NORTHLANDS VAST UNUSED POTENTIAL

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1949, Page 4

NORTHLANDS VAST UNUSED POTENTIAL

Hundreds Of Thousands Of Undeveloped Acres

ALTHOUGH granted only a few minutes each in which to present their carefully-prepared cases, each of Northland’s seven counties, together with the Aid-for-Britain Committee and the Wh'angarei Federated Farmers Sub-province, offered a wealth of detail and information at the Kaikohe conference on idle lands.

Some were extremely brief—one had not even a line of typescript to support its columns of figures—some were extremely lengthy. All had masses of facts and figures, and all were supported by beautifully-decorated maps in roseate, leaf-green, earth-brown and sky-blue tints.

It all added up to the supreme fact that Northland has an unbelievable reservoir of untapped wealth in its undeveloped lands, and that Northland alone can take up the slack in the Dominion’s production effort.

subdivision, by provision of water supplies, by cropping and by utilisation of hay. To give the required total of 66,500 additional tons of meat, extra fat stock would have to be grown, totalling 1,350,000 fat lambs, 130,000 fat wethers, 200,000 fat ewes and 132,270 fat cattle.

To have these extra fat stock available for slaughter, it would be neces sary to produce and feed approximately 2,000,000 breeding ewes (including ewe hoggets) and 200,000 breeding cows (including one and two-year replacement heifers). COST OF BRINGING IN LAND On the subject of bringing in idle lands, the report took, as an example, an area of 200 acres of average scrub country. It was shown that it should be possible to bring this in for £3B/16/ah acre. The land sales value would possibly be around £25 per acre. It was suggested that the difference between cost and value—£l3/16/—should be paid by the state. As a contribution towards increasing output, this would be a far better proposition than buying developed farms and losing £lO to £3O an acre over them to rehabilitate returned servicemen. Oak plantations would prove valuable as feeding-grounds for store pigs from April to July. It was urged that finance on a basis similar to that extended to returned servicemen should be offered to proved men, sharemilkers and others. To rebut excessive taxation, all capital expendtiure for the first five years should be allowable as a charge against income. If sufficient labour could not be found in New Zealand, then encouragement should be given to Swiss, Danish and other qualified Europeans, with capital, to migrate to this country. MAORI LANDS, ROADING To utilise the thousands of acres of Maori-held land, now producing little other than weeds, legislation should be brought down to facilitate 100-year leases. “Good roads will attract settlers,” said the report, urging that all work on state highways which are obviously for tourist traffic to beaches and scenic resorts should be suspended. More roads should be declared state highways, and no notice should be taken of present road traffic in determining which they should be.