Federation cops some more flak

Press, 20 September 1985, Page 12

Federation cops some more flak

Federated Farmers leaders had too low a profile and their apparent endorsement of Government policies was harmful, Wairarapa farmers have said at a regional meeting this week.

A Greytown farmer, Mr Bob Tosswill, told the meeting of 60 local farmers that they were not seeing visible leadership from their representative body.

Mr Tosswill said national president, Mr Peter Elworthy, had asked farmers to let him know if they wanted a fight. “Tell him we do,” he said. “We want high profile leadership like other sectors in the community.” A Gladstone farmer, Mr Lyndsay Cairns, said a survey done among farmers in his area indicated that most thought the federation’s policies had failed.

Other farmers at the meeting expressed concern that the rural sector had been singled out to take the brunt of economic reform. Farmers were now suffering the effects of the floating of the dollar advocated by the federation, they said. Farmers in the area were not concerned about grass

growth or lambing percentages this year, but their major concern was just economic survival.

A predicted income drop of $4O million on Wairarapa farms this season could remove $l6O million from the region’s towns and servicing industries. The local meat and wool section chairman, Mr Tim Tatham, said a “fair deal” from the Government for farmers was as important to the Wairarapa community as it was to farmers. The present exchange rate was removing $1.5 billion from farmers’ pockets while Government compensation over recent years was measured only in the millions, he said.

The regional president, Mr Cedric Percy, said farmers were facing the most serious situation since the slump of the 1930 s and the entire farming community and rural support system in provincial towns were under threat. He said Federated Farmers would meet with regional community and business leaders in the Wairarapa to inform them of likely effects of the downturn to 'the region.