FIXING THE PRICE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 14, 16 July 1937, Page 15

FIXING THE PRICE

INDEPENDENT TRIBUNAL!

The appointment of an independent tribunal, presided over by a Supreme j Court, Judge, to fix the price of dairy I produce was urged in a remit carried at last night's session of the Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Far- i |mers' Union. ' | I Mr. D. B. Higgins- (Auckland) ' moved: That in computing the, price of dairy produce an independent tribunal should be set up, presided over by a fupreme Court Judge holding office for a period of 8-10 years; that the personnel should be mutually agreed upon by a committee consisting of oqual numbers of members nominated by the dairy industry as sellers and the Government as buye^- that the price should j be determined by the tribunal from the evidence placed before it and accepted by the Government and that the proceedings and findings of I the tribunal should be treated in the same manner as the proceedings and findings of the Arbitration Court, He said it was most unfair that the Government should have the sole right of nominating the committee which decided on the guaranteed price. The present committee did not represent the farmers'at all, and it was felt that (he industry shoJd have the right to [nominate an equal number with the Government, the chairman to be in--1 dependent. I The remit was adopted. : Another remit carried was as foljl ows: —"That this conference call the j attention of the Government to the mii creasing mountain of costs that the pri- ' mary industries are being called upon |to bear with no opportunity of passing these costs on to consumers, as is possible in every other department of industry and commerce, and express the emphatic opinion that a substantial addition to the price for butterfat and cheese for the current season is essential if the farmers' standard of living is not to be reduced iurther and the productive capacity of the farms jeopardised." • '. The Southland branch proposed that, taking into account the increased cost of dairying, the Government be urged to increase the guaranteed price of butterfat to at least Is 6d per lb.

The remit was considered in committee but not pursued.