Land Laws Amendment

Northland Age, Volume 27, Issue 41, 26 October 1927, Page 6

Land Laws Amendment

Speaking in Parliament on the lßth inst., with regard to the above Bill,Colenel Bell said: “It is not my intention to traverse the clauses of the Bill in detail. I wish to congratulate the Minister upon having brought it iorward, for it represents an attempt to overcome the disabilities which have afflicted many settlers in the past. But what I wish to refer to are the remarks ot the hon. member for Hurunui. when he referred to the gumlands, in the north of Auckland. He referred to the impossibility of settling those lands in small areas. Of course, the hon gentleman, in speaking at' he did, was speaking entirely without knowledge. He does not understand, that up in the far north of New Zealand on the gumfieids, there are men who have been there a number of years —men who would not be happy living anywhere else. They have been gumdigging the best part of their life-time, and now during the past few years, since the value of gum has gone down, we have been trying to divert their attention from gumdigging to dairying. With that object in view a policy was inaugurated of reading that particular territory. The road has been almost completed, and a number of settlers there have already started dairying. As a matter of fact, a cream lorry is running now right from Parerigareuga Harbour to the dairy factory at Awanui. Although that area is looked upon as poor land, there are many portions and muchricher swampland that can be successfully used for dairy and other farming purposes. But the point I wish t# particularly stress is that we have here a section of people who want to live m that area. They can do a little dairying and a little gum-digging, and with the assistance from dairying they will not be placed in the unfortunate position they have been placed in during the past five years when there has been a slump in gum. I know perfectly well that the hon. member tor Hurunui and some other members of the House would not desire to live up there, but those people wito have been there tor years have become accustomed and attached to it, and would not be content to live anywhere else. When we people of that kind who wish to settle in a particular territory, surely it is our duty to assist them in every way possible to make the settlement a success. The trouble in the past has been that a considerable number of the sections that have been thrown open for selection have been valued at too high a price. I think I pointed out in the House before that a lot of the land has been valued at “from 30s up to as high as £5 10s per acre. That was done at a time when gum was booming and when an unduly high value was placed on that particular land. What I have been urging the Minister to do is to have a revaluation made and give the men the land free so long as they arc prepared to put a certain amount of improvements on from year to year. Under those conditions, aud especially if at a later date they are given a little financial assistance, we will make a success of that part of New Zealand which is erroneously looked upon by the Member for Hurunui and others as more or less useless land. lam sure if these suggestions are carried out we wili in a few years see a tremendous change take place there resulting in that area which has produced very little in the past producing a considerable amount of wealth apart from the kguri gum. I go so far as to say that that particular area so far as the production of vegetables and fruit is concerned, will one day be looked upon as the California of New Zealand. The climate is such that they are able to produce potatoes, peas, and the like, all the year round, and, as the horn, member for Oamaru stated, lentous. I was almost afraid to mention the word because last week we heard nothing but lemons mentioned in this House."

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