Nutshell

In a Nutshell

PNG’S BARGAlN.— Leasing land in Mary Street, Port Moresby, to Travelodge New Guinea Pty Ltd has brought a nest-egg to the PNG Gov ernment. The company will begin work later this year on a S 5 million hotel which, if the option is taken up, will eventually be controlled by the government. The nest-egg consists of a cash price of 5i55,000 for the lease plus a five per cent equity. The PNG Investment Corporation and the Local Officers’ Superannuation Fund will also take shares and if, and when, the government exercises an option on additional shares it will own 51 per cent of the company.

Cooks Wage Rise.— Aii Cook

Islands’ public servants salaries were increased by 15 per cent on May 2.

The last increase was in November, 1971, when they received a 10 per cent rise with a promise of a further five per cent some time in the future.

The recent increase includes the promised five per cent, plus a new 10 per cent rise.

Airline Expanding. —Con

tinental-Air Micronesia is planning to spread its wings outside the Trust Territory and Guam by adding American Samoa, Funafuti and Tarawa to its routes. Continental, the parent airline, has been awarded by the United States Civil Aviation Board a certificate for a new service linking Guam, Saipan, Osaka and Tokyo. Japan Air Lines has been granted reciprocal rights for the same route. Air Micronesia has added a second 727 to its Guam-Koror-Yap service and also increased its twice weekly service between the Trust Territory and Honolulu to a thrice weekly service.

POPULATION UP.— Fiji had an estimated population of 545,205 at the end of 1972, an increase of about 10,000 on the figure at the end of 1971. The population of the various racial groups at December 31, 1972, with the 1971 figure in brackets, was: Fijian, 236,694 (231,042); Indian, 277,248 (272,040); part-Europeans, 9,673 (9,497); Polynesians, Mela nesians and Micronesians, 6,914 (6,679); Rotumans, 6,726 (6,643); Chinese, 4,263 (4,325); Europeans, 3,477 (4,600)); others, 210 (531). The drop in the European population is attributed to expatriates and their

families leaving Fiji at the end of their contracts.

MARITIME MYSTERY.— According to a reliable source in London, “Nauruan interests” have bought four motorships in the 2,000-ton dwt range from Cyprus companies. But Nauru Pacific Line’s Melbourne representa tives denied that the ships were bought by the Nauru Government, which creates a major shipping mystery. Who has bought the ships and where will they operate?

Built in Hungary in the late 19605, three are of 1,950 tons and renamed De Gele Tulp, De Blauwe Tulp and De Rode Tulp. The fourth, owned by Tpaz Maritime, is 1,750 tons dwt and has been renamed De Paarse

Tulp.

Png Plane Crash.— Four

people were killed when a SDA Mis sion Cessna aircraft crashed on April 23, soon after taking off from Goroka airport. They were the pilot, Lawrence Shields, of Lae, and Matthew Singoi, of Musau Island, New Ireland, and two of his children, a girl and a boy.

Mr Singoi’s wife, and two more of their children, and SDA mission ary, Mr C. Townend, were injured.

METERS AT LAST.— At long last Fiji taxi drivers have been told to fix meters to their vehicles. The dead line is August 1. The number of

complaints about overcharging and

other malpractices from tourists forced the government to intervene and order the fitting of charge meters.

IMMOVABLE. —Fiji’s House of Rep resentatives early in May passed a motion of no-confidence in Speaker Raojibhai Patel, but Mr Patel is not going to resign. The voting against him was 21-15, with one abstention in a house of 52. Mr Patel is relying on a provision in the constitution which requires a two-thirds majority to re move him, and says this would re quire at least 35 votes.

PNG’S AIRLINE.— After a deal of wrangling with Chief Minister Michael Somare getting hot under the collar over the “arrogant” attitude of Australia’s Minister for transport and Civil Aviation Mr Jones, Papua New Guinea’s govern ment has come to terms with the Australian Government over PNG’s national airline.

It’s on and is scheduled to operate under its own flag on December 1.

The result was an agreement that PNG should hold a 60 per cent in terest in the airline, Australia (through Qantas and TAA) 24 per cent and Ansett Transport Industries the remaining 16 per cent. PNG will have the right to buy out the Aus

tralian Government and Ansett.

Under the agreed set-up, Qantas will provide top management. PNG will have four nominees on the board, including the chairman, Australia two and Ansett one. No Australian air line will be allowed to operate inter national air services out of PNG.

When PNG becomes independent, Australia and PNG will negotiate an agreement covering the Australia- PNG route, a particularly lucrative one. Till then, the PNG airline will fly the Port Moresby-Brisbane route under its own colours, sharing it with Ansett and TAA.

Australia will give PNG all its Department of Civil Aviation assets.

PEOPLE. —Dr Alexis Sarei, a Bou gainvillean and formerly personal as sistant to PNG’s Chief Minister, Mr Somare, has been appointed acting District Commissioner of Bougainville —and the appointment has no anti-ex patriate undertones. He succeeds Mr Bill Brown, who will go on leave and, on return, will be posted elsewhere.

According to Mr Somare, the change was in the pipeline long before Mr Leo Hannett called for the removal of three expatriates from the

island. “The Bougainville politicians,

although in favour of Dr Sarei’s appointment, have expressed regret at the loss of Mr Brown from the island,” said Mr Somare. Dr Sarei, who comes from Gagan village on Buka, has acted as the Chief Secre tary’s trouble-shooter on two recent occasions—leading a three-man study group to the Gazelle Peninsula, which resulted in legislation to cure the peninsula’s ills, and investigating the troubles of the Trobriands when the Kiriwina chiefs fell out. 9 Mr Colin H. Allan, Britisl Resident Commissioner in the Nev Hebrides, has a new job. He’s th« new Governor of the Seychelles, s group of nearly 90 islands in th* Indian Ocean. Date for his takeove from the present governor, Sir Bruo Greatbatch, is November and it’s ex pected that, in common with othe governors, he will be knighted. Hii successor in the New Hebrides wil be Mr R. W. H. de Boulay, Coun sellor and Head of Chancery in th) British Embassy in Paris. He ha worked in Nigeria, London and in thi British Embassies in Washington an< Manila. He is 51. • Miss Eleanor Emery, head c the Pacific Dependent Territories Department in London, has been ap pointed British High Commissioner to Botswana. She is the first womai to head a British diplomatic missioj overseas. She visited the Pacifir several times.