Caledonian

Budget

Juggling

The New Caledonian 1976 Budget was finally voted by the Territorial Assembly in mid-May after the French administra tion backed down by cutting public service expenditure. Aid to non-government schools was also cut after the assembly refused a French Government proposal to take over control of all secondary educa tion in the territory.

Until May, the administration had been functioning on monthly estimates with many government accounts remaining un paid while the assembly refused the Paris education proposals to overcome a deficit of about SAIO million. Noumea’s Roman Catholic schools put up a tough resistance to French government control, protesting that “Catholic schools were not for sale”.

Mgr Klein, Bishop of Noumea, issued a strong word of encouragement to Catholic teachers fighting the scheme.

The budget was formally approved by 18 out of 35 members of the assembly, several days after the May 11 opening of the assembly’s second session for the year.

Contrary to general procedure, the governor did not attend the opening of the session to deliver his customary “address from the throne” and detail the state of the economy. In what could be seen as a further down-grading of the Territorial Assembly, Governor Eriau, instead, gave an exclusive interview to a local daily newspaper. This was published the day after the budget vote and the day of Eriau’s departure to Paris for Government talks.

The governor warned that the same problem of a budget deficit would have to be faced in 1977. He pointed out that the assembly would have to accept greater control (with funds) from Paris or else change local tax laws, thereby hinting at the likelihood of the introduction of per sonal income tax which the Caledonians have been strenuously resisting in view of the notorious frauds this involves in France.

The governor pointed out the inade quacy of territorial budget revenue. Under the expensive bureaucracy Paris has set up in the territory, local revenue is swallowed up almost completely in running the public service. This means an almost equal amount (about SABO million) is required in loans and grants from France for invest ment and military projects. Of course this indebtedness to France, which controls the island’s nickel industry, has been a major protest issue with the Caledonian autonomists.

Meanwhile, earlier in May, the territory’s sole smelting company, SEN, received a large group of visitors from

France and other European countries, who were treated to lavish hospitality and taken on tours of inspection of the SEN smelters in Noumea and the extensive installations at the west coast mining town of Nepoui.

The visitors especially included SEN clients, manufacturers of steel alloys.

Those interviewed at the end of their visit, indicated how greatly they had been impressed by the SEN installation and what confidence this inspired in their dealings with the company. In view of the

fact that a similar publicity exercise was conducted in the territory in 1971 by Baron Guy de Rothschild and other SEN heads, the motive of the latest visit puzzled the Caledonians. It would seem to have been intended to show the value of retaining New Caledonia for France, and to make sure tf, e influential industrialists in France had seen the territory themselves so that t h ey could actively champion this cause in t h e face of pressure for Caledonian in

dependence.