FARM PRICES, PROBLEMS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29366, 19 November 1960, Page 14

FARM PRICES, PROBLEMS

Mr Skinner At Dargaville (New Zealand Press Association) DARGAVILLE, Nov. 18. The Labour Government in 17 years has been responsible for providing more homes in New Zealand than all the other governments put together, the deputy Prime Minister (Mr Skinner) told 150 electors in Dargaville last night. He said Labour had also contributed more to the security of this country than any other party in power. Defending the Government’s marketing policy, Mr Skinner said it was left to the Labour Party, a party that was supposed to know nothing about farming, to find new markets for New Zealand’s increasing production. All the benefits enjoyed by the farmers today, such as orderly marketing, were the fruits of measures introduced by Labour in 1935 and, since then, farmers had never looked back.

“We understand farm problems and our principles of farming and marketing, in spite of a brief change of Government, are still being adhered to,” he said. The abandonment of land stabilisation by the National Party had brought about a tragic situation. Where it once cost £5OOO to get on to an economic dairy unit, today the cost was £14,000. Where it cost £6500 to get on a sheep farm the cost now was £ 20,000.

When a questioner suggested the Government should subsidise farm workers’ wages by £2 a week to bring them up to £l4 a week to offset the drift to cities where young men were getting from £25 to £2B a week, Mr Skinner said he “would not have that one on.”

He suggested farmers should have a close look at home to see if they could stop the drift. The Government was doing its best to encourage more workers to New Zealand and to make farm work more attractive, he said.