Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1940. AUSTRALIA’S HARDSHIP.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 211, 5 August 1940, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1940. AUSTRALIA’S HARDSHIP.

With almost calculated regularity Australia experiences setbacks ot a most discouraging type, at the caprice of Nature, and not infrequently when site is least able to bear tbe added burden. We on tliis side of the, Tasman have been spared the magnitude of her experiences of bushfires, storms, and droughts, and have sympathetically watched ' the indomitable struggle to overcome these hardships. Up to the present New Zealand has enjoyed a phenomenally dry winter in fact, there are prospects that in certain districts the absence of the accustomed rainfall may have a deleterious effect on farmlands. But we have yet to pass through the straits in which the Australian man on the land finds himself at present. A prolonged drought has created serious concern in the metropolitan centres —Sydney’s water supply is of doubtful duration because of the sparse rainfall in the big catchment area of rolling country normally capable of keeping the city plentifully supplied—but in the country the effect is most serious. Every State in the Commonwealth is said to be feeling the effect of the prolonged lack of rain, which is retarding growth everywhere, at a time when the call is for maximum production. Agricultural and pastoral areas alike are suffering, and in many districts the critical stage lias been reached. More and more stock-owners are being forced to resort to handfeeding, and pasturage is almost unprocurable. New Zealand farmers, acquainted with modified drought conditions in some summer seasons, will appreciate the plight of Australian runholders at a time when moisture and succulence should be provided. With the component parts of the Empire closely bound together in the matter of tradeand never more so than at the present—it is possible that Australia’s experience may be reflected in her inabitly to satisfy the demands of the Home market in certain respects. A conference involving Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and some of the colonies has been mooted to stimulate production as part of the war Campaign, but the Commonwealth may find difficulty in meeting requirements in the matter of primary produce. 'Grazier authorities are of the opinion that the wool clip for New South Wales will be less by 10 per cent, compared with last season. Lambing percentages were good, but the absence of green feed has had an adverse effect, and a shortage of prime lambs for the meat trade is anticipated. As a result of the enlistment for active service of many employees in the shearing industry it is expected that more co-operation than ever will be required to have shearing completed on time. In Victoria conditions generally are far from favourable, and in Western Australia, where the rainfall figures for the first six months. of

the year were the lowest on record in some areas, the position is acute. • In Queensland grazing land has deteriorated, and even in Tasmania a lighter yield of wool is expected. But Australians have met these problems before, and doubtless .tfieir unconquerable spirit will again prevail.