“WHY WON’T THEY ACCEPT A GUARANTEED PRICE?”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 93, 21 April 1939, Page 8

“WHY WON’T THEY ACCEPT A GUARANTEED PRICE?”

QUESTION PUT TO SHEEP FARMERS PRIME MINISTER WAITED ON I “GOVERNMENT WILL DO SOMEIHING” UNION MAKES SUGGESTIONS 1 E’er Piebs Association.] WELLINGTON, April 20. Claiming that more sheep farmers would leave farms than had done so > during the depression if they did not i receive financial assistance, a deputation from the New Zealand Farmers’ Union suggested to the Prime Munster (Hon. M. J. Savage, and the acthigMinister of Lanas (Hon. W. Lee Martin) that the Government shouiG find between five and seven million j pounds to place sheep farmers on a financial basis. The Prime Minister j said that the Government had ai/eady | made preliminary investigation oi the . position and suggested that sheep * farmers should accept a guarantied , price. The president of the New Zealand. Farmers' Union, Mr. \V. W. Mulhol- , land, said that the position ol tnc; sheep farmer had been discussed at a I previous deputation. Unfortunately, | adverse conditions had developed bt- 11 yond anything they had anticipated | and it appeared that in the ncai : future more farmers would be foiceG j off their farms that had actually gone ;, off during the slump. A tragic part L of the position was that those no a h threatened with loss of their farms I were among the best of the Domia-I. ion’s farmers. The misfits, people who , would not make a reasonable go at •■ farming, and those who should ip. ver L have been farmers, had been dropped I j during the slump, and those who v.cic ; being forced off to-day were the men ; t who were most wanted in the in- ,* dustry. A number of men, Between ‘ 50 and 60 years ot age, with a lifetime | j of experience, were in danger of be- J < ing lost, and that was a serious thing 1 from a national point of view. Mr. Lee Martin said he would not : agree that more would go off than; during the slump. Mr. Mulholland: That is the position L as I see it. Giving Farmers Stability. ■ ; Mr. Savage said he could not under- p stand why the sheep farmers would U not take a guaranteed price from the | Government. A guaranteed price | < would give them some stability. i 1 Mr. Mulholland: I prefer not to ciis- , ' cuss that. It has been referred to ou. ] conferences. “We want to find some means oi ] I helping the sheep farmers,’ said Mr.; Savage, “but if I am expected to re- [ f duce other people’s incomes to heip i them I tell you frankly that I am not i going to do it.” Mr. Savage said that the Govern- , I ment had been told, from lime io! time, that costs must be reduced, but 1 no one could say how that was to be t done without reducing wages, and - that was not the way to prosperity. \ “It is a case of people in the grandstand,” he said. ‘‘lf they all sit down c they will see as much as if they were .1 standing up. If we reduce everyone we will be no better off. Mr. Mulholland: We want to stand .1 up with the rest. Mr. Savage said that the Govern-1i

ment wanted the sheep farmers to ; stand up. They were doing that for | the dairy farmers and he knew they would not agree to a return to the old order. Mr. Holland said it would make a 1 great difference to sheep farmers’ reI action to a guaranteed price if the government could mention the figure. Mr. Savage: I couldn't give you a figure here to-day. We have got to have an investigation to see if men should be kept there. Sheep farmers are not all on hill country and their position is a national responsibility. We want to help them, even it we have got to give a guaranteed price. I know that would not please speculators. Mr. Mulholland said they were not interested in speculators. If it could be shown that the Government could find five to seven millions without increasing costs, it would make oig differences to the sheep farmers' reaction to a guaranteed price. During the last ten years, said Mi. Lee Martin, the price of wooi had been above one shilling on only two occasions. If there had been a j guaranteed price of a shilling during I that period, there would have been I no complaints. I Mr. Savage: I don’t know. One , man came a long way to tell me that I a vice-president of the Farmers’ ' Union had advised members not to | I make any positive statements to the [ Government, but to put the onus on I the Government to do something. 1 That doesn't look like co-operation. IWe arc here to help and when the i Farmers' Union forgets the political j position we will get further. No Party Politics in the Union. Mr. Mulholland said that parly politics were no concern of the J armors' Union, but the general political situation must concern them ail. After further discussion, Mr. Savage said he was still convinced that a [ guaranteed price was the solution, j W'hat would be the result if they took I a vote of wool farmers on a guaranI teed price; he asked. i Mr. Mulholland said that where the i guaranteed price had been discussed lat meetings the majority had been | against it, but he could not say what ithe general body of sheep tanners | thought. Guaranteed Land Tax. Mr. Mulholland also referred to the j graduated land tax ana need for con- | sidering the primary producer in na- , ’ tional life. Mr. Savage said the incidence of ' taxation might not be perfect, and 'should be considered during the in- . vestigation. Mr. Lee Martin said if a large per- : eentage of sheep farmers was being ' forced oft the land, it was being done ■ to embarrass the Government. I Mr. Mulholland: Did you ever know la man prepared to lose money to cnii barrass the Government? Mr. Savage: Some are prepared to Igo to considerable lengths. ! Mr. Lee Martin said he was satisI tied something could be done and ‘within a few days he would place pro- ; posals before Cabinet. i Mr. Savage assured the deputation I that consideration would be given to ithe matter, but he was not going to I set up a Royal Commission, which I would only tell him to reduce costs. I “For heaven's sake let us have a closed season for the Government so that we can do something for the farmers,'' he exclaimed. “You cant get rid of us now, in any case. We want to do something and let us go where the truth leads us and do our best to I help everybody."