Lands Dept. To Develop Areas In Northland

Northern Advocate, 24 November 1947, Page 3

Lands Dept. To Develop Areas In Northland

KATTAIA, Mon. (Sp.) .—Governing- the work of the Rehabilitation Board in ex-servicemen’s farm settlement was the need to ensure that every man assisted was given a reasonable chance of success.

The Under-Secretary of Lam an interview at Kaitaia on Satin

:1s (Mr D. M. Gieitf) said this in (lav.

Mr Greig was accompanying the Director of Rehabilitation iMr F. Baker), who is deputy-chairman of the board, and another board member (Mr J. Granville) in their present North'and tour.

He answered the questions of an Advocate reporter by referring to the guiding principles of his department and the board. In doing so he stressed the genuine and whole-hearted desire of board members that ex-servicemen desirous of owning their own farms should be settled as speedily as possible. In that respect it appeared certain that his .department would develop areas in the North Auckland Land District for rehabilitation settlement. To date some GOO servicemen had been settled in the area which extended from the Far North to just south of Auckland, but there were still about 1000 applicants remaining, he said. It was reasonably certain that this backlog would be overcome within live years, but Mr Greig could not say that large-scale land development was the complete answer. "We are prepared to develop land for settlement by ex-servicemen, but the time factor is important,” he said.

Arriving here on Friday night Mr Baker and his party, which included a number of departmental officers, the same evening met members of the Kaitaia Rehabilitation Committee and RSA officials together with delegates from the Mangonui Citizens’ Rehabilitation League, who were present by invitation.

Their discussions were held privately and were aimed at securing the advice and opinions of local interests on district problems and passing on such information as was available from rehabilitation headquarters.

On Saturday Mr Greig' indicated that much of the discussion had centred around the possibility of useful land development in the Far North for rehabilitation settlement.