Tontouta, New aledonia, is now ready to take imbo jets, following the July com letion of extension works. Its re iforced surface now measures 3,250 ictres and an extended parking area as also been bitumenised. Air :hedules now return to normal after sing modified since last December hen the reconstruction began. • Inland towns of New Caledonia "e to receive TV from Noumea, blowing the opening of a new re y station at Mont Do. The station pened on July 14 (Bastille Day); the >wer is in the mountains out of oulouparis and is already providing ;ception past Bourail to Poya, half ay along the west coast, and to Thio, i the east coast.

Main problem for technicians is e chain of mountains running north * south through the centre of the

island. Television first began in Noumea in October, 1965, and now operates about 3i hours each evening, with the bulk of programmes flown in from Paris. • All possible precautions were taken at Cameron High School, Milne Bay, P-NG, following the notification of two meningitis cases in early August. All pupils were given prophylactic drugs in case the two sick children, both girls, had the highly infectious type of meningitis. • Fiji’s system of land tenure is to be discussed at a special sym-

posium sponsored by the South Pacific Commission and held at the University of the South Pacific in Suva from September 1-12. Speakers are to include Mr. Henry West, Assistant Director of Research in the Department of Land Economy at Cambridge University. Formerly Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Surveys in Uganda, Mr. West is to present a paper dealing with current land tenure trends in the independent African countries.

His visit to Fiji comes at the end of a two-month tour of developing countries undertaken on behalf of his department.