NOT ENDORSED

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22154, 28 September 1943, Page 2

NOT ENDORSED

AGRICULTURAL POLICY RURAL COMMENT ON ELECTION The opinion that the overwhelming majorities of the National Party candidates in the Waikato and Hauraki electorates were an expression of the farming community’s concern with the agricultural policy of the Government was expressed by dairying leaders today. Labour narrowly won the Raglan seat, the mining vote considerably helping the Government and the farming vote favouring the National candidate. The manpower problem has been a general complaint in most of the rural areas, farm labour difficulties hindering attempts to increase production.

It was contended by one dairying leader that the guaranteed price policy of the Government had actually been of no real value to the farmers, as there was no doubt that they would have received just as good a price, if not a better price, on the open market. The opinion was also expressed that although the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. J. G. Barclay, was supposed to be a farmer himself, he was not sympathetic with the farmers, and in fact was sympathetic with Trades Hall. There was no doubt that the election results in the rural electorates showed that primary producers did not approve altogether of the farming policy of the Government, commented Mr S. A. Ferguson, chairman of the South Auckland Dairy Association, this morning. The farmers had certainly not endorsed the Government’s policy. Among other things, the labour policy of the Government was destroying the initiative of the people. After all, it had to be remembered that the prosperity of the Dominion had been built up on this self-same initiative. Mr Ferguson considered that the Servicemen’s Settlement and Land Sales Act was not in the best interests of the farmer, and this was probably another factor in the swing of the farming vote from Labour.