IN PORT MORESBY THE "LID IS OFF"

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5279, 16 December 1946, Page 2

IN PORT MORESBY THE "LID IS OFF"

LAOK OP CONTIIOLS OiN ANY Ci()OI)S. . - 'Life in Port Moreshy is virtually a "free for all." There is no income tax. Electric light, telephones and transport are "on the house," and interisknd soinxnnniestibn is free. ,, , ■ Even fresh vegetables are sold on a no-profit hasis at .the local mart. , , Nobody expects .this happy state of affairs' to continue for long.- Butmeanwhile everyone Is thankful that something is free, 'because there is much in Moresby that is shockingly dear. And there are a great many essential things that are shockingly shopt. ' 4 Nearly two pionths have elapsed sipce a food ship called, and private residents have. been without fresh meat, eggs and butter there. Only at the town's one functioning hotel, which has a priority service from the local freezer, are these foods available. ^ There would not even be vegetables but for the fore,sight of local prison offlcials in placing 120 acres under cultivation at the Bomana native gaol. 14 mil-es from the town. Twiee a week the prison tnnQks come loa|ded wtih beans, tomatoes, pumpkins and lettuce, which are sold at the local marlcet far below mainland prices. But steak, when availahle, is 3S 6d a lb; even sausages would cost 2s 4d; tea is 4s a lb; butter, 2s 9d; flour, 10s 6d a 251b hag; bread, ls a loaf; milk, when the town's 12 cows are yielding, is ls 9d a pint; and a bar of common washing soap costs 2s 3 d. This soap charge has Moresby people in a lather of indignation. Traders tell me it is because they have to pay the Australian Government a tallow levy of £51 on every ton of soap. They see no prospect of the "Government a'bolishing this iniquitous charge in an Australian territory. In the meantime, Moresby's motto is. "Go easy on the soap." Paradoxically, Australian beer and American cigarettes are cheaper than i in Australia. Not that beer is often availahle with the present transport shortage, but American cigarettes are plentiful at 13s 6d a carton. Even cigarette papers are availahle^. Despite these advantages, it is risky to suggest that residents are living in a tropical paradise withoiut .income tax and with so 'many free public services. « They reply that the indirect tax foisted on the island more than sets off any advantages. And a few grimly remember that it was 'Mr. Eddie Ward, now guiding the island's destiny, who spoke so strongly against indirect taxation during the recent Federal elections.