HIGH COUNTRY RUNS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26544, 20 August 1947, Page 6

HIGH COUNTRY RUNS

Opposition Urges Relief for Farmers RESPONSIBILITY OF NATION Parliamentary Reporter. WELLINGTON,. Aug. 19. Measures to alleyiate the position of high country farmers, particularly in the South Island, were urged' by members of the Opposition during the. Imprest Supply Bill debate in the House of Representatives to-night. It was initiated by Mr D. C. Kidd (Oppri., Waimate) who said runs were too small and rents too high. The Minister of Works, Mr Semple, said he was. convinced that the country would have to face up to a huge expenditure to control high country problems which were the responsibility of the nation.

Mr Kidd said that if the problem of high country men in the South Island were not tackled, disaster would overcome them. No other branch of farming had suffered so badly from mal-administration. The auction system of lease was the genesis of the problem, and with it was associated bad subdivision, pests, and erosion. Rather than allow this land to be abandoned, it would be better to give it to the lessees. The carrying capacity of back-coun-try runs could not be gauged by their summer capacity, but by their winter capacity, said Mr Kidd. Many runholders would be unable to meet the high overhead and retain their holdings. If that happened, it would be a bad day for New Zealand, for once they lost the men who had made a life study of running this country, they would never be able to replace them. If this country were abandoned, it would become a breeding ground for pests. Everything possible should be done to keep the high country men in production, and to keep up the production of fine wool which contributed so much to the country’s wool cheque. Station hands were leaving the high country and drifting to public works, Mr Kidd continued. New Zealand’s standard of living was determined by the wealth won from, its broad acres. He was afraid they were getting too many people into the towns and not enough bn to the land. The sheep industry commission had been set up years too late. The Minister of Lands, Mr Skinner: It was set up years before the war. Rents too High Mr Kidd said that if the Minister had the desire to do so, he could put the back country men on a sound footing, and there would be no need for a commission at all. These people on the high country had been debarred from the right of revaluation. Rents were far too high and many of them should be cut in half. Even then they would be high enough. Mr Skinner: The present rental is 2|d an acre. Mr Kidd said that as a result of oversubdivision after World War I holdings had been made too smalL Rents were too high, and there had been over-stocking and injudicious burning. Mr P. Kearins (Govt., Waimarino) said that the member for Waimate had made a most valuable contribution to the debate. He thought that if a vote were taken 80 per cent, of the farmers would vote for a commandeer rather than the auction system. If there was one thing the farmer was dissatisfied with, it was the speed with which wool was sold at auction. Last season those who were fortunate enough to get early sales got an extortionate price for their wooL . Those who sold early received 24d for ‘wool that realised only 17d at later sales. It was not a good thing for one farmer to receive 24d and his neighbour to receive for identical wool 7d less.

sidered by the commission with a view to making certain that the high country already In ?rj(ey? country already in production was kept so. The belief that the high country produced only wool was a fallacy, Mr McAlpine said. It provided a great deal of meat for export and the ewe flocks of Canterbury were maintained by surplus ewes from the high country. The high country also called on a minimum of overseas funds for it did not require expensive machinery and fertilisers. Rents and soil erosion were very real problems. One difficulty in the high country was that it was impossible to pay wages competitive with those available in the sheltered urban industries. Virtually no maintenance had been done on high country stations since the war. He suggested that a taxation allowance should be made to enable portion of the present apparent profits from the high country holdings to be set aside for later maintenance. He also suggested that by a taxation rebate, a sum could be set aside to meet the contingency of heavy snow losses which were inseparable from high country farming. Such reserves need not pass to any individual but should be regarded as being established for, the station itself. Mr Semple said that erosion had been going on for generations. Its alarming proportions were still appreciated by too few people. It would be /unfair to attempt to burden the high country farmers with the full cost of anti-erosion measures and the Government was bearing portion of the cost —in some instances most of it. Problem to .Solve There was a problem to solve in the high country and associated with it was the problem of the low-lying land where only a veneer of earth held it together. Erosion alone was a problem which had to be tackled on a huge scale. Overstocking, constant burning and pests were mainly responsible for the downfall of Moles- # worth Station, which was a typical example of the high country problems. Mr R. G. Gerard (Oppn., Ashburton) Said that in his constituency there were runholders who were in daily fear of flooding and its consequent destruction. Mr W. A. Bodkin rOppn., Central Otago) said that if the Minister of Lands was anxious to solve the problem of the high country farmer he would set up a special tribunal to determine the valuation of unimproved value. That was important because it was on the unimproved value that the rent was computed. Labour was allimportant, and the best class of employee for the high country was the man bred in the locality/ If runholders were in a position to: dation for married men and to pay competitive wages the high country labour problem would solve itself. One of the reasons for the rapid deterioration of the high country of the South Island was rabbits. It was a difficult problem but it could be solved. He hoped the commission .would go to areas where rabbits had been eliminated. . :,/>w The debate was interrupted ,by the adjournment. .... -

Mr Kearins also criticised the date adopted for the compilation of statistics of sheep population. He said this was taken on March 31, which was the worst time of the year iof a census to be taken as, at that time, farmers had drafts of sheep on the roads and away at works. Some put them in their returns and some did not. The best time to take the census would be June 30. Even then, there would be a little carry over but it would give a more accurate figure of the Dominion’s sheep population. The schedule of rates for wether mutton was too low and that for lambs too high, Mr Kearins said. A higher payment for wether mutton would help the high country farmer. Mr J. K. McAlpine (Oppn., Selwyn) said it was essential that the prices paid should offer sufficient inducement to retain skilled farmers on the high country of the South Island. If those men were allowed to leave the high country their production would be lost to New Zealand for all time. It had been proved that it was impossible to restock back-country land once it had been abandoned. The price structure would need to be carefully con-