FOOD FOR BRITAIN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 20, 15 November 1948, Page 4

FOOD FOR BRITAIN

Sir, —Even though Britain achieves her objective to increase production of food, by 20 per cent during the next five years, she would still have to import food for 20 to 25 million people. In this desperate drive for more food British farmers were paid last year an average price of 25£d a lb fdr mutton. As an added incentive to produce more they are subsidised £4 an acre for every acre ploughed that has been, in grass three years, £3 fdr every heifer calf and £4 for every steer calf that reaches the age of 12 months. Why, then, should New Zealand farmers be forced to sell their products at prices very much below those paid to British, Canadian and Irish farmers? v ;

Last year NeW Zealand farmers were paid a top price of 11 l-8d a lb only for prime lamb and then insult was added to injury by arbitarily compelling them to subsidise local consumers to the tune of nearly £4,000,0G|0, including a £500,000 subsidy for margarine manufacturers—our competitors. And don’t forget the corffiscation of the £28,000,000 lump sum payment that rightly belongs to the farming industry. This specious policy of the Labour Government deliberately designed to stifle private enterprise and private ownership, injures not only New Zealand farmers, but also the economy of the whole country and denies Britain the food her people so urgently need. The hungry British in full employment and witn plenty of money in their pockets would much prefer to pay higher prices and get more food than pay Hess and not get enough to eat. Had '/a commonsense incentive policy been adopted at the outset of the war to expand our primary industries, New Zealand would today be exporting at least 50 per cent more food to’Britain. Unfortunately owing to the" restrictive and discriminative policy adopted against our farmers by the Labour Government the increase in the production of food .in New Zealand since 1939 is only 9 per cent, whereas in the United States, where incentive prices prevail, the increase is. 38 per cent. The cavalier manner in which the Minister of Marine insisted on treating the 51,000 country people in Otago under the terms of his recent Harbours Amendment Bill despite their protests, is another typical example of the unfairness and partiality of the Labour Government. To all New Zealanders who believe in fair play and impartial administration one can with confi-. dence say, “It’s time for a change." , Yours etc., R. S. THOMPSON, * Wether stones, Otago.