Unwise To Bring In People To Towns

Chronicle (Levin), 26 August 1949, Page 5

Unwise To Bring In People To Towns

WELLINGTON, August 25. An assurance that the general secretaxy, Mr. A. P. O'Shea, was expressing the views of Federated Farmers, is contained in a statement tonight by Mr. W. N. Perry, Dominion president. M;.\ Perry said a considered statement on behalf of the Farmers' Union and Federated ' Farmers, was given the Parliamentary Committee on Dominion population in 1946. This policy had not heen altered by the federation. The main burden of the policy was that the bulk of New Zeal^nd's production came from farming and the majority of the people in the Dominion were living on the results of farmers' work. Under these circumstances, it would he "unwise to bring in people purely to plant them in towns. ' ' There was, to quote further from the statement, "no easy and quick methoa of expauding the population of the Dominion and at the same time successfully absorbing them into payable occupations." It would be obvious that farming conld not absorb annually SQ,000 imniigrants as the Dominion Setllement Association suggested and in agreeing to this the federation would be agreeing to put more people in the towns on a 40-hour week for the farming industry to carry. In 1946 Federated Farmers refused to advocate the lowering of living standards in the interests of greater population. This was advoeated by those who supported wholesale immigration.

The recent conference of the federation held that farm units should be big enough to give the fanner and his family reasonable living standards, education for children and enable the farmer to retire in his old age in reasonable oomfort, said Air. i>erry. That ruled out peasaut holdings. As reported, Air. O'Bhea had supported liniited but not wholesale imniigration and had actually done a good deal of work to assist it.