Speaking To Candidates

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32119, 15 October 1969, Page 10

Speaking To Candidates

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K . D. Coates

A. J. Srhoy Labour Ashburton

"Who's going to dominate me?” asked the Labour candidate for Ashburton, bringing his large fist crashing down on the kitchen table. Mr A. J. Srhoy, who runs a 720-acre farm near Hinds, and employs three men, waved a newspaper clipping from his cardboard box file referring to allegations of party domination by the Federation of Labour. “I believe politicians can be honest and straightfoward—l have never said anything which could not be absolutely substantiated,” he said. “It browns me off to listen to the period of personal slandering in Parliament; no wonder it has a bad image. This sort of thing is destroying our very democratic system.” It could never be said of John Srhoy (the unusual name is Jugoslav in origin; his mother comes from Northern Irish stock) that he is ever stuck for a word. It was morning tea time when I arrived at his farm and the men and a veterinarian were drenching horses. The boss was rather like a soap-box orator without the box for at least 10 minutes. But there’s more than words to 36-year-old John Srhoy, married, with five children. He says his farm has grown from 144 acres of rush and swamp on which his late father “slogged his guts out.” More and more swamp land has been taken over, drained and developed, according to Mr Srhoy. Today it carries a dairy herd, dairy beef cattle, pigs, ewes, hoggets and some cropping. “I expect the turnover this year to be $55,000,” he said. Why stand for Parliament for the Labour Party? First, Mr Srhoy says, he is standing because he wants to do things .'that will be of benefit to the Ashburton district. He said he, had been asked to consider standing for the party in other areas, but was not interested.

He said people knew what he had done in a bid to get a fertiliser works established, in getting the site for the new Ashburton College changed and in other local activities. “I suppose I am a fighter,” said Mr Srhoy, “but I am always responsible about it”

He said there was not sufficient incentive to men in all walks of life who were prepared to work and get ahead. The tax scale was too high, he added. “There should be tax incentives instead of subsidies. For example, instead of subsidies for sprays, the farmer would get a tax exemption for the money he spends on weeds.” There was a subsidy for the raising of dairy beef, but he considered a direct incentive scheme involving a tax exemption would be preferable. Asked whether this might mean payment of less tax and so less available funds for spending on, say, social security, Mr Srhoy said with this sort of incentive people would work harder, and produce more. The amount of tax would be the same as more would be produced and more earned.

“If properly done, such a scheme would benefit the working man, businessman and farmer,” he said. Mr Srhoy said he believed in industrial expansion and utilisation of raw materials in the area, such as wheat. The Ashburton area was the finest in New Zealand in which to farm, but the flour mill was not working to full production because, under the quota system, wheat was being sent to Auckland. “Why send wheat out of the area?” he asked. “Why not process all the raw material where it is produced? The whole of the quota system needs overhauling.”

Mr Srhoy believes a Ministry of Marketing should be set up, providing scope for private enterprise coordinating with Government agencies. “We also must have proper shipping, and New Zealand should charter ships to start with,” he said.

“I believe in competition and against monopolies. In the freezing industry, companies spend half the time scrapping among themselves; this is one industry where there is no time for this sort of thing, though I must say improvements at works in the right direction.” Another of Mr Srhoy’s local interests concerns irrigation, and he says the whole eost structure to the farmers should be overhauled. “Land between Ashburton and Rakeia, with proper irrigation, could become the market garden for New Zealand,” he said.

Farming today was a business. “I can put my finger on anything on my farm—by looking at stock I can tell what the situation 18,” he said. “The men who work im me ’are wonderful; they’ll get up at 5 a.m. for work if necessary because they know I won’t ride them.” What of other issues? Young people were as good as ever, he said, but without scope for initiative and drive, everything of this in them could be killed in , them, and they eould start destroying things.

“If we put offenders in gaol for 10 years, a lot of jokers would think twice about doing this sort of thing,” he said. As to the cost of living, Mr Srhoy says he has no ready solution. “I have said that a working man has either to put his wife on the pill or go to Australia, and I’ll say it again,” he added. Many family men were going off the land when properties were merged. “Merging farms to make a better economic unit is desirable in some cases, but there are cases where finance to buy a property is being refused a young family taan, yet being given to a fanner whose property is adjacent,” Mr Srhoy said.

“Many young men should have assistance, and it is distressing to see land taken up which could, in many cases, be utilised to better advantage by young family men who could make excellent farmers.”