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BROADCAST BY T~ IE PRIME MINISTER THE, RT. HON.
SIR ROBERT iv NZIES, AT ' r-ORT MERLSY, NEW
GUINEA, AT 7.15 P. m. ON 6TH SEPTEMBER, 1963
Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen
I want to say something about the attitude of the
Australian Government to these territories.
We regard ourselves as trustees for Papua-New Guinea.
We are not colonialists in the old and now rejected
sense. We are certainly not exploiters we put into these
territories far more than we get out or perhiaps are ever likely
to get out. This year Australia will provide, by way of direct
grant, over œ-25M towards the cost of developing Papua-New Guinea
per cent, more than last year.
We are not oppressors. On the contrary, our dominant
aim is to raise the material, intellectual, social and political
standards and self-reliance of the indigenous peoples . to a point
at which they may freely and competently choose their own future,
There are some modern fashi., ns of thought that I have
encountered that political independence should precede economic
viability;
that democratic self-government is something that can
be created, artificially, from the top, and that it will
then find its way down to the grass roots; and
that speed is mauch more important than certainty or
security.
Now I think that you will agree that it is important that I should
say something about each of these propositions.
1 say freedom is an inborn right, and not a concession
by povuer. This means equality before the law, a free choice of
occupotion, freedom of association and so on.
But people who are, taken as individuals, free, are
not necessarily taken as members of a commijP, 1.. x ripe for political
independence. In a community sense, genuinely free institutions
of government are essential for the preservation of Indiidual
freedom, Recent years have produced instances we all know
them in which the grant of self-government has led to a form of
dictatorship or oligarchy, government by a few, in which the freedom
of the individual has been suppressed or gravely limited,
" Individual freedom" and " political independence" are
therefore not synonymous. They can, by the careful cultivation of
the various local and national means of organised self-government,
be made to co-exist -individual freedom and political independence
made to co-exist. This is our policy in Papua and New Guinea,
But, when considering political factors, we cannot
sensibly ignore the economic ones. To give a former colony or
territory political independence, while leaving it economically
dependent upon the actions of others, is to expose it to grave risks
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of " loaded" assistance, undue political pressure from outside
nations or interests, a temptation to barter its freedom of
political action for cash or goods in hand.
That is why we regard the economic development of
Papua and New Guinea along lines which they can successfully
follow when political independence has been granted, as of vital
importance. Wat k nd of economicdevel ~ int do we eznyjq~ age_, and
what are its Drbems? I~ rtwe must carry on, with all thae speed which
humnan and material resources will permit, the basic work of educating
the people, not only for political citizenship, but also for
increased economic capacity; better knowledge of agricultural and
pastoral production, better technical skill, administrative
capacity at all levels.
Second, we must take all steps to make improved
techniques available to what I may call, in the well-known phrase,
the " man on the land". Not trying to convert every small sustjenance
tiller of the soil in some remote valley into a " cs crop"
aproducer; but at the same time increasing the number and capacity
Wof those producing cash crops, not only for improved living at home,
but for exports to earn some of the money needed for imports and
investment. Thrd On the economic side, we have to consider what
WI will call the three Tts Transport, Trade and Tariff.
The marketing capacity of the Territories! producers,
be they agricultural, pastoral, mineral, or processing, will be
profoundly affected by the means of transport. And in this
country, that means roads, air services coastal shipping facilities.
Much has been done; much more must be Aone in the future,
Export trade must be developed. with new markets,
particularly in the countries of the South-West Pacific and South
East Asia. This is tremendously important. The Commonwealth
S Department of Trade is constantly active in this field, but I agree
Wmuch remains to be done.
Trade with Australia, as distinct from these other
countries I've been mentioning, involves Tariff considerations which
are never slimple. Yet they must be solved as must be the problem
of non-Australian markets, if there is to Le industrial development
in Papua and New Guinea. Much thought is to be given to the-pattern
of such development if we are to see a proper economic growth in
these Territories on terms and conditions I want you to mark this
on terms and conditions which will be sustainable by an independent
and self-governing community in due course.
Fourth, we must encourage those settlers who have, over
the years, done so much to help the growth of the New Guinea economy
in production and commerce, Australia herself the mainland
needs and obtains much useful capital investment from overseas.
How much more do these Territories need it. Yet I know that we here
encounter a reluctance which proceeds from a feeling of uncertainty.
Can the man who invests the capital be reasonably sure of a proper
opportunity to secure the fruits of his enterprise? For myself,
I understand these doubts, though I cannot say that I share them in
any substantial sense. Now, why do I say this? You may say it is
easy enough to say it.
Well, I will refer to the defence of the territory
later on, I want to indicate that we, Australia, are not going to
be hurried out. We have a long job ahead of us and you have and
we intend to complete it. One of our great objectives is that when
Independence Day arrives, it will come in a spirit of friendship and
good will, in which the indigenous inhabitants will appreciate the
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investment and work of what I believe are called the expatriate
settlers, will realise how these have contributed to their social and
economic growth, and will wish to preserve them, Whether concr'ete
guar'antees or supports can be given to investors is, I need hardly
tell. you, a most complex matter. My colleague, Mr. Hasluck, whose
devotion to his difficult office wye all admire so much, has given this
problem a lot of attention. A group of leading businessmen from
Australia recently visited you. It has furnished a valuable report
which, as I saw it just a few hours before coming up here, I have not
yet had time to consider, but I know that it is valuable and suggestive,
The W orld Bank's Mission I hope to see in Canberra not long
after my return. I can tell you that in addressing ourselves to
this problem, we will have in our minds a clear belief that without
morp investment for development and production, these Territories will
just not have an economic strength to sustain political independence;
that it is our duty as a governiment to seek out and apply whatever
practical and reasonable measures can be devised orthodox or novel
to encourage and sustain confidence and growth through willing and
co-operative investment and effort.
In short, we want to work with you. We certainly will not
run away from you,
In spite of superficial critics, who know little or nothing
* of the vast complexities of a country with -a fringe of modern economic
acti~ vity and a deep hinterland of primitive civilisation and activity,
our tasks cannot be performed in a year or two. However great our
activity, it will be a long haul. There are hundreds of tribes and
languages, each with its own pattern of life. The job is not ' to
* destroy those patterns, but to adapt and modify them against the
background of better health and medical services, better education,
better means of transport, better knowledge of production.
Not one of these elements can be dealt with in isolation,
nor can they be forced upon distant and perhaps unreceptive people.
We have, all of us that means you as well as myself a lot to
study and a lot to learn about the ways and means of raising the
standards of primitive people while not blindly or stupidly assuming
that they will ultimately resemble, in social and economic structure,
Australia herself, Democrati. c self-government I now turn to the second
fashion that I referred to the pecular contribution of the Englishspeaking
people to social and political history, took centuries to
develop. With all the benefits of history and experience, such
Sprocesses can of course, nowadays, occur much more rapidly. But it
V is still true that you cannot create effective self-government merely
by setting up, by statute or otherwise, a form of parliament.
Democracy, my friends, is neither artificial nor easy. We have, I
think, been approaching this matter in the right way in the development
of local government and an increasingly representative Legislative
Council. At all stages we maintain contact with informed local
opinion, We are determined ~ o pursue these sensible processes,
" without fear, favour, or affection." We will at all times be ready
to receive advice and assistance in these tasks. But, as. the
paramount consideration, one which it is our absolute duty not to
forget, is the welfare of the people of these Territories, we will
be unwilling to accept orders to take some hasty step which would
cut across that duty. We will, in due course, take the decis4. on of
the people whose trustees we are.
Nothing of course, is more damaging to the growth of
independent institutions than armed attack or invasion. These
Territories have had bitter and devastating experience of that,
Well, on this aspect of the matter I repeat what I said recently
in Canberra, that: " We will defend these Territories as if they
were part of our mainland; there must be no mistaken ideas about
that." In that attitude, my friends, we have, as you know and as
you have recently been reminded, the staunch backing of our ANZUS
partner, the United States of America. 00* 004/ 4.
Now, it follows from what I have said that, in moving
tdwards self-government, speed is not more important than certainty
or security, This does not mean that we are to have a " go-slow"
policy. I once said that, if and when we reached a point at which
we felt that the people were approaching, getting very very close
to readiness for self-determination, but we were not sure, still
had a lingering hesitation, it would be better to ac-u then too soon
than too late, But we are as yet a long way from that stage, as
the leaders of the indigenous peoples have frequently agreed and as
indeed they have stated to me in the highlands in the last thirtysix
hours, We want a sound feeling about the wishes of the people of
these Territories. We want security for those who are now there, and
for those who are to come.
Meanwhile, nobody but a pure theorist could say that the
pace of progress is too slow, In the field of education, which is
by common consent very important, I will just give some facts you
know them but other people may not.
By 1958 the number of registered and recognised mission
schools was 274, By 1962 this is only four years later this
number had increased almost five-fold. Administration schools have
increased from 44 in 1951 to 431 in 1962, and of course much is being
done in secondary and technical schools. We are also having an
investigation at present about university possibilities. Meanwhile,
there are 88 post-primary and secondary schools, of which 20 are
technical. Here are the proofs of great headway under the helpful
administration of a nation ( our own) which, in the case of Papua and
New Guinea, rates its duty much higher than its rights.
And, I rapeat, it is rujsolutely determined to do its
duty by the whole of the people of the twin territories, indigenous
or otherwise. Now let me end up by saying this to you. In speaking
to you, one of the things I like to remember is that, while I speak
as the head of a Liberal and Country Party Administration with, as
you all know, a narrow majority, the Parliamentary approach to the
future of these Territories is not marked by deep differences. Some
of those who are listening to me tonight may, exercising a proper
privile ge, say " A plague on both your Housesi" l Well, please don't
think tha this sentiment makes you unique. I understand it, and
( if I may make a confidential remark, not to be repeated) have
occasionally thought so myself. But we are all, in a real sense,
and whatever our differences of race or politics, members of the
family. The neighbours cannot and should. not settle our domestic
problems for us. But, with sense and fortitude and understanding
and some imagination we can. I want -all of you to see this
to see our common in~ crests clearly and to serve them faithfully.
For in this way, my friends, we shall come to a happy and prosperous
future, Good night and good luck to you all.