Govt. Attacked Over Works

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31084, 13 June 1966, Page 14

Govt. Attacked Over Works

(From Our . Own Reporter) TIMARU, June 12. By its failure to authorise the Meat Board to finance the balance required by the South Island Fertiliser Company for its proposed co-opera-tive fertiliser works, the Government had broken faith with the' company, and all the farmers who had pledged support to it, said the member of Parliament for Timaru (Sir Basil Arthur) in a statement yesterday. In a letter to the board, dated June 20, the Minister gave a firm commitment on behalf of the Government that approval to use pool reserve funds for this purpose would be forthcoming, provided farmers in the area gave a firm undertaking to subscribe £400,000 within 12 months of the allotment of shares, this being one-quarter of the estimated total costs, the statement said. “The Minister, in reply to

my questions in Parliament on June 3, said that ‘subsequent to this approval being given, the electoral committee of the Meat and Wool Board and Federated Farmers’ made it perfectly clear that enterprises supported by the industry reserve fund must be capable of operating successfully on a competitive price basis.’

“This answer is absolutely unacceptable. Does the Minister expect me to believe that any decision of the Government or commitment made by the Government through himself as Minister of Agriculture, or any other minister, is subject to these organisations not passing any negating resolutions? “Surely not,” he said. “The South Island Fertiliser Company was given a firm commitment, and on this basis conducted its successful canvass of farmers for support. It is now over to the Government to , honour this commitment,” said Sir Basil Arthur. He said he agreed entirely with Mr W. B. Trotter who described the terms set the company as the toughest that could be thought up. “It is now obvious that the

Government felt confident that the terms were so harsh that the company had been set an impossible task. Mr Trotter’s warning to the Government to ‘stop selling farmers out to big business’ is timely and justified. The Government’s failure to grant immediate approval for the project is nothing short of a blatant and dishonourable breach of an agreement. “The insipid comments of the member of Parliament for Waitakl (Mr A. D. Dick) can be dismissed as waffling humbug. He knows as well as 1 know that the section of the Minister’s letter to the Meat Board referring to a possible joint venture was not made known to the directors of the South Island Fertiliser Company, and in any case does not affect the firm commitment given in the letter on behalf of the Government,” said Sir Basil Arthur.

“I am now led to believe that the Meat Board replied to the Minister of Agriculture on June 3, the day on which he answered my question, and has again recommended that funds will be made available for this project,” he said. In the light of this information, he had tabled a further question to be answered next Thursday, the statement said. The question is: Will the Minister confirm that the Meat Board has again recommended to him that pool reserve funds be used to finance the balance required for the establishment of a co-operative fertiliser works in South Canterbury, and if so why is approval still being with-held? “The Government’s present stalling and obvious reluctance to honour its agreement and grant approval for the balance of the finance is intolerable,” said Sir Basil Arthur.