PNGAF MAGAZINE ISSUE # 4 OF 21ST NOVEMBER 2020

AUSTRALIAN FORESTERS in PAPUA NEW GUINEA 1922-1975

PNGAF MAGAZINE ISSUE # 4 of 21st November 2020 Forestry Political History Australia and PNG 1945-1975.

POLITICAL HISTORY 1945- 1975

Editor R B McCarthy1 2020 1

District Forester TPNG 1963-1975

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wet-and-dry-bulb thermometer

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TABLE OF CONTENTS “FORWOOD” TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA 1945-1949 E Ward Minister Transport, Minister External Territories 1946 McAdam’s first announcement of a formal forest policy. 1948 Jim McAdam’s Approved Forest Development Program 1949 Report Royal Commission Bulolo Timber Lease 1949 Jock Garden 1949 Cyril Chambers 1949 The Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 1949-1951 Percy Spender Minister for External Territories 1951 Forest Policy Statement Spender 1951 Legislative Council TPNG established 1951-1963 Paul Hasluck. Minister Territories 1952--1966 Donald Cleland Administrator TPNG 1953 Forestry Ordinance 1936-37 of New Guinea applied to Papua 1954-1945 Establishment of Bulolo plywood mill 1957 Womersley and McAdam 1957 Forest Policy Statement Hasluck 1958 Adoption of new Forest Policy 1962 Five Year Program 1962-1967 Forestry PNG Hasluck 1962. Establishment of Bulolo Forestry College 1962 United Nations Visiting Mission - Britain’s Sir Hugh Foot 1963 Hasluck’s final two years 1963-1972 Charles Edward "Ceb" Barnes Minister for Territories 1964 Legislative Council replaced by elected House of Assembly 1964 World Bank Review TPNG Report published 1965 1964-1970 George W Smith Secretary Department of Territories 1965 Select Committee on Constitutional Development 1965 Barnes Speech Opening Bulolo Forestry College 1965 Bougainville independence movement begins to stir 1966-1970 Sir David Osborne Hay, Administrator PNG 1968 House of Assembly 5-year development program 1968 -73. 1970-1973 Les Johnson CBE Administrator PNG 1971 The name of the Territory was changed to Papua New Guinea 1971 Passage of Forestry (Private Dealings) Act 1972 Self-government A Peacock Minister for External Territories 1972 Michael Somare elected Chief Minister 1972-1973 William L Morrison Minister for External Territories 1973-1975 Don Willesee Minister for Foreign Affairs 1974 Carson Report on Forestry and Forest Policy in PNG 1974 Jephcott National Eight Point Improvement Plan Forest Policy 1975 Forest Policy Statement Based on 1973 Document 1975 Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 1975 - 16th September PNG attained Independence 1945-1975 Institutional Forestry Development

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1971 Passage of Forestry (Private Dealings) Act 1974 Land Groups Incorporation Act and Land Acquisition Act. Formation of a Forest Department Jim McAdam’s Approved Forest Development Program 1948 Managing Directors of the Department of Forests and PNGFA Jim McAdam MM 1938-1959 Bill Suttie 1959-1970 Don McIntosh 1970-1973 Kevin White A/Director till 1977 Andrew Yauieb 1973-1974 Emanuel Semoso 1975-1984 Oscar Mamalai 1985- 1989 Michael Komtagarea 1990-1992 Jean Kekedo 1993 -1996 Guao Zurenouc 1997-1998 Thomas Nen 1999-2001 David Nelson 2002 Terry Warra A/MD 2002-2005 Diki Kari A/MD 2006 Kanawi Pouru 2007 to 2015 Goodwill Amos A/MD 2016 Tunou Sabuin 2017 to Present 1970’s Dept. of Forests functions and objectives 1945-1975 Forest Industry Development 2011 WHAT OF THE FUTURE? - Jim Belford Acronyms

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“FORWOOD” The Second World War disturbed both the physical and conceptual dimensions of Australian Rule in TPNG.2 An outcome of the war that was less tangible, yet no less real: the hundreds of thousands of Australian servicemen and women who served in PNG imbibed and promoted an affection for its people that stimulated a sense of responsibility and commitment to the future of the territories. PNGAF Mag # 4 addresses Australian Government policy directives, which in time, produced functional and field activities in forestry. These were the Ward, Spender, Hasluck, Barnes policies. Kevin White3 pointed out for each of the Australian Minister for Territories stated policies and programs, the themes were common in each of these policies. They were complementary, rather than conflicting. They have provided a stable political background to the functional policies that were developed in the field. They could be summarised as: • • •

The identification of the resource. The use of the resource in economic development programs. The involvement of the Papua New Guinea people in this economic development, especially in respect of traditional land ownership.

By 1974, Mr Bruce Jephcott MHA Minister for Natural Resources, presented a National Eight Point Improvement Plan Forest Policy for Papua New Guinea which was translated into a forest policy and then presented as a list of forestry objectives. By 1975, Australian foresters had undertaken initiatives for the development of: • • •

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Detailed flora inventories of the various forest systems of PNG. Community based forest management interventions including a forest concession system catering for all parties, i.e. landowners, government agencies and developers. Industrial wood processes for the conversion and treatment of PNG woods during this period coupled with development of a structured wood processing and construction industry. Silvicultural techniques to grow PNG species in plantation format. Technical and tertiary training initiatives.

Long term forester and resident of PNG Jim Belford describes what could be envisaged as the future scenario for PNG forestry in his keynote address of 2011. “PNG for the next forty years and beyond”. Forests have always been a strategic resource, and a secure way into the future for PNG. It requires the involvement of foresters in the commercial business of forestry who 2

Documents on Australian Foreign Policy Australia and Papua New Guinea 1966–1969 Stuart Doran Editor Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade © Commonwealth of Australia 2006 ISBN 1 921244 01 1 ISBN 1 921244 00 3 (pbk) 3

White, K.J., 1976. Australian forest policy in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea: The close of an era. Presidential address to Papua New Guinea Scientific Society. 27 p.

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must strive for optimum results for PNG where the industry ownership and resource ownership are in the same hands. R B McCarthy Editor 21st November 2020

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TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA 4 In organisational terms, World War 2 resulted in consolidation of PNG’s administrative structures. During the Japanese invasion, both Papua and the Australian-controlled areas of New Guinea were managed as a single entity from Port Moresby.

Australian Parliament House approximately 1945 ABC records. E J Ward Minister for External Territories 1943-1949 Hon. Eddie Ward Minister for Transport and Minister for External Territories 1943-1949 Photo credit Wikipedia. In June 1945, whilst World War 2 was still raging, the Australian political machinery was involved in restoring civil administration to the Territory of Papua and that portion of the Territory of New Guinea south of the Markham River. Ward, as then Minister for Territories, in moving that the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Bill be read for a second time stated: “This government is not satisfied that sufficient interest has been taken in the Territories prior to the Japanese invasion, or that adequate funds had been provided for their development and the advancement of the native inhabitants. Apart from the debt of gratitude that the people of Australia owe to the natives of the Territory , the Government regards it as its 4

Papua was an Australian Territory while New Guinea was a United Nations Trust Territory

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bounden duty to further to the utmost the advancement of the natives, and considers that can be achieved only by providing facilities for better health, better education and for a great participation by the natives in the wealth of their country and eventually its government.” Ward went on to say: It is the aim of the Government, as the proposer at the San Francisco Conference of the establishment of the principles of trusteeships respecting dependent peoples, to set an example by the way in which Australia carries out its responsibilities in the Territories under its control.” Ward’s statement gives a clear indication of the Australian Government to establish the now independent nation of Papua New Guinea. From 1944 to 1946, forestry matters including cutting and milling of timber controlled by the Army through the 1st Australian C.R.E., New Guinea Forests under the command of Jim McAdam MM. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, civil administration of Papua and New Guinea was restored. Under the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Act (1945–46), Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union. a practice continued after 1945 and solidified by the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949. The first TPNG Department of Forests was set up after the war by Jim McAdam MM, in 1946. Army forestry records and some equipment were taken over by the Administration. Former army personnel were recruited to form the nucleus of the Forestry Department running both the government sawmills (Yalu and Kerevat) for reconstruction activities in addition to the commencement of reafforestation projects. In 1946, McAdam’s approved forest development program was the first announcement of a formal forest policy. Jim McAdam’s Approved Forest Development Program 1948 1 2 3 4 5

Forest resource survey. Program of forest reservation. Program for research. Management and working plans. Training of staff.

In 1949, the Report was released of the Australian Royal Commission on New Guinea Timber Lease Transactions (in relation to the Bulolo Timber area). When Labor came to office federally in 1941, John S (“Jock)”) Garden was employed as an adviser by Eddie Ward, a former Lang Labor man who was Minister for External Territories from 1943–49. In this capacity he travelled to PNG, then an Australian possession, and was involved in the corrupt sale of timber leases to various business friends. Ward himself, pressed for the establishment of a Royal Commission. In 1946 a Royal Commission found 8

that Garden had engaged in corrupt conduct, and he was subsequently convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years imprisonment. The effect of this Royal Commission5 is that Eddie Ward was exonerated by the findings of the Commission’. Mr Chambers was made acting Minister in charge of New Guinea and Papua affairs. John Smith "Jock" Garden (13 August 1882 – 31 December 1968), clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia. Photo credit Wikipedia

History of the Case. The drama began in 1944 soon after Ward became Minister for Territories after being Minister for National Service. His old friend and staunch comrade, Mr Jock Garden was a high official in Mr Ward’s National Service Department who moved with Ward to the new department. Another official involved was Mr Urquhart. Somehow, around the end of 1944, Jock Garden, Edward Farrell (mining engineer) and Ray Parer (pioneer aviator) became involved in a plan for securing rights to some of the Bulolo Valley timber stands. Mr Farrell in 1944-45, succeeded in getting a well-known timber concern – Hancock and Gore Ltd, interested in the project. A syndicate was formed with Jock Garden, his son Har, Farrell and Parer to handle the plan. Hancock and Gore Ltd agreed to pay 100,000 pounds for the right to take the timber. There were problems in getting a lease although Garden had a formal departmental letter signed by E J Ward. , The real obstacle it appears was Mr J R Halligan Secretary of the Department of Territories. Negotiations dragged on through 1945, 1946 and 1947. Hancock and Gore had already paid 50,000 pounds and wrote to the Minister. It went through Garden’s hands who retyped the last sheet of the letter and signed the firm’s name. in December 1947.

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Trove Vol X1X # 7 (Feb 1st, 1949); Vol X1X # 6 (Jan1st 1949) Pacific Island Monthly

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Garden claimed that Ward knew of the plan and that a close friend of Ward’s Urquhart received large sums of cash on Ward’s behalf. Urquhart was Managing Director of Sidney Pincombe Ltd. Hancock and Gore Ltd forced the issue with Minister Ward. He denied knowledge of the plan and monies paid. Garden was arrested and finally convicted of forgery and sentenced to three years jail. Garden, his son and Parer were charged with conspiracy but found not guilty. Farrell escaped trial because he was too ill to appear. Ward sought and was given an inquiry by a Royal Commission to investigate certain aspects of Ward’s administration and his connection, if any with Sidney Pincombe Ltd. The outcome of this Royal Commission1 is that Eddie Ward was exonerated by the findings of the Commission. Mr Chambers was made acting Minister in charge of New Guinea and Papua affairs.

Cyril Chambers CBE (28 February 1898 – 3 October 1975) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1943 to 1958, representing the Labour Party. He was Minister for the Army in the Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949. Photo credit Wikipedia

THE PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA ACT 1949 The Papua and New Guinea Act 1949 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua Act 1905 and the New Guinea Act 1920 and changed the status of the territories of Papua and New Guinea by merging their administrations to form Papua and New Guinea. The Act formally approved the placing on New Guinea under the international trusteeship system and confirmed the administrative union under the title of The Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The Act provided for a legislative council (established in 1951), a judicial organisation, a public service, and a system of local government with Sir Donald Cleland as administrator till his retirement in 1967.

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Sir Percy Claude Spender Minister for External Territories 1949 to 1951 Sir Percy Claude Spender KCVO KBE QC was an Australian politician, diplomat and judge. He served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1951. He was Minister for External Territories from 1949 to 1951. Photo credit Wikipedia.

In 1951, Percy Spender, the then Australian Minister for Territories, issued the first comprehensive forest policy statement, which placed emphasis on the production of sawn timber for post-war reconstruction and expanded works programs. It called for an orderly development of the territory timber industry with provision for reforestation in all areas. An ordinance would be enacted to give expression to the policy outlined. Forest Policy Statement by Minister for External Territories Hon P Spender 1951 1 2 3

Locate, assess, and regulate availability of natural forest resources to bring them within reach of development. Encouragement for investment of private capital for development of these resources. Ensure native participation in this development.

In 1951, a 28-member Legislative Council was set up by Australia, as well as a judiciary and public service.

The old House of Assembly was at Section 8, Allotment 11, along Macgregor Street, Port Moresby. It was built in 1905 as the first European hospital, the first full military hospital during World War II, the first Government administration building in 1943 and the first National Museum and Art Gallery. The House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea was the legislature of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1964 to 1972. Before 1964, the legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea sat from 1951 to 1964 under the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949. After independence in 1975, the legislature was renamed from the House of Assembly of Papua New Guinea to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. 11

Governor General Lord Dunrossil at the opening of the New Guinea Legislative Council of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea Port Moresby 17th October 1960. The new council was meeting for the first time in its new building which had been converted from a hospital. Viscountess Dunrossil is besides the Governor General, and at the right can be seen the Minister for Territories Mr P M Hasluck and the Administrator of Papua New Guinea Brigadier D M Cleland. Photo credit National Archives of Australia.

For over two decades from 1951, only two men held the position of Minister, Hasluck and Barnes.

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Sir Paul Hasluck Minister for Territories 1951 - 1963 The Right Honourable Sir Paul Hasluck. KG, GOMG, GCVO. 17th Governor-General of Australia.1969-1974 Minister for External Affairs 1964-1969 Minister of Defence 1963-1964 Minister of Territories 1951-1963 Photo credit Wikipedia

In 1951, less than two years after entering politics, he was made Minister for Territories in the Menzies Government. In his twelve years in the position, he initiated transitions toward self-government in Australia's territories, including Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Northern Territory. He presided over enormous change in the implementation and administration of Government policy on PNG—but he eschewed rapid change on a narrow front. He saw in PNG the challenge of encouraging the birth of a mature society, ready to make its own decisions in a modern world. The pressing tasks were ‘law and order, health, education’ and lessons on ‘how to earn a living’. Australia was to promote economic growth and provide opportunities for participation in political processes and institutions, but changes in these areas were to be gradual, staying in step with social development. Hasluck’s carefully articulated philosophy was not always neatly translated or reflected yet there is no doubt that a thread ran from theory to practice; his ideas engendered and allowed rudimentary change on a broad scale. In 1951, first contact was made with 400,000 people over an area of 65,000 square miles (16,835,000 ha). By 1963, all areas of the Territory were officially described as being under Australian control Between 1951 and 1963, the enumerated population rose from one million to two, while the estimated figure of those uncounted declined from 325,000 to 50,000. In the same period, numbers in Government (mainly primary) schools had grown from under 5,000 to over 40,000; the number of medical officers in the Territory Department of Public Health doubled; the rugged interior became accessible by road; and six Native Village Councils covering 19,000 people grew to 77 indigenous Local Government Councils administering a population of 700,000. Indicatively, the Australian grant to PNG increased five-fold from $10 million to $50 million. 13

Donald Cleland Administrator 1952 -1966

Capt. Donald Cleland December 1939. Photo credit Wikipedia. He was deputy assistant quartermaster general during the campaigns in Libya, Greece, and Syria in 1941. Cleland was Administrator in TPNG from 1952 to 1966. He was preceded by Administrator Jack Keith Murray and succeeded by Administrator David Hay. He chaired the Legislative Council of TPNG from 1953 to 1964 and directed the introduction of the first House of Assembly by full adult franchise. He restructured the public service so that it would be dominated by Papua New Guineans, paid at a rate the country could afford. He continued the elimination of discriminatory legislation, most obviously ending the liquor ban in 1962. He was knighted in 1961 and retired in 1967. In retirement, Cleland lived in Port Moresby, the only administrator of either territory to choose to stay there. He was pro-chancellor and chancellor (from 1971) of the University of Papua New Guinea, and chancellor (from 1967) of the Anglican diocese of Papua New Guinea. Sir Donald died on 27 August 1975 in Port Moresby. Accorded a state funeral, he was buried in the cemetery at Bomana. 1953 Forestry Ordinance 1936-37 of New Guinea applied to Papua and a uniform policy applied in both Territories. The House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea replaced the Legislative Council in 1963, and after elections on 15th February, opened on 8 June 1964. In 1972, the name of the Territory was changed to Papua New Guinea. With amendments, the Act was to remain until 1975 the legal basis for Australian government in what was now called the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The original Act provided for a civilian Administrator, advised, and assisted by a non-elected Executive Council and a Territory public service. The Commonwealth Government exercised authority under the Governor General, but so did the Administrator—and differences over the proper shape of the relationship between the Administrator and the Minister for Territories were to become a constant source of friction. The Act was repealed by the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975, which allowed for Papua New Guinea’s Independence from Australia. The administrative union of Papua and New Guinea did not nullify the separate status of the territories under international law. With the demise of the League of Nations, the New Guinea mandate had been reconstructed in 1946 via a United Nations (UN) Trusteeship 14

Agreement. The Agreement allowed Australia to govern the Trust Territory as part of the Commonwealth for the purposes of ‘peace, order, good government and defence’, but required that the administering power ‘promote the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants, and their progressive development towards selfgovernment or independence’ in accordance with the ‘freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned’. Australia had regular obligations to the United Nations: to submit a detailed annual progress report to the General Assembly and to allow ‘periodic visits’ by representatives of the Trusteeship Council. 1954/55 Establishment of Bulolo plywood mill.

Womersley (Chief Division of Botany TPNG Forests) and McAdam (Director of TPNG Forests) in 19576 referred to the Australian Government’s policy in relation to development generally and forestry development in the Territories, as one of feeling and action, rather than by direct statements. It was qualified by the Government’s position as trustee for the people of the Territory and to the consciousness of their rights. Womersley and McAdam determined that there should be a vigorous forest policy for TPNG, of an orderly development of a timber industry in TPNG, on sound forestry principles, with provision for reforestation of all areas. As a rule, rights to forest areas may be obtained only, as the result of public tender, and in respect of areas that have been designated by forestry officials of the Territory. Forest Policy Statement by the Minister for Territories Hon P Hasluck MP 1957 1

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Acquisition and reservation of an adequate permanent forest estate of 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) estate within 10 years and 10 million acres in 20 years (4 million hectares.) Establishment of formal forestry education at a forest training school at Bulolo about 1960 for training recruits for the Auxiliary and Third Division. Establishment of a forest research institute to be established at Lae in conjunction with the Herbarium. A re-afforestation program including expenditure in the Highlands for grassland reclamation. Timber utilisation research into natural durability and preservation treatments. Botanical collections and identifications. Encouragement of a timber industry.

Womersley, J.S. & J.B. McAdam, 1957. The forests and forest conditions in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea. British Commonwealth Forestry Conference. 62 p.

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In 1958, there was adoption of a new Forest Policy. FIVE YEAR PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR FORESTRY PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA 1962-1967 Statement by the Minister for Territories Hon Paul Hasluck MP 6/5/1962 The Minister for Territories, the Hon. Paul Hasluck, M.P., has approved a five-year programme to increase the timber production in Papua and New Guinea. Forests cover over 70% of the land area of the Territory and include large tracts of first-class forests. Under the programme it is proposed to increase annual log production from the present annual cut of 65 million (156,000 m3) super feet of log to 120 million (288,000m3) super feet by 1966/67. The programme envisages opening forest areas in the following localities: • • • • •

Tonelei Harbour, Bougainville – approx. 107,060 acres (43,000 ha) containing 400 (960,000 m3) to 500 million (1.2 million m3) super feet of timber. Cape Hoskings New Britain – approx. 200 million (480,000 m3) super feet of timber. Orimo River Western District – 41,000 acres (16,500ha) of coastal forest containing about 100 million super feet. Gogol River Madang District – about 200 million (480,000 m3) super feet. Piawa Forests, 60 miles from Lae – about 120 million (288,000 m3) super feet of timber.

After the Department of Forests has assessed the amount of timber available in each area, competitive public tenders will be called in both Australian and Territory newspapers for exclusive cutting rights. The plan provides that the Department of Forests will carry out natural regeneration of the forests in the cut over areas to enable forestry to be undertaken in perpetuity on land that is designated as absolute forest land. The existing programme of reforestation in the Bulolo Walley, Keravat, and Brown River areas will be continued. Extensive afforestation will be carried out on the eroded grasslands in the Highlands to assist in the rehabilitation of these areas. Forestry officers will be stationed at towns throughout the Territory to provide extension services to the indigenous people. It is planned to increase the forest specialist training facilities for native forestry workers. A. Forestry Training School will be established at Bulolo. The two-year course will enable native students to reach a standard of training sufficiently high for them to carry out certain duties at present being done by Australian trained foresters. It is expected that the output of locally trained native forestry workers will increase from 8 % per annum to 30 % per annum in 1967. Nevertheless, it will still be necessary to recruit Australian trained foresters but on a gradually decreasing scale. Investigation work will continue into the properties of Territory timbers so that their uses can be expanded, and emphasis will be placed on building up the botanical collection of forest plants in the Territory.

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1962. Establishment of Bulolo Forestry College. The Department of Forests begins a new round of forest resource surveys. The 1962 United Nations Visiting Mission led by Britain’s Sir Hugh Foot (Later Lord Caradon) drew up a report which was frequently critical of Australian policy in the Territory. In general, it stated that progress would have to be much faster if Australia were to keep pace with world trends. It particularly recommended that a long-range plan be drawn up for the economic development of Papua and New Guinea, that an immediate start be made on tertiary education and that an enlarged, more representative legislature be set up. It recommended that the World Bank be asked to investigate New Guinea’s potential. Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron. Caradon GCMG KCVO OBE PC (8 October 1907 – 5 September 1990) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the last governor of British Cyprus. Photo credit Wikipedia

Hasluck’s final two years were marked by three significant decisions whose consequences were passed to his successor. The first of these was constitutional. In 1963, it was announced that the Territory would have a House of Assembly consisting of 44 members elected from a common roll, plus 10 European members from ‘reserved’ electorates and an equal number of official members. The key changes embodied in these arrangements were the growth and predominance of the elected membership of the House—most of which would be indigenous—and the fact that voters came from a common roll that incorporated all controlled areas of the Territory. Since 1951, the Territory had had a Legislative Council—at first consisting of the Administrator and most official members supplemented by three elected European members and nine appointees, three of whom were indigenous. A decade later, official members formed a minority with the addition of nine elected members, including three ‘Native Members’. By contrast, the new House was the Territory’s first genuinely representative political body. Ostensibly, the powers of the House were wide—to make ordinances for the ‘peace, order and good government of the Territory’— but just as these powers were the same as those of the Legislative Council, so were the limitations. The Commonwealth Government maintained a right of veto over any legislation through the power of both the Administrator and the Governor-General to withhold assent to an ordinance. In 1964, the Legislative Council was replaced by an elected House of Assembly.

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The other major decisions made by Hasluck in the early 1960s involved education and economic policy. In 1961, a Commonwealth public service committee had been established to examine the need for higher education in the Territory and a year later Hasluck announced plans for a university and for an ‘Administrative College’ that would serve the Territory’s public sector. In 1963, the Minister appointed a Commission on Higher Education led by academic Sir George Currie. The subsequent Currie report recommended the immediate creation of an autonomous university in PNG. C Barnes Minister for Territories 1963-68; Minister for External Territories 1968-72). Charles Edward "Ceb" Barnes Minister for Territories (1963-1968) and Minister for External Territories (1968-1972). Barnes was an air force pilot in PNG during World War 2 Photo credit Wikipedia Hasluck’s successor was Charles Edward Barnes, a Country Party MP from Queensland. At the time, External Territories was one of the most powerful ministries as it had responsibility for PNG, Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. In this role, Barnes helped shepherd Papua New Guinea towards independence.

In 1964, the Legislative Council was replaced by an elected House of Assembly.

In 1964, the Australian Government contracted a team from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD— ‘World Bank’) to conduct an economic survey of PNG. The mission was asked to provide suggestions that would help Australia plan a development program aimed at economic growth and increases in the standard of living. The nub of the mission’s report—which, like Currie’s, was completed after Hasluck had left the Territories portfolio—was that the Government should concentrate its efforts and resources on areas of the Territory and parts of its economy that would yield the highest returns. Concurrently, expenditure on uneconomic activities, such as administration and curative health services, needed to be controlled. These measures were designed to drive the Territory away from economic dependence on Australia and toward self-reliance. The mission’s report, The Economic Development of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea 19657, set out the framework upon which much of the later economic policy, up to and beyond Independence proceeded. By 1968, following the World Bank’s report, there was

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1965 World Bank Report Number 11153 The Economic Development of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

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inception of a five-year economic program. Timber permits and log harvest both increased significantly. Barnes nevertheless shared Hasluck’s gradualist approach and held to it tenaciously throughout the 1960s. He was joined in this mission by George Warwick Smith, who became Secretary of the Department of Territories in May 1964. Barnes’ confidence in Warwick Smith was such that he effectively delegated the bulk of policy decisions to his Secretary. As a dedicated Westminster bureaucrat, Warwick Smith diligently submitted policy matters to his Minister, but Barnes rarely disagreed with the recommendations before him. Consequently, the period covered in this volume belongs as much to George Warwick Smith as it does to Charles Barnes. A strong feature of the Barnes – Warwick Smith interpretation of balanced development was its emphasis on economic growth. The World Bank report of 1964, accepted by Cabinet as a ‘basis for planning’, became in Territories an object of devotion—not only as a blueprint for specific initiatives, but also more fundamentally as an ideological guide that stressed aggressive investment in areas that would push PNG toward economic self-sufficiency. Economic progress, on the other hand, could not wait. The focus of economic planning from 1966–68 was the preparation of an economic development program as recommended in the World Bank report. This was a lengthy process, running alongside partial implementation of the Bank’s suggestions, the patchy character of which prompted a follow-up IBRD mission to complain that there ‘seemed to be little central thinking on relationships between the various sectors’ of the economy. George Warwick Smith Secretary Department of Territories 1964-1970. Warwick Smith was a dominant figure in the PNG policy making process. Photo credit Wikipedia.

There was an historic point in Australian policy on constitutional development in PNG, although this was not publicly obvious at the time. The catalyst was an initiative by the House of Assembly. In January 1965, prominent Papuan member John Guise had announced that he and his elected colleagues had decided to prepare a draft constitution for PNG.

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A Select Committee on Constitutional Development was formed in May 1965 to “draft for the consideration of [the] House, a set of constitutional proposals to serve as a guide for future constitutional development in the Territory”. Two Administrators of PNG. On the left - Sir Donald Cleland 1952 to 1966. David Hay 1966 to 1970.

Photo credit South Pacific Post

Speech by Hon. C. E. Barnes Minister for Territories on 3 August 1965 on the Opening of the Papua and New Guinea Forestry School Bulolo https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22media/pressrel/HPR1 0008925%22

The Bougainville independence movement begins to stir in the 1960s amid the first exploration of the island's mineral resources conducted by a subsidiary of miner Rio Tinto.

From at least mid-1965, there was local opposition to CRA’s activities. This took the form of interference with prospecting work and of demands for compensation. Barnes took a hard line. He was adamant that there should be no dilution of the principle that mineral wealth was a national asset and could not be passed over to landowners. Sir David Osborne Hay, CBE, DSO Administrator PNG 1966 to 1970. He was an Australian soldier, senior public servant, and diplomat, who served as Australian Ambassador to the United Nations, Administrator of Papua New Guinea and headed the departments of External Territories and Aboriginal Affairs. He was appointed Administrator of Papua and New Guinea then an Australian territory, from 23 December 1966 (he arrived on 9 January 1967) till 1970. This was in the period leading up to Papua New Guinea's self-government (1973) and independence (1975). His time was marred by clashes with the head of the Department of External Territories, George Warwick Smith and he also made decisions without consulting the Minister for External Territories, Charles Barnes. In 1970 Hay spoke to the Prime Minister John Gorton after which Smith was moved to the Department of the Interior, Hay himself being appointed in 20

Smith's place to head External Territories. The new PNG Administrator was Les Johnson with whom Hay had a fruitful and positive relationship. In the late 1960’s, the Department of Territories and the PNG Administration were preoccupied with systemic political and economic changes. The first revolved around the outcomes of the Guise Select Committee, which presented its final report in June 1967. In substance, the Committee’s recommendations traced the outlines of the Cabinet decisions of early 1966 on interim constitutional progress. The Committee recommended that seven ‘Ministers’ be appointed from the elected members of the House, each being ‘responsible, with the permanent Departmental Head, for departmental policy and for the overall activities of the department’. Elected ‘Assistant Ministers’ would also be appointed to work underneath departmental heads. The Administrator’s Council would be renamed the ‘Administrator’s Executive Council’ (AEC) and would incorporate the Administrator, three official members and the seven Ministers plus one member nominated by the Administrator. None of these propositions contradicted the conditions established by Cabinet in 1966. The AEC was categorised as the ‘principal instrument of policy of the Executive Government of the Territory’ but the Committee accepted that until self-determination the ‘duty and responsibility of administering the Territory rests with the Administrator acting on behalf of the Australian Government’. In September 1968, the House of Assembly announced a Forest Development program for the five years from 1968-69 to 1972-73. The major objectives of this program as applied to forestry and the forest industry was to: a. Rapidly increase the production of forest products. b. Increase export earnings and local employment by encouraging local processing of forest products. c. Improve the supply and quality of forest products for local use. d. Establish a fully integrated forest industry by the development of industrial complexes working within permanent forest estates. e. Foster a measure of local equity participation in such industrial undertakings f. Increase the levels of training and employment in the industry.

Sir Leslie Wilson "Les" Johnson CBE Administrator PNG 1970-1973 was an Australian public servant and diplomat. Johnson first went to Papua New Guinea in 1962. From 1966 to 1969 Johnson was Assistant Administrator in Papua New Guinea. He resigned in 1969 after internal differences with colleagues, before being appointed Administrator of Papua New Guinea in 1970. His task was to develop a colonial Administrator's council into a cabinet in preparation for Papua New Guinea’s Independence.

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Left to right - Don McIntosh at 1966 Presentations Bulolo Forestry College; Sir Les Johnson; Horrie Niall DC Morobe; Leon Clifford Photo credit J Clifford On 2 December 1973, after 60 years of Papua New Guinea being a Territory of Australia, Johnson's role changed from that of Administrator of Papua New Guinea to that of Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. Johnson left Papua New Guinea in March 1974, to take up a post as the head of the new Australian Development Assistance Agency. The agency was set up in recognition of the need for stronger policy direction and coordination, along with Papua New Guinea achieving independence. In the mid-1970s, two-thirds of Australian total overseas aid was sent to Papua New Guinea. Kevin White8 pointed out for each of the Minister for Territories policies and programs, the themes were common in each of these policies, and that they were complementary, rather than conflicting and have provided a stable political background to the functional policies that were developed in the field. They could be summarised as: • • •

The identification of the resource. The use of the resource in economic development programs. The involvement of the Papua New Guinea people in this economic development.

On 13 December 1971, the name of the Territory was changed to Papua New Guinea.

8

White, K.J., 1976. Australian forest policy in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea: The close of an era. Presidential address to Papua New Guinea Scientific Society. 27 p.

22

Subsequently the administration saw a need for forestry development, to generate revenue with a view to the eventual independence of the territory. The territory policy for the extraction of timber from customarily-owned (‘native’) forests was developed over time through the mechanism of a ‘timber rights purchase’ (TRP) agreement, which was a way of purchasing so-called ‘timber rights’ from customary owners of forests, but not alienating the land. Virtually all logging companies in the territorial period were Australian-owned or Australian-based. Some of these did a degree of processing locally, but most timber was exported as round logs. The legal framework for forest exploitation had three main elements: Timber Rights Purchase (TRP). Under this arrangement the state acquired timber rights where customary owners were willing to sell. The state then issued a permit or licence to remove the timber on agreed terms and conditions, including the payment of royalties, a portion of which was passed on to customary owners. The TRP arrangement was intended for large-scale exploitation and was managed by the Department of Forestry. Timber Authority (TA). Timber authorities could be issued, on payment of a fee, to enable any person to purchase a limited quantity of timber directly from a customary owner. Without a TA no one other than a Papua New Guinean could purchase forest produce from a customary owner. 1971 Passage of Forestry (Private Dealings) Act However, there was no management control over TA’s other than limitation on the quantity of timber purchased. Forestry (Private Dealings) Ordinance, 1971 (which became an act in 1974). This enabled customary owners to dispose of their timber to whomever they wished, provided that (a) the interests of the owners were protected, (b) there was no conflict with national interest, (c) prospects for economic development were considered, and (d) the administrator gave his approval. (Carson 1974, 11–12). At the time, many forestry officers were concerned about these private dealings since their impact was diametrically opposed to proper management of the forest resource. Whitlam was the first Prime Minister to take office with a vision for the Territory. He had first visited the territory as a RAAF navigator in 1945. As early as 1959 he took part with Hasluck in talks on the dependent territories of Melanesia. In June 1971, the National ALP Conference declared that “the Labor Party will ensure the orderly and secure transfer to PNG of self-government and independence in its first term of office”. Under the Australian Minister for External Territories Andrew Peacock, the Territory adopted self-government in 1972. During the 1972 election campaign, Whitlam spelt out his vision of Papua New Guinea’s place in the context of Australia’s interests. Labor had four commitments: First, to our own national security; Secondly, to a secure, united and friendly Papua New Guinea; Thirdly, to achieve closer relations with our nearest and largest neighbour, Indonesia; Fourthly, to promote the peace and prosperity of our neighbourhood. Linking Indonesia and Papua New Guinea revealed the importance of Territory stability to Australia’s relations with its more populous neighbour.

23

Andrew Peacock Minister for Territories 1972, where he was responsible for bringing in self-government When the Liberals went into opposition in December 1972, Peacock became a senior member of the Liberal frontbench. Malcolm Fraser made Peacock foreign affairs spokesperson, and when Fraser led the Liberals back to power in December 1975, Peacock became Minister for Foreign Affairs Photo credit Wikipedia.

1972 elections saw the formation of a ministry headed by Chief Minister Michael Somare who pledged to lead PNG to self-government and then to independence. Sir Michael Thomas Somare GCL GCMG CH CF SSI KSG PC is a Papua New Guinea politician. He was a pivotal politician in the coming of Independence. His political career spanned from 1968 until his retirement in 2017. He has been the longest-serving prime minister (17 years). Besides that, he has been Minister of Foreign Affairs, leader of the opposition and Governor of East Sepik. Photo credit Wikipedia.

When Labor came to power in Australia in 1972, Whitlam confirmed his insistence on unity for PNG and 1974 as his target date for independence William Lawrence Morrison was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Australian Labour Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government as Minister for External Affairs (1972–1973), Science (1972–1975), and Defence (1975). The man Whitlam chose as Minister for Territories came from a radically different background than Peacock. William Leonard (Bill) Morrison was the son of a butcher. A scholarship made him ‘the first surfie to go to university’, where he took Honours in Economics. Elected to Parliament in 1969, he was active in parliamentary and party committees on foreign affairs. He was 44 in 1972 when he was appointed Minister for Territories.

24

Morrison was fortunate in the quality of the staff he inherited. As Secretary, the courteous and cautious Hay was the antithesis of the brusque minister. They had worked in Bangkok with roles reversed, and it is remarkable that such different men could cooperate. Hay was a meticulous supervisor of the complex affairs of the department, and sure-footed in dispelling the animus between Canberra and Konedobu. He knew what difficulties Leslie Johnson would endure as Administrator and made every effort to ease them. Morrison accepted that self-government should begin on December 1, 1973, but he wanted to speed up the transfer of powers: by that time “all the powers would not only have been transferred but the Papua New Guinea Government would also already be exercising those powers”. Following the election of the Whitlam government in 1972, Morrison was appointed Minister for External Territories and Minister for Science in the second Whitlam Ministry. With the granting of self-government to Australia's main external territory, PNG on 1 December 1973, the position of Minister for External Territories was abolished. Morrison became Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Don Willesee, in matters relating to Papua New Guinea. From 6 June 1975, he was Minister for Defence and still Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs in matters relating to the Islands of the Pacific. Donald Robert Willesee. He was a member of the Australian Labour Party (ALP). He held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government as Special Minister of State (1972–1973) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1973–1975). Photo credit Wikipedia

1974 Carson9 Report on Forestry and Forest Policy in Papua New Guinea (1974). Publication of the White Paper “National Forestry Policy”. Carson was engaged by the Department of Forests to prepare a detailed memorandum (draft white paper) of proposed forest policy and the directives to implement it. This was released by Jephcott in 1974.

9

Carson, G.L., 1974. Forestry and forest policy in Papua New Guinea. Commonwealth Fund for Technical Aid. 20 p.

25

1974 Mr Bruce Jephcott MHA Minister for Natural Resources presented a National Eight Point Improvement Plan Forest Policy10 for Papua New Guinea (below) which was translated into a forest policy and then presented as a list of forestry objectives. 1974 National Eight Point Improvement Plan translated to a National Forest Policy (italics) 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

A rapid increase in the proportion of the economy under the control of Papua New Guineans. Increase opportunities for local participation in forest activities and encourage the development of locally owned or predominantly owned forest enterprises including reafforestation. Equal distribution of economic benefits including a move towards equalising income. Direct a greater share of the benefits from forest development towards the landowners and other nationals involved in the industry. Decentralised economic activity, planning and government spending with emphasis on agricultural development and village industry. Forestry is a rural industry – promote forest industries in rural areas, stimulate village participation- involve forest owners and local government in all phases of forest development, including reforestation and management. An emphasis on small scale artisan services and business activity. Create opportunities for local businessmen and artisans to participate in transport, logging and all other activities related to forest industry. A more self-reliant economy less dependent for its needs on imported goods and services. Promote the use of local forest products to replace imported goods. Replant and manage the forests so that they will continue to provide for the needs of future generations of Papua New Guineans. An increase in capacity for meeting government spending needs from locally raised revenue. Promote the development of profitable forest industries to improve revenue returns through royalties and taxes. A rapid increase in the active participation of women in both economic and social activities. Explore ways of increasing opportunities for women to participate in forest activities. Government control and involvement in those sectors of the industry where control is necessary to achieve desired kind of development. Forests are a national asset and must be managed in the national interest. To ensure the people of Papua New Guinea both now and in the future receive maximum benefits from the management of the forests, the National Government will formulate and regulate policies governing the use of forest resources.

10

Forest Policy Papua New Guinea 1974 Minister for Natural Resources Mr. Bruce Jephcott MHA Dept of Forests publication

26

Press Article by Bruce Jephcott PNG Minister of Natural Resources Thursday 31 July 1975 Post Courier11

11

Courtesy John Davidson

27

Forestry Policy at Independence was based on a 1973 National Forest Policy document12, which clearly recognized the customary ownership of forests and the need to link forestry development to national needs as reported by Carson in 1974. Its main features are summarized below: Forest Policy at Independence based on a 1973 National Forest Policy To have the forest resources of Papua New Guinea managed as a national asset in the interests of the present and future generations of the people (who are the forest owners). To preserve, develop and maintain through reforestation such forest areas as will enable domestic needs. To preserve, develop and maintain through reforestation such forest areas as will enable domestic needs to be met as far as possible and is warranted, and will also enable full advantage to be taken of export opportunities. To accept the need for protection and management of watersheds, control of soil erosion, conservation of animal and plant communities, and the use of forests for recreational and other indirect benefits. To encourage the development of permanent forest industries and to provide opportunities for the forest owners to become involved in these industries. To promote research into forest technology to improve the efficiency of forestry and forest industries, to reduce imports and increase export earnings, and to improve the social and economic benefits to the nation and the forest owners. To promote education in all branches of the forest industry and to encourage a better understanding by the people of the value of their forests in both their own and the national interest. To provide the laws, the organisation, and funds, to manage effectively, the country’s forests having regard to overall development policies and forestry’s ability to compete successfully with other demands on the nation’s resources.

12

Forest Policy. Papua New Guinea – 1973 (Translation of the “National; Eight Point Improvement” into a “National Forest Policy”. Dept of Forests.

28

Following the passage of the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975, during the term of the Whitlam Government in Australia, the Territory became the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and attained independence on 16 September 1975.

Australia’s flag is lowered at PNG’s independence celebrations Photo credit National Archives of Australia

PHOTO: Prince Charles at Independence Day ceremonies in Papua New Guinea, September 16, 1975. (Supplied: Denis Williams collection)

29

Source National Archives of Papua New Guinea Top Photo. Papua New Guinea’s Parliament House. The new Parliament building was officially opened by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, on 8th August 1984. Bottom Right Photo. Australian High Commission Waigani of the 1980’s. Bottom Left Photo. Pineapple Building Waigani. Senior Public Servant Offices in 1980’s.

30

Institutional Forestry Development Responsibility for the administration and development of the forest resources of Papua New Guinea and control of its forest industry was vested in the Department of Forests under powers conferred by the Forestry (New Guinea) Ordinance 1936-62 and the Forestry (Papua) Ordinance 1936-62 and the Forestry regulations as amended.

TPNG Department of Forests 1961 Log Measurement (Full Volume) Tables Super Feet regulation 35 (1) Forestry Ordinance

Nearly all forest in PNG is grown on customary-owned land. The Department of Forests after 1945 had to create a forest concession system that catered for all parties i.e. landowners, government agencies and developers. For any timber to be harvested on an area, the State had first to acquire timber rights from the landowners before allocating the rights to a logging company. Prior to 1992, this was done through either the negotiation of a timber rights purchase or a local forest agreement. Since 1992, when a new Forest Act came into force, state acquisition of timber rights has been through the negotiation of forest management agreements between the PNG Forest Authority and customary owners. The territory policy for the extraction of timber from customarily-owned (‘native’) forests was developed over time through the mechanism of a ‘timber rights purchase’ (TRP) agreement, which was a way of purchasing so-called ‘timber rights’ from customary owners of forests, but not alienating the land. Virtually all logging companies in the territorial period were Australian-owned or Australian-based. Some of these did a degree of processing locally, but most timber was exported as round logs. The legal framework for forest exploitation had three main elements: Timber Rights Purchase (TRP). Under this arrangement the state acquired timber rights where customary owners were willing to sell. The state then issued a permit or licence to remove the timber on agreed terms and conditions, including the payment 31

of royalties, a portion of which was passed on to customary owners. The TRP arrangement was intended for large-scale exploitation and was managed by the Department of Forestry. Timber Authorities (TA) could be issued, on payment of a fee, to enable any person to purchase a limited quantity of timber directly from a customary owner. Without a TA no one other than a Papua New Guinean could purchase forest produce from a customary owner. 1971 Passage of Forestry (Private Dealings) Act However, there was no management control over TAs other than limitation on the quantity of timber purchased. Forestry (Private Dealings) Ordinance, 1971 (which became an Act in 1974). This enabled customary owners to dispose of their timber to whomever they wished, provided that (a) the interests of the owners were protected, (b) there was no conflict with national interest, (c) prospects for economic development were considered, and (d) the administrator gave his approval. (Carson13 1974). At the time, many forestry officers were concerned about these private dealings since their impact was diametrically opposed to proper management of the forest resource. 1974 Passage of Land Groups Incorporation Act and Land Acquisition Act. Formation of a Forest Department Linda Cavanaugh Manning14 reported that there was no actual Department of Forests in either New Guinea or Papua before World War 2. A report prepared by Lane-Poole in 1925 recommended a policy to regulate access to forests. This was not implemented at the time, but a gold rush in the 1930s and resulting exploitation of the forest eventually produced a forest ordinance.). However, with the gold rush of the 1920’s, Lane Poole’s investigations as the Commonwealth Forestry Adviser (Bulolo Wau Report 1925) into the exploitation of the forest resulted in a forest ordinance for controlling utilisation ; for establishment of a Forest Authority and for the acquisition and management of a forest estate. In 1938 Jim McAdam and Jim Cavanaugh were appointed. Then came the war years. The first TPNG Department of Forests was set up after the war by Jim McAdam in 1946. Army forestry records and some equipment was taken over by the administration. Former army personnel were recruited to form the nucleus of the Forestry Department running both the government sawmills (Yalu and Kerevat), and for reconstruction in addition to the commencement of reafforestation projects. Jim McAdam’s Approved Forest Development Program 1948 • • • • •

Forest resource survey. Program of forest reservation. Program for research. Management and working plans. Training of staff.

13 13 Carson, G.L., 1974. Forestry and forest policy in Papua New Guinea. Commonwealth Fund for Technical

Aid. 20 p.

14

Linda Cavanaugh Manning personal communication 9th April 2019

32

THE SEQUENCE OF PERMANENT APPOINTEES TO THE POSITION OF MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE DEPT OF FORESTS PRIOR TO 1975 AND ITS LATER SUCCESSORS (E.G. NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE) WERE: Jim McAdam MM Managing Director 1938-1959 Presidential address to PNG Scientific Society15.

• • •

• • •

15

Traced exploits of early explorers of the forest resources; development of a small sawmill industry supplying local needs; export trade of walnut logs. Produced a forest ordinance. Used results of Army Forest Resource Survey Group (he commanded) to define forest types of PNG and make a reasonable estimate of large resources for future development. Established TPNG Australian Forester cadetship scheme. Development initiatives for reforestation and afforestation. His post-war activities associated providing timber for reconstruction of war damage and laying foundations for future forestry development.

PNG Scientific Society Presidential Address 1952 “Forestry in New Guinea” J B McAdam

33

Bill Suttie Managing Director 1959-1970 Presidential address to PNG Scientific Society 16 Photo credit Linda Cavanaugh Manning

•

•

•

16

Linked political directives of Spender in 1951 and Hasluck in 1957 with development of the functions of the Department of Forests in resource investigation, forestry education, biological and utilisation research, reforestation, afforestation, and acquisition of a permanent forest estate. Suttie noted that this marks a change from a period of exploitation to one of a consciousness of the need for a long term forest conservation policy primarily in the interests of the native inhabitants of the Territory and the future need to train them in an awareness of the value of its forest resources. He outlined the extent of forests required for permanent or sustained supply of wood products and proposed measures in acquiring such a forest estate.

PNG Scientific Society Presidential Address 1962 “A Transition Period” W R Suttie

34

Don McIntosh17 Managing Director 1970-1973 Photo credit Photo Credit Janelle Clifford 7/4/20 1966 Bulolo Forestry College

Kevin White Assistant Director till 1977 at Brown River Plantation 1970 with Evo Vai.

17

PNG Scientific Society Presidential Address 1976 “Australian Forest Policy in the territory of Papua and New Guinea� K J White

35

Under McIntosh and White’s management, the Department of Forests achievements by 1975 were: Forest Resources. In the period 1946-1963 some 600,000 hectares were assessed by conventional methods. From 1964 to 1967 some 2.8 million hectares were assessed. As of 1975, a total of 5.2 million hectares had been assessed. The investigations confirmed that there was a resource of magnitude, it quantified the resource, and identified the areas considered suitable for development. Botany •

• • • •

Collection and maintenance of specimens of Papuasia plants. From the collections commenced in 1944, the herbarium collection at 1975 has over 250,000 PNG specimens. From the collections, followed taxonomic studies of the flora leading to various publications and training manuals. Development at Lae of the National Botanical Gardens with living collections. Intensive service in identification of plant specimens. Communication; extension services. National staff training.

Forest Industry • • • • •

From two sawmills in 1946 to 1975 with some 90 sawmills, one plywood plant; three veneer plants and one wood chip mill. An annual log harvest of some 800,000 m3 as of 1975. By 1975, import earnings of some Kina 15 million which is some $ % of the national export earnings (at 1975). Establishment of a Papua New Guinea Timber Marketing Advisory Panel. Development of an appropriate wood utilisation research program: (a) Determination of the properties and uses of PNG timbers. (b) Development of appropriate timber preservation treatments for sawn and round timbers. (c) Determination of kiln dying schedules. (d) Development of minor forest product industries. (e) Provision of mill wright services and extensive industry advice services. (f) Timber design services. (g) Technical publication services especially for building designs using local materials. (h) Training of mill operators.

Forest Management •

Development and administration of complex forest management agreements including regeneration treatment.

36

Reforestation • •

• • •

Over 16,000 hectares plantations established at Bulolo/Wau, Kerevat; Port Moresby; Goroka and Whagi Valley. Nursery and field techniques established for species as teak (Tectona grandis); Kamarere (Eucalyptus deglupta), hoop and klinkii pine (Araucaria cunninghamii and A. hunsteinii), Eucalyptus and Pinus spp. Country wide extension programs, especially in the Highlands. Natural regeneration techniques for cut over forests; growth studies; enrichment planting techniques. Intensive research programs for plantation species covering species selection, tree breeding, nutrition studies, protection from insects and fungal pathogens, growth studies, range management; extension practices, environmental planning.

Training •

•

•

Sub professional training program commenced in 1962 at Bulolo Forestry College which by 1975 had successfully trained some 421 trainees. In 1975, BFC could accommodate some 170 students. 1. Inservice for expatriate field officers. 2. Two-year technical certificate with entry level of form 2-3. 3. Short vocational courses for supervisory staff training. 4. 1967 – three-year course leading to a Diploma in Forestry. 5. 1973-75 selected field staff 12-month course for a certificate in forestry. 6. 1969 three-year diploma of Cartography course. Professional Training Program 1. Course activated in 1971/72 for a Forestry degree course, commenced with 2 years science and two years at UNITECH Lae 2. Four graduates expected in 1976 and 10 in 1977. Industrial training 1. Closure of government sawmills had a detrimental impact on training of industrial staff. 2. Negotiations in recent years will lead to the establishment of an industry training centre in Lae (TITC).

37

Andrew Yauieb Managing Director 1973-1974 - (first PNG forester ANU graduate). Andrew Yauieb (standing) Jan 1972 and Muka Gamea, technician. Bulolo Research Photo Credit Barry Gray

Emanuel Semoso Managing Director. 1975-1984. (No photo available at time of publication.) Oscar Mamalai Managing Director 1985-1989 (first PNG UNITECH Forestry graduate).

Professor John Davidson(left) with the first forestry graduates on the day of graduation. From the left Joseph Ben, Diki Kari, Alec Chang (Fiji), Jack Noah and Oscar Mamalai. (Not in the photograph is Samson Gaviro Solomons) UNITECH 1976 Students, Jack Noah and Joseph Ben are deceased. Photo credit Gloria Davidson 38

Michael Komtagarea Managing Director 1990-1992. (No photo available at time of publication.) Jean Kekedo Managing Director 1993-1996. (No photo available at time of publication.) Guao Zurenuoc Managing Director 1997-1998. (No photo available at time of publication.) Thomas Nen Managing Director 1999-2001. (No photo available at time of publication.) David Nelson Managing Director 2002. (No photo available at time of publication.) Terry Warra Acting Managing Director 2002-2005 PNG Forestry Unitech graduate. (No photo available at time of publication.) Diki Kari Acting Managing Director 2006 PNG Forestry Unitech graduate. (No photo available at time of publication.)

39

Kanawi Pouru Managing Director (Bulolo Forestry College Graduate) 2007 to 2015 Kanawi Pouru18, a graduate of Bulolo Forestry College in 1975 became Managing Director of the National Forest Service (replacement to Department of Forests) from 2007 to 2015. He continues to express his gratitude for the work of the Australian Foresters in PNG. Source: Post Courier

Alan Ross and I in Brisbane, July 2013. (Having tea at his favourite Japanese Restaurant after signing the Scholarship Trust Deeds). This is reflected in the article Kanawi wrote on Alan Ross19,where he used the term: “ALAN ROSS, THE LAST OF THE AUSTRALIAN FOREST GUARDS�. Alan Ross on retirement was the National Forest Board Secretary. Kanawai Pouru in his article on Alan Ross describes the Forest Education Trust fund which Alan and his wife Helen established in 2013, to support some of the living expenses of PNG Foresters selected to undergo post graduate studies in Australian Universities from 2013 on. 18 19

Kanawi Pouru Part B page 462 Alan Ross Part B page 467-469

40

Goodwill Amos Acting Managing Director 2016 PNG Forestry Unitech graduate. Tunou Sabuin. Managing Director 2017 to Present. PNG Forestry Unitech graduate.

Source: The National newspaper 23 May 2017 Tunou Sabuin was confirmed as Managing Director PNG Forest Authority from 2017 by the National Executive Council. (NEC decision # 152/2017 of meeting # 58/2017) Tunou is a forester by profession, having graduated with a Degree in Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Technology Lae in 1987. He has worked his way up the rank and file, joining PNGFA in 1993 as an inventory officer at the New Guinea Islands regional office in Rabaul East New Britain province. From 1995 to 1996 he was appointed the Supervisor Planning and then became Supervisor Technical service at the NGI office. He was actively involved in the drafting and formulation of provincial forest plans for the region. In 1996, he was appointed Area Manager for the Southern region based in the National Capital District. He held this position for almost five years. He was then promoted to Director Forest Development at the PNGFA headquarters. In 2017, Tunou became Managing Director.

41

The functions and objectives of the Department of Forests in the 1970’s was described in the Department of Forests publication New Horizons 1973.20 The functions and objectives of the Department of Forests in the 1970’s • • • • • • • • • •

To control the harvesting of forest resources to enhance an adequate and economic supply of forest exports and to promote a stable export trade. Prepare and maintain a national forest inventory. Conduct research. Guide the utilisation of forest resources in the most efficient and economic manner. Establish forest plantations. Provide facilities for botanical identification. Publicise the benefits of forestry amongst the people. Provide opportunities for technical training for those citizens who wish to engage in forestry activities. Advise and encourage local authorities and private enterprise in the practice of sound forestry. To integrate forestry activity with development of other resources.

Department of Forests Staffing as of January 1974 CATEGORY

LOCAL

EXPATRIATE

TOTAL

51

51

26

28

54

Technical assistant (3)

76

3

79

Lower technical

245

-

245

Senior (4)

8

11

19

Others (5)

126

15

141

TOTAL

481

108

589

Professional (1) Sub professional (2) Vocational

Clerical

Source Fenton and Dunn21 1974 FOOTNOTES (1) The majority are forestry graduates, but include botanists, chemists, accountants, economists, and other specialists (2) Diploma graduates, Bulolo Forests school or equivalent 20

Reference New Horizons 1973 Jacaranda Press ISBN 0701681845 page 53 Fenton R and Dunn D 1974 Review of PNG Reforestation IBRD/FAO

21

42

(3) (4) (5) (6)

Certificates from Bulolo Forest School Class 1V and above- generally section heads or equivalent Includes secretarial and typing etc. There has been a rapid change in the expatriate/local ratio in recent years and this change will be reflected soon at the professional level. An assistant director (legal profession) has been appointed recently and one local graduate forester (ex-Canberra) will be appointed during 1974. Six additional graduates are expected to be available for appointment in 1976/77 following completion of studies wholly within Papua New Guinea. The output of technical staff from the Bulolo Forestry College is expected to be not less than 30 per year from 1975.

During the period till 1975, Department of Forests Chief Executive Officers included Rex Wiggins22 and Brendan Bailey23. These were seasoned territorial public servants who had progressed from Regional Clerks to Chief Executive Officers, well versed in the monetary and administrative issues facing the Department daily.

22 23

Rex Wiggins Part B page 531. Brendan Bailey Part B page 19.

43

FOREST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT 1949 -1975 For some time after World War 2, there was a significant expansion of sawmilling operations to meet domestic demand for reconstruction materials. Up till 1954, cutting was between 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 super feet of logs a year almost entirely for local use. There were only four or five sawmills working throughout the whole territory. PNG Forest Products today24, evolved from Bulolo Gold Dredging Limited25 that commenced operations in large scale alluvial mining in 1932. The Bulolo region was at the time one of the largest gold fields in the world. A total of 7 dredges scoured the valley floor, dredging thousands of tons of high-grade gold bearing ore. Bulolo Gold Dredge (1960). Photo Credit PNGAA.

As the mining operation scaled down, the plywood factory and sawmill were constructed by Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers Ltd26 (CNGT). In collaboration with the then government, the Hoop and Klinki Pine plantations were established as part of a large-scale post-mining reforestation program by the Departments of Forests.

In 1954, plywood production and the export of product to overseas destinations commenced and for the past 50 years the company has been involved in the conversion of both hardwood and plantation resource to high value end products. Unloading Logs Bulolo Ply Mill Photo credit PNGAA.

24

PNG Forest Products evolved from CNGT. Bulolo Gold Dredging Company was formed to mine gold in Bulolo in 1932. Its shareholding included Placer of Canada and Levin etc of Australia. 26 CNGT – Commonwealth -New Guinea Timbers Limited plywood factory in Bulolo was formed by an agreement between the Commonwealth Government and Bulolo Gold Dredging Limited. The 1,300,000 Australian pound mill opened in 1954 to produce high grade plywood (approx. 30 million square feet annually on a 3/16th inch basis). 25

44

Overview of Bulolo Ply mill. Photo credit PNGAA

FAO Unasylva27 reported that a major development in Australian New Guinea has been the establishment of the plywood factory at Bulolo by CNGT, which commenced operations in January 1954, and it is now producing substantial quantities of first-class plywood, the bulk of which is being exported to America and Australia.

Transporting Logs Bulolo 1962. Photo credit PNGAA

Peeling logs for Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers Plymill 1960. Photo credit PNGAA

27

FAO Unasylva 1955 Vol 9 No 2 news of the world.

45

Sawing logs CNGT 1960 Photo credit PNGAA

Large building demands in the Territory have forced up sawn timber production. Annual cut of logs now exceeds 30,000,000 super feet (136,000 cubic meters) but it is still necessary to import small quantities of sawn material. Measures are in hand for the establishment of further sawmilling operations to obviate this. There has been a definite striving, particularly by operators in the coniferous stands of the Goldfield area, to extract the maximum recovery from their exceptional raw material by seeking out markets for small dimension stock. Substantial quantities of flitches have been exported to Australia to produce battery separator veneer. The range of species acceptable to the trade is constantly widening as they come within the logging range of the sawmills. Research work by the Division of Forest Products (CSIRO) is constantly assisting this trend.

Kuku Kuku Tribesmen End of the road in the Watut. Photo credit PNGAA.

46

TPNG had achieved self-sufficiency in sawn timber production by the time the plywood mill was established in Bulolo in 1954-55. The plywood mill resulted in an increase in the export of both processed and unprocessed timber and timber rapidly became the second most important export commodity after copra. By 1966, there were 66 mills in operation, including fourteen which cut more than 10,000 super feet (23.6 cubic metres) per shift. Annual production had increased to over 155 million super feet (36580 cubic metres) of logs harvested for sawmilling purposes. Besides supplying local demand, forest industry exports includes logs; sawn timber; some 21,000,000 square feet (9755 cubic metres) of plywood and 4,000,000 square feet (1180 cubic metres) of veneer sheets. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, much wood technology work was being undertaken to better publicise the main species of timber in PNG by the Forestry Department in Port Moresby in conjunction with Division of Forest Products of the CSIRO. The total value of forest product exports in 1966/6728 was A$4,339,000 which was 8 % of the total farming and forest product exports. (30 % of the total value was coconut; 19 % coffee and 17 % cocoa beans). By 1966/6729 there was 17,900 acres (7,244 hectares) of forest plantations with an average planting rate of 2,500 acres (1011 hectares) per year. Operational forest nurseries included: • • • • •

Brown River near Port Moresby for teak. Oomsis near Lae for teak and other tropical species. Bulolo and Wau for Araucaria species (hoop and Klinkii). Kerevat near Rabaul for teak and kamarere. Goroka for pines and eucalypts.

By 1975, reforestation activities included: • •

• •

28 29

Over 16,000 hectares plantations established at Bulolo/Wau, Kerevat; Port Moresby; Goroka and Whagi Valley. Nursery and field techniques established for species as teak (Tectona grandis); Kamarere (Eucalyptus deglupta), hoop and klinkii pine (Araucaria cunninghamii and A. hunsteinii), Eucalyptus and Pinus spp. Country wide extension programs, especially in the Highlands. Natural regeneration techniques for cut over forests; growth studies; enrichment planting techniques.

ASOPA 1968 Notes on the Territory of Papua and New Guinea page 64 ASOPA 1968 Notes on the Territory of Papua and New Guinea page 64

47

Intensive research programs for plantation species covering species selection, tree breeding, nutrition studies, protection from insects and fungal pathogens, growth studies, range management; extension practices, and environmental planning. However, the pace of development of the forestry export industry was thought to be unsatisfactory and, encouraged by the World Bank from 1964; a shift occurred in policy emphasis towards the clear felling of natural forest for sawmilling; pulpwood and/or woodchip production. This strategy culminated in a wood chipping project in Madang using resources from the Gogol timber concession area. By 1975 wood industrial activities included: From two sawmills in 1946 to 1975, the PNG Forest Industry had grown to many sawmills, one plywood plant; three veneer plants and one wood chip mill. The annual log harvest was of some 800,000 m3 as of 1975. By 1975, import earnings of some Kina 15 million which is some 4 % of the national export earnings (at 1975). There had been established a Papua New Guinea Timber Marketing Advisory Panel. There was development of an appropriate wood utilisation research program covering: • • • • • • • •

Determination of the properties and uses of PNG timbers. Development of appropriate timber preservation treatments for sawn and round timbers. Determination of kiln dying schedules. Development of minor forest product industries. Provision of mill wright services and extensive industry advice services. Timber design services. Technical publication services especially for building designs using local materials. Training of mill operators.

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JANT Madang Wood chip Mill Photo credit Dick McCarthy 1998

Photo Credit Dick McCarthy 1998 Acacia mangium plantations intermingled within native clan land boundaries Gogol Area Madang PNG 49

WHAT OF THE FUTURE? - Jim Belford 2011 Highly experienced in PNG Forestry and PNG Public Affairs, Forester Jim Belford, outlined what is perceived by most former and current PNG foresters, as the long-term futuristic outlook for PNG forests. This is described in his keynote paper (following section) which was presented at the International Year of the Forests Lae PNG seminar in 2011. Jim’s approach to PNG has always been forward looking. His association with PNG predates his own presence there – his eldest brother was an APC geologist there in 1950-1953 and played Rugby League for Magani when there were only Paga and Magani clubs in Port Moresby. Now 90, he still has the Rep Jacket with the large Lakatoi and coconut palms on the pocket which they had for away games against Nth Qld and Fiji back in the day. Way prior to that a brother of his great great grandfather had moved to Samoa from England in the early to mid-1800’s. In the early history of the Samarai/Port Moresby /Papua area two Belford brothers (mixed race Samoans) are mentioned in the early settlements, trading and in the evolution of Hiri Motu and some scientific exploration (with D’Albertis he thinks up the Lakekamu River). George Belford was involved with the Royal Commission of 1905 looking into the development of the Papuan people, as an interpreter and Government Guide. George even got to the summit of Mt. Yule in 1890. He has been told that there are Belford headstones on Logea Island in the Samarai District. All Jim’s children were born in PNG. He still has family there, via a daughter and 3 grandsons who live in Port Moresby. Her husband is a senior project manager whose family connections go back to the days when Queen Emma was in her glory days in the islands. Other family connections exist which will take his contact further into continuing involvement in PNG into the future. His contact with PNG, directly and indirectly, has been an in-depth and extended one, and continues. Forestry is about field activity. He was privileged to spend a good deal of time out in the forest environment, and in industry field operations. He was intimately involved on the ground in hands-on preparation for major industry start-ups in Western, Gulf, Central, and Manus Provinces and carried out many consulting tasks involving field work across many parts of PNG from Tonolei to Kiunga. In 201,1 Jim was invited to present the Keynote Address for the International Year of the Forest IYF Seminar in Lae. Mihi cura future – To us is the care of the future. His paper follows. Finally, Jim pays a respectful tribute to the National field officers at all levels for their dedication in many difficult and onerous field situations and the field “breaking-in” of many inexperienced expatriate foresters to the ways of the bush in PNG. He still reflects on his field days with some nostalgia, along with the thought that the quiet rustle in the background – the next generation of forests --and foresters, will continue to serve Papua New Guinea with positive results. Long term forester and resident of PNG Jim Belford describes what could be the future scenario for forestry in his keynote address of 2011. “PNG for the next forty years and beyond”. Forests have always been a strategic resource, and a secure way into the future for PNG. It requires the involvement of foresters in the commercial business of forestry who must strive for optimum results for PNG where the industry ownership and resource ownership are in the same hands. 50

The Royal Commission of 1906 at Samarai. Seated left to right W.E. Parry-Okeden, Col. J.A.K Mackay, C E Herbert Standing Left George Belford30 government guide and on right E Harris (source Mitchell Library)

March 1997 National Forests and Timber Newspaper. 30

Note George Belford is related to Jim Belford (current PNG Australian forester)

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James David “Jim� Belford joined TPNG Forests on 27th March 1970. His occupation was as a forest officer (B.Sc. For. ANU 1967), after completion of his Australian national service commitment as a second lieutenant in 1968 and 1969. Overall, he has had a long and ongoing involvement as a general industry advocate, with proactive development and implementation activity in ongoing strategic development project planning including policy/legislative input/industry representation to National Forest Board level in the period 1987-1997. Since then he has undertaken private consultancy and continuing policy input to 2010. Although now relocated to Brisbane he continues to have a family/business activity base in PNG and commutes when necessary. Work Activities. In 1970 Jim was attached to the Headquarters Survey group undertaking the Vanimo and Gogol surveys with over 100 field staff and two helicopters. In 1971, he undertook the Kuriva survey, relieving OIC Wau plantations, forest management officer Lae mainly Morobe Province including Markham Valley and Morobe Coast. He was active in all field forest management monitoring and TRP field work. He co-ordinated field work for DIES film promotion of DoF field activities; Ioma 4 TRP field work, Buhem-Mongi, Gumi, Oomsis and Morobe. He was a member of PNGVR 2i/c (A/Capt.) Lae until closure after self-government. In 1972/73 Regional Forest Management Officer undertaking in depth forest management and industry monitoring role; Wau forests fires co-ordination with Army contingent and radio communications with field crew and support. Carriage of field work for Landsat Ground control Morobe and West New Britain Provinces. Recce of Manus forest potential and preparation of contingency planning for field surveys of Manus, Siassi Island and Cromwell Mountains. Continuation of Regional Forest Management duties. Posted to Vanimo as District Forester for possible Parsons and Whittemore involvement in the Vanimo Timber Area. Carriage of resource inventory of Manus, Siassi and Cromwell Mt. Forest Areas with 50 field staff and helicopter support. 1975/76/77 Posting as Regional Forest Officer Lae. All field, administrative and management responsibility within the Region. 1977 Appointed Principal Management Officer at Forest HQ under Neil Brightwell. Responsible for all field activity, harvesting, operational budgets, industry monitoring, operations, and resource development in PNG. Provincial Forest Offices created in 1978 onwards with advent of Provincial Government. Policy input/Admin. Jim resigned from Forests at the end of 1981 to take up a position of Resource Operations Manager PNG Forest Products and as the PNGFIA Secretary. He has remained in private enterprise activity in PNG including policy development and industry advocate/ representative duties such as restructuring the PNGFIA to assimilate into the requirements of the Forest Act 1992. Other field activities include assignments in Central, Gulf, Western, Manus and Milne Bay Provinces. Jim has never really left PNG. 52

Jim Belford Keynote Paper: IYF Seminar Lae August 2011 The next 40 years and Beyond Preamble. I am happy to present this Paper to this Seminar marking the International Year of Forests. Unfortunately, other commitments preclude my personal attendance and the opportunity of mixing again with colleagues across the board, and particularly with the field forestry cadre and those charged with management of the regulation, operational management and planning for the sector in both public and private areas into the future. I have been intimately involved in the whole spectrum of forestry in PNG for the last 40 years as a Government forester, private enterprise manager, industrial advocate, and private consultant and have many enduring memories in the field of forestry in Papua New Guinea, probably none more vivid than the early days, when in 1970 I learned “at the rock face” for that first year and during subsequent field exercises in survey camps and operations in many locations across this wonderful country. In this Paper I have been asked to address where Forestry might be heading in Papua New Guinea for the next 40 years and beyond, and to do this it might be useful to examine where we have been, in the process of preparing for the future. I ask your indulgence if I cut corners in treating this task in a shortened manner. It would be impossible to outline all significant elements of the past in 20 minutes or so. Because there is so much ground to cover, I have used a point structure in some areas, and apologize in advance if this gives rise to further questions – but isn’t that one of the purposes of the Seminar? I will touch on the early history and cover some aspects of forestry over the last 40 years in order to put into context where we are now in PNG in this regard, how we got here, and I will also gaze into my crystal ball to get a feel of where we would like to be, or might be in another 40 years. My comments are based on personal experience and perspectives developed during my time in various positions and functions. I will not be presenting statistics or data, I am sure this will be available in plenty throughout the Seminar sessions, and my aim is to give my personal insight into aspects of forestry and commercial development over that period. Introduction. When I first arrived in Port Moresby in March 1970, I joined a strongly expatriatestaffed Department of Forests with HQ at Konedobu, at about the midpoint of major forest inventories across PNG. In coming to PNG as a forester, I joined the ranks of many who followed in the steps of Charles Lane Poole, the first forester to undertake field work in what is now Papua New Guinea, in the 1920’s. His story cements his place as the progenitor of forestry practice in PNG through initial surveys and field collections and is recommended reading for those with an historical interest in the development of forestry in PNG. I have strong memories of the field work undertaken in the 1970’s and my later experience, and the sense of the brotherhood of foresters then which I’m sure is still 53

alive and well today. You just do not forget the field experiences and I could tell many yarns if time permitted. At Independence I stayed on and I must admit that it has been an interesting journey in a challenging personal and professional environment. Early Legislation and Establishment Timber has always been a strategic commodity, and in the early days of colonization, say from the 1850’s, material for construction came through either trade arrangements or outright purchase of small parcels of land from traditional owners, which included rights to standing timber. By the mid 1930’s, a need was seen to develop regulation of the forestry sector, and this was done by the Australian Administration through a Forestry Act which leaned heavily on the Queensland Forest Act of that time. This did, for application in the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea, include the transfer of forest rights through Timber Rights Purchases, where rights to forest resources were acquired by the Administration, leaving it to regulate commercial forest production activity, while outright land ownership rights remained with the traditional owners. During the immediate post World War 2 period, the Angau Administration set up several sawmills in major centres to kick start post war re-construction. For example, the old market location in Lae was the site of an Angau sawmill, and similar sites can be found in other centres, e.g. Rabaul and Madang. When private enterprise began to move into timber production, and the sector became private enterprise oriented, the Administration removed itself from direct operational involvement and focused on regulation of a growing economic sub-sector. From the appointment of the first Head of Department, J.B.McAdam, to the appointment of Mr. Andrew Yauieb as the first National Forestry Degree holder and later occupants of this position, including Mr. Oscar Mamalai, and since then, the administration of “forestry” in PNG has always been on the front foot. These latter two gentlemen had been the only forestry qualified Heads in the forestry field’s most senior position until the appointment of Mr. Kanawi Pouru in 2007. There has been constant transition in scale, administration, and field practice, and I for one hope that a forestry background is a prerequisite for future appointments made to the most senior ranks of the PNG Forest Authority into the future. At early stages of activity when I first arrived in PNG, the technical staff of the Department was mainly concerned with forest inventory, planning operational guidelines, securing Timber Rights Purchases, allocations, strong field monitoring of harvesting and marketing operations, and a strong research element, along with the training of a competent National forestry cadre through the Forestry College at Bulolo, and later, professional levels through Unitech. With some modifications, Timber Rights Purchases remained the norm for forest resource acquisition until the early 1970’s, when the Private Dealings Act was formalized, which also allowed traditional owners to deal directly with timber operators over forest rights, subject to checks and balances. It remains my view that while the philosophy behind the Act was sound, it itself was ineffectively written and over time became the subject of manipulation. 54

For this reason and due to apparent attempts to manipulate markets, the Commission of Inquiry into the Forest Industries Council and Related Matters was convened in the late 1980’s, giving rise to the findings of the Commission under Justice Tos Barnett. It was established that not all was well in the sector’s administration or in private enterprise practices, particularly in field practices and marketing ethics, and as a result, by 1991 Papua New Guinea had its current Forest Act (as amended), designed to rationalize problem areas and to point the sector in a bold new direction, that of sustainability following sound forest management protocols and practices. While this basic structure is intact, there is little “meat” on the bones of the Act, and the need and intention to rectify this is reflected in the current National Forest Development Guidelines and in the Corporate Plan for the PNGFA, both of which warrant periodic examination. Recent developments The commercial forestry sector in PNG is financially strong, experienced and able to exert considerable leverage in the market place, while public sector administration and resource owner groups remain under-resourced and transitional, some would say in a condition of passive dependency, and yet to achieve the objectives set out in the Forestry Act. Overall, the scoreboard to date is one of mixed results, but headed in the right direction, needing a strong capacity and stable leadership in the public area and engagement of progressive commercial entities in private enterprise. While the PNGFA remains in a transitional phase and there may be some way to go, there does exist a cadre of capable and professional officers at HQ level and in the field, who are making a difference, and who continue to progress the PNGFA’s development under difficult circumstances. Under-resourcing appears to remain a chronic impediment to fulfilment of the stated objectives of the Forestry Act. Another desirable requirement for the sector at large is a private sector element which has strong orientation towards sound, progressive and constructive business practices of engagement, capable of working on and taking up available opportunities for sustainability under the Act. At this stage it seems that private enterprise has not yet fully embraced and become engaged in this, and as there is little progress on the sustainability front, there appears to be a general absence of a career stream for foresters in private enterprise at this point. This could however develop with a demand from resource owning entities seeking to hire field expertise as they mature, and with the hoped-for development of Emission Trading Scheme opportunities over time. Should such ETS schemes evolve, PNG is structurally well placed for involvement, and will bring a new level of demand for field services in forestry. To date the jury is still out on some aspects of sectoral development in the public and private enterprise areas. This will continue to evolve into the future and warrants and will require sound and strong progressive management to succeed, on both sides of the fence. Considerations for now and the Future I would like to make some comment on a variety of issues, as I see them: 55

PNG’s Forest Sector is important to Economic Development •

The PNG forest industry sector is dominated by foreign investment. The strength of the sector has been able to withstand the pressures of the financial crises of the late 1990’s and the more recent global financial crisis. The world economy may be headed for further hiccups, however PNG is in as sound a position as any to bounce through it, if markets for the nation’s products hold firm.

•

While PNG has a pressing need to maintain a strong diversified foreign investment base, an additional objective lies in growing a national element in the commercial forestry sector. The Forest Industry Development Study of the early 1990’s suggested that the optimum long-term benefits to PNG would accrue where industry ownership and resource ownership were in the same hands. Perhaps there will be opportunities develop in this area through joint ventures, using the situation in Madang Province as an example, or as standalone activity such as at Open Bay. In both areas there has historically been a strong corporate orientation in forestry which has been conducive to their development.

•

The last 40 years has seen about a tenfold increase in the rate of harvest, and it likely still short of a sustainable figure if the right decisions are taken regarding forest management in the long term. However, reporting of late concerning Special Purpose Agricultural and Business Leases does nothing for my confidence that the forest resource base has a sustainable future, at least at current levels, should there be wholesale wastage of the resource base as a result of these SPABLs.

•

At the same time the population has grown by about a factor of 4, placing further pressure on the forest resource base from population growth, forest conversion and hopefully, in some cases, a renewable commercial/economic resource base.

•

This begs the question: what facet of “sustainability” are we focused on? Is it purely the level of sustainability of the resource base, or the capacity of commercial interests to continue to fund operations, or the capacity of Government to meaningly plan, administer and regulate the resource base in keeping with the Forest Act? I suggest each of these facets have widely diverging answers. It seems that the path chosen is towards a managed resource base, however the other two areas need urgent attention as well, not the least being capacity of the PNG Forest Authority to mobilize and manage as framed under the Act. It seems to me that balance is required but currently in short supply.

•

Renewable forest resources are the most socially significant resource of the nation, apart from its land. The current Forest Act includes imperatives for forest management in the national interest, however little if anything has spilled over into practical application under Forest Management Agreements and associated Project Agreements. For example, where are the forest management principles and targets in FMAs and how will they be achieved? How will the forest sector contribute to a sustainable sectoral economy in the future if the resource base erodes? Forests and their use

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•

Professionalism, good science, good corporate and public governance and a balance between short term environmental disturbance and accrued returns to PNG are required if there is to be a long-term future for the forest resource base.

•

Except for relatively small-scale plantation activity, all that has so far been practiced is basically to leave the logged forest areas in a condition of “benign neglect” or convert them to some other land use as required for subsistence or other purposes. There has been no general proactive move to developing “forest management” as such. It should be understood that time is on the forester’s side: we don’t expect to see “instant forests”, and understand better than most, the need for balanced land use planning in the longer term if the resource base is to be maintained into the future.

•

A potentially significant area which has been languishing without any focus has been “other forest produce”, or minor forest products. There have been casual economic opportunities for seed collection, sandalwood, eaglewood, and potentially other products and extractives. I look forward to the Paper by Professor Topul Rali in this regard. His expertise and focus may well provide a direction for a framework for development of some minor forest products activities which have potential as economic generators at a commercial and/or an economic and local level. Further research studies into utility minor forest products and ethnological medical practices may further indicate opportunities for specialized extractives which could be developed over time.

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Forest resource owners, forest operators, forest administrators and field foresters need to work collectively or in concert to secure a sound future. Favour one over others and the system falls into imbalance, with potentially serious social, commercial, economic, and environmental consequences.

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The resource grab evidenced under the Special Agricultural and Business Leases cannot be permitted to avoid regulatory requirements under the Forest Act regarding planning, monitoring and appropriate regulation. It would be better if they did not exist, but should they hold under law, “in the National interest”, they should be regulated stringently in regard to forest operational performance, planning and defined and regulated post logging land use performance, and under severe penalty.

•

There is room and pressing need for improvement in the application of forest practice, administration, and operational performance. Debate on the sector will not simply “go away” and must reach timely resolution before optimum results on the ground for the long-term sectoral future in PNG are achieved. Less than this will see further dissipation and loss of opportunity, and all elements of the sector must carry their fair share of the load.

•

There will continue to be a need for “forestry” in PNG if there is demand for the products of the forest. These might be any mix of commercial, economic, social, environmental, or other values. Integrating the Trees with the Forest

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Some people cannot see the forest for the trees, and I would also add that some cannot see the trees for the forest. It is the task of foresters to see all the trees as well as the whole of the forest, and this is not always easy where there are conflicting pressures.

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•

I get the sense that foresters have not had a good run for a long time. Let us go back, say to the early 1970s. Then, the lot of the forester was largely directed towards defining the size and shape of operable forests across PNG, expanding existing plantations, the main ones being at Kerevat (mainly teak and kamarere), Bulolo (hoop and klinkii pine) and Brown River/Kuriva (teak), monitoring existing Timber Permit operations (limited log export operations and numerous sawmills), and extending the frontiers of knowledge about minor forest products, timber technology and use, carrying out botanical research, and generally keeping close to the resource owners and operators in the areas then under operation. Preparing for the future took up a great deal of energy and application, and the Department of Forests at that time was internationally recognized for its technical competence and progressive outlook.

•

Between 1970 and 1980, about one quarter of the professional man-years of experience present at the start, were carrying four times the workload by the end of the period. This situation occurred through the advent of mainstream log export operations and the loss of overseas professional staff during that period.

•

Now, some 30 years later, the professional and technical workforce would be under much more pressure, with harvest levels much higher than 1980, more widespread and more complex in their administration and management. If this is the case, the PNG Forest Authority today must be drastically under resourced in terms of staff numbers, equipment, facilities and the means of fulfilling its tasks, and I have the feeling that it must spend a lot of time playing a “catch-up” game. There appears to also be a regional imbalance of field staffing and production monitoring levels. Hence the emphasis on capacity development in the National Forest Development Guidelines of 2010.

•

Today the game is changing quickly. Today, it can be argued that few operations, if any, are based on a sustainable criterion, and the “showcase” State plantations of yesteryear are either no longer in existence, having been the subject of log export harvesting, or likely under operation in excess of sustainability thresholds.

•

At about the time that the Commission of Inquiry into the Forest Industries Council (and related matters) released its findings, and new Forest Policy was being debated, the NFCAP exercise (National Forest and Conservation Action Plan, from memory a UNDP sponsored project) was initiated, in an attempt to “plug the gaps” perceived in the public administration of the forest sector, through the strengthening of the then Department of Forests.

•

The NFCAP attempts at institutional strengthening, and resuscitation of the field leadership and regulatory role of government forestry officers failed to achieve the desired results. When the World Bank’s engagement developed, it took over and extended the NFCAP’s strengthening attempts into the form of the Forestry and Conservation Programme, with endorsement and approval of the Government at the time.

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•

Productive communication and positive interaction were not always evident in the later World Bank’s efforts to secure and maintain a stable association with PNG, and there was extreme reaction from foreign investors intent on averting a superior position by the Bank in forest resource matters. The Bank’s final report card indicated it felt that the forestry sector in PNG was “beyond salvation”, however through efforts of the PNGFA, commercial strength of sector investors, and sustained resource access it has survived, at least up to the present. It has the potential to grow but needs astute management across the board to achieve this.

•

Initially however, operators had shown little or no enthusiasm for the sustainability fundamentals of the Forest Policy, and foresters were largely marginalized in all this. It seems that the public forestry sector management system is hard pressed to keep up with day to day requirements, including adequate proactive planning and logistical preparation for the growth potential for the sector.

•

An old saying is that if you do not know where you are going, any road might get you there, but you could get lost on the way. Is a haphazard future going to be the reality for PNG’s forests, or will there be improvements through application of the NFDGs and evolving field practices? As a forester I am optimistic, subject to enabling processes being in place.

•

The lack of capacity within the system was foreseen in 2001, and a “Forest TimeBound Action Plan”, was approved by the NEC. I understand part of this Plan was to examine the possible separation of planning and operational monitoring functions, presumably handling planning in a proactive manner, and perhaps even taking new project areas fully to start-up stage before handing field operational monitoring to the National Forest Service. Much of what was outlined in the Plan had merit but languished through lack of capacity and follow through. There perhaps was some thought that functional separation in this way would enable the “trees” and the “forests” to be both fairly treated in the development of new operations. This has not yet been tested.

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It seems that the current actual annual harvest is apparently lower than what was initially accepted as “sustainable” by the National Forest Board. There is, on paper, room to expand the sector within the accepted limits of sustainability. On-going review of sustainable rates of harvest is needed, because of changes to the resource base, either natural or man-made.

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The National Forest Policy says much about sustainability, development of national enterprise, expansion of the investment base, a processing direction, and gives a roadmap for resource mobilization under viable conditions of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

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The mainstream forest industry operators, however, generally perceived, are essentially there because of their strength and experience, much like the main players in the mining sector. That they are law abiding and adhere to policy directives is anticipated, but not guaranteed, and close monitoring and regulation is 59

required under the Act. The Corporate Plan of the PNG Forest Authority keeps this in focus and there is need to develop a corporate approach to sustainability, and industry regulation which is evident and on-going. •

I believe the will is there amongst foresters and genuine “forest” oriented people to achieve the goal of wise use and conservation of forest resources as set out under legislation, and hopefully the “trees” people will see a shared benefit in embracing practices and commercial policies which will be complementary to the long term management of the forest. This will produce a resource base which in the end, will be the source of the next cycle of timber for harvest. This is part of what “sustainability” is about. The scope for this lies within the National Forest Policy and Legislation and is waiting for mobilization under conditions of commercial viability and economic, social, and environmental responsibility.

•

It seems that some significant aspects of Policy need a shot in the arm, and mechanics improved to round out performance to the level at which it could be. I see a serious social dilemma facing the nation in the long term if there is no balance between the “tree” and “forest” perceptions of the sector over time. The resource owners want and deserve more than being on a cycle of what could be called subsistence poverty: a subsistence economy without the resources or access to services to develop an improved sustainable quality of life, based on collective ownership of commercial forest resources.

•

Those who will bear the brunt of any long-term imbalance will be the resource owners dependent on and resident in the resource areas, and their future generations. The sector is capable of better than that, and the nation deserves better for and from the forest, its most widely spread natural resource.

The Forest Sector: Is this as good as it gets? •

Do we have answers for all the pressing questions facing forestry in PNG? The answer is a definite “No”. But we do know enough to ask the right questions, and foresters should continue to ask them and seek answers.

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The PNG Forest Authority has set out the fundamental principles of its operation:

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Management, development, and protection of the nation’s forest resources and environment

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Maximization of PNG participation in resource development as a renewable asset.

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Utilization of resources to achieve economic growth and sectoral development

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The encouragement of scientific study and research consistent with national development objectives

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Increased education and training in skills, knowledge, and information in forestry

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Effective strategies for management of forest resources and national, provincial, and local interests. 60

•

How does actual performance measure up to these basic principles? Are adequate resources made available to the Forest Authority to effectively manage its responsibilities? Is the investment element of the sector doing its bit, or being effectively guided in that direction? Is PNG getting full and fair value from its forest resources?

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The transitional reforms on which forestry in PNG embarked in 1991 were fashioned from a philosophy of structural improvement which gave rise to the National Forest Policy which was translated into strategies to mobilize implementation. This has been an evolution which continues. The National Forest Policy, National Forest Development Guidelines and Corporate Plan of the PNG Forest Authority should be kept in focus so that progress is developed and continued. The framework remains intact but needs adequate resources to develop.

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The litmus test for the future will be the degree of engagement by the three main parties, i.e. the State, traditional resource owners, and forest industry investors/operators. By and large this engagement will provide a structural springboard for further reforms, which will include:

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Regulatory and administrative reforms which are structural, complex, and long term

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Private sector reforms which are commercially and structurally sound

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Resource owner reforms which are conducive to sustainability of the resource base

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and the 2 parties with the greatest inherent direct interest in success, the traditional owners and operators, need both to be aware not only of their rights and privileges, but also their respective obligations and responsibilities for the maintenance and growth of the sector. The forest sector may then have a sustainable future.

•

Sustainable operations result from sustained access to sustained resource and markets. To facilitate these conditions, a competent and adequately resourced professional, regulatory, and administrative and management entity of the PNGFA is required to fulfil the fundamental principles set out in Policy and Legislation. I have no doubt that these are the objectives of the National Forest Development Guidelines and the Corporate Plan for the PNGFA.

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The fundamental question is having the lack of implementation of provisions of Forest Policy been the result of incapacity of the regulatory arm to fulfil its role, or from a private investment element apparently reluctant to move with the developmental principles of the National Forest Policy?

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If the current situation is as good as it gets, it seems that everyone on board will be in for a rough ride into an uncertain future. This does not prepare the ground for sustainability in the sector.

Considerations for Processing •

A close examination of the National Policy on Downstream Processing of Forest Products of 2005 is warranted, with review if necessary. A single common thread comes from all earlier documents on this subject: it must be market driven from the outset.

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As Government revenues flow from other resource fields (particularly LNG projects), less pressure will be exerted on forest resources as an immediate income earner, and more balance for growing rural economies over time could develop. Under this scenario 61

there may also be more opportunity to develop processing activity through incentive means. •

State agencies have a role in promoting transparency in the marketplace. There is a great gulf between selling timber and marketing processed timber product lines. There is currently a lot of timber selling, with little marketing evident. It is not only those species which will sell themselves -- Taun, rosewood, kwila etc – but the “lesser known species” which warrant the promotional work, the research and development of market opportunities.

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To safely embark into serious downstream processing there are several components which must exist:

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sustained access to sustained resources

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appropriate market driven product development

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secure, sustainable markets

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adequate technical skills to maintain production standards

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Any entity seeking to seriously embrace a move to 100% processing must have the right answers to the following questions:

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Is the resource base suitable, sufficient, and secure?

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Is the product demand sustainable and the market secure?

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Are product quality and product flow/regular adequate supply manageable?

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Are workforce skill levels available and consistent?

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Are supply chain logistics sound and manageable?

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It is likely that entities interested in seriously exploring processing opportunities would be on the larger production end of scale, or have a “captured market”, and be able to identify sound commercial reasons, including long term planning objectives and available incentives.

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Industries are built through building markets, not just factories, and it is likely that those private enterprise agencies which are in the best position to engage a processing policy will be those with significant leverage in the marketplace

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It may be that balanced outcomes might be generated through evaluation of individual proposals on merit, targeting export-oriented markets. An evaluation into appropriate processing levels for individual project areas would be logical, given different parameters in resource areas and market potential, with potential investors assessed on strengths and weaknesses of processing proposals.

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A blanket approach for processing is fraught with dangers and as it not possible to legislate success, the investor must carefully evaluate the viability and security of the resource base, production costs and market access and security. Into the Future: The Challenges of Good Forest Practice in Papua New Guinea

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The forest resources of PNG are not public forests, and are privately owned, and unless and until this becomes part of a forest management ethic and practice, it is difficult to anticipate achievement of long-term goals of forest management and resource base security. Forest Management Agreement conditions go part of the way, but these 62

mechanisms need to be properly mobilized and promoted into real application over time. •

A holistic approach is recommended for resource base security and maintenance, from initial forest inventory and planning to monitoring and analysis of market development and product flows. Adequate and viable land use planning will provide a springboard for sustainability of the resource base if that is the chosen option.

•

The capacity for this will develop over time and will likely be assisted greatly when revenue flows develop from particularly the LNG projects. This will also present opportunities for greater processing of raw forest products where incentives might be made available.

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To develop the sector, it will be necessary to embed resources, personnel and practices which will cover:

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Development of administrative and management infrastructure at national, provincial, and local level

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Adequate planning infrastructure

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Market access and development – analysis, feedback, trade liaison

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Minor forest products – research and development

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Plantations – a real approach

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Development of National enterprises

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Demographic projections and land use requirements and mobilization.

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There has been a continuing divergence of commercial and economic values and these must be engineered to converge for full development of the forestry potential of PNG to develop.

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Therefore, the future holds the opportunity for consolidation of all aspects of “forestry” in PNG, from private enterprise and government agencies alike. The past 40 years have been directed towards planning and establishment of a contemporary industry, and the next 40 will be directed towards further transition, planning and consolidation in both public and private sectors.

•

No doubt there will be social, economic, commercial, administrative and management concerns in the next 40 years, just as there has been in the last. Historically these have not presented terminal obstacles to “forestry” in Papua New Guinea, and I cannot imagine this will occur in the future.

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In the end, though, the scale, shape, and effect of the forestry sector in Papua New Guinea will be the one it deserves, having evolved because of the interaction between resource owner groups, government, and private enterprise.

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If constructive interaction exists and the right choices are made, it should be a bright future, however I feel there remain many challenges which could disaffect a sound future if not actively managed in the national interest.

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ACRONYMS ACT AEC AFS AFPNG AIF AMF ANBG ANGAU ANU APMF APPM ASOPA BCOF BFC BGD BUC C cm CALM CFA CNGT CRE CRE

CSIRO CHAH DEPT FAO F &TB FPRC Forkol ha IBRD IFA L of N m3 MM NAA NB no. NG NGF NGIB

Australian Capital Territory Administrators Executive Committee Australian Forestry School Association of Foresters of PNG Australian Infantry Forces Australian Military Forces Australian National Botanical Gardens Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit Australian National University Australian Paper Manufacturers Forestry Pty Ltd Australia Paper and Pulp Manufacturers Australian School of Pacific Administration British Commonwealth Occupational Force 1945-52 Bulolo Forestry College Bulolo Gold Dredging Company Bulolo University College Commonwealth Centimetre Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management Commonwealth Forestry Association Commonwealth New Guinea Timbers Bulolo Corps of Royal Engineers CRE is a term inherited by RAE from RE and is the term for the Commanding Officer of a RAE unit which is headed by a Lt Col. Although the officer is called the CRE the name is also used for the name of his unit. E.g. CRE Aust Forestry Group or 1(NG Forests). Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Department Food and Agriculture Organisation Forest and Timber Bureau Canberra Forest Products Research Centre Hohola Bulolo Forestry College Hectare International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Institute of Foresters of Australia League of Nations cubic metre Military Medal National Archives Australia New Britain Number New Guinea New Guinea Forces (relates to plant collection of Lae Herbarium) New Guinea Infantry Battalion 64

NZ NSW PIB PIR PNG PNGAA PNGAF PNGFA PNGFIA PNGUT POM Q QF RAE RPC UK UN UNE UNI UNITECH UPNG UQ US USA TPNG TA TA TRP VSF WA WB WW2

New Zealand New South Wales Papuan Infantry Battalion Pacific Islands Regiment Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Australia Association Papua New Guinea Australian Foresters Magazine Series Papua New Guinea Forest Authority PNG Forest Industries Association PNG University of Technology Port Moresby Queensland Queensland Forestry Royal Australian Engineers/Australian Army Royal Papuan Constabulary United Kingdom United Nations University of New England Armidale NSW University University of Technology Lae PNG University of Papua New Guinea University of Queensland United States United States of America Territory of Papua and New Guinea Timber Area Timber Authority Timber Rights Purchase Victorian School of Forestry Western Australia World Bank WORLD WAR 2

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