REQUEST FOR BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 31, 5 August 1943, Page 4

REQUEST FOR BILL

MINISTER'S EXPLANATION

The Minister of Lands (Mr. Barclay) said that the Bill had been asked for up and down the country, by the Farmers' Union, by the Chambers of Commerce, and particularly by the R.S.A.

Mr. Barclay said that the Opposition and the country as a whole would appreciate the problem o| settling returned men on the land so that they were not exploited in the buying of houses and property and in the buying of farms. He was sure the Bill would have • the wholehearted support of every member in the House. There were 12 land districts in New Zealand, and there would be at least one Land Sales Committee in each district, and probably more in some of the larger land districts.

"It is necessary to stabilise the price of land," said the Minister, "because it is unfair to the men who have gone overseas and to the men in the fighting forces of this country that we who are staying behind should allow land and house values to rise to an abnormal height. It happened last time, and, knowing what happened then, we should take steps- to stop land and house values rising above what they were on December 15 ' last, when stabilisation came in. That is what the Bill sets out to do—to try to stabilise land values at the productive value at that time."

Mr. Doidge: How will you constitute the land sales committees?

The Minister: On similar lines to those on which the mortgage rehabilitation committees were set up.

Mr. Doidge: Will they be local committees?

The; Minister: They will be local committees, and the land commissioner will be one of the members, though not the chairman.

FOR PRIVATE BUYERS ALSO,

"Not only will it be necessary to take these steps for the returned men whom the Crown will be settling on land through the State Advances Corporation," went on the Minister, "but the Government feels it is also necessary in the interests of returned soldiers who buy land privately. Private buyers should also not be obliged to pay an exorbitant price higher than the productive value of the land on December 15 last." ""■ ■. ' '■■ Mr. W. J. Poison (National, 'Stratford): How do you propose to establish productive value—by a formula? Mr. Barclay said that there was a long formula, but he did not think it necessary to go'into that at the present stage. He would deal with that on the second reading of the Bill. The Minister added that another purpose of the Bill was to ensure that returned men had an opportunity to secure some of the best land in New Zealand at a reasonable price. The Prime Minister (Mr^raser) said.

it was not proposed to send the Bill to the Lands Committee at present. It was proposed to4ake the second readling as-soon as possible, but members should have a proper opportunity to study the Bill, and the second reading might be taken on Tuesday or Wednesday next. If, after the second! reading, there seemed any necessity to send the Bill to the committee that « could be considered then. He added* 1 that the lands of the Crown were not ' A affected by the Bill. The proposal wm ] to'take'land as Crown land , I ' ' • '"'.':-^J