Cost to the State

Te Ao Hou, May 1957, Page 50

Cost to the State Land development is conducted in two stages. The first is the development of the land from its unimproved state up to station stage when sheep and cattle are reared and run for a number of years until the pasture is thoroughly consolidated. During this period of consolidation all the profits that accrue are credited to the scheme in order to ensure that on final settlement by units no loss would be carried by the State. These stations, with the stock on them, were valued at about £14 million in 1955. The debt to the State at that time was £5 million. The second stage of land development is settlement of the land by unit farmers. There are at present 1351 unit farms whose total assets are valued at £9 million, and these farmers owe the State £1,390,000. It is clear from the figures that the assets created far exceed the outstanding debts, that the security is sound and the rate of repayment reasonable. We should also include with the assets created by Maori Land Development the value of debt-free stations returned to Maori incorporations after development was complete, and the value of several hundred unit farms handed back to settlers after they had repaid their liabilities to the department. The value of such released stations and farms is estimated at over £3 million. In the twenty-seven years the Maori Land Development Scheme has lasted, there have been some small sums written off as bad debts. However, it should not be forgotten that all lending has been at 1 ½% above the normal lending rate and the proceeds of this extra 1 ½% exceed several times the total written off. So we may conclude that this scheme, which has been such an inestimable boon to the Maori people, has not been an undue burden on the resources of the Government.