LAND SETTLEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 20, 24 January 1929, Page 18

LAND SETTLEMENT.

NEW GOVERNMENTS POLICY.

CONFERENCE OPENED.

DECISION EXPECTED TO-DAY.

(By Telegraph.— Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, Wednesday.

Preliminary steps for the formulation of the land settlement policy of the new Government was taken to-day, when the Minister of Lands, Hon. G. W. Forbes, met the Crown land commissioners and members of tlio Land Purchase Board in conference. Subsequently the Minister expressed the hope that the outcome of the deliberations would be the adoption of a fairly substantial programme. The conference will be continued to-morrow.

Mr. Forbes said the conference had gone fully into the question of settlement generally, and also into the matter of taking up the unoccupied land of the Dominion. Suggestions made by the commissioners would be considered further to-morrow. "We had quite a useful talk," said the Minister, "and a good deal of valuable information wa3 furnished. "The object of the conference is to place me in touch with the position in the various districts and with the obstacles in the way of carrying out increased settlement. We have been able to discuss that matter fully, and I am very hopeful that as a result of the conference I will be able to put into operation a fairly substantial programme of land settlement. It will, of course, take some little time. "Also to be considered is the question of roading in regard to undeveloped lands. That point will be closely looked into, and it is my intention to go on with the business." Mr. Forbes added that the final decisions of the conference would be reached to-morrow, and at an early date he would visit as many parts of the country as possible to ascertain for himself on the spot the practicability of giving effect to the proposals in the dis-' tricts concerned. The Minister will leave Wellington on Friday night on a comprehensive tour of the South Island, and will later tour the North Island. At the completion of his visit lie will decide upon the line of action to be followed in regard to his land settlement policy. During his brief visit to the Auckland distTiet, from which he returned to-day, Mr. Forbes said he formed the impression that in the vicinity of Kawhia in the Waitomo electorate there were large areas of useful country capable of being broken in. These could take a fair amount of additional settlement, but they would require a good deal of development and would not lend themselves t<T large-area farming.