FIXING THE GUARANTEE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23060, 10 June 1938, Page 10

FIXING THE GUARANTEE

The Prime Minister's definite announcement this morning of the Government's intention to leave the fixing of the guaranteed price to an independent tribunal confirms the undertaking he gave to farmers in Wellington on May 24. Mr. Savage has accepted the form of tribunal — a Supreme Court Judge presiding, with assessors representing the Government as buyers and the dairy farmers as sellers—suggested by several large farmers' organisations, so there should be no hitch under this head. A serious difficulty remains, however, in agreeing upon the considerations the tribunal should take into account in fixing the price. Mr. Nash's conception, a very complicated one, is written into the Primary Products Marketing Act, a statutory direction that can scarcely be ignored unless it be amended by fresh legislation. On the other hand the farmers, in asking for the tribunal, have usually appended to their requests the formula by which they think the price should be determined. It would appear that Government and farmers' representatives will have to confer on this important point and arrive at an agreement before the suggested tribunal can proceed to take evidence and make its price award. Moreover these preliminaries will need to be completed with the utmost expedition if the price is to be announced at or near the open-

ing of the new dairy season on August 1. A great deal requires to be settled in the intervening seven weeks, unlesß the announcement of the price is again to post-date the opening of the season. Mr. Savage must be aware of the several obstacles to be overcome and can best prove the genuineness of his offer of a tribunal by setting the preliminaries in motion and pushing them to a conclusion.