AUSTRALIA ABSTAINS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29057, 20 November 1959, Page 15

AUSTRALIA ABSTAINS

Trusteeship Vote At U.N.

NEW YORK, Nov. 18. Australia abstained from voting on a United Nations Trusteeship Committee resolution tonight because it seemed to indict powers administering trust territories. The Australian delegate, Mr Kevin Kelly, explained the Australian abstention after the committee recommended that the United Nations General Assembly implement faster and bigger programmes for training natives- in trust territories in preparation for the territories’ independence. The Trusteeship Committee adopted a resolution to this effect by 63 votes to none, with 10 abstentions. New Zealand voted in favour of the resolution, which was sponsored by Burma, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Mr Kelly remarked that it was “most significant” that no votes had been cast against the resolution. His country's efforts to develop education in Nauru, he said, compared favourably with those of other independent countries. Mr Kelly added that the situation was more difficult in New Guinea. He noted that the preamble to the operative clauses in the resolution said that the General Assembly should note “the measures for the training of indigenous personnel are inadequate and need to be expanded and accelerated.” Retention of the words “are inadequate” seemed to indict the administering powers, Mr Kelly said, and for that reason Australia abstained. Others abstaining were Belgium, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and South Africa. Britain, France, Belgium, Italy. New Zealand and Australia administer trust territories. The French trust territories— Togoland and the Cameroons—and the Italian trust territory of Somaliland, are to become independent ndxt year. New Zealand’s trust territory of Western Samoa is due to achieve nationhood the following year. No dates have been set for the independence of British-admin-istered Tanganyika, Belgian-ad-ministered Ruanda-Urundfi and Australian - administered New Guinea.

Lord Mayor Dead.— Sir Archibald Park, Lord Mayor of Hobart, died in a private hospital last night after a short illness.— Hobart, November 19.