LAND VALUATION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXL, Issue 20260, 8 November 1935, Page 13

LAND VALUATION

AMENDMENT TO ACT In his adddress at Fail-lie on Wednesday, the Hon. J. Bitchener, Minister of Public Works, made reference to land valuation. He said that some time ago he had been written to by people in Fairlie in regard to land valuation and he had said that he would, endeavour to get the Minister of Lands (Sir Alfred Ransom) to visit the district. He had failed in his objective. However, after a lot of pressure had been brought to bear on him, the Minister of Lands promised to consider the matter, and he had kept his word. The Minister had been impressed with the desirability of a revaluation of Crown settlers lands, and this had been given effect to. The Minister had brought in an amending clause to the Land Valuation Act, and it was now for those concerned to take advantage of the position and endeavour to get satisfaction. To his mind the present was a good time for revaluation; he would not have said so two years ago because of the low prices of commodities. He believed that with the exception of wool, the primary produce of the Dominion had reached an established value. They should not forget that the Government had been very lenient to a good many Crown tenants by reducing rents by as much as 50 per cent., which had been very helpful, and further, the Government had helped in other ways by reducing the cost of fertilisers and so on.

The Minister also referred to the Labour Party’s plan of guaranteed prices. He said that he did not know how they hoped to work it, for it had never worked anywhere else, except in Queensland and there only in connection with the sugar industry. This was due to the fact that Queensland was able to consume more than she could produce. New Zealand, in every instance, exported more than 90 per cent, of her primary products, and how were they going to guarantee a market for the produce? Unless this could be done, there could be no guaranteed prices. Even the Labour Member for Hutt, who was the financial wizard of the Party, said that they could guarantee prices If there could be a guaranteed market for the produce in England. No Government could do more than the present Government had done In- this' respect, and the guaranteed price plan was a pure vote catching instrument. “It might catch yours, and it might not. I. will leave that to you,” concluded the Minister.