ECONOMIC LOSS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 71, Issue 6142, 28 September 1945, Page 5

ECONOMIC LOSS

DUE TO NOXIOUS WEEDS SPEECH BY MR W. J. BROADFOOT, . M.P. The economic loss to the community through the growth of noxious weeds on Native farm lands was deplored by Mr W. J. Broadfoot (National —Waitomo), speaking on the Estimates in the House of Representatives. Mr Broadfoot said the vote of £BOOO for clearing Native lands of noxious weeds, and £2750 for the destruction of rabbits on Native lands were recurring payments, but just waste of money.' The sums represented merely a drop of water in the bucket, and tens of thousands of acres were going to destruction through noxious weeds. The menace could not be destroyed by paltry methods. The report of the Native Department on the development and settlement of Native lands said that development schemes now embraced a total area of over 1,169,865 acres, of which more than 804,045 acres were in the course of being either developed and improved, or farmed as settled holdings. How much of that 804,000 acres was developed and ready for settlement, and how many sections would be available for returned servicemen ? There was only one cure for noxious weeds, and that was to clothe the land in settlement. As it was, large areas had lost their value, and there were blocks on the Main Trunk line that were in grass ten years ago that were now smothered in gorse. The report also mentioned that land which was vacant and likely to be a source of danger to the neighbourhood could be passed over to the Minister or Board to alienate by way of lease. How many orders had been made under that section, and in whose favour had they beerj made? He had tried in his own locality to prevent good land going to waste, but had found that the Court put the blocks under the Native Department’s development scheme. It now had more land than it knew what to do with, and first-class land would be smothered in gorse and ragwort and become valueless. Two farmers in the neighbourhood of the big Mangatapere Block offered to take it over to save the noxious weeds menace, but it was handed over to the Native Development Department to develop. Would it do that, or would the land continue to be a scourge to the district known as Parawera? Dealing further with the Native Land Settlement Account, Mr Broadfoot referred to the losses of stock — last year’s figure was £12,763 and said it did not seem that the blocks were adequately fenced. When there was a loss of £72,000 in three years it was time proper supervision w*as provided for the development schemes.