National Party And Farm Prices

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29235, 20 June 1960, Page 3

National Party And Farm Prices

Sir,—Will Mr Holyoake publicly say, first, why his Government failed to pay farmers a payable price for wheat, and. second, why in face of precedent established by Mr Massey after the 1914-18 war, and in face of the pay-out by Australia and Couth Africa, his Government failed to pay to the people (to whom it belonged) the £264 million war-time wool profits? To say that he had the authority of Federated Farmers to do what his Government did will not hold water as Federated Farmers did not own the money; nor did they represent the sheepfarmers, as at that time only 38J per cent, of farmers, I understand, were members of Federated Farmers and a large proportion of these were dairy farmers who had no interest in wool.— Yours, etc., EX-FARMER. [The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Holyoake) says: “The scheme that was decided upon had the full concurrence of the Wool Board and the electoral college of the Wool Board. The relevant legislation was considered by a select committee of the House and, from memory, there was only one objector to it. As to wheat production, the facts are that, although prices for wheat were good, the still higher returns from the sale of wool and lamb inevitably resulted in a switch of production from wheat-grow-ing to sheep-farming.”] f