SETTLING MEN ON THE LAND

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVI, Issue 23029, 21 October 1944, Page 4

SETTLING MEN ON THE LAND

Labour And Materials Set Limit

Government Plans Outlined

(N.Z.P.A.) WELLINGTON. Oct. 20. Speaking to the vote of £397.049 for the Lands and Survey Department, the Hon. C. F. Skinner said that 28,000 applications under the Land Sales Act had gone through and the average reduction had bean £l7/9 8 and the cost to the State had averaged £2 18 '3. An Opposition member interjected that the reduction was hardly worth while.

Mr Skinner said that the value of the Act was that it protected the genuine buyer from exploitation. Mr W. A. Bodkin (National, Central Otago) asked that the protection was being given to soldiers of the last war, who wished to dispose of properties so that they could secure smaller aieas. Mr Skinner said that such veterans were guaranteed an alternative property, if they offered their present properties for settlement by men from the present war. Mr Bodkin said that that was not generally known. Mr Skinner said that instructions had given that no undue hard-

ship was to be imposed on soldiers of the last war, and the instructions had also set out the types of individuals who should not be interfered with. Replying to questions regarding the possible use of abandoned land, the Minister said that it was not the policy of the Government to abandon any land, and areas which had been abandoned in the past would have to be brought back into production, when men and materials became available. It was impossible to do anything at present. All they could do -was to hold their own with the land already under development. The vote was passed. Discussing the vote for the lands for Settlement Account (Small Farms Development), Mr S. W. Smith (National, Bay of Islands) said that small farms were mostly too small and were uneconomic units. Those living on them were battling under extremely difficult conditions. It would be a benefit to all those concerned, if these farms could be amalgamated where the settlers desired it. A grave fault of many small farms was that the settlers had no prospect of creating any asset by getting a leasehold or freehold tenure. The Government which had originated the small faims scheme had promised that such tenure would be offered to those staying on the farms, but this Government had not held to that promise. Mr Skinner said that most of the small farms to which Mr Smith had referred, particularly in his own electorate, were on native land, which meant that the Department could not administer them as freely as it might wish. However, where it was possible, small farms were being amalgamated and already this had been done with more than 200 small farms, giving about half that number of more economic farms. Homes Before Hospitals •Mr W. Sullivan (National, Bay of Plenty) urged the development of the Galatea Estate and the speedy settlement of about 20 returned men there. On this and similar blocks there was an urgent need for houses and farm buildings, and he suggested that the hospital building programme should be deferred, as the provision of homes for returned men settling on the land was more urgent. This was the more necessary, because in the next four years New Zealand should build up its farm production to the utmost and would then be in a strong position when the time came to make' new produce agreements. Mr A. 8. Sutherland (National, Hauraki) said that the Government, Instead of buying out individual farmers, should cut up blocks of land. He believed that the Galatea block could provide not 12, but 50 farms for returned men. The difficulties of providing the electricity, roads and bridges were not very great. Mr Skinner said that at no time had the Government suggested that the taking of one man off the land and putting in another one would increase production, but the .difficulty was that materials and labour were simply not available to carry out immediately all the necessary developmental work in cutting up larger blocks. Therefore, it was, necessary to buy up individual farms, where they were available, although that in no way implemented any land policy of the Government. Already about 250,000 acres were underdevelopment. There were 100 blocks waiting for houses, and houses were being built as rapidly as possible. It would be possible to settle a large number of men by next season. The Government was negotiating for dozens of blocks of land aggregating hundreds of thousands of acres, the Minister continued. The limit to the development of the blocks already in hand was one of labour and materials. It was not nearly as simple as just putting in a few bridges and a house or two. The vote was passed.