Islands

From The

Press

From the Solomons News Drum; A three-year-old wrangle over $147,448 worth of fertiliser, ordered by the then Department of Agriculture through government stores without having the money to pay for it, has been settled. The fertiliser was ordered from overseas. But the money allocated for that year for fertiliser was not enough to meet the cost. Mr Kinika, Finance Minister, told the House last week, when he sought approval for a supplementary appropriations bill to clear the books, that a mistake had been made the word “tons” was used instead of “bags” in writing the order.

From Lae Nius, Papua New Guinea: It is interesting to note the words of Mr Pita Lus when withdrawing government approval of the (anti-drinking) Operation Moderation. “It must therefore be accepted that the trial has been a failure.” Let us hope that a really good look is taken at the good and bad effects of the many restrictions we seem to get on public drinking hours and take-away bottle sales. A lot of things seem to indicate that such restrictions only go a long way towards putting alcohol on the top of the list of priorities for the pay packet. The queues to purchase cartons of beer, etc., just before the election restrictions were a good indication of this.

From the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier; There was evidence of only token willingness on the part of the people (of the Trobriands) to make the small sacrifices necessary to encourage airlines, tour co-ordinators and independent travellers. Government departments and airlines tire easily of obstructionist or thoughtless activities such as the removal of fenceposts, pedestrians crossing the airfield in the path of taxiing aircraft, burning of terminals and unruly crowd behaviour near waiting aircraft ...

From Tohi Tala Niue, Niue Island: According to a Treasury spokesman, the rise in liquor prices is due to increased prices in New Zealand . Another reason is that pilfering of liquor by boat labourers adds the cost of two and a half bottles or cans of beer to every carton of beer that lands. This is because the New Zealand Shipping Corporation will not pay any claims by Niue Government on liquor missing on arrival.

Some reasons why Paul Biro, independent

candidate for Lae Open in the PNG elections, was applying to the National Court for a new election, according to his advertisement in the Lae Nius; Voters were forced into trucks to vote tor a particular candidate and were told they would be calaboused; voters from outside the Lae Open Electorate were brought into vote in the Lae electorate ... a frequent practice is that people voted a number of times.

From an interview with Western Samoan MP Maniileleua Fouvale in the Samoa Times; He has been deeply concerned with the effects of recent elections and he wants to do something about them. A great deal of money has been spent on beer and food during the campaign and all this money is going out of the country . . .

From the Micronesian Independent which,

incidentally, had no date for the issue; Notice 1 had nothing to do with this paper other than to put this notice in to say I will be back working next issue.

Joe Murphy.

From “Melanesian Voice”, in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, with author Bernard Narokobi replying to one of his Melanesian critics; With regard to the crime rate in PNG as being frightening and worse than in the United States, I have this to say. You certainly know how to exaggerate! True enough we have our share of troublemakers. Having lived in Australia for six years, in England for six weeks, in Europe for a week, in the United States for six weeks, in Indonesia for three weeks, in Port Moresby for five years, in Sepik for over 20 years and in almost every town in Papua New Guinea, I still believe that Papua New Guinea is the most peaceful country of all the places I have lived in.

What it’s like to be dubbed a knight by the Queen, according to Sir Fred Osifelo, Speaker of the Solomons Legislative Assembly, in an interview with the Solomons News Drum; At the age-old ceremony in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, the Queen lightly tapped his shoulder with the flat of a sword. It was the first time, said Sir Fred, that a Solomon Islander had.been in the Throne Room. The ceremony was “so very quiet, almost like a funeral service From a commentary in the Tonga Chronicle of the ill-fated tour of Fiji by the Tonga National

Rugby team.

... it is both frustrating and humiliating, that in its last match in Fiji, the Tongan team should be subjected to the worst exhibition of damaging rugby as that exhibited by Fiji.

I can't help but speak out frankly against the Fiji style of play because one would have thought that Fiji Rugby would be so far advanced as to play a more civilised type of rugby and disregard any shortcomings in the Tongan team . . .

From the Arawa Bulletin; Some time during the early hours of last Saturday morning, the home of Jim and Janet Hall was broken into. Police believe two men were responsible and entry was gained by forcing a pinned verandah window. Once inside the house, a strange assortment of articles was taken. Food and alcohol were overlooked, as well as money and two wrist watches. A third watch was taken, holiday photographs and a few other items including the car keys. They then made use of the keys and stole the car. The next morning the theft was discovered and reported to the police, who very promptly traced the car. together with all stolen articles except the watch, to Kieta police station. It appears that a police vehicle had been tailing the stolen car without the police at that time realising it had been stolen. This unnerved the thieves who abandoned the car in a great hurry at Toniva Beach.