From Labour’s Viewpoint.

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 32, 30 April 1927, Page 12

From Labour’s Viewpoint.

Labour s Land Policy

Written for THE SUN,

By

H. E. Holland, M.P.

This is the sixth article of a weekly series contributed by the Leader of the Opposition, political head of the New Zealand Labour Party. It is as fair to Mr. Holland as it is to THE SUN to state that his pithy opinions are entirely his own and represent only the policy of the Labour Party; also that, in their publication, the right of criticism is not surrendered . TT may be that one of the developments of future years in New Zealand will be State farming on a large scale in certain districts; but, generally speaking, it would appear that we are destined to follow to some considerable extent along the lines of Denmark’s rural development—small-scale farming and intensive methods. Of course, no one would imagine that, in the immediate present, we shall find it possible to establish the farms of 75 acres and less which constitute 85 per cent, of the Danish rural holdings; but it is altogether certain that, as our population grows, the need for smaller holdings and more scientific methods will compel attention. Our present position certainly could not be much more unsatisfactory with respect to land matters. We have a population of less than a million and a-half in a country productively rich enough to carry ten millions; and only about 150,000 may be categoried as owning or holding land. Out of this number more than 6Q,000 are “landowners" whose areas average less than an acre each. These are the business people with suburban residences and the owners of the workmen’s cottages, etc. There are at least 500,000 adults who own no land whatever.

THE EVIDENCE OF AGGREGATION Our Dominion area comprises 66 1-3 million acres, and a fraction over 43J million acres of this is classed as occupied (or rural) lands, with 85,734 holders. For a country like New Zealand, less than 86,000 is a woefully small number of the people to hold nearly two-thirds of the Dominion area; but when the distribution of the rural lands is investigated the position is seen to be immensely worse than at first appears to be the case. Out of these 85,734 landholders, 6,978 hold between them nearly 30 million acres, while the 78,756 others hold less than 14 million acres between them. To put it another way 8 per cent, of the rural landholders have about 69 per cent, of the total of occupied lands, and 92 per cent, of the holders have about 31 per cent, of the area. We have 56 landholders with an average of 81,075 acres each; 169 with an average of 30,864 acres; 294 with an average of 14,157 acres, and 568 with an average of 6,868 acres. In the land statistics of New Zealand we thus have the clear evidence of aggregation; and land aggregation is an undesirable factor in the development of any country, and more particularly in New Zealand, which is so essentially a country of primary production. It is said that in Denmark there are very few labourers who are entirely landless. In New Zealand it is rather the other way about; and one of our problems is how to break up the larger estates.and bring them into closer settlement. THE LABOUR PARTY'S WAY The Labour Party will adopt two methods in its endeavour to secure closer settlement, and consequently increased production. One of these

methods will be a graduated land tax. The tax will be graded steeply enougii against the larger estates to compel the owners either to put the land into effective use or part with it. Another method will be that of the acquisition by purchase of areas suitable for closer settlement, and town planning and buifding. If necessary, acquisition will be compulsory; but the owner’s interests will be adequately safeguarded, inasmuch as he will have the right of appeal from the Valuer-Gen-eral’s valuation to an Appeal Board on which the local bodies, the land owners, and the Valuation Department will be represented. TENURE OF ACQUIRED LAND The tenure of land acquired for settlement will be the perpetual lease conditional on occupancy and use, with periodic revaluations. The absence of re-valuations was a fatal mistake in the perpetual leases of the early Liberals’ land system—a mistake we do not propose to repeat. The Labour Party will stand for the conservation of all land that belongs to the State or is otherwise publicly owned. This will that there will be no further alienation of Crown lands. In the case of privately-owned lands, the present owners’ interest will be given full recognition, and the right of inheritance will not be interfered with; but State provision will be made for land transfers. We propose to make the Lands Department do, at the cost of doing it, all the work which the army of land agents is doing at the present time; but we do not propose to,forbid the land agent to follow his calling. The Lands Department will do the work immensely cheaper—and better; that is all. CLEARING LAND FOR SETTLEMENT We are of the opinion that the work of clearing the heavily-timbered lands for settlement should be the duty of the State. Under our existing system we leave men to break their lives on this work; and, in getting their sections cleared, they are compelled to burn the standing timber. This alone represents an enormous economic loss to the Dominion. We propose to send out State-employed clearing parties to prepare the land for occupation. With the clearing party will go the State sawmillers, whose instructions will be to mill every foot of timber that is millable. We think that by this conservation of the timber we can make the land contribute toward its own cost of clearing. Where land values are increased by public works such as railways, etc., the betterment principle will be applied. TO HELP THE FARMER

The working farmer will be assisted in the matter of fertilisers. The State will use its facilities to secure adequate supplies at a cost from which the elements of profiteering will be eliminated. Agricultural education will be extended, and will include research processes the purpose of which will be to discover how to bring every class of land to the fullest productive use possible. The producers’ co-operative organisations in the fields of production, marketing, shipping, and credit will be encouraged and assisted. To this end a State Bank will be established, and will function as a Central Bank with full control of the note issue; and the State Advances Office will have its powers extended to more adequately meet the requirements of primary production.