Book Reviews

The Role Of The Army

In Papua-New Guinea

Dr. O’Neill’s crystal ball cer tainly did sparkle when he wrote the following opening to his

The Army in Papua-New

Guinea: “In July, 1970, the Governor- General of Australia, Sir Paul Has luck, placed the army in readiness to render aid to the civil power in the territory of Papua-New Guinea should the normal forces of law and order have proved unable to cope with Mataungan Association land squatters near Rabaul. To a man of Sir Paul’s background and record as Minister for Territories this action must have been taken with a heavy heart because it represented a break with carefully nurtured tradition and established a new precedent.

“Never before had the Pacific Is lands Regiment been confronted with the possibilities of using force against rioting mobs of civilians, and the hasty training which followed the Governor-General’s order must have left a deep impression on New Guinean soldiers who were learning the techniques of riot control for the first time. Quite clearly the Austra lian Army in New Guinea has entered a new era in which it will be the sub ject of close and penetrating scrutiny by those with a political point to press, not only in Australia, by the media, by some of those academics not in cluded in the first category, and by the public at large”.

In a recent speech in the Australian Parliament giving reasons for his resignation as Minister for Defence, Mr. Malcolm Fraser alleged that the decision to order the army on standby during the civil disturbances on the Gazelle Peninsula last year had been taken by the then Prime Minister, without adequate consultation with his cabinet.

The question of the Australian Army’s role in the territory has thus become a vital current topic among Australia’s decision-makers, though the House of Assembly at Port

Moresby has been remarkably silent on the matter.

In 1969 the then Minister for the Army summed up the basic role of the Australian Army in Papua-New Guinea as building up an efficient national army constituted of indigenes and capable of playing a vital part in the defence and providing for the future a well disciplined, stable and reliable indigenous force, completely loyal to the Administration or Gov ernment of Papua-New Guinea.

Dr. R. J. O’Neill agrees with this policy and describes action taken to implement it. He also records critic ism made of the Pacific Islands Regi ment’s civil action patrols, elite hous ing, etc,, by some who fear the PIR may become a State within a State.

And he mentions problems such as tribalism in the ranks, disturbances over pay and lack of indigenous com missioned officers.

Dr. O’Neill believes a lower stand ard of efficiency would jeopardise the army’s effectiveness in checking poten tial border infiltration (he does not expect much more) and that locally based air support and minor naval strength are essential.

He considers that an independent indigenous government will not be able to afford an adequate small de fence force and that the S3O million per annum to finance it—about 3 per cent, of Australia’s current defence vote—would be well spent in the in terests of both countries.

This is the first published study of a very serious subject. Written in cognisance of the indigenous view point by a man with the requisite military and academic qualifications and experience, the small book (31 pages) deserves wide readership.—

Hhj.

(The Army In Papua-New Guinea.

ANU, Canberra, $1.50).