ABSTRACT
The decade of the 1970s in the coffee industry of Papua New Guinea was one in which the participants' political and economic fortunes continued to be vitally affected by the flow of world coffee. The external marketing problems of the crop evident in the 'netting' crisis of 1966-67 finally demonstrated that these problems would remain insurmountable under existing colonial arrangements. The political power of the white planters was exercised, as described, through the Highlands Farmers and Settlers' Association (HFSA) and personal influence. It was the economic crisis in the industry, not political demise, that in 1972 was the last straw for many white planters. The 1972 crisis showed many of them that existing colonial structures and relations could not survive extended periods of international regulation. The failure of the United Party ended for many years the direct political representation in the national legislature of the dominant class fractions in the post-colonial coffee industry.
