LAND DEVELOPMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 121, 22 April 1938, Page 8

LAND DEVELOPMENT

POLICY OF LABOUR. FINANCE AND MARKETING. WELLINGTON, April 22. Labour’s policy on land settlement, overseas marketing of primary products and the making available of finance to assist farmers was out ll '® d the report of a special committee set up by the annual, cnnfercnce of the party to consider remits on these mat ters The report, which was adopted, g«™ rise to discussiontone which the Minister of Lands (Hon- t - Langstone) addressed the delegates The following remit vas leceiveu from the Eastbourne branch; The committee recommended the tol lowing statement for adoption as a OU *Ex e isting wmrldaffairs, the race for economic nationalism, the n °f self-sufficiency, and the manufactu e t substitutes for food : fats and textile eoods all have an important beaung upon New Zealand’s domestic and her future development. I arming fs our major industry. Present conditions demand that any policy must be fourfold in its incident: ~ 1_ (a) To keep on the land those To 6 provide for additional farm population in accordance with our n - tional development. . .--tense (c) To encourage scientific intense nnrl diversified utilisation. (d) To avoid any form of uneconomic farming. “Overseas markets are tending rapidlv to narrow, limits. Every country is bent toward increased f rodl dlon .o' both primary and manufactured pio ducts, admitting that there are millions of people with insufficient income to purchase their daily needs, overseas markets are determined by the effective purchasing power ol tne people concerned. To increase the pur chasing power of the nationals of othei countries is beyond our power, and demand for our exportable surpluses is governed bv tne purchasing power of the people in those countries to which we export. “The United Kingdom is our largest and test customer, and every effort should be made to encourage the British buying public to purchase New Zealand products. Bilateral agreements and reciprocal trade treaties o.re essentially questions of the first magnitude. Expansion of trade is the keynote to greater trade; to exchange one customer or market for another customer or market is not expansion of trade ; in essence, it becomes a movement without progress, whereas it is progress which is essential. LAND SETTLEMENT. “Most of the arable land in the Dominion is occupied, and very little of the remaining unoccupied waste land is suitable for farming. The following statement shows the status of the lands of the Dominion : Acres.

“Of the last item, probably not more than 100,000 acres, are capable of settlement. Much of the pastoral country is suitable for use only in large areas, being high, mountainous snow country. To increase New Zealand’s farm population would necessitate the purchase of larger estates, preferably those areas at present served by roads, railways, markets, and social amenities, but (a) the price must be right; (b) the purchase must result in increased farm population; and (c) the areas must be farmed under proper supervision and direction until purchase and other costs have been retrieved and the land stands as an asset in the department’s _ account, without corresponding liability. “By adopting better farming methods, servicing with electric power where possible, studying feeding and bleeding of animal and plant life, by the greater use of chemical manures, and by irrigation and improved water supplies, tremendous increases in production from our farm lands could be achieved, and the farming population substantially increased.” FINANCE FOR FARMERS. The committee recommends the establishment of a State bank with a special rural land lending branch for providing all necessary forms of finance to farmers on terms and conditions which will be an assistance to the industry, not an incubus. The operations of this special land lending branch of a State bank would have the object of keeping working farmers on their land and improving their material conditions and of enabling them to obtain the necessary development and working finance on better terms than they have ever received it The summary of Labour’s land settlement policy aims was: (1) To bring into productivity all available unoccupied Crown land which is suitable for development . (2) To purchase suitable blocks ol land which are capable of further development, and will carry an increased population. (3) To assist existing farmers with finance to further develop and improve their properties. The report was adopted.

Land held under freehold title 21,591,072 Crown leases : Pastoral runs 8,809.272 Small grazing rung 2,514.979 Other leases 7,525,901 National parks, State forests, etc 14,445.084 Land unfit for settlement 5.227,144" Native land 4.547.144 Crown land available 1.728,844 Total 66,390.048