CLOSER SETTLEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 128, 1 June 1937, Page 12

CLOSER SETTLEMENT

MS IT JUSTIFIED?

AUSTRALIAN" INQUIRY

Both* Italy and Germany are at present striving to. improve the rale of increase of their respective populations by means of bachelor taxes, baby bonuses, and systems of preference for married men in Government employ. And yet both countries are not thinly populated .. This emphasis onihe Necessity *>ra *apid £ increasing population coupled, witn Se rapid re-a?mament programmes of many countries more than justifies tTiflmphasis placed on the sutaect^of Empire defence at the Imperial Conference now in session. Questions of population, distribution, decentralisation of industries, and so on, within the Empire'are considered as of more importance, states the Bank of New . sSSth Wales circular, if the long view is taken. But many-.discussions go little deeper than,.the immediate pioble?hOefßarnka^ew South Wales examines one important aspect of population distribution namely, he problem>:i'bf "Closer Settlement" _ Land settlement, in the' Dominions, is continually being urged on the grounds of national defence, particularly .in Australia, with "only the vaguest inquiry" as to what increase of population would ,be..necessary to improve M-he5 defences;- and under .-what^condi■tidri'S a greater population wbuld " be better able to afford increased costs of defence. THE FINE-\VOOL FACTOR. The"circular refers specifically to the problem of closer settlement in Australia and deals with • questions such as "the most desirable size of farming units," the scope for sub-diyi-sions and the cost of closer settlement. Some of the points raised, however carry a much wider significance. For example,- Australia is, and has been for many years, .the outstanding producer of fine wools. These wools have been developed by careful breeding carried out mainly by-the bigger squatters. This has- resulted! iiy a virtual monopoly of this type of wool and wool production and has meant much to Australia,, in competing with other wool-producing countries. It may be unwise',, comments the bank, to permit schemes of closer settlement gradually to lead to a replacement ..of merino :sheep by; inferior ■ crosses; especially when mnel wool is so necessary "to combat the competition of artificial fibres." Any trend away from the finer wools in Australia would affect New Zealand by increased competition for this country's crossbred wools. The bank considers that it is futile to urge closer settlement merely, because it may increase "total primary production." It is useless to produce more and then to discover that costs are higher than prices in export markets. THE BURDEN OF BOUNTIES. This has .actually taken.place in the • past in several countries and has generally resulted-in-a "heavy; burden on. the home consumer in the' form of bounties and hoiheconsumption prices, or smaller returns,'not only to the new producer, but'i'.to" those already introduction." ' .'.'V- ;■:■-! >;. . It is admitted, to' be very difficult to decide which, commodities it would be best to produce in any particular closer settlement scheme.' ''At the present time in Australia," says the circular, "far too much of the enthusiasm for renewal of closer settlement is influenced by. a false * optimism caused by recent rises in .commodity prices, especially in the case of wheat." As most of the old staples,have a comparatively restricted market it would probably pay to produce a greater variety of commodities, especially with a view to growing products "for which new uses and greater consumption are developing." The bank commends the" Australian Small • -Farms (Relief of Unemployment) ;,,< Act; 1932-33, which gives the Crown, the right to resume compulsorily a. property if the land is not being adequately used. "If this policy can be administered wisely," states the circular, "it seems to provide a more satisfactory basis for land' resumption and sub-division and, as applied to Australian conditions, it ■shows that many pastoral areas are not suitable for closer settlement."