LAND SETTLEMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22438, 6 June 1936, Page 16

LAND SETTLEMENT

NEW SOUTH WALES NEW POLICY PROBABLE SUITABLE AREAS SCARCE [ I'HOM OUR OWN COIIHKSPONDF.NT] SYDNEY, May 30 The New South Wales Government is finding difficulty in implementing its policy ol closer settlement. There is practically no Crown land suitable for subdivision into farm areas of the necessary quality, and last year not a single owner of a large area offered his land to the Government for subdivision. It appears as if resort will have to be made to compulsory resumption. which in the past has always landed Governments into costly enterprises. The Government will shortly announce a more comprehensive policy of closer settlement. The objects are to facilitate fjuccessl'ul settlement, to determine the forms of primary production in which additional settlers can be placed without adding to the marketing difficulties of existing settlers, and to relieve unemployment among youths in country districts, particularly fanners' sons. This problem is a live one in the country towns. The Government is examining the situation, in order to evolve a sound policy, and it will devote a series of Cabinet meetings to it. At present the Ministry is faced with the difficulty, in addition to the lack of suitable Crown lands, that the majority of intending settlers do not possess the necessary money to ensure their success. In the present state of the finances the Government hesitates to embark upon a gigantic land .settlement scheme, fraught with tho danger of irretrievable loss. A sub-committee of three Ministers, in a preliminary report, stated that the Crown lands of the State suitable for original settlement must be principally lands already alienated or in process of alienation, and comprised in the larger estates in the eastern and central divisions. Settlement should he concentrated in assured rainfall districts. "The markets for fat lambs, babv beef, and dairying, with its sidelines," states the report, "appear to offer the best prospects for increased production, without embarrassment to existing producers. Appeal should bo made to the owners of large estates to subdivide their estates, or part of them, as a national duty. Failing a satisfactory response, there should be a compulsory subdivision of sufficient properties to meet the legitimate demand. Settlement of unemployed on small blocks or farmlets would not be economical, but experimental settlements close to the industrial centres might be established, and the experience gained could determine future policy. Farmlets. five acres up to 50 acres, for men in part or full-time employment, adjacent to country centres, should be made available from Crown lands or necessary reserves."