THE NASSELLA TUSSOCK

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24742, 6 December 1945, Page 4

THE NASSELLA TUSSOCK

GRAVITY OF EMPHASISED i:

VISIT BY MR FRASER SOUGHT ,'''\

A decision to ask the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) to .torn to Canterbury to inspect and discuss the nassella tussock menace was made by the executive of the Canterbury Progress League last evening/ V'.-, The decision was reached after* the executive had been addressed by Mr'T, G. Maxwell, a member of the nassella committee and of the Motunau '-Ycmg Farmers' Club. He spoke at spm» length on the difficulty of handling the problem, the gravity of the threat to the community's welfare, and. ; .th« increasingly serious menace nassella tussock constituted year by yeariHe asked the league to find why legislation dealing with the problem pn a national basis had been delayed,'ahd to use its efforts to have suitable legist lation enacted. / >'<: Mr R. McGillivray said that nassella tussock had been found at the' saleyards and at Rakaia. He had heard that it had been found at Ashburtonj r After outlining discussions with Government representatives to date, MrJ. Manson said that the league's duty #s to bring pressure to bear to have J?* Government lend financial support;© dealing with a national problenvgJJ would be useless to have a bill passwl which merely pushed the problea* back on to the farmers. He knew.tbat the Prime Minister had been interested in the problem, but the bugbear sinca had been the attitude of the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. B. Roberts); Mr L. W. McCaskill. said his consul* ered opinion was that the only nop9 lay in getting the Prime Minister'on the spot. He was definitely interested in national problems, and this was a national problem. ' A motion by Mr Manson to ask-MT. Fraser down and to inform local rnernbers of Parliament and interested to™ body representatives, and farmers "J North Canterbury and ' Marlborougß was passed after further discussion.