LAND DEVELOPMENT

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 71, 17 December 1937, Page 12

LAND DEVELOPMENT

Government To Spend ’ £2,000,000 SEVERAL BLOCKS CHOSEN By Telegraph.—Press Association. Rotorua, December 16. In the course of his speech at the opening of the Orakei-Korako thermal valley, the Minister of Lands (the Hon. F. Laiqjstone) said that several blocks of Crown land aggregating 12,200 acres in extent had been selected by the Government for development in Rotorua, Taupo, and the Bay of Plenty districts. The Minister indicated that the Government proposed vigorously to pursue its policy of land development, and said that 1500 men were already engaged on this type of work in various parts of the Dominion. Blocks selected included 5000 acres at Tokoroa, 1200 at Ngakuru, 2000 at Tarawera, and 4000 at Edgecumbe. The departments under his control, said the Minister, would spend well over £2,000,000 this year in land development of various types, both Native and European. DEVELOPMENT WORK Creating National Assets USE OF SURPLUS LABOUR When his attention/was drawn last evening to the Press‘Association message from Rotorua to the effect that the departments under his control would expend a sum of over £2,000,000 on Native and European land development during the present financial year, the Minister of Lands, Hon. F. Langstone, stated that the information would give quite a wrong impression. In his speech at the opening of the new tourist resort at Orakei-Korako, he had referred to land development, and to other activities of the departments under his control, and had stated that these departments had received authorities for an expenditure aggregating £2,675,000. The departments concerned were the Lands and Survey Department, the State Forest Service, the Tourist and Publicity Department and the Native Department. So far as land development was concerned, the authorities for the present financial year amounted to £1,462,000, provision having been made for the purchase of land where required, the granting of development loans to Crown settlers holding undeveloped land, the development of unoccupied land, small farm settlement, Native land development and Native housing. It was not expected that that, amount would be expended in the present financial year, but land development work in general would be largely extended and, on his recent visit to the Rotorua district in company with his officers, he had selected a further 12,200 acres. The areas were situated at Tokoroa, Ngakuru, Tarawera and Edgecumbe, and steps would be taken immediately to have the preliminary work put in hand with a view to the development of the land in the interests of greater production, and the absorption of surplus labour in the creation of a valuable national asset.