CLEARING LAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23504, 15 November 1939, Page 13

CLEARING LAND

3800 MEN EMPLOYED

WORK ON CONTRACT BASIS PRIVATE PROPERTIES BENEFIT L'nv TETJCGit Arir —rnrcss association] WELLINGTON, Tuesday The work being done by the Government in bringing areas of uncultivated privately-owned land into production was discussed by the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, in an interview this evening. The Minister said that at the moment the Government was employing under the 4.8 scheme approximately 3800 men on the clearing and draining of private lands all over New Zealand. Employment on the same class of work had been arranged for an additional 1500. The bulk of these men had been taken from Scheme 13 and from public works. The work, said Mr. Webb, was carried out on a contract basis, the Government contributing 75 per cent of the wages. Accommodation was being provided in. many cases by different financial institutions that had mortgages on the property involved. While the mortgages held by these concerns were more safely secured because of the improvements made the farmer was establishing a greater equity in his property. Much of the land that had already been cleared and drained was now under production. Referring to the use of machinery for clearing land the Minister said that when in Westport recently ho had scon wliero two bulldozers had cleared, between Friday morning and noon on Saturday, 20 acres of scrub, broom and blackberry. On Monday the land was disced and planted in grass, turnips and other root crops.

"Judging by the requests wo have received from farmers for the use on a contract basis of these machines for clearing land it will be a considerable time before the present demand is met." said Mr. Webb._ "In view of the applications coming in for machines and 4B men there is no reason why anything up to 10,000 men could not be profitably employed on such work. "The men now engaged in landclearing work under this scheme do not include 1500-odd men clearing and bringing in land under tho Lands Department. On tho whole tho men have made good wages, but they have had to work hard for it."