Islands Press

From the Islands Press

Senator Felix Emberson, in Fiji Senate, during debate on move to close night clubs at 1 am instead of 2 am, as reported in The Fiji Times: I cannot see how you can break into a house or rape a woman while you are in a night club.

Preamble to open letter to Western Samoa Public Service Training Officer (American Melvin Schnapper) by Faalogo F. Pito in the Samoa Times: At the outset I apologise that this letter has to be in English. My American is hopeless and I know you will be lost in everyday Samoan let alone the chiefly language that I, as the holder of two orator titles (Faalogo in Sagone, Savaii, and Fata in Afega, Upolu) am entitled to be addressed in.

From the Micronesian Independent: I need a girl friend, one that is true. Her age should be between 18-24 years, she should be 4' 11" high (heavy or thin makes no difference), able to control her temper, be courteous, somewhat wise, and friendly towards people in general. She must also be able to wash clothes, do general housework (no Kiki Ran). She must be appropriate to share a house with her husband. If interested please write Box 8385 (Kwajalein, Roi Namur Security), APO San Francisco, 96555. Thank you.

From the PNG Post-Courier: Miss Papua New Guinea, Eau Suve, has blasted Melbourne's Moomba Festival as being boring, bitchy, sexist and disgusting. Eau, who returned to Port Moresby last week, said she had even thought of quitting the festival's Queen of the Pacific quest. "People kept on calling me Miss New Guinea, and I was representing Papua New Guinea".

Eau says she will never attend another such festival in Australia.

Mr Solomon Mamaloni, the Solomons Chief Minister, speaking of his experiences as a civil servant as reported in a Solomons News Drum interview: . . . The bitterness and frustration of our own people who for year after year were patronised, patted on the head, laughed at in the expatriate clubs, shouted at in the office and denied the training and help which would have equipped us for promotion. All this is in our blood and is still not understood by the expatriates, especially the long-service carriers of the white-man’s burden . . .

The trials of the nursing profession in Fiji as reported in The Fiji Times: . . . Matron Korol said nurses on early and late shifts faced serious transport problems. By the time they were ready to go to work, bus services had either stopped or not

begun. "To get to work on time, nursing staff have been known to hitch rides on bread vans and delivery trucks", she said. "Others who take short cuts along tracks leading to Suva, Lautoka and Labasa hospitals have been attacked. There have been incidences of attempted rape".

From comments in the Solomons News Drum by Mrs Katarina Mataira, NZ specialist in art workshops, in Honiara for the University of the South Pacific's first regional art workshop: . . . Pacific people are always measuring themselves against the white man and making

themselves second-best. Unless they can have

something which is theirs alone, they could build up complexes and be unable to cope with life . . .

From a letter by Carol Adams

in The Norfolk Islander:

Ever since the influx of outside companies, and their controllers, made their presence felt here for the express purpose of dodging taxation and not as benevolent fathers as they would like us to think, there has been nothing but discontent always revolving around them and their dislike of the Australian Government, simply because they expect Norfolk to be open slather for them to dodge their commitments to the government while others continue to honour theirs. What do these company controllers care for the welfare or wellbeing of families or residents on Norfolk? I haven’t heard of them donating a percentage of their company tax savings (reported to be in the millions) when they had a free hand and the opportunity do so, to set up a welfare fund or the like, to directly benefit the people of Norfolk.

It is very comforting to know that at the moment Norfolk is secure in the hands of the Australian Government, we certainly wouldn’t have any security If a bunch of private individuals intent on developing Norfolk for their own ends got their sticky fat fingers on the controls.

From a speech by Mrs Short, president

of the Ngatangiia Country Women's Institute,

reported in the Cook Islands News: Helping men do “men’s work” is the interpretation applied by Rarotongan women to the term equal opportunity. It may merely mean packing bananas or keeping the island looking attractive for local satisfaction as well as for tourists. But the spirit of

co-operation between people working for people,

irrespective of sex, reaches much higher than road verges. Three Rarotongan women are chiefs . . .

From Town Talk in the Arawa Bulletin: Heartening news. BCL (Bougainville Copper) saved the life of a seriously-ill child last week. One part of a small heart-monitoring machine was connected to the mouthpiece of a telephone, another part pressed against the child's chest. This enabled the Melbourne heart clinic to monitor the heart by telephone and give their medical advice. The company then chartered an Air Niugini Fokker for an emergency flight out of Bougainville for specialist treatment.