Islands

From the

Press

The Samoa Observer, Apia, Western Samoa, reporting

proceedings of parliament

The Speaker rounded off the debate with a vicious attack on newspapers. Newspapers and their publishers, he said, were “nothing more than little birds of the bush” which keep chirping away until they die. They were like stones rolling in the gutter and picking up muck as they went along, he said. The Speaker used a number of other insulting terms which lose meaning in translation.

Some observations on society from a reader’s letter pub lished in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby My sisters, it is about time you learnt how to help your parents to do the housework, and it is your responsibility to look after your family, too, when you get married. You will not be single all your life. One day you will choose a boy from any province as your future husband.

To make your husband happy, you must know your role that is looking after the house. If you don’t do the job properly, you will get black eyes all the time.

Part of a letter in The Fiji Times, Suva, in which Matt Wilson of Suva criticises driving standards on Fiji roads It is quite obvious that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of drivers who are simply not qualified to sit behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Through ignorance, bad manners or sheer bloody-mindedness they have turned Fiji’s roads into death traps. How on earth do they manage to get driving licences? What kind of standards do the examiners apply. What kind of qualifications do they have? When WILL something be done to make the roads safer?

Part of an editorial in The Times of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, on the eighth anniversary of PNG Independence Now we are eight. Time to look around and see how we’re making out in thw world . . . How about business? What does it bring? Late nights, trouble with staff, a stream of relatives doing their best to cut off the cash flow . . . How tempting to settle for that 35 hours a week public service routine . . . But if we want to make our own way in the world we have chosen, we will depend during the next eight years more and more on our business brains.

Joe Murphy, representing the publishers of the Marshall Islands Journal, Majuro, writes an editorial in the Journal about the resignation of the editor This is a kind of obit not quite an editorial. It’s about Dan Smith, the up-to-this-issue editor of the Journal. He is a man of principle and substance. Given this mettle, Dan was confronted with the very difficult choice this week of bending his will to the decision of this writer, or of ignoring this decision and doing what he thought best.

Dan did what he thought best and tendered his resignation, an admirable forthright action that on its own merits deserves commen dation. There are no personal hard feelings harbored here in this writer, and hopefully none in Dan. The resignation was accepted.

Comments by Bernhard Marjen in The Times of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, published during the South Pacific Games held in Western Samoa in September Whatever has happened to the best contingent ever sent out by Papua New Guinea? . . . Many an official and certain competitors have voiced concern about the early arrival of the PNG contingent in Western Samoa. But it can also be said that the early arrival has had a reverse effect. Too many late nights in the night clubs in Apia, too many drinks, junk food and Samoan women and generally the good

(but expensive) life of Samoa have taken their toll. Some of our athletes are wishing that they had never over-indulged.

Part of an editorial in the Papua New Guinea Post- Courier, Port Moresby, on whether aid from Australia should be general budget support (the present system) or “tied” to specified projects Whether Australian aid should be tied to specified projects has long been a subject of debate and the topic is assured of a further airing by a suggestion from the Oppostion Leader, Mr Okuk, that Australia should change tack. Mr Okuk, who was welcoming a 10 per cent lift in Australian aid said he believed that project aid rather than untied aid would ensure that the money went to the people who needed it those in the villages PNG will need continued budget support until its tax base is much wider. But a reasonable compromise might be to reduce the “untied” portion of aid to an agreed amount and spend the rest, properly auditied, on projects.

A lament by an anonymous author, as published in Sol omons Toktok, Honiara, Solomon Islands Guadalcanal fought its way to history; The country got back into history; Now the new tides that flowed across the beautiful country are polluted by a few political frogs who jump to eat the dirty prey of bribery; Oh! Solomons what a beauty you are; Oh! Solomons I pity thy future; Because thy crafty politicians sell thy country for a few favors; And a few cases of beer.

The Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby Mermaids at the southern end of New Ireland are catching the eye of overseas researchers. Erik Beckjord, a wild life photographer and self-styled “monster-hunter” from USA has spent a week in New Ireland watching at high tide for mermaids or “pis meri” as they are called in pidgin. Equipped with night vision gear and photo gear he hoped to catch sight of the creatures, but failed. However he claimed to have documented six accounts of sightings. He said the New Irelanders insisted the sightings were not dugongs. He said they described the creature as definitely “half woman, half fish”.

Part of a report in The Samoa Observer, Apia, about the banning from the parliament building of long-established journalist, Fata Faaloto Pito Fata told the Samoa Observer that the Speaker told him that a number of Members had complained because Fata shook and nodded his head while a report of the Privileges Committee was being discussed. This nodding and shaking of the head, Fata said, was apparently distracting to some of the Members. Fata said he thanked God he was not guilty of something worse.

Part of a letter in The Fiji Times, Suva Today the percentage of taxation in the country is so heavy that it has become the main burden on the common working class of people.

Normal wages which we earn in five days are heavily taxed. Life is becoming hard. A lot of us sacrifice our public holidays, Saturdays, Sundays and afternoons to work overtime. Although our employers pay higher rates,, a lot of our income again goes away in taxes. I feel that the Government should at least exempt us from taxes on overtime.

From the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby, quoting part of a reader s letter criticising a political group You are an infinitesimal group, your integrity is pellucid . . . You wade aberationally instead of wafting like successful leaders . . . The significance of unity is shrewd.

From the news bulletin of the Australian High Commision in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea The International Union for the Conservation of Nature is concerned about the future of coral reefs and fishing in the South Pacific. It believes that the major potential problems are pollution, tourism, over-fishing and mining. Associate Professor Michael Pichon, of the Department of Marine Biology at the James Cook University in Townsville, North Queensland, and chairman of the union’s coral reef working group, said the coral reefs of the world were coming under increasing pressure from human activities. “This is a relatively new situation,” he said, adding that until recently human activities had little effect on the world’s reefs.