Federated Farmers' Views On Immigration

Chronicle (Levin), 23 August 1949, Page 4

Federated Farmers' Views On Immigration

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WELLINGTON, AUgUst 23. Yiews sharply divefging from almost every other delegate were expressed by -the secretary bf Federated Farmers, Mr. A. P. O'Shea, at a conference in Wellington today of bodies interested in immigration, called by the Domihion Settlement and Population Association. Mr. O'Shea said that New Zealand had about 42,000,000 *acres of land. Of this, 10,000,000 were barren, useless or in forest, 20,000,000 were poor land, and 10,000,000 fertile land, of which 9,000,000 were made fertile by the farmers' efforts. It was not generally realised, said Mr. O'Shea, . that . there were 25,000,000 acres of good land in the United Kingdom. On presentday costs it was impossible to increase the fertility of the land, and that was one reason for the sheep farming commission. ' What New Zealand had to examine, continued Mr. O'Shea, was her ratio of resources to population. Her resources were mainly the ability toj grow grass and trees and she had the highest producdvity per head in the World. "If - we have a big population in New Zealand eating. more of our produce, how are we to get overseas funds for industry?" asked Mr. O'Shea. Suggestions for smaller farms had been made, he said, but smaller farms did not have a high productive ratio. An objection to an intensive immigration scheme was that it presupposed a large population on a peasant basis. "As far as farmers are concerned, it is not a greater population we want but a greater will to work," he said. "The labour shortage is not population shortage but a shortage of work by the existing population. New Zealand's resources, dutside her ability to grow trees and grass, are very small. It is avoiding the issue to talk of immigration when what is needed is more work,"- * conciuded Mr. O'Shea. Mr. G. C. McCaul (Associated Chambers of Commerce) said it was more economic to have more people in New Zealand eating food . produced here and producing other goods than to export food for consumption overseas, bringing back to New Zealand goods produced overseas. Dr. E. N. Merrington, (United Nations Association) doubted whether Mr. O'Shea spoke for the farmers as a whole. Mr. O'Shea replied that they were views he submitted to a Parliamentary Committee on Immigration and were supported by a conference of Federated Farmers. "If you want peasant population, we don't. That is the view of our members." Sir Howard Kippenberger (N.Z.R.SA.) said: "You want to keep the highest standard of living in the world— you will not be allowed to do it when you go before a United Nations Court in thirty or forty years' time."