LAND DEVELOPMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 182, 4 July 1931, Page 6

LAND DEVELOPMENT

POWERS OF UNEMPLOYMENT PU BOARD.

WASTE AREAS IN PRIVATE HANDS.

(By

That under the new lepslation Unemployment Board will have wider * authority to take in hand t;, utilisation of waste lands, v.as a p-: • made by Hon E. A. Ransom, Minister of Lands, when discussing :: Bill to-day. . , , Mr Ransom, showed by quct.r; actual experience that the letting contracts for clearing these areas not result in absorbing a large n;u - ber of the unemployed, but he amithat the Lands Department and r' Unemployment Board were a«wciatu with the object, of extending t: > phase of activities, which he regard! -. as one of the important functions - the board. His own department v,-.-dealing with a number of such schemes, but there were verv large areas waste land privately owned whi-h could be developed, and the Uneirplovment Board would get in ton !, with the owners. Mr W. L. Martin: Why r.ot yonown department? The Minister: The Lands TVpnr*. ment has no power to deal with private lands, but the board wcu.d have no such restriction. Mr Ransom emphaticallv declared that he wquld not be a party to clearing a’-eas which had gone bar* ar/l which would not show a prospect or eivingr a reasonable chance to any settlers If they were again taken n;.. The phase involved in the existence ot large areas of privately an ' l undeveloped should be tackled. “I would go so far as to say that the Government should approach the owners to ascertain their financial position. If they are unable to bring those lands into production or the area is in excess of what- thev can handle they should p ace a price on it so that it could be dealt with hv the Government,” the Minister conc id- cl.