‘Govt breached own rules’

Press, 3 December 1982, Page 7

‘Govt breached own rules’

Parliamentary reporter The Government has paid a supplementary minimum price to a man who sold two kilograms of wool, in breach of its own rules, the member of Parliament for Lyttelton, Mrs Ann Hercus, said this week. The man ran six sheep to keep the grass down on his property, sheared them, and sold the two bags of wool from the shear, Mrs Hercus said. The weight of the wool was 4kg. Mrs Hercus asked a question in the House when the man asked her if he was

entitled to the S.M.P. The answer given was that quantities of less than 100 kg did not qualify. The man said that the payment was 20 per cent of the net proceeds from the sale. "The most important question is how many S.M.P.s are made with the taxpayers’ money to people who have only a handful of sheep?” Mrs Hercus said. The Ministry did not keep records on the number of payments made or amounts in relation to flock and herd sizes, she said.