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MEDIA RELEASE INDEPENDENCE AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER ASSISTING THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN
AFFAIRS IN MATTERS RELATING TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA, MR. BILL
MORRISON. The Minister Assisting the Foreign Minister in Papua New
Guinea matters, Mr. Bill Morrison, said today that the
Australian Government would co-operate closely in achieving
Papua New Guinea's goal of independence. He was commenting
on the resolution passed yesterday by the House of Assembly
in Port Moresby affirming that P. N. G. would move to
independence as soon as practicable after a constitution
had been enacted.
He said pending the final decision of the House of Assembly
to declare a date for independence for Papua New Guinea,
the Australian Government will conduct its relations with
the Government of Papua New Guinea as a Government of an
independent nation to which Australia has certain special
and inescapable obligations.
Mr. Morrison added, " What exists today in P. N. G. is a
state of defacto independence"
Even in the areas where Australia reserves ultimate
respon sibility until independence, mainly Defence and
Foreign Relations, Papua New Guinea is already exercising
day to day control and determining its own policies. The
Minister said that even before self government, Papua New
Guinea had appointed a Min1ister for Foreign Relations and
Defence.
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The Minister said that with Australia's encouragement,
Papua New Guinea had taken its place in the international
community and established contacts as if it were an
independent entity.
All this accords with the Australian Government's policy
that the transition from self government to independence
be smooth, in the same way that the granting of self
government on December 1 of last year had largely been a
formalisation of what already existed.
Mr. Morrison said that the question of the date of independence
should be kept in perspective. He recalled the statement
made by Mr. Somare in the House of Assembly on Monday, 8
July " We all know that independence will be coming
fairly soon and really the question of the exact
date is not all that important."
Mr. Morrison said that despite the present preoccupation
with the date of independence, the real challenges facing
the Government and people of Papua New Guinea concern
economic and social development.
Among these challenges, which are being effectively handled
by the P. N. G. Government, are rural development, which is
at the heart of social justice in any nation at an early
stage of development; the best use of available
resources, both manpower and the natural resources with
which Papua New Guinea is blessed. Employment opportunities
must be found for the rapidly growing num ber of job-seekers
in urban areas. The Papua New Guinea Government is also
facing up to questions like the best utilisation of foreign
aid, the formulation of a land policy and an investment
policy.
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Mr. Morrison said that it would be unfortunate if preoccupations
over the exact independence date were to consume
energy and attention which, in the interest of the future of
Papua New Guinea, must necessarily be directed to resolving
the real challenge-, which have been expressed by the
leaders of Papua New Guinea.
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For further information, contact:
BILL PINWILL
726328 ) Office
733371)