WOOL “FREEZE”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27570, 12 December 1950, Page 10

WOOL “FREEZE”

Minister Denies Rumour PA DANNEVIRKE, Dec. 11. "It has come to my knowledge that rumours about my personal actions in this regard are current in this district,” said Mr Holyoake, Minister of Marketing and MP for Pahiatua. when addressing a meeting here and dealing with the wool situation and the freezing of part of the proceeds. Mr Holyoake, who has a hill-country sheep farm at Waitahora, was‘deprecating the idea that he had sold his own wool privately to avoid having his income from wool frozen. “ Such a rumour," he said, is cruel, disgusting and hits below the belt.” He expressed the view that people who were guilty of spreading such baseless rumours did not deserve to have decent representation in Parliament They did not deserve representation at all. Mr Holyoake said that the decision to freeze portion of this year’s cheque was made after consultation with the representatives of every organised section of the wool industry. “ I would like to say now how I appreciate the attitude of the farmers’ representatives that day after their discussion with the Prime Minister and me,” he said Mr Holyoake said that the reason ior the decision to freeze the income from wool was because, of all New Zealand’s production, wool was the only one that was considerably out of gear with the rest. The dairy industry had a guaranteed price (based upon production costs and backed by the taxpayer). All other industries were in gear with one another. Only wool values were soaring.