Somare Grasps The Nettle Safely

From PERCY CHATTERTON, in Port Moresby

During the second half of the September meeting of PNG’s House of Assembly, which started on Mon day, September 18, and ended ignominiously in a count out on the forenoon of Friday, September 29, the United Party’s enfant terrible, Anton Parao, accused the National Coalition government’s ministers of being stooges of their departmental permanent heads.

Events rather than words disproved this slur. Chief Minister Michael Somare has shown himself adept at grasping nettles without getting stung.

After the gloomy white paper tabled ay the chairman of the Public Ser vice Board during the first part of ; he meeting (see October PIM), Mr somare took the opportunity offered ay the budget debate to tell the House hat he and his cabinet had quite lifferent ideas about the future of the > ublic Service from those of the 3 ublic Service Board. During the next ew years, he said, the number of :xpatriates in the Public Service vould be reduced from 7,000 to 3,000.

Phis would be done, not by sackings, »ut by non-replacement of expatriate •fficers retiring, resigning or com ileting their contracts. Those left, irown and white, would have to work iarder, he declared. Papua New juinea, he continued, could not fford an Australian-style Public ervice; it would have to opt for small, streamlined and inexpensive ne.

This bombshell was received com aratively calmly. Public Service loard Chairman Sere Pitoi explained moothly that the report tabled a artnight earlier had been based on le then extant policy. If the govern lent decided to change the policy, would be the duty of his board ) do its best to implement the new olicy.

Over in New Britain ex-MLC/MHA ►on Barrett is no doubt chuckling appily, for the new policy sounds le death knell of the kind of civil ;rvice empire building against which e inveighed so frequently and so igorously for years.

In passing, on the subject of ►calisation, it has been announced tat the offices of Government rinter and Chief Archivist will be •calised shortly, when the present (patriate holders of these offices fire.

It looks, too, as if Mr Somare’s avernment may be nearing success

in dealing with another nettle—the Gazelle Peninsula impasse, a problem to which the moguls of Konedobu’s administration headquarters have so signally failed to find a solution during the past few years. It has been announced that at the next meeting of the House in November legislation will be introduced to abolish the controversial Gazelle Local Govern-

ment Council, and to recognize on an equal footing the Mataungan As sociation “Council”, the Warbete Kivung group, and the "Toma” pro council group, and, as a temporary measure, to place the assets of the council in the hands of a Trust made up of representatives of the three groups. This arrangement would be preliminary to the establishment

PNG's own decisions

next year of a new-style local government structure for the Gazelle, in which smaller tax raising bodies would be loosely linked together in a central authority.

The signs are that all the groups are reasonably happy about the pro posals. If they do succeed, it will certainly be a feather in Mr Somare’s cap.

Another recent incident is indi cative of a new shape of things to come. An outcry arose in Wewak over the siting of a new police station.

The contract for its erection had already been let, and if the situation had arisen during the life of either the first or the second House, the protesters would have been told, “Sorry, too late”. But for Mr Somare’s government it was not too late. After looking into the matter with the Chief Minister, Minister for Works Thomas Kavali announced that the job would be halted and a new site selected. That such an in cident as this could have happened prior to this year of grace 1972 is quite unthinkable.

In fact, none of the happenings so far chronicled could have hap pened if the National Coalition ministry were dominated by the permanent departmental heads, as claimed by Mr Parao.

Another welcome announcement made during this memorable fort night was that the government in tends to proceed with the establish ment of village courts, with power to deal with matters such as simple stealing, common assault, wilful dam age, dangerous driving and bride price disputes; and possibly with the appointment of “peace officers” to fill the vacuum left by the aboli tion of the offices of village const able in Papua and luluai and tultul in New Guinea.

If these policies had been adopted five years ago, as they should have been, the maintenance of law and order in the villages of Papua New Guinea might not be in the parlous condition into which it has fallen.

Gambling has come in for its share of attention. Yet another attempt to repeal the Playing Cards Ordinance has been adjourned, but it seems to have a much better chance of success than its prede cessors. And the House has expressed approval in principle of the idea of a national lottery. However, Treasurer Ritchie has expressed his doubt as to whether such a lottery would turn out to be very profitable, and has

suggested that a “premium bond” scheme on the British model might be a better bet for the national ex chequer.

While on the subject of finance it should be recorded that Minister for Internal Finance Julius Chan has foreshadowed the setting up by Papua New Guinea of its own central bank on the lines of Australia’s Reserve Bank. But Mr Chan is still not pre pared to commit himself as to whether a separate PNG currency is contemplated.

What may be more than a tea cup storm was touched off by Bougainville’s forceful politicians, Paul Lapun and Father John Momis.

The former is Minister for Mines in the National Coalition government while the latter, new to the House but already showing signs of be coming one of its leading figures, is deputy chairman of the committee charged with the task of preparing a draft constitution. Both have ex pressed dissatisfaction with the agree ment concluded between the monster Bougainville Copper company and the previous, administration-domi nated PNG government, and it seems likely that at no distant date a ca.ll for its re-negotiation will be pressed.

Southern Highlands Regional mem ber, Ron Neville has renewed his oft-repeated plea for a road outlet from the Southern Highlands to the Gulf of Papua. While the government has not yet committed itself on this project, the Chief Minister has finally and formally confirmed the demise of the World Bank inspired doctrine of rapid economic development by concentration on the most promising areas, and has made it clear that his government has committed it self to the policy of a more balanced style of development with special consideration for the deve lopment of previously neglected areas.

This naturally gives me a good deal of satisfaction, as it has been one of my pet hobby-horses ever since the World Bank report first appeared.

The Chief Minister has got his green light for self-government by the end of 1973, though not by so good a margin of votes as he had hoped for. The voting was 52 to 34, a majority of 60 per cent, instead of the 75 per cent, which had been his target.

Finally, this meeting’s funny story.

The ebullient and ever optimistic member for Tari, Matiabe Yuwi, asked the House to recommend a reduction in the salaries of its mem bers. The motion was lost on the voices.