Expert Witness Puzzled By Farmers’ Submissions

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29832, 26 May 1962, Page 12

Expert Witness Puzzled By Farmers’ Submissions

(NZ Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 25. A witness called by the Sheepowners’ Union in the Arbitration Court today admitted that he was puzzled by the union’s submissions. The Court was continuing the hearing of an application by the Sheepowners’ Union for a 10 per cent, decrease in award minimum rates.

Toward the end of the day the workers’ representative on the Court (Mr A. B. Grant) asked a witness if he thought the wording of the submissions made by the sheepowners’ union’s advocate <Mr A. P. O’Shea) really wanted a decrease or simply wanted to stop the effect of a previous application before the Court for an increase. The witness. William Leonard Keen, senior statistician with the economic service to the Meat and Wool Boards, said he had been puzzled on this, especially tn view of the opening remarks of the submissions. “If the Court granted the application for a decrease, and yet there was no decrease in ruling rates, and Mr O’Shea obviously does not expect there would be. what would the effect be on the sheepfarmers?” Mr Grant asked. •If the Court made the gesture asked for, and if it was accepted by the workers, would it be accepted by the importers, the bankers and all the other sections of the community?” Mr Keen: I am very doubtful. He said he would not voluntarily accept a wage cut himself.

Mr W. N. Hewitt (einplovers’ representative on the’court): That could be an argument for the status quo. In his evidence, Mr Keen said he estimated that sheepfarmers’ incomes would be down about 121 pe- cent, this season.

But. under cross-examina-tion, he said this was largely due to a fall in prices and only partly due to the drought.

Farming Costs Mr Keen said he agreed that the New Zealand farmer had the highest costs in the world, in that he paid more for goods and services. The New Zealand farmer also appeared to pay more for his machinery. To a question, he said the New Zealand farmer’s cost per unit of production was among the lowest. To a suggestion from the workers’ advocate (Mr F. P Walsh) that the New Zealand farmer was generous apd did not mind paying for service, Mr Keen said he considered the farmer did mind paying.

He estimated that New Zealand overseas receipts for

the current calendar year would be about £292 million, £3 million less than last year, and he would not agree with Mr Walsh that the receipts were likely to be around £3OO million. Mr Walsh: You will find I am nearer than you are. Mr Keen said the amount of money farmers spent on development had fallen, which meant the country might not be able to maintain its rate of production increase, which had been about 50 per cent, in the last 10 years. If this was not maintained, the whole community might suffer. Drop In Income Earlier, Frederick John Calder, a sheepfarmer of Central HaWke’s Bay. gave evidence that rising costs and falling prices, as well as the effects of the recent drought, had reduced his net income.

This year he had earned only £1370 net. compared

with £l7OO net the previous year. He admitted that, in the last 12 years his net average income from his farm was about £2OOO. This would be the trend for most sheepfarmers. He considered that a cut in minimum awards was justified to keep wage-earners in line with farmers. He told Mr Grant that he had never been called to give evidence in support of an increase in wages when his own income had gone up. The hearing will continue on Monday after the secretary of the Public Service Association (Mr D. P. Long) has made his reply to the employers’ submissions in the earlier case for a gen eral wage increase Mr O’Shea said he would then call at least two witnesses, including the Secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce (Dr. W. B. Sutch) on whom a subpoena was served today.