DAIRY FARMERS’ VOTES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22465, 28 July 1938, Page 12

DAIRY FARMERS’ VOTES

o “NOT TEN PER CENT. FOR GOVERNMENT” MR WILKINSON’S PREDICTION ABOUT TARANAKI [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 27. "Not 10 per cent, of the farmers in Taranaki will vole lor the Government at the next election,” said Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Independent, Egmont) when speaking in the financial achate in the House of Representatives to-night. Mr Wilkinson said it had been contended that 90 per cent, of working farmers in New Zealand were in favour of the present Government; but from what he knew of the feeling in Taranaki, where working farmers predominated, the position was precisely the opposite. •'The Minister for Agriculture said recently that the guaranteed price w r as popular in Taranaki,” Mr Wilkinson said; "but I will show him just what the farmers there think of that, and other proposals of the Government. The other day a poll was taken to see whether farmers were in favour of Government control of the bobby calf industry. Only one out of 67 dairy factories was in favour of the proposal, and while 241 suppliers voted for it, there were 1435 against. That shows what they think of Government control in Taranaki. At the last election, not one Labour candidate was returned, and of those who have come out so far this time in the Labour cause, two have already seen fit to withdraw.” Mr Wilkinson said that before the introduction of the guaranteed price, a factory in his district paid out Is 2d a pound ior butter lat, and the price on the English market had risen all the time since then. Mr J. G. Barclay (Government. Marsden); What factory is that? Mr Wilkinson; The Joll Dairy Company, Ltd. The Minister for Marketing (the Hon. W, Nash): You were all wrong the last time you quoted it. Mr Wilkinson; I quoted last time from figures shown in the balancesheet of the company. Although admittedly there was a further pay-out of 5-8 d a pound later. It was curious, Mr Wilkinson said, that if the Government had made dairy farming so profitable there should have been a decrease in the output of cheese. Mr Nash: It is only 3 per cent. "Three factories in my district have closed their doors this season,” Mr Wilkinson said. ‘‘The same thing is happening all over the South Island, through farmers changing over to r heep In addition, factories are finding it difficult to produce first class cheese under the present union hours. Anyone would think the Government was conferring a‘benefit on the dairy farmers by commandeering their produce, yet the payout last year was £1,000,000 short of what the produce actually realised.”