Pacific Report

Ew Testing Method On Moruroa

le coral motus that compose Moruroa Atoll have become so iturated by underground nuclear explosions that the French e now planning underground nuclear test explosions in shafts illed into the centre of the lagoon rather than on the edges ; in the past. This decision has been forced upon the scientists j a result of the controversial accident of July 25 (PIM Nov 11) which caused a tidal wave which injured seven on the atoll id which, it has been alleged, sent radiation into the sea. The jly 25 explosion took place after a nuclear device had become uck and was detonated part-way down a shaft drilled into one the motus known as Ara. The explosion caused an underwater jbsidence of the side of the mountain upon which Moruroa toll is built, causing the tidal wave. President of the Territorial ssembly Frantz Vanizette told PIM in Papeete in October that drilling into the motus there might only be 1 km of basalt be /een the point of explosion and the open sea. But by drilling to the centre of the lagoon the scientists would be drilling into e heart of the undersea mountain, and would have as much > 20 km between the explosion point and the sea. Moruroa is coral reef measuring about 9 km north to south and 23 km ist to west.

Omare Supports Dissolution

apua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Michael Somare supported motion in early November to dissolve the PNG Parliament. But ie move was defeated. Speaking on a motion moved by Sir )hn Guise which called for the dissolution on the grounds that ie credibility of the government and the whole parliament was : stake as a result of the Rooney affair, Mr Somare said he as supporting the motion in a personal capacity, and not as ader of the government. The Health Minister and leader of the nited Party, Raphael Doa, opposed the motion, saying it would nly confuse the people more.

Acific Press, Radio Heads Meet

ewspaper editors and radio officials from South Pacific coun ies met on the Fijian island of Toberua in November for a sem lar on the subject of the needs of a free, strong press, including roadcasting services, in the region. The seminar was organised y the Pacific Islands News Association under a grant from the sia Foundation. PIM was represented by its editor/publisher tuart Inder.

Onga’S King Knocks Back Land Bill

ing Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga has refused the royal assent ) a controversial amendment to the kingdom’s land act which rould have provided for confiscation of land owned by Tongan itizens absent from the country for more than two years.

Lawaii Protests On N-Ships

he Honolulu City Council and the Hawaii County Council have rotested against the docking of the sister ships Pacific Fisher nd Pacific Swan in the islands. The vessels carry spent nuclear jel from Japan to the UK and France for reprocessing.

Ipologies To Solomons From U.S.

resenting his credentials to Solomon Islands Governor-General laddeley Devesi in November, the new US Ambassador Harvey . Feldman apologised for an incident during the previous week i which helicopters from passing US warships flew over iolomon Islands territory. The Honiara government had pro ved strongly against what it called a ‘peaceful invasion’ of s territorial waters and air space.

Latu Mara And The Chief Justice

i the wake of Papua New Guinea’s Rooney Affair, it was the jrn of Fiji in November to experience strains in relations be /veen government and judiciary. Early in that month, a major iehind-the-scenes political stir arose with the disclosure by Time Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara that he had written to le chief justice, British expatriate Sir Clifford Grant, suggesting ie step down within six months in favour of a local judge. Grant, Drmerly of Hong Kong, has been in Fiji 10 years. The chief jus ce responded somewhat stiffly, pointing out that only the

‘appointing authority’ (in this case Governor-General Ratu Sir George Cakobau) had the power to remove the chief justice.

His inference was that the prime minister could be interfering with the judiciary. He wrote briefly to the governor-general point ing this out, but adding that should it be decided he should go, he would do so. Opinions were sharply divided between sup porters of the prime minister and of the governor-general on the move which, some said, was related to the celebrated ‘Flour Mills’ court case (RIM Aug p 31). Prime Minister Mara went on air to the nation on Day 2 of the affair to say that he had sought in his letter merely to advise the chief justice of his opinion. Legal opinion in Suva seems to back the prime minister, despite the chief justice’s interpretation of Section 14(1) of the Indepen dence Document. Prime Minister Mara was later summoned to Government House and an early announcement by the governor-general of the chief justice’s retirement was expected.

Speculation among politicians and lawyers was that Sir Clifford’s replacement would be Mr Justice Kermode, one of the court’s three puisne judges.

New Hebrides To The Polls

As PIM went to press, a vital new stage was under way in the New Hebrides’ long march to independence the holding of the country’s first nation-wide elections. Full cover in PIM January.

Eec Links Colour Nz Views

New Zealand Tourism Minister Warren Cooper told the South Pacific Conference in Papeete that it was for the French Pacific territories themselves to determine what they wanted in associ ation with France. He added: ‘New Zealand has close ties with the South Pacific and with the EEC.’ It was the first time a New Zealand minister had said publicly what many have been saying privately for years: that New Zealand’s EEC links colour its atti tude to independence for French Pacific territories.

Crimes Of Violence Jump In Fiji

Violent crime in Fiji jumped more than 70% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period in 1978, according to the country’s Commissioner of Police John Orme.

The official figures showed that a very large number of the crimes arose from excessive drinking. Despite the increase in violent crime, the overall figure for reported crimes was down by 282 cases.

December 12 Referendum On Norfolk

Norfolk Island voters are to have a referendum on December 12 in which they can either support the proportional represen tation method of voting used to elect their new legislative as sembly in August, or revert to the first past-the-post system by which the old Norfolk Island Council was elected. A PIM cor respondent on the island reports that the result was expected to be close.

Forum Samoa Is Launched

The Pacific Forum Line’s new container ship, Forum Samoa, has been launched in Hamburg. The vessel, with a capacity of 322 containers, and said to be among the most sophisticated of its kind in the world, is part of a German aid programme to Western Samoa. It sailed under PFL colours from Hamburg on October 18 and was expected in Apia on November 30.

435 000 Solomon Islanders By 2000?

Solomon Islands’ Statistics Office has predicted that if the country’s population growth continues at its present rate of 3.4% a year there will be 435 000 Solomon Islanders by the year 2000, more than double the present figure.

Solomon Is.-Sweden Diplomatic Links

Solomon Islands and Sweden have established diplomatic re lations at ambassadorial level, bringing to 10 the number of countries with which Solomon Islands has diplomatic ties.

W. Samoa Assembly Meets

Western Samoa’s legislative assembly met for the first time on November 13 since the country’s eventful general elections in February.

‘Emigration Is Pacific Key’ - Report

Hope for thousands of Pacific islanders could depend on large scale emigration to Australia, New Zealand and North America, according to an economic survey issued by the Asian Develop ment Bank. The survey said in view of lack of resources, ‘the

acceptance of a no-growth state of affairs may be the only re alistic option for the small countries’. ‘No-growth’ did not necessarily mean poverty, provided people were able to migrate either permanently or temporarily, the survey said

Spanish Envoy On Torres’ Track

Spain’s Ambassador to Australia Don Carlos m, Fernandez-Shaw and his wife have visited Torres Strait to retrace the track of the Spanish explorer Torres through Endeavour Strait in 1606 With the Spanish party by invitation was Captain Brett Hilder, the authority on the navigation of Torres. Also present was Cap tain John Foley, a Torres Strait pilot. The ambassador and his party later visited sites of interest in the history of Spanish Pacific exploration in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides.

Png Leaders’ Skeletons In Cupboard

Papua New Guinea’s public leaders have debts of at least SAI7B 000 which they have made ‘little or no attempt to settle’, according to the PNG Ombudsman’s Commission. The debts did not include normal loans, dishonoured cheques or monthly debts, but only debts investigated by the commission after com plaints. The report said 24 MPs, including some ministers, had debts totalling $132 308; departmental heads $9619 and statu tory authority members $36 094

Paying For Kwajalein

Marshall Islands President Amata Kabua has announced that the US Government has agreed to pay SUS 6 million next year for the use of the Kwajalein missile testing range. President Kabua said that after the projected end of trusteeship arrange ments in 1981, the US would be paying about $8 million a year for use of the range.

New Caledonia: An African View

'There’s no difference between New Caledonia and Zimbabwe where the coloured people are concerned,’ said visiting African personality Dr Francis N’Gombe in Sydney in November. Dr N’Gombe, millionaire expert in modern and traditional African medicine, had just visited Fiji, the New Hebrides and the French Pacific territories.

Fiji Official Arrested In Sydney

Director of the Fiji Government’s Business Opportunity and Man agement Advisory Service, Leslie Furness, has been arrested in Sydney, Australia. He faced a false pretences charge from the New South Wales police and a Commonwealth police charge alleging an earlier departure from Australia without consent.

Sydney police said Mr Furness had warrants totalling $l6 000 outstanding against him.

The Pfl Will Stay In Apia

The headquarters of the Pacific Forum Line will remain in Apia, Western Samoa. The decision was reached after tough dis cussions at a meeting of regional transport ministers in Apia in late October. Ministers rejected arguments that the HQ should be moved to either Suva or Auckland, including claims that Apia s communications network was inadequate. Fighting hard for retention of the HQ in Apia, the Western Samoa represen tative pointed out that Apia's communications facilities would be vastly improved with the opening next year of Western Samoa’s earth satellite station.

Rhinoceros Beetle Bugs U.S. Navy

The humble rhinoceros beetle, ruinous pest on coconut plan tations in many Pacific countries, is impeding the freedom of movement of the mighty US navy. Captain Harold Lewis of the visiting 18 000-tonne guided missile cruiser USS Chicago told a November press conference in Sydney that he had planned visits by the vessel to a number of Island countries on its way back to base in San Diego, California. But he had had to change plans substantially because of bans by some Island governments on visits by ships which had recently visited countries believed infested by the rhinoceros beetle.

Tuvalu Fines Koreans $25 000

The master of a South Korean fishing vessel, Samsong No 16, has been fined $25 000 for illegally fishing in Tuvalu waters. In July a Taiwanese ship was fined $2O 000 for the same offence (PIM Sep p 8). (See Topicalities.)

Landslide Kills Two In American Samoa

American Samoa’s ‘biggest landslide in years’ has killed two young people and left six families homeless at Nuumasee taga.

Usp Holds ‘Pacific Week’

Theme of the annual Pacific Week held by the University of the South Pacific in October was ‘Decentralisation and Sharing of Resources . Purpose of the Week is to increase understanding of each other’s cultures among Pacific peoples.

Png To Get Tough On Provinces

The Papua New Guinea Government plans to arm itself with new powers enabling it to sack provincial governments outright The proposed laws will give the government direct power to suspend provincial administrators who abuse their privileges or misuse public money. a

Micronesian Tourism Body Formed

Representatives of the various governments in the US Trust Ter ritory of the Pacific, together with Guam, Northern Marianas and the Republic of Nauru, have signed documents on Saipan creating the Micronesian Regional Tourism Council. The signing took place following a three-day conference of officials from these Micronesian governments.

Vd Up In Solomon Islands Capital

There were 100 cases of gonorrhea discovered in Honiara, capi tal of Solomon Islands, in the first three months of 1979, a drama tic increase over previous rates. There were also six cases of syphilis, a disease previously unknown in the country.

Eli Bonay In Png

Eli Bonay, thelrianese who was first governor of Irian Jaya after its incorporation into Indonesia, has crossed into Papua New Guinea. The PNG department of foreign affairs confirmed that Mr Bonay had crossed the northern end of the border and con tacted officials at Vanimo.

RACE TO BE COCK OF THE WORLD’

Which will be the fastest yacht in Sydney Harbour on December 16? The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Burns Philp, one of the Pacific Islands’ big traders, will find the answer with the help of some of the world’s leading yachtsmen who will be in Sydney for the Sydney-Hobart classic, along with the yachtsmen arriving after the Parmelia (England) to Western Australia. They will take part in the bi-annual Burns Philp International Maxi Race over 40 nautical miles. The winner will take the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s trophy ‘Cock of the World’.

Bp Profit Up 27%

The 1979 annual general meeting in November of Burns Philp & Co Ltd was told that the group had recorded a 27% increase in profit to $14.3 million in the year to June 30, 1979. Chairman J. D. O. Burns said that although there were variations from place to place, the group’s Pacific area operations had been helped overall by the general economic stimulation flowing from buoyant commodity prices.

Angus Smales Is New Pim Editor

Angus Smales is to become Editor of PIM from March 1, 1980.

He joins the magazine in its 50th anniversary year. Mr Bob Hawkins has relinguished the post to go into freelance jour nalism. Mr Smales, 50, has represented the Herald group of Mel bourne in Port Moresby for the past 13 years, at the same time serving as PIM correspondent in the Papua New Guinea capital. His experience of Islands journalism began as far back as 1956 when he went to Rabaul in the then Trust Territory of New Guinea to work on a short-lived revival of the Rabaul Times, a paper edited before the Pacific War by the late Gordon Thomas (Tolala of PIM). In his time in Port Moresby, Angus Smales has become widely known and respected for his interviews and com mentaries on the PNG scene for the Australian Broadcasting Commission and the PNG National Broadcasting Commission.

He has accompanied PNG delegations on visits to Pacific and Asian countries, including state visits by Prime Minister Michael Somare to China, the Philippines and Indonesia. In 1978 he was invested by PNG Governor-General Sir Tore Lokoloko with the Independence Medal of Papua New Guinea for services to the community through journalism. As Editor of PIM Angus Smales will have his home base in Sydney, along with his wife Betty and their two children.