REORGANISATION PLANS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18760, 17 July 1935, Page 15

REORGANISATION PLANS

THE FARMERS' UNION

('0 XPR R E \TE 0 r.SC t T SS lON

CHANGE OF DISTRICTS

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this dav

The New Zealand Farmers' I'/iion conference opened this morning, Mr \V. ,). Poison. M.P., presiding. Owing- to prior engagements, the Governor-General, Lord Galway, was unable to open the proceedings, which commenced, as usual, with prayer. The conference will continue till Friday.

Mr 'Poison submitted a report of proposals prepared by him for tho reorganisation of branches and lhe Xcw Zealand union generally. Also before Hie conference were recommendations from illo organisation committee which had considered 'Mr Poison's proposals. The first point made by Mr Polsdn was that headquarters should ijic strengthened by lhe appointment of a specially qualified and well-paid officer having business, insurance, and accountancy training and organising- ability. Head office would then proceed to initiate the reorganisation work arid such activities as farm accounting, mutual lire insurance, and trading facilities. He also emphasised the value of young farmers' clubs sponsored by the union. Any such scheme, he said, could only be established with tlio consent and goodwill of the provinces, and must do no violence to their methods, but; rather be a plan of gradual growth and tin; result of mutual understanding and u desire to help the union as a whole. lie suggested, first, n. reduction of the number of provinces to .10, with a minimum of 1200 members per pro vince. He suggested thai the provinces should be as follows: Southland; Otago and North Otago; the three Oanlerburys and Westland; Marlborough, Pc'lorns, Nelson, and Golden Bay; Wairarapn and Mnkara-llutt Valley; Manawatu, Wanganui, Southern Hawke's Ray, and Poverty Bay; Taranaki North and South; Auckland. Til lhe.se provinces, he proposed that area officers should be appointed, con-" trolled by bead office, but directed by the provinces concerned. Mr Poison said he had made the plan permissive rather than man da lory. Today they were Jisked to give service. or lei someone else <!,, i:. They could no! stand still.

The organisation committee recommended that for the management of lhe union there should be the followinggoverning bodies: The nonunion executive, provincial executives, subprovincial executives, and branch committees. The adoption of the president 's scheme of grouping the -provinces was recommended, the respective groups lo be entitled to elect a delegare to the Dominion executive.

Other recommendations were a. Dominion conference annually, and in consist "of 'provincial presidents ex officio and delegTttes appointed by the provincial /(inferences, which .shall be entitled to send one delegate for every 500 financial members or part thereof; following officers shall be elected for the ensuing year, a .president, two vicepresidents, one representing each island, and also an auditor or auditors; at its first meeting after each Dominion conference, the executive to appoint from its members an emergency committee to meet when required. The whole of the morning was taken lip In debating various aspects of the reorganisation proposals. The conference resolved unanimously that the platform of the union and the organisation generally be completely reorganised.