Dull budget in P-NG—because

members had their say

By JOHN RYAN in Port Moresby

A full scale Parliamentary row four years ago and the whims of the general election voters last year, has taken the sting out of New Guinea’s budget debates.

New Guinea’s record $172 million budget for 1969-70 went through the House of Assembly here in Sep tember with barely a whimper; it was one of the dullest, least imaginative debates I have heard.

There’s good reason to that elected members did not have the background to argue the budget with the government experts . . . nor did they have many openings for argument, because this year for the first time, Parliament had been given a significant and genuine consultative part in the early planning of the budget.

Four years ago, the then Member for the Highlands, Mr. lan Downs had led Parliament in revolt against the government budget and had reduced it by $50,000 —a protest against Canberra’s reducing of native public service salaries a few months earlier, and against Canberra’s refusal to let elected members have any real say in budget-making.

In those days, the budget was brought down in Parliament as a fait accompli. But the Downs attack on the 1965-66 budget, his threats of more to come, and the demand by Mr. Guise’s Select Committee on Constitutional and Political Develop ment in 1967 put an end to the government’s absolute power over budgeting.

Real power

The Guise Committee won limited Ministerial Government, a Budget Committee within the House of Assembly, and real budget-making power for the eight elected members given Ministerial rank and member ship of the Administrator’s Executive Council.

Eighteen months ago, when the voters failed to re-elect Messrs. Don Barrett and John Stuntz, and Mr.

Downs retired to Sydney, Parliament no longer had any unaligned elected members capable of seriously ques tioning a government budget.

And early this year, the Admin istrator Mr. Hay kept his end of the ministerial bargain by making sure

that the eight MHA’s with ministerial rank were drawn right into depart mental estimate-making for 1969-70.

They followed the estimates right through to the final stages within the Executive Council.

“We were really involved in it,” says Assistant Ministerial Member for the Treasury Mr. Gala Oala- Rarua. “We have helped put this budget together—it was very hard work,”

Until the Pangu Party or the Independent Group of Elected Mem bers deepen their research, or get financial or legal advice, the annual New Guinea budgets may well con tinue as dull debates.

$195 million budget

The 1969-70 budget is $172 mil lion (up $22 million) but because of a new costing arrangement on government stores in stock for several years, the Treasury Budget figure on paper appears as nearly $176,000,000.

The breakup-—Grant from Aus tralia—s 96 million (up nearly $9 million) Domestic revenue $66,400,000 (up $11,263,000).

Territory Loan $10,500,000 (in cluding World Bank contributions for agriculture and communications).

To the total public budget of nearly $173 million is added $22 mil lion coming in through Common wealth Departments and agencies— making the real budget for 1969-70 just over $195 million.

About 60 per cent, of all the money to run New Guinea this year is from Australia.

To bridge a budgetary gap of $1,500,000, there’s new indirect taxation on luxury goods—sedan cars, station wagons, cigarettes, wines, spirits, tape recorders, record players and petrol. Retailers were quick off the mark—within 24 hours of the budget on August 26, many shop keepers had moved the prices up (some doubled the increases) even though the increases officially should only have come into force with the arrival of new stock.