in regional skies

The Month

A new airline in regional skies

New Caledonia’s governing co alition of the Independence Front and the centre party, FNSC, is to be continued for another year, when the next legislative elec tions are due. At their annual party congress in early August the FNSC voted unanimously to renew their contract with the

Independence Front.

The two groups came to power in the government council (a form of cabinet, elected by the territorial assembly) on June 18 last year, after the FNSC quit their former coalition partners, the anti-independence RPCR.

Their majority in New Caledonia’s principal political institution is contested by the RPCR who claim the IF-FNSC union does not represent majority opinion. The terms of the new contract have not yet been negotiated.

In a related development the IP’s Jean-Marie Tjibaou was reelected vice-president of the govemment council by unanimous vote of the six other members.

Mr Tjibaou was at the time on a six-day visit to Hong Kong where he met potential investors in various projects in New Caledonia.

The president of Nauru, Mr Hammer Deßoburt, spent three days in New Caledonia on an

official visit to negotiate an ag reement between Air Caledonie International and Air Nauru. Mr Deßoburt is also president of Air Nauru.

Mr Deßoburt, the first foreign head of state to be invited to the territory by the government council of Mr Tjibaou, was ac companied by Mr Moses, Nauru Consul in Melbourne. The visit marked the first round in negotia tions for New Caledonia’s use of Air Nauru planes on the routes between Brisbane-Noumea, Noumea-Port Vila, and Noumea- Nadi-Wallis. The agreements were signed later in Nauru with Dannys Famin, director of Air Cadedonie International.

Also in Noumea was a delega tion of transport and finance off icals from Vanuatu, headed by Minister of Transport, Albert Sandy. They met Mr Deßoburt and Air Caledonie International officials to discuss co-operation on the air routes. The new reg ional airline hopes to start flights to Vanuatu on January 3, 1984, with a service five times a week.

Agreements have also been signed with the Australian airline Qantas in relation to the weekly Melboume-Noumea run.

Under the agreement, Qantas and Air Caledonie International will each have 117 seats for

Noumea-bound passengers on the 433-seat plane, and 199 seats will be reserved for passengers going through to Nadi. This ser vice is scheduled to start on December 2, 1983.

Birth of the new airline has not been without difficulties. Talks between the various governments and their aviation officials have been slow, and in mid-August New Caledonia’s Territorial As sembly asked for some modifica tions. The assembly had been asked to increase the capital in the domestic carrrier Air Caledonie by CFP23 million ($A 190,000) to equal their par ticipation in the regional airline.

Air Caledonie is 76 per cent

government-owned. Independ

ence Front spokesman in the ass embly, Mr Yeiwene, said they wanted to see the two airline companies dissociated and a “controlled tourist

development”.

The assembly voted that Mr Famin could not maintain his post as director of Air Caledonie because he is now director of Air Caledonie International. • December 8-22, 1984, are the dates for the 4th Festival of Pacific Arts, of which New Caledonia is host. The dates were chosen taking into account school holidays and the availabil ity of accommodation in the

territory.

Preparations for the festival are being undertaken by the re cently created Office of Kanak Culture.

A first step was the holding of a mini-festival in Noumea, Au gust 19-21. The festival featured traditional Kanak dancing and singing, and will be followed by other similar events. During the same period delegates from 22 South Pacific countries attended the meeting of the Council of Pacific Arts, held at the South Pacific Commission’s Noumea headquarters. The council met to choose an anthem for the festival and discuss preparations.

Noumea Notebook Helen Fraser