“OVER THE FENCE” RELIEF.

Hawera Star, Volume LII, 6 September 1932, Page 4

“OVER THE FENCE” RELIEF.

It is to be hoped, in the interests of the smooth working of unemployment relief in this district, that a careful note will be taken of the remarks made yesterday by Mr J. E. Campbell in. an interview with a "Star” reporter relative to the “over the fence” scheme of relief and the remarks made on that subject by the Farmers’ Union provincial executive last week. The farmers’ executive’s attitude was not critical so much as inquiring; members found it difficult to understand why farmers should be refused free unemployed labour in this district, while in other districts- it was available. Mr Campbell’S statement gives the answer; “fV.ee labour to the farmer might be equally as demoralising as free sustenance, without work, to the unemployed,” said Mr Campbell in effect. The National Unemployment Board recognised this danger when it laid down the rule that free unemployed labour on farms should lie only for developmental work that would increase the. production of the land. Unfortunately, this rule lias not been observed in all districts, and abuses have crept in, with the result that the taxpayer has been made to subsidise the wages costs of farmers who could well afford to pay for their labour. Abuses of this nature have placed a heavy strain on the unemployment funds and a big burden on the backs of the taxpayers) for they have caused in some instances an im crease in the number of registered unemployed and, in more instances than will ever be known, have they closed avenues of legitimate employment to workers. The Hawera Unemployment Committee, of which Mr Campbell has for long been the chief executive, lias set itself against opening the door to this form of abuse and 1 it deserves more credit than it is ever likely to get. It has chosen the difficult path of studying the interests of the taxpayer and the well-being of the country as a whole, whereas it would have been easier to have adopted the line of least resistance and htfve sent the men to work anywhere, without questioning too closely the ethics of the situation. Mr Campbell’s concluding remarks to our representative were significant when, lie said tlmt he believed that when the full measure of abuses is revealed to the Farmers’ Union executive its members will be satisfied that the right stand has been taken in Hawera.