“A GIANT OCTOPUS”

Taranaki Daily News, 6 December 1929, Page 11

“A GIANT OCTOPUS”

MEAT PRODUCERS’ BOARD

SOUTH TARANAKI CRITICISM.

MR. C. D. DICKIE’S EXPERIENCE.

Described as “a giant octopus with its tentacles bound round the fanning community and sucking away its very life blood,”, the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board was scathingly criticised nt a meeting of the South Taranaki Provincial Executive of the Fanners’ Union yesterday. The discussion was the outcome of the following remit from the Dominion executive: —“That the Government be asked to (Law up legislation during the recess governing the export and marketing of -wool on lines similar to the legislation of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board and of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board. This union is strongly-of opinion that the personnel of the board should be bona fide sheepfarmers only.” The Dominion executive requested that the South Taranaki executive should comment on the remit. “These institutions are very expensive to farmers/’ said Mr. C. D. Dickie, chairman 'of the Patea Farmers’ Freezing Company, Ltd., “and I, for one, would he absolutely opposed to the setting-up of another board. We have, as an example, t’.at octopus, the Meat Producers’ Board.”

He considered it one of the most wasteful bodies in existence. It levied ' £35,000 per annum on the farming community and, with the exception of a small amount of advertising, did nothing to justify its existence. It certainly sent out statistics, which were absolutely valueless to New Zealand producers, ; but might possibly® interest Home buyers. New Zealand did not know, for instance, that the Argentine had produced one million more lamb carcases last season than it had ever done before, and yet that would have been a simple matter for the board to discover. Furthermore, Taranaki had no representative on the board, and no chance of representation. It was run by a few large sheepowners and the Canterbury A. and P. Association. -It" was not in touch with the meat producers’ interests, as was the Dairy Board with dairy farmers’ matters, and it teemed an opportunity for a few to squander huge sums each year. The board had purchased an expensive cool storage site in London, on the wrong side of the Thames. Over £30,000 had been expended, and the site was absolutely useless. There was also an expensive office in London, which sent out a few cables containing information that was on Smithfield market blackboards every Friday. During his recent, trip Home he had ’closely observed the board’s operations, and was thoroughly disgusted with what he had seen.

“Candidly,” said Mr. Dickie,-in moving that the executive was entirely opposed to the setting up of a further board, “I think it nothing but an opportunity for a lot of old men to visit Wellington, draw about £25 in expenses, and have a jolly old time in the city. If this sort of thing goes on we will have twothirds of our population living on the other third.”

The motion was carried unanimously.