Pacific Report

New Caledonia Bill Adopted In Paris

A bill granting internal autonomy to the French territory of New Caledonia passed the critical first reading stage in the National Assembly in Paris on May 29. As passed, the bill had some modifications to the original, notably that the president of the New Caledonia government, elected by the Territorial Assembly will choose his own ministers. In the original, the ministry would have been elected by the assembly. With the socialists holding an absolute majority in the French Lower House, the bill passed on the votes of the Socialists and Communists. The opposition was divided, but opposed the measure. Jacques Toubon, spokesman for the neo-Gaullist RPR party, claimed the government wanted a Kanak, socialist New Caledonia. In fact, he added, the government was preparing “an Australian New Caledonia.” In reply, France’s

Minister of State for Overseas Departments and Territories, Georges Lemoine, said the RPR had failed to take into account the origins, history and values of the Kanak people. The bill then went to the Senate, but as pointed out in a report by the US agency, Associated Press, any modifications made there can, in practice, be over-ruled by the National Assembly. In the course of the debate three Kanak activists disrupted parliamentary proceedings by shouting pro-independence slogans and scattering leaflets. The demonstrators also shouted slogans directed against Mr Lemoine, before guards were called to remove them.

U.S., Palau Sign Revised Compact

A revised version of the Compact of Free Association has been signed by the United States and Palau, bringing termination of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands a step nearer completion. The new version of the compact was signed in Washington on May 23 by Ambassador Fred M. Zeder, President Reagan’s personal representative for Micronesian political status negotiations and Ambassador Lazarus E. Salii, Ambassador for trade and political status negotiations for the Republic of Palau. Paul Malamud, US Information Agency staff writer, reports; “Under the provisions of the newly signed compact, and in order to conform with provisions in the Palau Constitution concerning hazardous substances, the voters of Palau must approve the compact by a 75 per cent majority for it to come into effect. Absent from the revised version is the section dealing with the storage and safety measures associated with nuclear materials, which had been inserted in the original version at the insistence of the government of Palau. Other changes include fewer specific claims by the United States to potential military training areas in Palau. The ballot will address approval of the compact and the issue of compatibility with the anti-nuclear provisions of the Palau Constitution in a single question. ” The new plebiscite will be preceded, like earlier ones, by a voter education campaign. The Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands have already certified the results of their plebiscites, and the compacts for those island groups are at present undergoing the process of legislative approval in the U.S.

Congress.

Rarotonga Papeete Ties Strengthened

The burgeoning “special relationship” between the Cook Islands and its eastern “cousins” in French Polynesia was further strengthened by the visit to Tahiti in mid-May of Cooks Prime Minister Sir Thomas Davis. In talks with Gaston Flosse, vice-president of the territoiy’s government council, the two leaders agreed that in future there should be regular twice-yearly meetings between the two sides. The first would be between experts from either side to discuss exchanges in the agricultural, technical and educational fields, and the second at a higher level, and held alternately in the Cooks and French Polynesia. Mr Flosse said as an immediate step he would be seeking French Government support for a scheme under which two French language teachers would be sent to the Cooks and two English language teachers would come from the Cooks to work in French Polynesia. Speaking on the broadening perspectives for French Polynesia’s relationships with Island countries, Mr Flosse said: “When our new statute is in place, we are seriously considering establishing relations with Fiji, and with countries even closer to us such as Tonga and the Samoas. As a first priority, we will strengthen our ties with the countries of the Polynesian triangle.

We already have ties with Vanuatu, from which we buy copra. ” Sir Thomas did not pass up the opportunity to point out that the Cook Islands and its relationship with New Zealand offered living proof that self-government need not necessarily lead to complete independence. Such remarks are music to the ears of the majority of French Polynesia’s politicians. The territory’s pro-independence, anti-bomb party, la mana te nunaa, introduced a certain piquancy to Sir- Thomas visit when one of its members in the Territorial Assembly asked him to state his attitude to French nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll. Replying, Sir Thomas made a request to the French Government to stop its testing in the Pacific and move it to the , A S^ ntic - In a , P ress statement released later, la mana te nunaa ? ii- ' Ur P 3. 5 Territorial Assembly members were astounded that Vice-President Flosse did not immediately protest at this act of interference by the representative of a foreign country in the affairs of France.” The statement recalled that this was precisely Mr Flosse s reaction when Chris Schacht, a representative of the Australian Labor Party, made a similar statement in Tahiti some months ago.

Hawaii Bids For Place On S.P,C.

Hawaii’s Senate and House of Representatives have adopted resolutions calling on President Reagan to accord the State official status on the South Pacific Commission. The resolution, intro duced in the house jointly by Speaker Henry Peters and house minonty leader Frederick W. Rohlfing, notes that the South Pacific Conference on Saipan on October 4, 1983 “took an historic step and unanimously agreed to abolish the differential between the Committee of Representatives of Participating Governments and other members of the conference so that there are now 27 members of the South Pacific Conference with equal status including three American territories (Guam, American Samoa, and

the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas), and the soon to be ‘former’ United Nations Trust Territory entities, which will be or are likely to be in the free association status with the United States. . . ”

It recommends: . that appropriate legislation be introduced and enacted by Congress to mandate that the President select at least one full-time resident from the State of Hawaii to the positions of US Representative and/or Alternate Representative on the South Pacific Commission, and that at least one of such persons selected by the President from Hawaii residents be additionally designated as the ‘State of Hawaii Representative on the South Pacific Commission,’ and charged with the duty of maintaining appropri ate liaison with Hawaii State governmental and private organisa tions with interests and involvement in the region over which the SPC exercises jurisdiction.”

“Keystone Hops” Affair In Meier Case

British Columbia, Canada, authorities have dropped 11 criminal charges against a prominent lawyer who represented John Herbert Meier, of Bank of the South Pacific, Nukualofa, fame. (See story p. 23.) Police charged the lawyer, Gordon Dowding, in December, 1983, with having conspired to subvert justice. Meier was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. Dowding was also charged with fabricating evidence, obstructing justice, trying to obtain false documents, influencing a criminal appeal, pretending to influence, offering a benefit to an official, and conspiracy involving false papers. But on May 14 in Vancouver, the Crown entered a “stay in proceedings.” Crown and defence lawyers said part of the reason was Dowding’s decision to retire from practising law. Dowding, aged 66, is a former Speaker of the provincial legislature. Dowding would not talk to reporters. His lawyer, William Deverell, said Dowding “went out on a short limb” for Meier, and “made some serious errors of judgment. ” Deverell called it “a Keystone Kops affair.” He said Dowding investigated people who “turned out to be undercover cops working on something else . . . people were stumbling over each other’s feet. It involves the CIA, an ex-PLO member, and a convicted drug trafficker. ” Deverell said Dowding might write a book about it. Meanwhile, observers wonder how so many serious charges came to be so airily dropped and what evidence Dowding obtained tape recordings, perhaps which authorities do not want revealed in the spotlight of an open court.

Alan Merridew in Vancouver.

KOYA BACK AS NEJ>. LEADER IN FIJI Veteran Fiji politician and former Leader of the National Federation Party (NFP) Opposition, S. M. Koya, has been elected party leader in succession to Jai Ram Reddy, who resigned as Opposition and party leader and also resigned his seat in the House of Representatives some time after leading his party out of the House when speaker Tomasi Vakatora ordered him out (PIM June p. 22). Mr Reddy’s resignations came because, he said, he did not want the Opposition coalition of the NFP and the Western United Party to be split over his decision to boycott parliament. Mr Koya succeeded the late Mr A D. Patel as party leader in 1969, but was ousted in September, 1977 by Mr Reddy, when the party, hopelessly split, lost heavily to the Alliance Party in the September general election. (See detailed report in this issue).

Pm’S Daughter In Tongan Royal Wedding

Tonga’s latest royal wedding took place on May 17 when HRH Princess Sinaitakala ‘Ofeina- ehe-Langi Tuku’aho was married to Kinikinilau Tutoatasi Fakafanua in Nukualofa’s Centenary Church of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. The princess is the youngest daughter of Tonga’s Prime Minister, HRH Prince Fatafehi Tu’ipelahake, and Princess Melenaite. The groom is the eldest son of the governor of Haapai, the Hon. Fakafanua, and Kalolaine.

Among the distinguished foreign guests were Fiji’s Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and his wife Adi Lala. A Fijian delegation of persons closely related to the Tongan royal family was also present. Adi Litia Cacobau Mara, daughter of Ratu Mara and Adi Lala, led the bridal procession to the traditional “fakalelea” ceremony on May 14. She also headed the bridesmaids at the wedding ceremony. Western Samoa was represented at the wedding by the Hon. Fuatanga, minister of lands, and his wife.

Wedding celebrations, which began on May 10, continued until May 21. The newly-weds left on May 22 for New Zealand, where Kinikinilau Tutoatasi is to continue law studies at the University of Otago.

W. SAMOA: OZ COMES GOOD ON FALEOLO Australia will foot most of the SAS million bill for Western Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport extensions which will open the airport to large jet aircraft and allow its international airline, Polynesian Airlines, to extend operations. Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke has told Samoan Prime Minister Tofilau Eti that a grant of $4 million will be made through the Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB), $500,000 to be made available immediately, and the balance of $3.5 million paid in the next financial year. The project includes extension of the runway by 1050 metres to 2700 metres. The Special Projects Development Corporation is supervisor in association with Cameral McNamara, of Australia, and E. T. Smith, of New Zealand.

I.Mjr. Praise For Png Economic Management

International Monetary Fund officials, who have been in Papua New Guinea studying its economy, have complimented PNG on effective management of its economy but have warned that its economic base is weak and it will have some long-term difficulties to overcome.

Troubles In Fiji’S Sugar Industry

In the face of Fiji canefarmers’ refusal to cut their cane unless they are given a firm assurance that the cutting season, just beginning, will not be interrupted by strikes by sugar mill workers, the Fiji Sugar Corporation, which operates the nationalised industry, has been ordered to give its mill workers a 6 per cent pay rise. The unions had rejected a package deal offered by the corporation of a 5 per cent pay rise which would be tied to an assurance by the workers of a strike-free season and no more pay claims. Talks between the unions and the corporation had become deadlocked, and more than 1000 farmers were refusing to cut their cane for the Penang mill, one of three on the main island of Viti Levu. The Fiji Sugar Marketing Co. has warned that, if crushing does not start soon, a shipment of sugar to Britain worth SF7 million could not be delivered. The Fiji Tripartite Forum’s Ability to Pay Committee ruled that the corporation could and should pay the 6 per cent wage increase, which would conform to the 1983 national pay guidelines. The corporation’s chief executive, Rasheed Ali, said the industry could not afford the pay rise as the corporation was facing its first loss, of $3.5 million, and would have to borrow $2 million to meet the pay rise. Later, the unions accepted a rise of up to 5 per cent and pledged there would be no disruption of crushing operations. In another hearing, an arbitrator has awarded canefarmers $9OOO compensation for loss of earnings caused by a mill workers’ strike which held up crushing operations. The sugar content of cane decreases rapidly if the cane is not crushed shortly after cutting. It was the first such award.

Png Cuts Power Charges

Reversing an almost universal trend, the Papua New Guinea Government late in May announced a reduction in rates charged consumers of electric power. Announcing the cuts, Minerals and Energy Minister, Francis Pusal, said the charge for the first 100 units had been cut from 12 toea a unit to 11.5 t, and the minimum charge from K 5 to K 4 for both general supply and domestic consumers. Mr Pusal said that an industrial tariff, for major consumers, would be introduced at a rate about 23 per cent lower than the reduced uniform tariff. Saying it was hoped the level of electricity tariffs would not change for the next 18 months, Mr Pusal attributed the reductions in charges to the commissioning of two medium sized hydro-electric schemes near Rabaul and Mt Hagen, completion of major rehabilitation work at Rouna and Ramu power stations, staff cutback of 500 employees by the power authority, and good rains which had raised the level of the Sirinumu dam.

Barge, Launch , For Niue

Niue s Public Works Department has completed construction at a cost of nearly $A15,000, of a barge and a launch financed by the Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB). The launch has been named ADAB 1.

W. SAMOA: TAX ‘ KILLING ’ WINE INDUSTRY An excise tax imposed by the Western Samoa Government of WSZ on a 750 ml bottle of wine and $4 on a 750 ml bottle of liqueur produced locally is “literally killing the industry”, according

to Bob Rankin, managing director of Island Styles Ltd and maker of Talofa tropical fruit wines and liqueurs. He said he has lost about $BOOO on sales since the tax was imposed. Sales dropped from $lOOO a week pretax to $lOO a week and, at mid-May, sales were $42.60 a week. Mr Rankin said he had been to Fiji with the idea of moving his wine business there and they were delighted. They offered far better tax and export incentives and better still, had no excise tax on local wines.

Vanuatu: Party’S No’ To Kiribati Workers

The Vanuatu Independent Alliance Party and five trade unions have announced opposition to government approval of a plan to recruit workers from Kiribati for cocoa and coffee plantations and other planned agricultural projects. The unions said that a statement attributed to Vanuatu Finance Minister Kalpokor Kalsakau that there was a manpower shortage was untrue because there were many Vanuatu people unemployed. The scheme, approved after talks between the Vanuatu and Kiribati govern ments, will limit the employment of Kiribati workers to 200 on contracts of not more than two years. Employers will be able to employ Kiribati nationals already living in Vanuatu, of whom there are more than 300. Arrangements are being made to repatriate those who cannot afford to stay.

FIJI FARM PROBLEMS AIRED BY /X.O. MAN Some Fiji farmers still mix dangerous agricultural chemicals with their bare hands and harvest crops before the correct waiting period after spraying. The International Labor Organisation’s adviser on labor and population in the South Pacific, Rueben Dudley, said this situation still existed in Fiji despite the presence of agricultural field officers. Mr Dudley was speaking at the 54th annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) in Canberra in May.

He said the officers’ advice was not having the desired effect.

Farmers often preferred short-cut methods the traditional attitude of using one’s own way to get quick results. Mr Dudley said there was a resentment over the authority of the field officers and the use of protective clothing in the hot climate. “Farmers in many situations are known to mix chemicals with their bare hands, spray fields without the proper use of protective gear, and are so profit-oriented that they refuse to wait until the recommended period after spraying their crops,” he said. Mr Dudley said the problems could be minimised through field officers giving more attention to individual farmers and by concentrating on specific problems.

Anti Malaria Battle Of Guadalcanal

A mass distribution of anti-malaria tablets is to be carried out on the island of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The island is considered to be the most heavily malaria-infested area in the world. Statistics showed that last year, every man, woman and child on Guadalcanal suffered a malaria attack at least once. There were 45,000 cases reported, whereas the population of the island is about 40,000.

Scientist Downbeat On Seabed Minerals

An Australian scientist says recent investigations have shown that the extent of manganese nodules on the Pacific seabed suitable for economic exploitation is much smaller than previously thought. Dr Robert Burne, an Australian government research scientist, said that essentially, the deposits suitable for exploitation were confined to areas close to the equator. He said these were mainly in the economic zone of Kiribati and possibly in the northern Cook Islands. The nodules are rich in deposits of copper and nickel. Dr Burne also said areas adjacent to Kiribati and the Cook Islands offered good prospects for the discovery of cobalt deposits. He said cobalt, which is important to the defence industry, had already been found in areas adjacent to Micronesia. Dr Burne was speaking in Canberra at the 54th congress of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

Anzaas.

Correction

Our item about Papua New Guinea Highlands elections (PIM June p 7) suggested that former police commissioner, Henry Tokam, was interested in nominating. In fact it is his brother Joe who may have political ambitions. PIM regrets the confusion.