TERRITORIES OF PAPUA & NEW GUINEA
COMBINED ADMINSTRATION

Territory of Papua

Settled 1884, Australian control under the title Territory of
Papua from 1906. Area 90,540 square miles. Population 1941:

Europeans 1,800, Natives estimated 300,000. 1941 Revenue 189,518
(including grant of 42,500 from Commonwealth Government);

Expenditure 189,000; Imports 539,152; Exports 492,775.

Mandated Territory of New Guinea

Settled by Germany 1884, Australian control, Military 1914, Civil
control under mandate 9th May 1921. Area 93,000 square miles.

Population 1941: Europeans 4,100, Asiatics 2,228, Natives 684,284
counted and further 300,000 estimated. 1941 Revenue 423,750;

Expenditure 431,791; Imports 962,129; Exports 3,247,585.

Administrative and Legislative Machinery

The two Territories were entirely separate with separate
Administrations and Public Services. The administrative set-up was
similar in the two Territories with Legislative councils
(nominated) and Executive councils. There was an Administrator for
Papua and an Administrator for New Guinea. The Legislative
Councils were empowered to make Ordinances which were subject to
the Administrator's assent and could be disallowed by the
Governor-General. Ordinances on certain subjects were reserved for
the pleasure of the Governor-General.

Amalgamation

The question of the amalgamation of the Territory was considered:-

(1) 1919-A Royal Commission comprising three members was appointed
to report on the organisation of a system of government for the
Territory of New Guinea. Two members advised against amalgamation
with the Territory of Papua and one member (Sir Hubert Murray)
favoured amalgamation. The recommendation of the majority was
accepted.

(2) 1939-A committee was appointed to survey the possibility of
establishing a combined Administration of the Territories of Papua
and New Guinea. The Committee arrived at the conclusion that at
the time a fully combined Administration for the two Territories
was not desirable in the interests of the Territories or their
people and also impracticable for financial and legal reasons on
account of New Guinea being a mandated Territory. The report of
the Committee was accepted.

European Opinion

There have been no recent expressions of opinion of European
residents on the question of amalgamation. The Public Service
Association of the Territory of Papua in October 1946 submitted
that before any decision is made a referendum be taken within the
Territories on the question of a separate or combined
Administration of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea. It was
stated that the Returned Soldiers' League was joined in those
representations.

Arrangements during Military Administration 1942-45

The Civil Administrations of the Territor[ies] were suspended on
12th February, 1942, on account of the Japanese invasion of New
Guinea and part of Papua. A Military Unit (A.N.G.A.U.) carried out
in the Territor[ies] such functions of Civil Administration as
were necessary and possible and administered the available
portions of the Territories as one unit for Administration
purposes.

Provisional Administration

From October 1945, the Territory of Papua and portion of the
Territory of New Guinea was transferred from military to civil
control and progressively the remaining portions of the Territory
of New Guinea were transferred until the whole of that Territory
as well as Papua came under civil control from June 1946.

In July 1945, the Papua - New Guinea Provisional Administration
Act was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament to provide for one
Administration for the former separate Territories. This was a
tentative arrangement pending determination as to the future
policy in regard to the Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

Trusteeship System

The future of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea has been
determined by the Trusteeship Agreement approved by the United
Nations Assembly designating Australia as the sole administering
authority for the Territory. Article 5 of the Agreement permits
the administering authority to bring the Trusteeship Territory
into a customs, fiscal or administrative union or federation with
other dependent Territories under its jurisdiction and to
establish commons services if in the opinion of the administering
authority it would be in the interests of the Territory and not
inconsistent with the basic objectives of the trusteeship system
to do so.

It will be seen that an administrative union or federation is
permitted and that it is possible to establish common services for
a Trust Territory and another Territory under the jurisdiction of
the administering authority. Annexation of the Trust Territory in
any form would not be consistent with the Trusteeship Agreement
and an assurance has been given by the administering powers,
including Australia, that they do not consider that the terms of
their respective Trusteeship Agreements enable them to establish
any form of political association between Trust Territories
respectively administered by them and adjacent Territories which
would involve annexation of the Trust Territory in any sense or
would have the effect of extinguishing their status as Trust
Territories. Amalgamation of New Guinea with Papua would not
therefore be consistent with the provisions of the Trusteeship
Agreement. A federation would involve separate Administrations for
the two Territories. A union of the Territory of Papua with the
Territory of New Guinea with common services for the two areas is
favoured.

Name of Territory

Possible names for the unified Territory are:-

(1) Australian New Guinea;

(2) Territory of Papua and New Guinea;

(3) Territory of Papua - New Guinea (this is the title that has
been used for the Provisional Administration).

Papua was the first extra territorial area administered by
Australia under whose jurisdiction the Territory has been placed
since 1906. For that if no other reason it is desirable that the
name of 'Papua' should be retained. To align the Trust Territory
area with the terms of the Agreement and for historical reasons it
is desirable that the name 'New Guinea' should be retained. The
title 'The Territory of Papua and New Guinea' is favoured for the
unified Territory.

Recommended

(1) There be an administrative union of the Territory of Papua
with the Trust Territory of New Guinea with provision for one
Administration Head, one legislative body and for common services
for the whole area;

(2) The title of the Territories so united be 'The Territory of
Papua and New Guinea'.

(3) A Bill for an Act be prepared to-
(a) approve the Trusteeship Agreement; and
(b) provide a constitution for the combined Territories and
establish a permanent Administration therefor. [1]

(E. J. WARD)
Minister of State for External Territories