GOOD PROGRESS MADE IN DEVELOPING LAND POLICY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18940, 10 December 1929, Page 5

GOOD PROGRESS MADE IN DEVELOPING LAND POLICY.

Many Properties Offered Could Not Be Subdivided With Complete Success

(Special to the “Star”) WELLINGTON, December 9. Good progress has been made in developing land policy on the lines of the legislation passed last session. The Minister of Lands, the Hon G. W. Forbes, informed a “Star” correspondent that a selection had been made of an able and experienced gentleman of proven farming ability as fourth member of the Lancl Development Board, and as soon as his acceptance of the seat had been received, Mr Forbes said he would announce it. It had been definitely arranged to set up at once three advisory committees in the North Auckland and Auckland land districts, one of which would. operate entirely in the pumice areas“”of Rotorua. The gentlemen had been selected already for these committees because of their special knowledge, and ' it only required acceptance from two I of them to permit of the Minister makj ing the announcement. | . Mr Forbes also said that the necessary regulations for the working of the Act had been drafted • and would become effective as soon as they had been approved by the Minister of Finance and Cabinet. Forms of application for loans, etc., had been prepared and were about to be printed. However, said Mr Forbes, applications would be accepted in the interim if merely drafted on plain advances up to ninety per cent. The Minister stated that at the moment it was intended to advance upon the basis of ninety per cent of the potential value of improvements intended to be effected by the settler, and up to £1,250 per man. Such advances would not be made for purchase of stock. No fee would be charged for inspection unless a loan were granted. Every Commissioner of Crown Lands was actively engaged upon an overhaul of the Crown lands in the respective districts, and prominent advertisements would shortly be exhibited drawing attention to the special provisions of the new legislation and giving definite instruction how the fullest details of available. lands could be obtained. LANDS DEVELOPMENT. Mr Forbes further stated that actual development work was now in hand at Te Kauwhata under the Department of Agriculture, and that arrangements had already been made for the immediate development of some 2,300 acres of pumice lands about fourteen miles from Rotorua. The Dominion Land Purchase Board had considered a great number of offers to sell properties, but in the vast majority of cases it was quite impossible to purchase them with any hope of successful subdivision and recouping at such prices as the vendors demanded. However, he was glad to say that quite substantial progress had been made and that in some instances

ballots had already been held. Land purchase properties so far offered numbered 800 and the Government had approved of the purchase of twenty-five properties costing, say, £391,100, and man y more properties were now under consideration. Tlie Minister was also glad to say that the general settlement of Crown lands during the last twelve months had been satisfactory and had not in wa y shown a decrease. He had the very fullest confidence that the future would show a marked increase Jn general settlement, though the Lands Department would have to be most careful in all that it did. Cautiousness on the part of the department did not appear to meet with approval everywhere, but he felt that the problem now being handled was one that required the very utmost of consideratl?n ' as the pitfalls were manifest where hasty settlement was attempted DUTIES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES. Mr Forbes mentioned that the duties of the advisory committees referred to above would involve the combing of all Crown lands available in the districts mentioned, and that the committees would receive explicit instructions to report definitely as to what areas they considered suitable for settlement, also what particulr-r proportion of such areas should be developed by the Crown before placing settlers thereon, and what proportion could more suitably be utilised by subdividing and roading, and then providing the successful selector with the necessay finance to erect suitable buildings and fencing and to effect a certain amount of cultivation. Mr Forbes felt it would probably be very advantageous to get the men actually on to the ground and allow them to proceed with their own improvebut that, of course, the conditions as found by the various advisory committees would influence the Development Board in its decisions affecting these -questions. He thought it would be unreasonable to expect any marked increase in the number of selectors of the land immediately, and that probably the whole matter would be swinging very strongly, say, six months from now. It was proposed in cases where men would actually develop the land to put the oversight of development work in the hands of the Agricultural Department, which, of course, had its expert officers and was in an exceptionally able position to deal with the matter. Appropriately roading of the various blocks would be undertaken out of the Land Development Fund, and it was intended to utilise unemployed labour in this connection, as Mr Forbes felt that road development should be very actively prosecuted, and, if possible, be ahead of settlement.