MORE FOOD SHIPS

Grey River Argus, 14 May 1943, Page 5

MORE FOOD SHIPS

POSSIBILITIES OF N.Z. AND AUSTRALIA.

(Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) SYDNEY, May 13. With the opening of the Mediterranean Sea route, the food responsibilities of Australia and New Zealand are likely to be heavily; increased. More ships are expected to oecome available for the carriage ot food. Operations against Europe will involve the feeding of huge- armies, the responsibility for which Australia and New Zealand must bear their share. These points have been made bv Mr. W. Banks Amery, head of the- United Kingdom Food Mission to Australia and New Zealand and by Australian parliamentarians and agricultural experts. The reorganisation of the present, methods of controlling the Commonwealth’s food supplies and production methods has been widely! advocated. The- Federal Government is being urged to do everything possible to implement the policy of mechanising dairy farming already decided on. The Commonwealth Minister of Commerce and Agriculture (Mr. Scully) has admitted that available farm'labour in Australia is much below that required for normal production. It was imperative, he said that more labour should be diverted t 0 rural areas. The Minister paid a tribute to the work done by. women on farms and declared that he was entirely opposed to the call up of farmers’ wives and daughters, even to meet the current shortage of women for the auxiliary services. Especially in; dairying districts women had performed wonderful work. Two prominent Australian agriculturists, both members of the Country Party;, Sir Earle Page, and Mr. J. P. Abbott have also stressed the urgency of making more labour available for farms. Sir Earle Page described Australians’ food position as chaotic and added that if immediate remedial steps were not taken the chaos would become even more confounded.

“The expulsion of the Axis from Africa, plates upon Australia new food responsibilities,” said Mr. Abbott. “The Mediterranean is now open again. With the United Nations occupying the whole northern coast of Africa an aerial umbrella can be put over convoys wherever necessary. We must now accept the responsibility; for feeding the Allied armies in operations against the ‘soft under-belly of Axis Europe.' This would result in a large saving, he said. Ships from Australia to Suez traversed the seas comparatively safe as compared with the battle that lashed the Atlantic. Australian food production must be put under the control of one strong Minister and not left under several Ministers as at present. After the policy has been decided, the Administration should be decentralised into the hands of War Agricultural Committees.” Emphasising the food responsibilities of Australia and New Zealand, Mr. Banks Amery said that the conclusion of the North African campaign might result in more' shipping being available for food carriage. Britain now produced two thirds of

her food supplies, the remaining third wa's imported, coming from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. ' Australia, New Zealand, and the Argentine supplied fifty per cent, of Bri-, tain’s meat requirements.