Farm Withdrawn From Ballot: R.S.A. Inquiry

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 July 1950, Page 4

Farm Withdrawn From Ballot: R.S.A. Inquiry

HAMILTON, This Day (P.A.).— The withdrawal from a ballot among returned servicemen of a farm in the Paratu block, Walton, two days after the applications for the farms closed was the subject of a discussion at a meeting of the Waikato R.S.A. executive last night, when the president, Mr S. T. Nolan, presided » It was decided to telegraph the Minister of Rehabilitation, Mr T. L. Macdonald, and ask for the reason for the withdrawal of the farm.

Ex-servicemen’s Deputation A deputation of ex-servicemen, who had made applications for inclusion in a ballot to be held tomorrow for two farms in the Walton area, known as the Paratu block, waited on the R.S.A. and stated that they were very concerned at the withdrawal of one of the farms from the ballot. They produced an advertisement calling for applications from returned servicemen with A grade farming tickets for 17 farms in various parts of the Waikato and including two at the Paratu farm settlement. The advertisement stated that two dairy farms in this block, of approximately 124 acres and 120 acres, six miles from Walton (in the Morrinsville area) would be ballotted, applications closing on June 27. Both farms were advertised as having new three-bedroom houses built on the sections. The delegation produced another advertisement, which appeared on June 29, withdrawing section B, of 120 acres, from the Paratu settlement from the ballot to be held in Hamilton on July 5. On receipt of information yesterday and seeing that the ballot was only two days away, the R.S.A. telephoned Wellington for information and were advised by the Minister’s secretary that the farm had been withdrawn for preferential allocation to a returned serviceman in the district, who had conducted negotiations for the purchase of the section concerned before it was taken by the State under part two of the Land Sales and Servicemen’s Act. \ The delegation stated that well over 100 returned servicemen had made application for the section in question. Investigation Assured The executive decided to ask the Minister to hold up the allocation until a full investigation could be made. Advice was received from the Minister of Lands, Mr E. B. Corbett, late this morning by the Waikato R.S.A. that the other farm in the Paratu block would be withdrawn from the ballot tomorrow and the ballots on the settlement would be postponed until the Minister could study the representations made on behalf of those objecting to the preferential allocation of one farm.