Tropicalities

Institute “Not Critical”

I WRITE in relation to the article ■ ‘Nauruans dying of wealth’, pub lished in the Dominion Sunday Times and reprinted in Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1988.

The article contains a number of in accurate statement attributed to this Institute. None of these represents an accurate view of the Institute and I would like to provide your readers with a more balanced position regard ing health problems not only in Nauru but in the whole Pacific region.

The Nauru Government has been concerned about the nation’s health problems, and the Government of President Hammer de Roburt has been working with this Institute for almost a decade to define the problem and to implement preventive mea sures. The Institute is not, as claimed by the writer, critical of the Nauru Government and its position has been

seriously misrepresented.

The intrusion of Western people and their lifestyles into Pacific Island cultures, whether initiated by mission ary zeal, commercial interests, political opportunism or even humanitarianism has inevitably led to considerable changes in the spectrum of disease. In a number of Pacific nations, so-called ‘Western’ diseases (heart disease, hypertension, strokes and diabetes) have now reached levels similar to or exceeding those seen in the European populations of Australia and New Zea land. Fragile island economies and health systems are ill-prepared to meet the cost of these chronic diseases.

Nauru appears to have suffered the greatest toll, but many other Microne sian and Polynesian nations are rapid ly catching up. A health problem of similar magnitude exists within the New Zealand Maori and Australian

Aboriginal communities.

The medical facts cited about Nauru in the article are correct and were pre sented by me at an open hearing of the Commission of Inquiry into the rehabilitation of the worTea-out phos phate lands in Nauru. My evidence was reported in a number of Austra lian newspapers, and there was no cri ticism of the Nauru Government.

In fact, criticism was directed at the major powers in the Pacific region for ignoring the social, cultural and health effects of their political and economic contact with both the islands and their own indigenous (Maori and Aborigin al) communities.

The Nauru Government has moved to take action in a number of areas including the establishment of a di

abetes prevention and control clinic, the appointment of a dietitian, fre quent visits to the island by consul tants in diabetes and eye disorders, and the importation of certain dietary foods. Nauruans with complications from these diseases are provided with medical care in Australia if they can not be managed in Nauru.

Nauruan patients are no different from those in Australia and New Zea land where compliance with recom mended dietary and medical treat ment is far from optimal.

The article in question has not pro vided a balanced picture of the prob lem one that now faces nearly every Pacific nation. I would therefore be grateful if you would give my reply

equal prominence.

Professor Paul Zimmet Lios-Intemational Diabetes Institute Melbourne, Australia

Pacific Islands Monthly is always glad

to have balance. However, it appears Professor Zimmet has to educate not only us but his own staff: he disowns the assessment made by Dr Dowse, and we accept that the professor’s is the official view of the institute.

On the other hand, he does not go far to deny or disprove Dr Dowse’s assessment. That “the Government has moved to act” after 10 years is not exactly a lightning response to a prob lem that has surely been quite visible for most of that time.

Horrified By Png Attack

I WAS shocked to read in the October edition of the senseless, brutal attack on Mr Justice Barnett in Port Moresby on September 10. As with most news from PNG, no mention was made of this in the Australian press.

What is Papua New Guinea coming to when this sort of thing is becoming commonplace? Do they want such notoriety as is witnessed m South Afri ca? If so, they are fast heading in the

right direction.

Tos Barnett is well known to me both professionally and as a friend.

Our association goes back to school days in Melbourne. He has devoted many years of his life to service to the people of PNG, and is generally very highly regarded. He certainly doesn’t deserve this sort of treatment.

H F Nankervis Prosperine Queensland, Australia

Festival Disappointment

AFTER eagerly travelling to Australia from Israel I was bitterly disappointed in the Festival of Pacific Arts held in Townsville. I agree wholeheartedly with Sina Powell s letter in Pacific Is lands Monthly, October.

I had attended the truly magnificent original festival held in Suva m 1972, and it was with memories of that wonderful experience that I came to Australia this year.

At Townsville the groups that came from the island countries were all de lightful, and the audiences were re ceptive. The disaster of this year’s fes tival was caused by the ineptitude and the indifference of the organisers and their selfish and callous concen tration on their own political activities.

This was an unforgivable intrusion in an arts festival.

A Golberg Tel Aviv Israel

Pacific Journalism Defended

I WOULD like to respond to some of David Robie’s observations in his arti cle, ‘Sope’s Desperate Gamble Falters’

Pacific Islands Monthly, September)

especially since I was named.

It seems we now suffer the same cliches the South Pacific Islands have complained about for such a long time that is, we are all lumped together without distinction.

Nevertheless, David Robie’s criticism (and that of the Vanuatu Govern ment) of sensationalist “war hungry” journalists cannot be dismissed. In fact it is a growing chorus in the region.

One observation is that Australian news organisations, especially televi sion networks, are only beginning to see the significance of the region.

It is also true that the “deadline driven” approach to stories taken in Australia is not suited to a region vyhere national economies are so sensi tive to the ebb and flow of tourists. At the same time, it is unreasonable to expect journalists not to report, for example, coups in Fiji or a constitu tional crisis in Vanuatu.

But just as there are many different cultures and priorities in South Pacific countries, so too are there different types of journalism. I, and the vast majority of my colleagues, work long and hard to present as accurate and balanced a picture of regional events as possible. While we cannot change our deadlines, many of us are trying to acquire more local knowledge to help that process.

Sometimes we also must work within restrictions imposed on us by South Pacific governments. “Beating up” a story with mythical references to impending doom is not doing the job properly. It embarrasses us all.

The other point is: did David Robie see any of the stories on Vanuatu go to air on ABC TV? We pride ourselves on treating stories objectively: in fact, I have just been appointed

a full-time diplomatic correspondent,

It reflects our belief that the South Pacific is of prime importance and should not be seen as a hit-and-miss story only if there is trouble.

We are not “war hungry”. We are information hungry and if we do that well enough, Australian audiences will be better educated about the region’s

emerging political and economic

geography.

Finally, the contempt of court case against me followed a regrettable incident with over-zealous camera crews from the ABC and another TV network who were outside the courtroom while the rest of us were inside, Nevertheless, I took responsibility for the actions of the ABC crew for which I apologised sincerely to the court.

The only reason we were called back to court later in the week was because the judge was under the misapprehension that the ABC had

broken an undertaking to the court, We hadn’t. It goes to show there can be misunderstanding on all sides.

Margot O’Neill Diplomatic Correspondent, ABC TV Parliament House Canberra, Australia

Vanuatu Bank Update

YOUR article on finance, banking and insurance (Pacific Islands Monthly, November) was of great interest; however, certain facts concerning the

Vanuatu Co-operative Savings Bank

(VCSB) are no longer accurate.

The VCSB was a division of the Vanuatu Co-operative Federation until December 1986, when a new company was formed and obtained a banldng licence. "

Prior to this the VCSB’s branch structure was rationalised, with the number of branches being reduced to 20 prior to the transfer of the business to the new company. The VCSB has since opened two new branches and we are examining potential sites as resources allow. We have also diversified our invetments away from other banks and towards government bonds and offshore investments. Our offshore investments, however, did not perform as well as those of the Bank of Kiribati or the National Bank of Tuvalu, being

responsible for VT0.17 million of the VT0.23 million loss in 1987/88.

The problems we currently face are similar to quite a few banks in this region, and include an insufficient

capital base, earning capacity reduced

by imposition of Central Bank reserve requirements, lack of experienced staff, communications, and restricted internal investment opportunities. In the face of these difficulties the VCSB continues to operate and work toward being able to offer services requuired to customers and potential customers, David C. Whiskert Vanuatu Co-operative Savings Bank Port Vila

Pacific Ships Update

PRINTER’S ink is supposed to flc ,v in our veins but all too often it’s prim ter’s imps that cause problems for Pacific islands Monthly, as for all other publications. Due to a technical error, the address was accidentally left off Ms Vera Hatton’s letter in the November issue Pim .

All those Pacific history buffs who would like to help her in her quest for information should write to: Vera Hatton PO Box 634 Nowra, NSW Australia 2541