Canberra, 19 May 1969
PNG—strengthening of social affairs function
In conjunction with the Administration, the Department has recently focussed attention on increasing social problems resulting from accelerated economic development. These problems are more obviously seen in the towns with the increase in squatter settlements, youth unemployment and social welfare casework but have their origin in the growing drift of populations away from the villages. There is a need too to take more account of the social problems inherent in economic development as seen say in the difficulty of welding a community from the diverse group settled at Cape Hoskins.
2. It is believed that some immediate measures should be taken to strengthen the responsible Administration organization, the Social Services and Community Development Division of the Department of District Administration, both to meet existing needs and to cope with future developments in a more orderly fashion. The Division should form the nucleus of the social affairs department recently approved in the review of the Administration structure. 1
3. The main problem areas it should be concerned with seem to be—
Squatter settlements : a number of reports bear out that squatters are a Territory-wide problem (estimated 30,000 squatters), numbers are on increase, overcrowding and poor or no sanitation are rife, and there is present dissatisfaction and growing potential for delinquency and civil disturbance.
Breakdown in village life : more and more villages are losing out in competition with towns and young men and women are going to the towns well in excess of their prospects of finding stable urban employment.
Problems of adjustment : found especially with newly educated young but full range of social problems common in urbanised communities now occurring amongst regular town dwellersmarital disputes and maintenance problems, delinquency, financial problems, early pregnancies amongst educated girls. The Catholic Bishops have recently expressed concern about the condition of indigenous family life, especially in regard to family break-up caused by employment practices and ‘sub-human’ housing conditions.
4. Basically, a two-pronged approach is needed: remedial action to contend with the already existing welfare and housing problems of the towns, and preventive measures, to counter further urban drift, aimed at village life. In the towns, the problems and the measures needed to meet them are well known: there should be an increase in welfare staff to undertake social casework and assist with no-covenant housing schemes, and greater assistance to voluntary agencies promoting youth work, self-help schemes etc. Additional welfare staff should also assist with the spread of family planning.
5. Improving the attractiveness of village life is a far more intractable problem and requires consideration of new approaches. The recommended approach is a community development programme aimed at stimulating social and economic development especially in poorly endowed areas. Community development advisers would have responsibility for encouraging self-help schemes aimed at village improvement and ensuring that Administration programmes in agricultural extension, vocational training, health etc. were properly co-ordinated and fully effective at village level. A submission on the steps required to establish a full-scale community development programme will be made at a later date; the present submission concentrates on immediate steps forward.
Proposals
6. Serious shortages now exist in both social welfare and community development staff in quite key areas including West New Britain, Bougainville and West Sepik. There are few welfare staff and no community development staff in the Western and Gulf Districts, the original home of many Port Moresby squatters.
7. It is proposed that the Public Service Board should be asked to—
1. increase recruitment of both local and overseas welfare and community development officers. No community development officers and only three overseas welfare officers have been included so far in the draft 1969/70 recruitment programme. The welfare division has indigenised as much as possible but its local officers need more experience and training before they can take on greater responsibilities. The staff increase recommended would therefore be at least 3 or 4 community development advisers (overseas) and six welfare officers (overseas) with necessary increases in local staff.
2. review the establishment for the Social Services and Community Development Division taking account of the increased priority to be given to social and community development activities.
8. It is proposed that funds for training courses (community education courses, women’s club leaders and Council community development workers) should provide for an expansion of activities. The amount required in 1969/70 would be no more than $30,000 (although only $22,000 has been budgeted for to date). The votes for grants to voluntary agencies and missions and for assistance to self-help community projects should also be increased. The latter funds, which need not be substantial (say $10,000), should be available to community development advisers as uncommitted funds to be used for ‘pump-priming’ purposes i.e. setting going particular village projects which have not yet or will not appear on a normal works programme.
9. The above proposals are the result of joint Administration/Departmental investigations over a number of months and while they have not been cleared in detail with the Administration, the Administrator and his officers are in favour of development along these lines. Further programmes will undoubtedly be needed, but it is considered the measures proposed should be taken as a first step.
Recommendation
10. It is recommended that the measures proposed in paragraphs 7 and 8 above be taken as a first step in expansion of social welfare and community development activities.2
[NAA: A452, 1969/3988]
1 See editorial note ‘Reconstruction of the PNG public service and the Fenbury Affair’.
2 In a marginal note to Barnes of 17 May, Warwick Smith wrote: ‘I think it is important to pay attention to the human side of the economic development programme, which could otherwise be negatived’. Barnes approved the recommendation on 19 May. Warwick Smith therefore sent Hay a paper proposing the formulation of a social development program, hoping that ‘we could quickly agree on timing and method of approach’—though he did ‘not envisage … that we are looking at a too-lengthy exercise nor would I expect it to be one of the breadth and scale of the economic development programme. We will obviously need to avoid any raising of expectations beyond foreseeable resources’ (letter, Warwick Smith to Hay, 11 July 1969, NAA: A452, 1969/3988). In September, discussions were held in Canberra with Fenbury, after which there were negotiations between Territories and the Administration over the organisation and policy direction of the new Department of Social Development and Home Affairs (see ibid.). There had earlier been a complaint from Hay that Document 272 had presented the Administration with a fait accompli regarding this department’s policy focus, an allegation dismissed by Besley who said he would point out to Hay that ‘in fact the Administration’s views were obtained and … in all submissions to the Minister this is a procedure rigidly followed by the Department’ (minute, 28 June 1969, Besley to Reseigh, NAA: A452, 1969/3983).