ONE-VOICE APPROACH

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31677, 13 May 1968, Page 9

ONE-VOICE APPROACH

Wheatgrowers And Fanners The agriculture section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers will ask its Dominion council to support a move to link the federation with United Wheatgrowers to represent wheatgrowers. The section overwhelmingly supported a remit from the Sheffield branch that this be done to ensure that wheatgrowers would speak with one voice in representations to the Government. Mr M. R. Macdonald, who moved the remit, said the one-voice approach was ele mentary. “Our representatives have to be responsible to us. The Government appointees on the Wheat Board are for the Government,” he said Discussion on the remit developed into a series of recriminations over the handling of negotiations with the Government after it had announced last January that wheat prices would be reduced.

Delegates claimed and counter claimed that they either had or had no knowledge of consultations with the Government before the announcement had been made Mr R. H. Bedford said the most important thing was that the Government had made it clear it would negotiate with only one body in future. The meeting also supported a remit from the Cust-West Eyreton branch that any additional levies on wheat for the purpose of protection against climatic loss should be opposed. Members agreed that private individuals could protect themselves by insuring their crops.

The meeting rejected another remit from the CustWest Eyreton branch that the payment of an incentive premium to North Island wheatgrowers be discontinued if the Government intended restricting the production of milling wheat. Mr R. G. Rainey, chairman of United Wheatgrowers, said the amount of wheat grown in the North Island was less than 10 per cent of the total for New Zealand.