Government Land Policy Criticised By Bay Farmers

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 65, 5 July 1950, Page 5

Government Land Policy Criticised By Bay Farmers

If the Government pursued its present land policy there would be no further land broken-in, was the opinion expressed by the president of the Bay of Plenty Sub-Province of Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Auckland Province), Mr R. W. Dunning, ,at the meeting of the executive.

Mr Dunning maintained that farmers who had previously offered land for rehabilitation purposes and whose offers' had been refused were now under the threat of losing their land by compulsion. As long as this policy was adhered to farmers would not break-in land as they would, be in fear of losing it. The fact that there was no agricultural representative on the Board of Trade was also referred to by Mr Dunning when he told the conference that this question would probably be taken up after the Dominion conference of the federation.

Farmers were not happy about the position in general and the policy of land acquisition in particular. Apparently they were not going to get what it was thought they would after the change of Government, he added. • To all intents and purposes the Government was refusing to discuss any points of legislation with any organisation whatsoever, said Mr G. G. King (Rangitaiki). They were going to govern the way they thought fit. The line of attack on this policy should, he thought, be the right of consultation.

It was very disturbing, said the president.. He thought it wrong that the Government should make promises and not keep them. He deplored the fact that details of land valuation could not be obtained.