Pacific Report

Yet Another Oil Superport Plan

4 New York-based oil company has revealed plans to construct a multi-million dollar oil superport in the Northern Marianas, Dossibly on the island of Rota, according to the Guam news paper, Pacific Daily News. A spokesman for the company con :erned, Northville Industries, said: ‘We would only move if we /vere assured of the kind of local support which the Patau project nas not yet received.’ The proposal for an oil superport at Palau, much larger than the one now proposed, has run into strong apposition within Palau and from environmental groups through out the world.

Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Join Forum

Solomon Islands and Tuvalu were admitted to full membership of the South Pacific Forum at its annual conference in Niue in September and immediately found the going this year was ■ougher than ever before for everybody. But there were hopeful signs, as well. See p 17.

Pacific Forum Line Cost Shocks

fhe cost of keeping the Pacific Forum Line (PFL) afloat is worry ng South Pacific Forum members, founders of the line. But they lave decided to keep it going, largely as a result of New Zealand’s offer of a further overdraft guarantee of SNZISO 000. : unds requested were much more than that in September but t seems it will continue to operate. Australia’s Prime Minister i/lalcolm Fraser, whose government has already put in almost >A3OO 000, wants a thorough costing of the operation before le commits Australia to a further input. PFL and Forum officials net in Auckland early last month to keep up the rescue vork. r OUNG VIVIAN GETS THE SRC NOD Jiue’s Young Vivian is to take over the secretary-generalship if the South Pacific Commission (SPC), but not before present ecretary-general Dr Macu Salato of Fiji has done some fence lending with the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co •peration (SPEC). Pre-SPC conference committee sittings last lonth agreed on Mr Vivian, Niue’s Minister for Economic )evelopment, Agriculture and Education, taking over as ecretary-general by about mid-1979. Although the proposal lad not received full conference blessing as PIM went to press, was not expected it would be opposed. Dr Salato’s brief is d sort out lines of demarcation and areas of co-operation with ;PEC. Petty bickering between SPC and SPEC officials has ieen a headache for some time.

Yphoid In American Samoa

n outbreak of typhoid fever was reported in American Samoa i late September. Eleven cases were admitted to the LBJ Trop :al Center in Pago Pago between September 13-24.

Ligh: Once More Into The Longboat

et another Captain Bligh and Bounty film is on the way. Film takers have been searching for suitable Pacific Islands sites >r several months. Construction of another Bounty for the film under way in New Zealand. Meanwhile, an unenviable fate

is in store for an unnamed and fictional Pacific island: US producer-director Irwin Allen (who made the original Poseidon Adventure in 1972, the first of the modern disaster stories) plans a film called The Day The World Ended. In it a South Seas island is slammed simultaneously by an earthquake, a volcano eruption and a tidal wave the works, in fact. Stars signed for the film include Paul Newman, Michael Caine, Telly Savalas and Sally Field.

The Troubles Of A Princess

Following the contretemps of her illness at Tuvalu (see else where, PIM), Princess Margaret was annoyed while in Australia by press rumour-mongering about a ‘romance’ between her and Australian Foreign Minister, Andrew Peacock. As if this were not enough, press cables from England were simultaneously reporting that her son, Viscount Lindley, 16, had been carpeted at Bedales School in Hampshire after he was found with two schoolmates finishing off a bottle of scotch in a dormitory.

Argument On Blackbird’ Descendants

A parliamentary inquiry into the conditions of South Sea Islanders in Australia has found ‘very little evidence’ of overt racial discrimination against Islanders. A spokesman for the Islanders, descendants of ‘blackbirding’ victims of the 19th and early 20th centuries, contested the claim. He also pooh-poohed the inquiry’s estimate that there were only 3000 to 3500 people in Australia who identified themselves as South Sea Islanders.

Said he: The number would be more like 30 000.’

Magic Staircase’ Stole The Show

The ship’s escalators stole the show when a floating trade dis play came to Papua New Guinea in October. The Japan Industry Floating Fair Association had its ship, Shin Sakura Maru, on a cruise of the South Pacific displaying a big cross-section of Japanese products and technology. But cars, a helicopter, ma chinery and electronic devices took second place to ‘the magic staircase’ many among the 7000 who flocked to the ship had never before seen or heard of an escalator.

Poor Sailors Are Drowning In Hawaii

Hawaii’s coastguard authorities are concerned at the rate of fatalities in boating accidents in the State the drowning of a Kailua man in September brought the number of deaths for 1978 to 15, compared with one in the whole of 1977, and two in 1976. Correlated statistics indicated that Hawaii’s rate is five times greater than California’s, the State with the largest number of fatalities last year. Authorities say nearly all Hawaii's fatal ac cidents have been caused by lack of boating knowledge and/or carelessness.

Brazil Frost Good News For Some

Reports that frost is expected to curtail Brazil’s coffee crop led to upward movement in the stock exchange standing of Australian-based Island trading companies Burns, Philp, Steam ships Trading and W. R. Carpenter, The latter two companies stand to benefit directly from a recovery in the price of coffee.

Burns, Philp should benefit indirectly from increased prosperity in the Islands.

Hammer Strikes - Huge Libel Action

Nauru’s President Hammer Deßoburt has filed a US$7.5 million libel suit in the US District Court in Honolulu against the American newspaper giant, the Gannett Publishing Group. The president is claiming that he was libelled in a story in the Gannett-owned, Guam-based Pacific Daily News which alleged that he had flown to the Marshall Islands to personally deliver a cheque for a $678 600 loan, which the newspaper said was illegal. The article charged that Nauru was ‘secretly backing the separation of the Marshall Islands from Micronesia’. In his suit, the president said the story was ‘untrue in every significant re spect’; and that, if it was true, it would constitute accusation of the commission of four separate criminal offences under Nauru law.

Those ‘Western’ Diseases Hit W. Samoa

A survey of cardiovascular and metabolic disease will be under taken in Western Samoa. The World Health Organisation re gional adviser for chronic diseases, Dr Shoichi Endo, says hospital statistics show that the rate of cardiovascular and meta bolic disease is increasing in the country. WHO is providing a short-term consultant to investigate the problem. (See also Tropicalities.)

$250 000 House For Solomons P.M.

The Government of Solomon Islands is to build a new house for the Prime Minister in the capital Honiara. The house is expected to cost more than 515250 000.

Statisticians Huddle In Honiara

Statisticians from all over the Pacific gathered in Honiara in Sep tember at a conference sponsored by the South Pacific Com mission. The conference reviewed the 1976 round of population censuses and discussed preliminary plans for a large number of censuses to be held in 1980-81.

Nauru Buys Apia Hotel

The Nauru Local Government has bought the Apian Way beachfront hotel in Apia for SWS2BO 000 from Mrs Mary Croudace. Intentions are to pull the building down and replace it with a new structure to house the Nauru consul, Air Nauru and Nauru Pacific Shipping Line. Meanwhile, Mr Edward Annan dale, managing director of the Apia merchant firm, O.F. Nelson, has been appointed honorary consul for Nauru in Western Samoa.

Aggie Grey Dances At 81

Legendary Aggie Grey, Apia hotelier, who turned 81 on October 31, was guest of the crew of the USS Horne for a pre-birthday celebration. A navy band travelling in the Horne played music for her after Captain James A. Barber, commanding officer, presented her with a colour picture of his ship. The band music inspired Aggie to perform the siva.

Tuvalu Talks With Uncle Sam

Tuvalu, looking away from Britain, was on the verge of signing a treaty of friendship with the United States in mid-October, Prime Minister Toalipi Lauti will have none of Uncle Sam’s prom ise to drop its claims to reefs within Tuvalu’s newly declared

sovereignty. An acceptance of this sort, feels Mr Lauti, might 1 give credibility to the US claim. Washington is very eager to get 1 its own and third-nation fishing vessels into Tuvaluan waters. 1 A ‘friendship treaty’ is one way in.

Vd Outbreak At Png Co-Ed School

One student in every eight at a co-ed boarding high school in J the Papua New Guinea Eastern Highlands is suffering from VD. j One girl in every three and one boy in every five is infected. \ Some are 12-year-old first formers. Education officials, worried I by the outbreak, did not name the school in their public re port.

$350 000 Fishing Deal, Solomons-Japan

Japanese fishing associations will pay a licence fee of $350 000 J for a year's fishing in Solomon Islands’ exclusive economic J zone. A draft agreement to this effect reached after more than two weeks of talks in Honiara was subject to endorsement by j the Solomons Cabinet and the Japanese Government. Japanese pole and line vessels will be allowed to take up to 6000 tonnes! of skipjack tuna under the agreement.

TONGAN KING BACKS OFF ON SOVIET DEAL King Taufa’ahau Tupou, of Tonga, aware of concern in Australia, I New Zealand and the USA, has backed off from a .proposal by ■ Russia to build a fishing fleet base in Tonga is return for an aid ; programme including extensions to Fua’amotu airport.

Marshallese Act On Kwajalein Base

Angry Marshallese landowners were still occupying parts of the i important US army Kwajalein missile base in September. They| were demanding more land rental money from the US Govern-1 ment. The base commander said they were in no danger so.long ! as they did not ‘stray into wrong areas’.

International Sports Body In Png

Riding on the enthusiasm of its first medal win in a Common-wealth Games, Papua New Guinea is to set up an International ; Sports Foundation. The government will finance the foundation; with an annual grant of SA2SO 000. PNG boxer Tumat Sogolikj won a silver medal at the August games at Edmontonl Canada.

Wrong Medicines Bring Tragedy

Incorrect medication for minor stomach upsets is believed to have caused the deaths of eight babies and toddlers at KimbeJ Papua New Guinea, in October.

The Hard News

Major news stories of the month including the Niue meeting' of the South Pacific Forum, along with accompanying divisions« over fisheries policies, and Tuvalu independence celebrations on October 1 are covered in PlM’s early news pages, starting p 17. Other major stories - the arrest in Papua New Guinea of Irian Jaya rebel leader Jacob Prai, the new Anglo-French plans for an independent New Hebrides, and the recent, some times acrimonious, exchanges between leaders of the two Samoas appear in Political Currents, starting p 28.