Waipara Nassella Plans To Be Re-Examined

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 6

Waipara Nassella Plans To Be Re-Examined

A meeting with the various Government department heads aqd Ministers was going to be a necessity to overcome all the problems, being encountered In control of nassella in the Waipara area which was formerly excluded from the board’s activities, the chairman of the North Canterbury Nassella Tussock Board (Mr T. G. Maxwell) said at a board meeting yesterday. “Not one person is saying the scheme is crazy: they are all embracing it," Mr Maxwell said. “The difficulty is the wherewithal.”

The board was discussing a report by Mr R. A. Milne, farm advisory officer of the Department of Agriculture, on suggested farm plans for eight properties in the area on the basis of the board controlling the nassella on the unploughable land, the landowner to be responsible for the arable infestations. Mr Milne’s report showed that on several properties there would be problems of finance which would prevent the work being done. - “You are now in the real ‘tiger’ country, where there has been the maximum seeding from young virile tussocks brought about by the short rotation forced on to the landowners,” said Mr J. W. Earl. “In the north-east corner of the Kowai County there are young tussocks seeding on to the land that has been bulldozed. “I am going to say again that trees are the only answer because of the legacy of the seed left in the ground. “The means are there of taking over the properties and making valuatibns. It’s the only answer," Mr Earl said. On a point of order raised by Mr H. E. Connor, Mr Maxwell ruled that the discussion related to the programme outlined in Mr Milne’s farm plan recommendations and not to whether the programme was to involve control by trees dr spraying. “This ‘tiger’ area is one in which' they should have killed a few tigers 19 years ago,” said Mr L. R. C. Macfarlane. “As a ratepayer’s representative, I’m not in favour of more board money being Spent on this special area. It is a matter for Government assistance. “Other people have been prosecuted. These people have been lulled into a false air of security,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“I don’t see why other ratepayers who have reasonably clean property should have to dig into their pockets for this,” he said.

Mr Earl said that there were other bad areas of nassella outside Waipara years ago and “urgency of control” had been the policy of the board then. Mr H. E. Connor said that it might be necessary to view the Waipara area as a five, eight or 10-year control programme instead of trying to do it in two years.

“The Waipara County Council at its last meeting was of the unanimous opinion that the only economic solution was complete afforestation,” said Mr J. Stevenson.

“We’ve got a new Minister of Agriculture. Let’s get him up here and let him see the problem,” Mr L. R. C. Macfarlane said. Mr D. R. Wilkie then moved that the farm plans be re-exam-ined in the light of the five-year programme which advocated the combination of farm forestry and pastoral farming, with the alternatives of complete afforestation or retention of full pastoral farming.

Seconding the motion, Mr A R. Dingwall said that the whole area should be re-examined, and not

only some of the landowners, and the whole facts of the matter should be discussed with the Minister of Agriculture. This was agreed to and the motion was carried. The Waipara County Council favoured the planting of trees, where suitable, on dense areas of nassella tussock rather than spraying which had to be followed up for mahy years by grubbing when labour was not available for this work or else was very expensive, said the chairman of the council, Mr C. N Mackenzie, in a statement clarifying his council’s attitude to control in the south-east corner of the county. Mr Mackenzie said that this planting could be done either by an extension of farm forestry or, where suitable, by the Forest Service. His council was wholeheartedly behind the Nassella Tussock Board in dealing with the problem in the area, he said.