News in a Nutshell
pp. 8-9 · Read in the full issue
The Micronesian Constitutional Convention, seeking to frame a constitution for the Trust Terri tory, opened on Saipan in July and, until its adjournment on August 22 with resumption on September 15, debated almost every phase of living including women’s rights and the type of legislature. Many male speakers opposed the idea propounded by the women delegates that women were men’s equal. There was no decision on a resolution by the women that there should be no sex discrimination in Micronesia.
There was a division of opinion over the legislature, one section favouring equal representation by all districts and the other, repre sentation according to population.
The convention will study a com promise plan by Maketo Robert of Truk. He suggested that popu lation should govern representa tion in the House of Representa tives and seating in the Senate should be determined by the amount of revenue contributed by each district. This might meet the demands made in the past by the Marshalls with regard to Kwaja lein. □ □ The Australian Department of the Capital Territory has received more than 10 applications for the post of Administrator of Norfolk Island. The present Administrator is Mr T. E. Pickerd, who was to leave the island about the end of August. The job carries a tax-free salary of $17,000 a year, plus several “perks”. The new Adminis trator should be appointed by the end of September. □ □ New Zealand will grant perma nent residence to about 300 people from Fiji each year. In a new policy NZ has removed an ele ment of discrimination by allowing unskilled people to take up perma nent residence. The 300 a year will comprise a cross-section of skilled and unskilled people. New Zealand is about to introduce a new type of visa which will allow Pacific Islanders to work there
for six months. The NZ Minister for Immigration, Mr Fraser Col man, recently visited several South Pacific countries to discuss immigration matters. There will also be one-month visitor permits. □ □ The Tongan rugby team had a fairly successful NZ tour, winning eight of the 12 matches. But they lost both “tests” to the Maoris, the second by 30 points. It was the first time the Maoris had beaten Tonga in a “test” series.
The Tongans scored 268 against 231 by their opponents. Results (Tonga points first): Wairarapa- Bush, 13-12; West Coast, 21-17; North Otago, 18-30; Canterbury, 20-31; Mid-Canterbury, 22-19; Wanganui, 28-15; East Coast, 47-6; Maoris, 16-23; King Coun try, 18-13; Counties, 17-12; Thames Valley, 41-16; Maoris, 7-37. □ □ Mid-August, the PNG police were investigating the theft of SI 4,000 which had disappeared from the Mt Hagen Post Office.
The money was in four packets, two of which were taken from the post office by a man posing as a bank employee. The other packets cannot be traced. This is the second large theft in the last six months. More than 60,000 new kina notes were stolen in transit when the new currency came into operation. About half has been recovered. □ □ A work-rationing scheme has been devised to cater for 58 em ployees the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Development Authority wished to lay off in May as being redundant when a water supply and cable laying project at Bon riki, was finished. The union, BKATM, refused to accept the re dundancies and called a strike. The union ignored a board of inquiry finding that the redundancies were justified. Under a compromise agreement the men will not be laid off. But every week, 58 of 360
employees will be stood down without pay. Although this will not constitute a break in service, the men will lose fringe benefits for that week. BKATM members will make voluntary payments of about $2 a fortnight into a tempo rary provident fund, from which payments will be made to the workers losing a week’s work. □ □ An eight-year-old Palauan boy, Peter Gordon Watts, a non swimmer, fell overboard from a boat while travelling with his mother from Koror to Babelthuap on August 10. He was found 15 hours later, still alive. He had kept afloat by holding a coconut, which he found when he fell over board. Doctors said he was in perfect condition after his ordeal.
“A miracle,” said the Palauans. □ □ France plans another under ground nuclear test at Fangataufa atoll in French Polynesia in October. This will be the last on that atoll. Succeeding tests will be at Muruoa where France operated a series of atmospheric tests over several years. □ □ The Western Samoa Govern ment, in an effort to raise more than $200,000 in extra revenue has lifted import duties. All im ports, except fish, are subject to the new duties. Beer went up by 3c a bottle; whisky will cost about $1 more a bottle, petrol is up by at least 3c a gallon, and kerosene and diesel fuel by 8c a gallon. □ □ The first elections for the New Hebrides’ new-look Representative Assembly, designed to give the people a bigger share in govern ment, will be held in the first two weeks of November. This was confirmed in Paris during talks be tween British and French repre sentatives. With the British Resi dent Commissioner, Mr Roger du
Boulay, at the talks was Mr John S. Champion, head of the Gib raltar and General Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who is taking over Mr du Boulay’s job. Mr du Boulay will take a senior post in the British Diplomatic Service. Meanwhile, candidates supporting continued rule by Britain and France almost swept the board in the first muni cipal elections in August. UCNH and supporting candidates won 15 out of 16 seats in Santo and 18 out of 24 seats in Vila. The rest were won by the New Hebrides National Party. □ □ Solomons Chief Minister Solo mon Mamaloni reshuffled his cabinet late in July, changing every portfolio except that of Minister of Works and Public Utilities (Mr Philip Solodia) and his own, and creating two new ministries. Finance and Develop ment (Mr Willie Betu) and Natural Resources (Mr Stephen Cheka). Colin Gauwane, a govern ment back-bencher, takes over Agriculture and Lands: Bill Page, Health and Welfare; Dr Francis Kikolo, Home Affairs; David Kausimae, Foreign Trade, Industry and Labour, and Dr Gideon Zolo veke, Education and Cultural Affairs. Dr Kikolo and Mr Page are independents. Mr Mamaloni rejected a suggested coalition with the United Solomons Islands Party. Father Peter Thompson, who was Minister for Health and Welfare, resigned from the Legis lative Assembly on health grounds. □ □ French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac is expected to visit Aus tralia and New Zealand and France’s overseas territories in the South Pacific in November.
The date was given by the French Ambassador to Australia, Mr H.
E. M. Treca, when he visited New Caledonia late July. Rela tions between France and Aus tralia were excellent, Mr Treca said, and trade between the two countries had increased consider ably.