‘Essential’ work for unemployed

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33875, 21 June 1975, Page 9

‘Essential’ work for unemployed

(ParUamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON. Unemployed people who had been given jobs in the Forest Service were doing essential work and were in no way being employed in make-work situations, said the Minister of Forests (Mr Moyle).

Mr Moyle said he wanted to correct an impression that might have been given in the “Tonight at Nine” programme on television on Tuesday night. One of the Forest Service’s biggest problems was that normally it could not get enough labour to do all the things necessary for good forest management, Mr Moyle said. Tree planting and clearing w'eeds from forest firebreaks were essential jobs, and the Forest Service was pleased to be able to get that work done. The availability of extra labour also meant that machines were being released for more productive forestry work elsewhere, which in turn was creating further opportunities for employment. Mr Moyle said it was regrettable that the television programme suggested

men were being used to replace machines, when in fact machines were still being! fully used to plant flat land,! leaving the steeper land fori hand planting. “Forestry is unsurpassed | as a means of effectivelyl utilising excess labour in the! best interests of the people) involved and of the country; generally. "The employment of this ! extra labour fits in well [ with our expanded planting; programme, and we hope to exceed last year’s record of about 44,550 hectares,” said! Mr Moyle.