knight for

A hard day's knight for Australia

From Gus Smales

in Port Moresby

A faintly-embarrassed Australian Government has once again found itself duty-bound to become involved on behalf of Papua New Guinea in the Queen’s Honours list.

A knighthood for the PNG Foreign Minister, Mr Albert Maori Kiki, and awards for 20 others in PNG are contained in the list. The awards are on an Australian list, re commended by the Australian Government despite its anti-honours policy.

The same situation occurred last year in the Queen’s Birthday awards when Sir Paul Lapun, the Mines Minister, became PNG’s first native

born knight.

Although the situation has its em barrassments for the present Aust ralian Government, there was little the government could do about it without committing a major blunder.

For 13 months now PNG has been self-governing. The government has operated under a blanket assur ance from Australia that there will be no Australian interference in mat ters which are morally construed as sovereign rights. One of the effective sovereign rights which the PNG Government has chosen to exercise is the recommendation of its resi dents for British Commonwealth honours.

But, because PNG has yet to achieve its formal independence the moral sovereign rights which Aust ralia recognises are not always the technical sovereign rights which pro tocol recognises. The Australian Government has been forced by its own promises to PNG to act as an intermediary in the honours list.

Technically the list has to be an Australian one because PNG cannot have one of its own until it is an independent member of the British Commonwealth.

If the Australian Government had refused to act as intermediary be cause of its own attitude towards the honours there could have been seri ous repercussions on relations be tween the two governments.

Any embarrassment the Australian Government may feel is clearly pre ferable to accusations that an agree ment was repudiated.

A member of the Chief Minister’s

office in Port Moresby said the situ ation was clear-cut and well under stood by both governments. He said there was no suggestion that the Australian Government was applying double standards over the honours list. Australia was merely carrying out its undertaking to treat PNG as a sovereign state in the closing months before formal independence.

Any attempts to go back on this undertaking would have been un welcome and reprehensible.

The new knight has asked to be known as Sir Maori Kiki. Other ministers honoured in the same list are Finance Minister Mr Julius Chan (CBE) and Communications Minis ter Mr Kaibelt Diria (OBE).

Honours also went to Mr Sere Pitoi, chairman of the PNG Public Service Board (CBE); Dr Blanche Biggs (CBE), who retired in 1974 after 25 years medical service with the Anglican Mission in the Northern District and is now living in Tas mania. MBEs went to Mrs Eileen Tom and Messrs Siwi Kurondo, Eric Pupu, Beibe Moha, Esau Lakman, Rupert Tabua, Timothy Mack and Herman fieri Miringi. BEMs were awarded to Miss V. B. Bignold, Messrs T. Toya, S. Kiha and Police Sergeants K. Nicodemus and S.

Buka. Three police officers awarded the Queen’s Police Medal were Senior Supts C. A. Parry, R. Robertson and M. Samo.

Those honoured in Fiji were: OBE, Ratu Senator Apakuki Tuisue Na novo, a retired roko, and Mrs Lavi nia Ah Koy, Clerk to Parliament.

MBE (military), WO Epeli Rayawa Ravovo, Royal Fiji Military Forces band drum major. MBEs, Messrs Abel Nagan, Taniela Kau Rauma kita, Mr Kupp Swami and Ratu Livai Tabucala. Queen’s Police Medal, Dep Commissioner Wallace Caldwell and Sen Supt lan Clow, Fiji Police Medal, Dep Supts Mam Raj and Nemani Raikuna.

He is now (by protocol) known as Sir Maori Kiki, but where's the Albert gone?