Islands

From the

Press

Editorial by Ed Howard, Norfolk Island Assembly member, in his Norfolk Island News Australia’s role in the new government has been praiseworthy.

The Council had been concerned that Australia was retaining too many powers and would have no hesitation in using them. That worry may have been unnecessary. The position taken by the new Administrator and his Official Secretary can only be described as faultless. It actually appears, so far, that Australia wants Norfolk to govern itself and wants to assist where it can. The I Assembly’s powers under the new act appear to be substantial.

In the past it could take a year or longer to get a simple law ■passed through Canberra. Now it can be done in a couple of months. That is much better government. There is a clear, welcome message in those developments: if Norfolk is able, Australia seems willing.

The Fiji Times, Suva A banana-skin fall which caused a market vendor to lose his six dozen eggs and suffer injuries to his knee, hip and buttocks has : led to a $ 150 claim against Lautoka City Council. The incident occurred at Lautoka Market about 4 pm on October 5. Mr Rati Ram was carrying the eggs in cartons, balanced on each hand, down to his stall. Unable to see immediately in front of him because of his load, he unsuspectingly stepped on a loose banana skin thrown by somebody and came crashing down. Now an angry Mr Ram has gone charging for the council, which runs and maintains the market, claiming compensation from it for loss, pain, suffering and humiliation he suffered when he fell in full view of the people in the market . . .

An editorial in the Samoa Times 1... Why must we always regard New Zealand as our El Dorado? i What about us? Aren’t we the most beautiful people in the world, - the most beautiful country anywhere? Why don’t we make our [own El Dorado? Why don’t we develop ourselves? Why don’t we create enough employment, why don’t we give everybody the vote, why don’t we give everybody the chance in life so that they don’t have to immigrate to another country?

Our News published by the Papua New Guinea Office of Information [• • • Fort y P er cent of everything we do in this country is paid for by Australia. This should be recognised and appreciated because it receives very little publicity. We should all wear signs on our backs saying I am paid for by Australia’ Comment from Mr Noel Levi. Member of Parliament for New Ireland.

Tohi Tala Niue, Alofi, Niue Island Probably because the wet season is upon us, more people have been observed driving motorcycles and scooters while a passenger holds an umbrella over the driver. While appreciating that it is difficult to see in the rain without a windshield, goggles or visor, there are occasions when the umbrella prevents the person in front from seeing more than a few metres ahead. This is potentially dangerous but not as irresponsible as steering a motorbike with one s feet as has been seen on the odd occasion!

From Oliana’s ‘Tune In’ in the Observer, Apia The United States seem ready to take the world to the brink of war rather than extradite the exiled Shah of Iran. Had the Shah been a small time crook who had got away with only a few

Pacific Islands Monthly - January, 1980

thousand dollars and perhaps murdered a couple of people he would have been extradited without any trouble and, in fact, wouldn’t have got into the States in the first place. However,since he got away with two hundred million (some estimates place his take as high as six hundred million); was responsible for the torture and death of dozens if not hundreds of his political opponents and was for a long time one of America’s best customers for arms, the Shah is treated with all diplomatic niceties and obviously regarded with the highest respect by the American government. Which all goes to show that if you are going to be a crook it pays to do so on a grand scale.

The News Drum, Honiara The secretary of Ngarinasuru Cultural Centre in east Kwaio, Malaita, has complained to the Solomon Islands Tourist Authority following a visit to the centre by some tourists two weeks ago. Mr Lee Silamo said the Tourist Authority should inform the centre of proposed visits of tourists. Mr Silamo said the visitors entered the area without permission, tried to force villagers to perform custom dances (which they refused) and posted guards around houses with toy guns at night. This frightened the villagers, especially the children and the elders, he said.

From an editorial in The Fiji Times, Suva, on complaints of juveniles drinking liquor in nightclubs . . . They don’t serve drink illegally willingly because they don’t have to; they have plenty enough legitimate glasses to fill. For all the bombast the nightclubs are bombarded with, the fact is that they have an important function, and it is wrong to label them as mere sin pits. For thousands of young and not-so-young people they are a needed escape from very real city life pressures.

From a letter by Frank Taylor of Nukualofa in the Tonga Chronicle complaining of the sale in local stores of mass-produced artefacts from overseas purporting to

be Tongan

... I made a few inquiries and was told the whole thing is mass produced in Taiwan. Maybe the bamboo is Tongan. In the same store there are so many other articles that carry the little gold sticker that reads ‘Ofa Atu from Tonga’, and the only thing Tongan about them is the dust that covers them. The most disturbing thing that arises from all this is how much of this cheap junk is being mass produced as ‘authentic’ Tongan handicrafts?

The Papua New Guinea Post-Courier The Government will introduce legislation to stop the exploitation of nationals in commercialising their bodies and arts, Parliament was told yesterday. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Olewale said this when replying to Mr Sam Tulo (North Bougainville) during question time. MrTulo asked whether the Minister would take the necessary steps to stop the publication of nude pictures ... Mr Olewale, however, asked what right parliamentarians and others had to question the individual rights of Miss Tukana (appearing in the nude in an advertisement) which were guaranteed under the Constitution. ‘We are wearing clothes which have been introduced into our society. We go back to our villages and see our own people but we do not regard them as being nude.’

From a report in the Observer, Apia, of a professional

wrestling display

. . . But the night did not go without incident. A young boy was taken to hospital with severe head injuries, and several others received minor injuries after spectators started throwing chairs at each other. . . The highlight of the night for the local wrestling fanatics was when local hero Fanene Pita Maivia put King Ripper Collins to sleep. Collins had put another local hero Siva Afi in hospital a few weeks back in Hawaii and Fanene had come out to avenge his mate in front of his home crowd a sure way of attracting a crowd. Collins was put to sleep after Fanene had applied the head butt which opened Collins’ head, allowing it to bleed profusely for a few seconds.