RESTOCKING PROBLEM

Waipa Post, Volume 51, Issue 3658, 19 August 1935, Page 2

RESTOCKING PROBLEM

QUEENSLAND STATIONS It is not generally realised that Queensland is at present faced with a problem of national gravity in the restocking of her stations, says a writer in the Sydney Morning Herald.” The eyes of the sheepmen of the Commonwealth are focussed on the plight of the pastoralists of the far north. Briefly, drought conditions have prevailed in Northern Queensland since 1925. Then came the recent deluge—seven inches of rain within four days. The stock depleted by that decade of drought were 'unable to stand it. At a conservative estimate the loss of sheep in Queensland during that period is five and a half millions. The position of the property owners, who are still resolute and gallantly alive to their obligations, is palpably desperate. Mortgaged to the hilt with the wool firms and the banks, they must have extraneous help to carry on. The situation demands statesmanlike qualities, and probably no Government has been presented with a greater opportunity for effective social service than that which is available to Queensland to assist in the reliabilitaton of one of ts most essential ini'YJtries. If the pastoral industry in North Queensland is to survive restocking is a fundamental requisite. The problem is financial, its solution one of vital concern, not merely to the owners, hut to the populace which is carried on the back of an at present starving and stricken stock. There is a practical path for the Queensland Government to read. It would take £5,000,000 to restock the Queensland holdings. A loan could be floated on similar lines to the Western Australian wheat loan. | Nevertheless Slate co-operation

should not end there. The greatest bug-bears to pastoralists and graziers are taxation and rents. Reductions and ameliorative treatment must be concurrent with the direct aid proposed. To insist on income deductions on seasonal profit is to tighten the noose which the banking institutions and the wool firms have been handling with such gentle skill in their own efforts to rehabilitate owners and facilitate their activities. Spread of payments is an essential. Reduction of rents to the extent of 75 per cent, and of rail freightage is also a vital factor in the plan which, if carried through, will have its reaction on the prosperity of the State. The policy advocated is one of constructive design, not of ambitious expediency. It must be borne in mind that one good season will not suffice completely to restore the industry. The situation is acute. When the crisis is passed it would be folly to risk relapse. The statesmanlike stand of the Queensland Government would be at least tacitly to realise that the stock within its borders represents a national asset.