Conscience

Bishop Jabs

Australia's

By a staff writer

Tonga, through Bishop Patrick Finau, is the latest South Pacific Islands territory to bring pressure on Australia to open the door to more migrants from the Pacific Islands, and also to cater for guest workers.

Bishop Finau, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tonga, visited New Zealand and Australia in May. About the time he visited New Zealand, the NZ Government decided to extend from June 1 to August 1 the dead line for all Tongan overstayers to leave the country.

Bishop Finau kept his most sting ing comments for Australia. He spoke to Federal Government officials about Australia’s immigration and labour policies. He was frank. He said he was trying to stir the con science of the Australian people over hardships suffered by a near neigh bour —Tonga.

These were some of his comments: “Australia professes to be a Christian country. Well Tonga is also, and it is suffering.”

“If you cannot be Christian, at least be human.”

“I am asking Australia to put aside what is no more than an historical anachronism, its White Australia policy.”

He proposed a pilot scheme which would allow Tongans to come into Australia and work for six months.

This would allow them to go home with enough money to buy a home, agricultural equipment or fishing nets.

Tonga did not want handouts; only the opportunity for the people to help themselves.

With the guest worker scheme, Bishop Finau is not likely to get much change. Australia’s ex- Immigraion Minister, Mr A 1 Grassby, set himself resolutely against such schemes. As he was carrying out government policy, it is likely that his successor Mr Clyde Cameron will take up where Mr Grassby left off. Mr Cameron is also Labour Minister.

Bishop Finau was critical of the Australian policy which sought people with special skills which Aus tralia lacked. If there were such people among what he called the serfs of Tonga they would be well off, and would have no need to come to Australia.

Bishop Finau believes that perma nent migration will ease the problems

of over-population and lack of employment, but it will not solve all the problems in Tonga.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, time was on the side of hundreds of Tongan “overstayers”. The NZ immigration authorities had set June 1 as the deadline for all Tongans who had overstayed their permits to leave the country. So many came forward that it was soon apparent it was a physical impossibility for all to comply with the order. The date was changed to August 1, with a proviso that overstayers had to have letters from employers saying they were

keen workers who would be hard to replace.

Manufacturers had earlier made representations to the government seeking a reprieve for many over stayers. A number of employers are practically dependent on labour from

the Islands. . .

New Zealand is in the process of revising its immigration policy, this will probably give quotas to places like Fiji and Tonga which do not enjoy rights automatically given to Cook, Niue and Tokelau islanders and Western Samoa, which has an annual quota of 1,500.