Pacific relations

NZ looking at its Pacific relations

New Zealand is moving into a

significantly different phase of

its development in its home affairs and in its relationship with the Pacific region and the world. This is one of the major conclusions drawn by the New Zealand Planning Council in a searching document which looks at the country today and at the options for the future.

The planning council was established by Act of Parlia ment, and first sat in 1977 under the chairmanship of Sir Frank Holmes. It has held extensive consultations with government officials, private

and semi-govemment organis

ations, representatives of the private economic sector and

civic organisations.

In a document which deals

with planning perspectives

until 1983, under the present survey, the council takes a searching look at how New Zealand is meeting its internal

problems and how it should re late itself to the Pacific Islands, to Australia and to the world.

It describes its work as provid ing the raw material for the government and the com munity as a whole to make ‘well-informed choices’. This does not conflict with the role of government, the council em phasises, but gives the govern ment a wider selection of material on which to base its decisions.

The council’s report on plan

ning perspectives says that

many groups and represen tatives who were consulted be lieved New Zealand needed to be more certain about where it

was heading.

In the council’s words ‘Many of those we consulted would like to see a positive and con fident spirit combined with a more open zest for living they see the New Zealand of the future standing more

proudly in the world as a re sult’. The council also claims that many prescriptions which were once valid for New Zealand’s needs cannot be assumed to work in the future.

The council believes that a central theme of New Zealand external policy should be to promote all phases of links with Australia. It believes that this will not only benefit New Zealand and Australia but will also create a firmer base for

greater stability and develop

ment in the Pacific region.

Among the council’s specific

recommendations is a call for new co-operation across the Tasman, not only in trade and economy but in tourism, social and cultural projects, defence and combined programmes of overseas aid.

The council recommends that serious consideration should be given to the possi bility of removing most bar riers to trade between Australia and New Zealand within the next 10 years or so.

It adds that against a back

ground of broader and

strengthened relationships

with Australia, New Zealand should strengthen its co operation in the Pacific Basin and should take special steps to maintain ‘healthy two-way re lationships with our South Pa cific neighbours and with

Asean’.

The council says this implies not only the maintenance of aid to Pacific and South-east Asian countries, but also the

development of joint ventures,

trade and communication links.

In its recommendations the council stresses that the establishment of fully-free trade with Australia is not in consistent with the need and the target to promote efficient industrial development in New Zealand itself. It says that New Zealand is under constant pressure to moderate its trade

protection policies, and a big

part of this pressure is from Island countries in the Pa cific.

There is a strong case, the council continues, to look

closely at industries and enterprises which seem likely to require very high protection

for a long period. The major

aim should be to diagnose the reasons why protected indus tries cannot compete, and then take steps to make them com

petitive.

The council says that in a few

special cases continued high

protection might be justified,

but generally it would appear better to deploy workers and

capital from long-protected

industries into avenues of greater social and economic benefit.

Si Improves

Fish Scheme

Solomon Taiyo, the big fishing

company involving local and Japanese interests in Solomon Islands, is to spend more than $2 million on development at its bases at Tulagi and Noro.

The work will include the con struction of new wharves at both bases, as existing wharves have been found too small to handle the increasing work at

the bases. The company itself will finance the entire Noro wharf project, but the govern ment will be involved in the

Tulagi project. New handling

equipment for fish cargoes will also be installed at Noro.

Meanwhile the Solomons government has announced that it is continuing nego tiations with Japanese interests for the establishment of a fish cannery at Noro as part of the

expanding fishing industry in

Solomon Islands.

Parliament

Tender Si6M.

Fletcher Constructions (PNG),

a locally-registered subsidiary

of the big New Zealand con struction and contracting group, has been given the con tract for a new national parlia ment house in Papua New Guinea. The contract is worth 5A16.5 million.

The new parliament is to be built on a site sloping down to the civic centre at Waigani, the Port Moresby suburb which in cludes central government offices and national insti tutions.

A competition for the design was held several years ago, but

the government eventually

chose a commissioned design

at the end of a protracted controversy.

Parliament at present meets in an interim building which was the seat of the Legislative

Assembly in pre-independence

Jays. The building was con certed and extended from what was once the Port Moresby

Hospital.

Fletcher’s tender for the new auilding was selected from a inal list of six tenders which anged from $l3 million to $22 nillion. Some site work has ilready been carried out and vork on the construction is

:xpected to begin early in

August. The construction )eriod is expected to be three

'ears, funded annually from

he national budget.

Kiribati Says

Nonsense’

Nlegotialions by the Kiribati ;overnmcnt to buy back the Vashinglon and Fanning slands plantation properties

from Burns Philp (South Seas) have reached a stalemate be cause of an argument over the price. The company, which is a subsidiary of the Australian listed Burns Philp and Com pany Limited, is asking 5A3.745 million for the proper ties. Kiribati claims that the price is ‘complete nonsense’.

Washington and Fanning Islands are part of the Line Islands belonging to Kiribati and consist of copra plantations which Burns Philp have owned and operated for many years.

Kiribati wants to buy the properties as part of the newly independent country’s moves to increase direct control over productive land and to fully develop the economic potential of its own people. The company agreed to negotiate, but a recent statement from the Kiribati Finance Minister, Mr Tiwau Awire, said the nego tiations had dragged on for too long and had now come to a halt. He did not indicate specific further action planned by the government.

He said that Kiribati had valued the island properties at a much lower figure than what Burns Philp was asking. ‘We have told them in no uncertain terms that we regard their price as complete nonsense’ Mr Awire said.

Gold Medal

To Png Beer

Papua New Guinea’s South Pacific Brewery carried off a gold medal for lager beer at the Brewex Exhibition in Birmingham, United Kingdom, earlier this year. ‘SP’ won first prize in competition with 55 breweries from around the world.

This year was the centenary year for Brewex, which has long been recognised as the world’s most significant brew ing trade event. Held every four years, it is sponsored by the Brewing Industry and Equipment Manufacturers’ As sociation of Great Britain.

At the same time a compe tition for international lagers is held which this year drew 135 entries from breweries through out the world.

South Pacific Brewery’s lager was acknowledged by an

international panel of brewers to be the best lager in Class 3 of the competition, which drew 74 entries (the largest number for any class in the compe tition) from 55 breweries in 38 countries.

The winning lager was brewed under normal con ditions using Australian malt and hops, and yeast from Heineken of Holland.

News of the award was greeted with great excitement by all 800 members of ‘SP’ staff, 97% of whom are PNG nationals.

Said Bruce Flynn, general manager of South Pacific Brewery: To my mind this is not just a win for “SP” but an important win for Papua New Guinea, and in particular those members of our staff who have worked and studied hard, and taken the career opportunities offered to them.’

The Nod To

Nz Firm

A New Zealand firm, Kingston, Reynolds, Thom & Allardyce Ltd, has won the contract to build the Solomon Islands’ national sports stadium.

The firm will work closely with a steering committee from the government of Solomon Islands, which has stipulated that a building supervisor should be based in Honiara during the construction work.

The stadium will not be completed in time for the ‘mini’ South Pacific Games scheduled for Honiara in July 1981. But those responsible will ensure that facilities for the five sports that make up the ‘mini’ Games will be ready.

Tenders for the stadium were received from firms in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Solomon Islands.

George Atkin in Honiara.

Fewer Jobs

For Seamen

Tuvalu is having difficulty finding jobs for her seamen on overseas vessels. This has come about because of union insist ence that Tuvaluans be paid international rates of pay.

The Tuvalu Maritime School which opened last September

(PIM Nov 1979 p 80) is an Australian aid venture, aimed at expanding overseas employ ment for Tuvaluans. The school turns out 60 qualified seamen per year who are ready and able for employment by overseas shipping companies.

Two companies, one West German, the other based in Hong Kong, are willing to employ Tuvaluans. Indeed, both companies have employed Tuvalu crew for several years and Tuvalu seamen enjoy a high international reputation.

The problem now facing Tuvalu is that the international union has decided that Tuvaluans must receive the approved international rate of pay. This has priced Tuvalu crews out of the market. The shipping companies will not recruit from Tuvalu, half way round the world, when they can obtain crew much closer to home, for less expense.

Tuvalu has pinned her hopes on the employment of her seamen to ease unemployment in Tuvalu and also to create a flow of overseas funds into the country. A large portion of the seamen’s earnings finds its way back to families on the outer islands, and is an important boost to the rural communities.

Unless the International Trans port Federation (ITF) is pre pared to help by relaxing its policy, the opportunities for Tuvalu seamen are limited.

Sixty seamen a year is insignifi cant on an international scale.

But it is important to a tiny country like Tuvalu. Peter McQuarrie in Funafuti.

Fiji Begins

Sheep Plan

Fiji has begun experiments at Makogai Island to establish a sheep industry in Fiji, hoping to develop a multi-purpose sheep which can be used for wool and mutton production.

Mutton will remain the main priority, however, in an at tempt to reduce Fiji’s heavy expenditure on meal imports from Australia and New Zealand.

The initial experiment in volves the breeding of Barbados black belly sheep which were selected from breeding stock in USA.