Islands

From The

Press

From the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier: Development groups and not political parties should organise Papua New Guinea’s Government, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr John Kaputin, said yesterday. These groups should include Mungkas in the North Solomons, Kabisawali in the Trobriands, Milalot in Madang and the Mataungan in the Gazelle Peninsula, Besena (Central) and Moaripi (Gulf), he said.

“Because of their background, representatives from these groups will have a greater common denominator to protect”, Mr Kaputin said. “They will be armed with practical experience instead ot a set ol policies as members ot political parties” . . .

From The Fiji Times: The Fiji Taxi Union will continue its fight for the reintroduction of control over the number of taxis in the country. The general secretary of the union, Mr Mahendra Praiap, said in Suva that the Government had made “many promises” in relation to the limitation of taxis ... Mr Pratap said there were now 1,200 taxis in Fiji and more licences were being issued. In Suva alone there were 450 taxis and those in the business found it hard to make a living.

From the Tuvalu News Sheet, quoting a member of the constitutional committee on tour in the outer islands: “We really had a very enjoyable tour; we were fed and entertained like big shots” ... He went on to say that the only drawback on their part was that not all of them were good in dancing only the Chief Minister and perhaps one or two others.

From the Norfolk Island’s Council’s submissions to the United Nations as reported in the Norfolk Islander: . . . The major group on the island is made up of those who were born here, and almost all of these are people of Pitcairn descent.

Those of the Pitcairn race make up about 40% of the resident population. With their spouses they make up over half the population and their families own the greatest part of the land privately owned or leased from the Crown. Not only because they are by far the largest group, but also because their roots are in the land, they give the island its special character and its remarkably distinct culture . . .

From the New Hebrides News: The people of Mele, Efate, have given three months notice to the Catholic Mission and the managers of Tara and S.I.P. plantations to move out of land they occupy at Mele. The villagers marched peacefully to these places to present letters last Saturday. They demanded that the land be returned to the people of Mele. Mr George Kalkoa, speaking on behalf of the chiefs and people of Mele said they knew how the S.I.P. land was bought; with an axe . . .

From The Fiji Times: Lami was officially declared a town yesterday afternoon.

A few yards from the venue of the declaration Lami’s new and only cinema advertised a 5.30 pm feature film entitled “A Town Called Bastard”.

From “The Long View” by Francis Hezel SJ, in the Micronesian Independent: Not too long ago a gentleman visited these islands offering a new eight million dollar college as a gift to the Micronesian people from the US Congress ... I was dismayed by the uncritical enthusiasm that greeted the visitor’s offer, well-intentioned though it was. Don’t people here know, 1 asked myself, that the new college will cost almost two million dollars a year to operate.

A tidy sum considering that the total amount of revenues generated in the TT is only seven million dollars at present.

Isn’t this gesture 1 thought, a bit like making a gift to a poor friend of a good-sized German Shepherd to guard his house, letting him know as you walk out the door that the animal eats five pounds of meat a day?

From a report in the Solomons News Drum of an interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr Donald Coggan) at Honiara in which he was asked his views on the Solomons’ “own kind of

Christianity”:

“• • • I rejoice to hear your drums, your local singing and local kind of worship. Keep this. It’s the right way. It’s the way you worship God. These are externals, the non-essentials. But, doctrinally, we inherit the same kind of faith and this is what never changes ...”

“Aropa Airport a national disgrace” headlines

the Arawa Bulletin: . The refreshment room is rarely open, and when it is, the entire stock seems to consist of lolly-water, cigarettes and dry biscuits. The less said about the toilets and washrooms the better. . There is no control tower and the nearest flight service facility is at Rabaul 250 miles away .

A comment on Niue’s bread shortage as reported in the Tohi Tala Niue: It is very hard for people overseas to imagine what a shortage is like. Somebody told the story the other day that their mother in-law wrote saying that she had read the story of the bread shortage in the papers. Her advice was that, as a short teVm measure maybe they could buy bread mix from one of the local stores and bake their own.

From the Micronesian Independent: Jaluit: A fiesty food program here for elementary students and regular children has got to be kidding. Breakfast: Two pieces of bread! Lunch; Two pieces of bread and cookie for dessert. NO MILK. NO JUICE. NO WA 1 LR. You say you don’t believe it? Talk to parents of children on Jaluit. Anyway, the U.S. is falling far short of what it should be doing with this giveaway program. Why isn’t there any beer or cigarettes included in the food program?

From The Fiji Times: Hundreds of people who bought rings to enter a “magic mood ring” contest carrying prizes which included a brand new Mazda car and a holiday trip to Australia for two may be waiting in vain for the results . . . the man behind it, one Mr Mark Fraser, is understood to have left the country early in January for an unknown overseas destination after selling rings worth more than $20,000.

A “kindly warning” from Sir Albert Henry, Cook Islands Premier, at the Legislative Assembly meeting as reported in the Cook Islands News: He said that members, when rising to speak, must remember to switch their mircophonc on and, more important, they must remember to switch it off alter their speech is delivered, otherwise every urutoe (backbiting) uttered would automatically be recorded. “I have proof that you are urutoeing me behind mv back” . ,