CONTROLLING RAGWORT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 86, 3 July 1945, Page 5

CONTROLLING RAGWORT

PAID M4QRI LABOUR FARMERS' UNION ENQUIRY Writing the Whakataiic County Council the Auckland Branch of the N.Z. tanners' Union asked for confirmation tligt some Maoris owning their mvn property s not under the Native Schemes, have been granted free .sodium and paid 25/- a day for using it on their own properties. II this was the case then it wns. understandable that the Maoris came under the Scheme were disgruntled jthat they should not have similar privileges, even though to grant them would be to open the way for general distribution to everybody. If the position was as outlined the Native Minister might be. able to do something about it.

Cr McCracken said the Council had no option but to clear unindividualised native, lands and Crown lands. It had tried through the court to hav.e the Maoris held responsible for the work but without •success'. Cr Burt explained that the difficulty in sheeting it home to the true owners of Native lands, lay in the fact that most of it was joint owned by people living in all parts of the county. The chairman said that the Council had for a long time maintained that Maori land owners should have the same responsibilities as pakehas but legally it was not so.

Cr McCrpady contended that as a result of that position obtaining dozens of Maori properties were cleaned up annually of ragwort by paying the Maoris to do it themselves. Cr Butler considered it would be folly to stop tlx epractice as it was the only way in which the weed on ed. If it ceased there would be a ed. If it ceased therew ould be a growing menace to adjoining pakelia [ lands. ! Cr Burt: You can't sell up a Maori as you can a pakeha. Cr McCready: That is the position the Farmers' Union want to clean up. The Chairman: If you can tell me a method whereby you can enforce a Maori landowner to carry out his responsibilities under existing legislation I'll be glad. We all have to admit that it is. far from satisfactory.

The. Clerk stated that there were very few sole-owners on Native land in the County. It was decided that the New Zealand Farmers' Union be advised that *it is not the practice of the Council to pay Native labourers to clear their own lands at the Council's expense—that it is possible for a Maori ragwort gang employee who occupies an unindividualised Native property as a member of a ragwort to clear ragwort from the unindividualised Native section he occupies— that the rate of pay is £1 Os 6d pep day, not 25/r as mentioned in the Farmers' Union letter—that the Council has repeatedly represented to the Government that Maori occupiers of unindividualised Native lands should lie responsible on the same basis as for clearing noxious weeds.