Canberra, 18 April 1968
Confidential
Papua and New Guinea constitutional development
Cabinet Decision No. 558 of 7th October, 1967,1 accepted amendments to the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949–1966 to give substantial effect to the recommendations of the Select Committee on Constitutional Development appointed by the House of Assembly for Papua and New Guinea.
2. There are certain additional matters which I consider ought to have Cabinet endorsement.2
Priority for Government business
3. Because there are 84 elected members and only 10 official members it would be possible for elected members to prevent consideration being given to urgent Administration business in the House. It is proposed that the Act should enable the Administrator to secure priority for particular Government business by a message to the Speaker.
Appointments to the Public Service
4. The present Act provides that the Governor-General may appoint or may delegate to the Minister or the Administrator the power to appoint persons to be officers of the Public Service of the Territory. In 1964 the Service was reconstructed basically as a career Service for indigenous officers and since then overseas staff have been engaged on a contract basis by the Minister under the Public Service Ordinance. Following this recommendation and in view of the proposed establishment of a Public Service Board in the Territory, it is proposed that the Act should be amended to vest the powers of appointment of officers of the Territory Public Service, including staff engaged on a contract basis and temporary employees, in the Minister, and to provide for him appropriate powers of delegation.
Governor-General’s power to assent to part of an Ordinance
5. Under the present Act, Ordinances on certain subject matters are required to be reserved for the Governor-General to assent or withhold assent. Ordinances on the general run of subject matters may be assented to by the Administrator but he may also reserve any Ordinance for the Governor-General’s pleasure. Where an Ordinance is assented to by the Administrator the Governor-General is authorised to disallow the Ordinance in whole or in part but there is no parallel power to withhold assent to part of a reserved Ordinance. 1t is considered that the parallel power should be established in the Act so that the Governor-General could withhold assent to part of a ‘reserved’ Ordinance.
6. To avoid the possibility of such a power being exercised so that legislation would come into force in a form entirely different from that intended by the legislature it is envisaged that the authority of Cabinet would be obtained before the Governor-General was advised to exercise it in any particular case, and the requirement of the Papua and New Guinea Act that a Statement of Reasons should be tabled in Parliament when assent is withheld to an Ordinance would, it is proposed, apply equally where assent is withheld to part of an Ordinance.
Delegation of powers to Ministerial Members
7. The recommendations of the Select Committee on the Constitution which Cabinet approved recognised that until the people of the Territory determine their own political and constitutional future the duty and responsibility of administering the Territory rests with the Administrator acting on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. In accordance with this principle it is envisaged that Ministerial Members would exercise their powers by delegation from the Administrator. They should not have powers conferred on them directly by Ordinance to the exclusion of the Minister, and thus be placed in a position of exercising powers in their own right. It is proposed to frame the relevant amendments to the Act accordingly.
Local consultation
8. The Administrator’s Council is continuing to function although in a ‘lame–duck’ capacity and this Council will be consulted on the changes now proposed before legislation is introduced into Parliament.
Recommendation
9. I recommend that the Act be amended to provide:
(a) that priority be accorded to Administration business in the House of Assembly when a message is sent to the Speaker;
(b) that the power of appointment to the Territory Public Service, including employees on a contract basis and temporary employees, be vested in the Minister along with a power to delegate;
(c) that the Governor-General have power to withhold assent to part of a reserved Ordinance as well as to disallow part of an Ordinance assented to by the Administrator;
(d) that the Act preclude statutory powers being conferred on Ministerial Members and on Assistant Ministerial Members by Ordinance whilst providing for them to exercise powers by delegation.3
[NAA: A5868, 59]
1 This should read ‘7 September, 1967’. See footnote 4, Document 139.
2 Barnes and Warwick Smith seem initially to have envisaged a more extensive submission. A note in Warwick Smith’s files, under the heading ‘Basic policy’, set down plans for a submission based on ‘policy points’ in Hay’s letter (presumably Document 155). The note explained: ‘The idea is a Cabinet Submission which would give the Minister Cabinet backing for a firm line vis-a-vis any radical moves in the new House of Assembly. The Minister wants to point out … that we are making a massive effort to bring about economic development with a heavy expenditure of funds and with concentration on staff, recruitment etc. He wants to say that this could not be done unless we control expenditure. If the stage is reached where the House … effectively controls expenditure then whether we call it so or not that is self-government and that is not what the majority of people want at the present time. He wants to point out that there will be influences in the new House which will continually be trying to influence the power of the House … This will have to be resisted at various stages, the particular stages and the degree of resistance being a matter of judgement. He wants to make it clear to the Cabinet that the House … is a transitional House and no one can expect it to function in the same way as an Australian Parliament functions for the various specific reasons which can be set out. The object of the submission … will be to warn of difficult circumstances likely to arise and to get authority in advance for the Minister to handle these along approved lines’ (21 March 1968, NAA: NA1983/239, 48/2).
3 During a two-day visit to Port Moresby in mid-April, Barnes made clear his views on self-government. In an interview with the press, he said ‘I don’t think the question of a date for self-government is very important. We are fitting them for self-government by the efforts we are putting into the development of the economy, changes in the political system and social structure. I believe we are bringing them closer to the stage where they can have self-government’. When asked if he still held to the view expressed in 1965 that PNG would not be independent for 20 to 30 years, Barnes replied ‘Yes’ ( Age , 19 April 1968, NLA: mfm NX 41 ).