UN General Assembly
1952

43. The simple fact is that, so far as Australia is concerned, we recognize fully the obligations that we have accepted towards the indigenous peoples of Papua and of the Territory of New Guinea. We propose to carry out these obligations in the letter and in the spirit, as we have done in the past. If anyone imagines that we are exercising these responsibilities for selfish gain, let me say that since Australia accepted the Trusteeship Agreement for New Guinea, our dependent territories have cost metropolitan Australia a net amount of £14, 900,000. Each year we have made grants to our territories several times the value of the revenues of those territories, 44. Those who have had experience of primitive peoples in many countries know very well that the too rapid impact of what we are pleased to call civilization can utterly corrupt and destroy them. There are many essential things that can and should be done, but there is much else that can be done only gradually and with understanding if the people are to survive.