MEAT INDUSTRY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 162, 1 October 1941, Page 3

MEAT INDUSTRY

DEALING WITH SURPLUS

SPREADING THE LOSS

During a general discussion at the last meeting of the Auckland Farmers' Union Executive, following a report by Mr C. A. Moore, Chairman of the Meat Committee of the Union, and Mr Briscoe Moore, a member of the Electoral College of the Meat Board, reference was made to a suggestion that some sort of agreement might be arrived at on behalf of farmers whereby the loss sustained over particular classes of stock should be made up by owners of other classes.

It was noted that whereas the ph rase "spreading the loss as equitably as possible over the whole community" had been used in the original promise given by the Government concerning this matter, the Minister of Marketing in his address at the annual meeting of the Meat Board had used the following wording :

"It is our intention to stand behind the industry and to ensure that sacrifices which the industry may have to make shall be on an equality, as far as possible, with other sections of the community."'

It was pointed out by Mr Briscoe Moore that a very different interpretation could be taken from tlii3' wording, as compared with the original unqualified promise. He hoped that the original undertaking would be fairly interpreted, and emphasised that the anticipated loss was. entirely due to enemy action, and that there was, therefore, every ground for treating it as a national and not a sectional responsibility. Subsequent to the discusison the following resolution was carried :

"That this Executive is strongl\ r opposed to any suggestion of a pooling scheme within the meat industry to offset the loss caused by the war upon any particular class of meat. We would point out that any such loss is a national matter due to the war and that the Government has already promised that the loss should be spread as equitably asi possible over the whole community. Pooling within the industry would be a betrayal of that policy and avoulci automatically throw the loss wholly upon a group of xiroducers already seriously prejudiced by the difficulty of carrying on their industry with fixed prices and rising costs."