FARM LABOUR

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4567, 10 November 1937, Page 7

FARM LABOUR

ATTRACTION TO PUBLIC WORKS. NEED FOR MIGRATION. MR. BROADFOOT'S VIEWS. Dealing with the general question of farm labour in the House of Representatives, Mr. W. J. Broadfoot said that the previous Government had helped thousands of farmers by the 4B scheme. To-day, the Minister of Public Works said-that no farm hand would be allowed to leave his work for public works, but the Minister of Labour said that a farm hand had the right to go on to public works because he had the right to go where he could get more pay. The farming industry did not want to be tangled up with Arbitration Court awards, but there was only one alternative given at the dictates of the Minister of Labour, and the farmers' representatives accepted the lesser of two evils. It would have been much better had the rates of remuneration been left for private arrangement between the farmer and the farm hand. Employment on public works was now so attractive that men were flocking to such work rather than taking up farm work. The conference between the Minister of Labour and the Farmers' Union apparently decided the capacity of the industry to pay, and the rates of payment were arranged accordingly. The* were £2 2s 6d weekly, plus 17s 6d weekly for keep, but the weekly rate had since been increased to £2 ss.

If the industry could only stand wages up to that amount, why were not the same principles brought into effect in connection with public works? Why was the same principle not introduced there, thus making public works jobs no more attractive than farm labour? Not only were wages on farms materially lower, but the hours were just about double.

Mr. Broadfoot said that he was arguing that wages should be paid according to the capacity of the industry to pay, but he believed in the payment of as high wages as it was possible for any given industry to pay. He did not believe in low wages and he did not believe in relief work being created at higher wages than could be paid in a great primary producing industry. The present time was one, said Mr. Broadfoot, when migration should be encouraged. The country was short of carpenters, bricklayers, engineers, and farming people. More people were required in New Zealand to create a larger internal market for our primary and secondary products. We could also increase our British imports, and strengthen our market in that country. A larger population would improve our position from a strategic point of view, and a larger population would enable us to utilise to a greater extent the benefits that were being created by the enormous expenditure under the country's public works policy. The Dominion was overroaded, over-railed, over-harboured, and over-electrified to such an extent that two or three times the population could be served with great advantage. A larger population would mean a reduction in the taxation per head so far as public works were concerned,

An examination of the efforts made in migration for Western Australia, Canada, and Victoria showed that there was a lack of care in the selection of migrants, having in view the jobs they were brought out for; there was a wrong selection of land in every case; there was inadequate supervision; and there was inadequate financial assistance. But all those factors could be guarded against in the future, and nothing but benefit would flow to this country from a properly planned migration policy. Vacant areas of land were available, especially in the North Island, and the farming people were denied the amenities of civilisation because the areas they occupied were not thickly enough populated. They could not have rural deliveries, electricity, consolidated schools, and most of the other benefits of the social life of other towns. That state of affairs would be altered by a proper migration policy.

There were tremendous resources in this country to be developed, and work could be created for those who were urban minded, but capital was needed. If capital was introduced into New Zealand taxation would have to be modified—particularly taxation on big companies. There should be a planned migration policy, not only for people, but for capital and industry, and the best method was to follow the lines adopted by some of the Australian States and Canada by arranging for the migration of children. He was confident that if New Zealand put forward a reasonable proposition to the British Government we would receive fair play, and in addition to helping Great Britain to some extent we would be getting an excellent bar* gain ourselves*