THE GUARANTEED PRICE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 47, 9 August 1939, Page 7

THE GUARANTEED PRICE

Mr a. g. hultquist s views SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT Mr A, G. Hultquist M.P. has supplied us with a copy of his speech (luring the Address-in-Rcply debate. Mn Hultquist asked us to publish this in full, but though il is of considerable interest it is impossible to make space for such a lengthy feature, even by spreading it owr several issues. We arc thus forced to publish extracts only. Referring to the guaranteed price, he said: "At the outset I must say that I think it ill becomes hon. members of the Opposition, to claim to speak on behalf of the dairy farmers of New Zealand. Is the hon. member for Waika.to competent to speak on behalf of the dairy farmers? He attempted to do so. Is any cne member on the Opposition benches competent to speak on behalf of the dairy fanners or the sheep farmers? Mr Dickie: Give them an opportuil ity to speak for themselves. Mr Hultquist: I claim to be competent to speak on behalf of the sheep farmers and the dairy farmers, and to a far greater extent in connection with sheep farmers especially than the hon member fort Waikato is competent to speak on behalf of the dairy farmers because one-seventh of all the sheep in the North Island are in my electorate. In the Matakaoa, Waiapu, Uawa, Cook, Waikohu, Whakatanc and Opo tiki Counties there are 2,480, 065 sheep. It can be said that onefourth of the total number of sheepin New Zealand are in the I3ay of Plenty electorate.

Mr Kyle: Has the hon gentlcmnn a pet lamb? Mr Hultquist: No, nor a goat either, but there are a good many of the latter in the Riccarton eltctor. ale. Sir, cannot the member for Bay of Plenty speak on behalf of the dairy farmers? Do not the hon member for Gisborne the hon member lor Hawke's Bay, the hon member for Masterton and the hon member for Wairarapa represents dairy farmers? Mr Goosman: They were not elected by the dairy farmers, Mr Hultquist: I believe they were. If there is to be any ballot taken on, the question of the guaranteed price it should be taken among the sheep farmers to see whether they want it. GUARANTEE ACCEPTED It is a cheek to say that the guar, anteed price was even an issue at last election. It was by then an accepted principle by Tory and Labour voters alike. The issue was not the guaranteed price. It has proved so acceptable to the dairy farmers in my electorate that yesterday at the annual meeting of the Ivia Ora Dairy Factory in Gisborne a unanimous resolution was carried in favour of the principle. That is one of the largest factories in the North Island and has suppliers from all over the dis-. trict. I repeat that the guaranteed price was not an issue at the election . Many of those who voted at yes terday'is meeting in favour of it acfcu ally voted against me at the election. Mr Osborne: What about the compensated price? Mr Hultquist: We do not hear about that now, and I have no wish to discuss it,. The guaranteed price has come to stay. If a vote is to be taken on, the question jt should be taken among the sheep farmers to ascertain whether they desire to have th e privilege enjoyed bj r the dairy farmers. If a vote is to be taken on existing guaranteed prices, then the maize-growers also should be considered, for they too have a guaranteed price. Last year they were guaranteed as 3d a bushel. The price did not work out satisfactorily because as the season progressed the maize naturally shrank and growers who •sold in November and December did not come out so well as those who sold earlier. I congratulate the Mar. keting Department and Mr Picot in particular lor the scientific sliding scale now adopted. At the beginning of the season the price is to be 5s bd j a bushel. It is to go up to 5s 5d in : August, 5 S Cto in September, 5s 7d in October, 5s 8d in November and 5s 9d in December. The purpose of the scale is to safeguard those who '11 ust hold their maize for a fow months until it is required. Those who passed the unanimous resolution T have gust mentioned expressed sat. isfaction with the guaranteed prjc* scheme for dairy produce. The guaranteed price for maize was poss : bl» as a result of the Primary Products Marketing Bill of 1930.' It avhs never intended to 3pply only to dairy produce. It applies now to lemons to-

bacco? honey, and wheat and etc. and producers of those commodities should have a right to say whether the guaranteed price should be retained or abolished. THE CONSUMEIi Mr Burnett: What about something for the consumer too. Mr Hultquist: The consumer is getting guaranteed prices too. We have always said that we could not have a guaranteed price for the dairy farmer without guaranteeing prices for the rest of the community I have 110 time for the farmer who wants a guaranteed price for himself, but low prices for everybody' else. One man's costs are another man's wages. Some farmers would like Is Gd or Is 7d for butter-fat, but they want other people's commodities at depression prices. Some men would like their cow sheds electrified at depression wages and would like their maize and manure at slump prices. I shall touch on the subject of manure prices later, for in my counties they are really too high. The dairy farmers whom I have contacted on the, East Coast approve of the guaranteed price. I have letters from farmers in isolated areas protesting against the possibility of the guaranteed price being ■voted out of existence. To-night's Evening Post shows that the farmers are alarmed at the attitude of ithe Farmers' Union. I think that hon members on the Opposition side and members of the Farmers' Union have put their foot in, it. I am sure some members of the Opposition wish that they had never mentioned the guaranteed price. One of the new Opposition members made an astounding statement yesterday. He .declared that in New Zealand to.day there are 120,000 acres less being farmed than when the Government fir--t took office. In the last three years the area being farmed in the Bay of Plenty has increased by nearly 120000 acres. In 1933-34 the acreage being farmed was 2,178,545. In 1936.37 • it was 2, 297/290 an increase of nearly 120,000 acres in the Bay of Plenty alone. Is that beacuse farming does not pay and the guaranteed price is not i>ood? Dozens of sheep farmers have written to me asking fo r the guaranteed price. Mr Kidd: Why have they not been given it?