DAIRY CONTROL BOARD.

Matamata Record, Volume XVI, Issue 1446, 31 July 1933, Page 4

DAIRY CONTROL BOARD.

METHOD OF ELECTION.

Opposition at Hinuera. A proposal to get Mr. Dynes Fulton, as member for the ward, to explain to a public meeting at Matamata, the policy of the Control Board and their attitude in connection with the suggested curtailment of f.o.b. sales of butter, found favour during a discussion about the Dairy Control Board at the annual meeting of suppliers to the Hinuera Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd.

Chairman’s Commient.

Mr. J. E. West, chairman, said that a Control Board with the right men was essential for the industry. He, however, opposed the college system of election. The suppliers should have a direct vote and thus lessen the chance of certain men being put up by sectional interests. Mr. J. F. Vosper suggested the policy of the Control Board might have antagonised buyers at Home, and butter producers seemed to be getting it back in quotas. He might be wrong,, but he felt they were paying for the board’s past'policy. He was not against spending l money, as he < quite realised money had to be spent,;. - but on the other hand he thought that a. most careful watch should be kept on the policy of the board. He would like to hear the matter discussed.

“ Undemocratic System.”

Mr. J. Cotter said Mr. Vosper had touched on a vital point. The Control Board could be a first-class organisation if it embraced the industry as a whole, in a democratic manner. If the various departments under the Government were placed under the Control Board, and watched closely, then the board should be a power for good. The suggested council system of electing the Control Board was disfranchising suppliers, as boards rf directors in nine wards had only the right to elect five men, and from these 45 of a council the representatives for the board were elected. It was undemocratic and he opposed the system. An organisation without a definite head was not worth much. A properlyconstituted Board of Control was necessary at the head of the dairying industry. The : :ve to block f.o.b. sales came from their own men, and it meant they had elected the wrong men.

Mr. P. Hawke remarked that it was too big a subject to discuss without fuller knowledge. Mr. Dynes Fulton was their representative), and he held he should be invited to address a meeting in Matamata and explain why he opposed f.o.b. sales. (Applause.) The suggestion received apparent approval, but no resolution was passed, the matter being left with the directors.