Up Front

with the Publisher

As a magazine that appears monthly, one of PlM’s strengths is that it’s often in a position to stand off and look at developments in a detached way, without the day-to-day necessity of a newspaper to report somewhat breathlessly bit by bit as a thing happens. But it has its disadvantages when a story is moving fast and PIM, as a monthly is unable to keep abreast of it as quickly as it might. Such is the case with the Norfolk Island report we have on page 13.

Ed Howard has made charges against the Norfolk Island Admin istrator, Mr. D. O’Leary, at a meeting of the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in Sydney. But his main attack is clearly not on the Administrator, but on a ‘syndicate’ which he suspects of being involved in a racket of very large propor tions. He gave evidence under oath, in camera, to the Senate committee on these other matters.

I understand his fears are (and for which he has some supporting evidence) that currency, diamonds, drugs - anything - might already have been smuggled into Norfolk Island under the present lax Customs inspection on that island, and that these goods could thus be moved into Australia without restriction should the main provisions of the Nimmo Report be passed by the Commonwealth Parliament and Norfolk Island become part and parcel of Australia.

At this time of writing Mr.

O’Leary has denied the allegations affecting him, but nobody can predict how far or how fast the hare will run that Ed Howard has let loose. I can’t claim to know whether he is right or wrong on his charges. But I know him to be honourable, I believe he has no motive other than to get at the truth, and he must be taken seriously. His allegations call for a full, fearless official investigation.

When it comes to timing, PIM has had better luck with its report on the first Papua New Guinea general elections since independence in 1972. It’s got tidily into this issue. I was in Port Moresby while the votes were being counted, as I was in 1972, and the atmos phere on both occasions was the same. You could feel Islands politics at work -- subtle, intelligent, human. None of the rawness of straight party politics the way they’re played in Australia and New Zealand.

A cliff-hanger almost to the final, clinching parliamentary vote for Prime Minister, every day brought a new move on the chess board as the personalities took part in the play. Sometimes the moves were sudden and far-ranging, other times the players studied the board thoughtfully, and moved almost tentatively.

The game continued for several weeks and was made necessary by the large number of uncommitted members in the parliament of 109.

They are independent members in every sense of the word, and that’s a point to bear in mind.

There can be no guarantee that the present state of play, with its firm support of Michael Somare’s coalition, will last for the five-year term of parliament.

And there will be added strains in the next five years as the national government gets on with the task it has started of decentral ising its administration and giving the provinces the autonomy they must have if that big country of 700 languages is not to fragment into small states.

These elections opened the wounds of Papuan separatism, which are now festering. They must be healed. If in the next vital five years Papua New Guinea can’t hang together the fragments will certainly hang separately.

Stuart Inder