Canberra, 5 November 1969
Possible social problems connected with Bougainville mining project
In his discussions with the Minister for External Territories on 21st August, 1969,1 Mr. Lapun stated that the Bougainville people were afraid of the social upheaval which the building of Arawa town might cause. He suggested that great care be taken to protect the social structure of the people. The Minister assured Mr. Lapun that every effort would be made to preserve the culture and the social structure of these people.
2. We are conscious that the commencement of work on the Bougainville copper project will mean the influx into Bougainville of large numbers of expatriate workers, very largely young single men. It seems that there will be between 500 and 600 of them on the project by November this year. We would think it advisable that consideration be given now, if it has not already been done so, to measures which can be taken to obviate any social disturbance that might arise from the contact of these workers with the local people.2
3. The social and personal problems that might result are not ones that can be readily legislated about. Quite apart from any criticism that the Government was acting in a paternalistic fashion we see ourselves that any legal restrictions would be likely to be impracticable.
4. Our own thinking nevertheless is that some restrictions would be desirable to avoid casual liaisons with local women and unsavoury influences on local customs generally. As a practical approach to the problem we suggest that representatives of the Administration, the mining company and the local people get together, talk over likely problems and draw up a working set of rules that will ensure that company employees regard the villages as off-limits. Such rules would be more effective if the villages close to Arawa town were resettled some distance away and this possibility could be discussed with the people.
5. It is further suggested that early steps be taken to post to the area a community development worker who might be able to help the local people to understand something of the nature of a mining camp and how they can adjust to it to their best advantage while avoiding any undue social unrest. The community development worker would also act as an adviser to and point of contact for the local people in any problems that might arise in their dealings with the mining community.
6. I would be glad to receive your early views and proposals for action on this matter.3
[NAA: A452, 1969/4921]
1 See editorial note ‘Bougainville: reaction to Rorovana’.
2 In mid-October, Hay had written to Newman, drawing attention to a case in Australia where he believed Comalco had failed at Weipa to live up to promises on social policies relating to Aboriginal residents and employees. He stressed: ‘We need to make sure that Bougainville Copper is not going to do the same thing. I should be glad if somebody could check the Agreement to see what written obligations there are. If there are none, then we should, in my opinion, consider writing formally to the Company and putting it to them that they should voluntarily undertake to follow certain policies which we would define. In this connection I have already asked Mr. Fenbury to establish a committee to enquire into the social effects of the establishment of a town on the people who live near Arawa. The Committee has had only one meeting and has refrained from further activity until the situation in relation to land seemed like being resolved. I am inclined to think this Committee should very shortly be put back to work, with perhaps a representative of Napidakoe added to it. The Company agreed to take part in the Committee’ (minute 15 October 1969, NAA: M1866, 4).
3 Hay agreed that legislation did not provide a solution and that an ‘over-paternalistic’ attitude would be ‘recognised and rejected’. He noted that a Bougainville social committee had already been established and added that Fenbury had been asked what action his department could take. This department was, he wrote, ‘severely restricted’ in the current financial period but an application had been made for an expanded field staff. Further, the appointment of a District Commissioner to negotiate on the mine’s development as it affected the Administration and Bougainvilleans ‘might lead to some agreement on relationships which should exist between C.R.A. staff and the local people’. ‘However’, Hay wrote, ‘I doubt if there is any effective way of ensuring that liaisons or other undesirable practices will not occur. There will certainly be full discussions on these and associated problems but the outcome of them will depend largely on the controls which the Company itself is prepared to exercise over its own staff’ (memorandum, Administration (Hay) to DOET, 5 December 1969, NAA: A452, 1969/4921 ).