DUTY ON WHEAT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3864, 30 October 1928, Page 2

DUTY ON WHEAT.

MINISTER DEFENDS POLICY. That the imposition of the duty on wheat was a deliberate act of Government policy was emphasised by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. A. D. McLeod) at bis Carterton meeting, when refuting the allegation that it was a vote-purchasing move. The Minister recalled that in the South Island there were about sixthousand wheatgrowers, at least one-third of whom had holdings too small to be profitably turned to other classes of farming. In the majority of eases they were settled by the old Liberal Government, and under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act. If those men were forced, by low prices due to> the removal of the duty to give up wheatfarming, a large number would have to go out and aggregation would result, as it did before the present duties were imposed. “Remove the duty from wheat and Hour and not a grain of wheat would come into New Zealand, as the Australians would push in their surplus flour in favourable seasons and leave us lamenting in seasons of drought,” the Minister declared. “Under such conditions where would we obtain our, bran and pollard supplies? In most years Australia can use the whole of her production. All our flour mills would have to close down and the employees would he thrown on the labour market. These aspects of the matter were fully considered before the duties were imposed. “All the talk about buying support is pure bunkum. It is a question of national importance. Nearly all the wheat of the Dominion is grown inside six electorates, and it is certain that as a result of the duty we lost a great deal more political support in the other seventy electorates than ever we were likely to receive in the six I have mentioned,” the Minister added. “The extra twopence a loaf is also nonsense, as is proved by the Prime Minister’s official statement that the retail prices of bread in Australia and Canada are on a par with those ruling in New Zealand.

No, the duty on wheat went on as a deliberate act of Government polieyf in the belief that no sea-girt country such as ours should be under an obligation to. or risk of dependence upon outside sources for a vital necessity of life for its' people.”