Farm Labour For Distressed Areas

Northern Advocate, 27 July 1938, Page 7

Farm Labour For Distressed Areas

t Special to “Northern Advocate.”! WELLINGTON, This Day. Replying in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon to an urgent question by Mr A. G. Hultquist (Government —Bay of Plenty), who asked, on behalf of the Speaker, the Hon. W. E. Barnard, whether all necessary farm labour had been made available for the settlers of Eskdale and other flooded areas, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, on behalf of the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T, Armstrong, stated that adequate steps had been taken by his department to ensure that sufficient labour was made available to farmers for the purpose of restoring flood damage in the areas referred to. After outlining the procedure adopted in providing such labour, the Minister stated that no work had been held up on account of lack of suitable labour, and of the 243 applications for labour dealt with only three had been declined, for the reason that the applicants’ financial position did not warrant State assistance. At the present time, some 300 men were employed on flood damage restoration work, of whom approximately 70 were farmers working on their own holdings.