HAURAKI PLAINS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22850, 4 October 1937, Page 14

HAURAKI PLAINS

Sir, —Having had some close association with the Hauraki Plains. 1 can fully endorse the views expressed in your writer's very able articles P"~* lished on September 27, 28 aud <■' .Briefly, the central economic and financial fact is this: that if the hi» country is not conserved and made available as a winter rim-off, a considerable amount of the value of botu private and public work done on tlio I'lains will be seriously vitiated. It is undoubtedly. jrery harmful lor iuticu of the reclaimed swamp if. 1 is stocked at summer strength during the winter or wet months. '1 here is just one point where I would ditier from your contributor, where he sa\s that the hill laud should be let by the department concerned at a nominal or low rental. If the rental is too inga then it will be a burden instead ot ft benefit to hold the hill land. On the other hand, if the rental- is too low, then there will bo a speculative v «j|. ue > which will be capitalised in the selling value of the flat land, to which it acts as a reliever in wet seasons.- in rentals should be subject to reasonably frequent adjustments, to keep them at the true market value as closely a possible, thus avoiding the high rents and the Charybdis of lo" ones. The best thing is the true su * ficient price," rising and falling TViti market values, thus keeping the users of land on a basis of economic equiU brium as to that item of their outgoings. It is common knowledge tlio. » due largely to public works, the se * ing value of Plains land in years Ron by rose from £2 to about £IOO p<? acre, which increase was pocketed . the sellers —at least, to the extent tba the unfortunate buyers were able t meet their obligations. That kind thing is no good, either to the J 18 * 10 , or the individual user of land, and tnii be guarded against in both small an large dimensions. However, the if" nortant thing to-day is that Cabinet -as a whole should see to that the expenditure of one State partment is not nullified by the po '. of another, with the taxpayers in t long run footing the bill for the °P P '" tions of both! Over a very larae V portion of the Hauraki Plains, nat . for dairying should not he * a * pn Utjjj unless an area of complementary - land is available. That po«»tior Olf , to be recognised by the Cabinet enforced upon the departments cerned. T. E. McMn***; Matamata.