SOLDIER FARMERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20919, 20 October 1942, Page 2

SOLDIER FARMERS

PLANS OUTLINED CARE IN "SELECTION TRAINING IF NEEDED (P.R.) WELLINGTON, this day. While stressing the importance of the' rehabilitation of returned soldiers even before victory is won, Mr, E. L. Cullen (Lab., Hawke’s Bay) gave a clear and comprehensive outline of what is proposed regarding land settlement in the House of Representatives yesterday. He said that during the last war and after the war was over a large number of returned men were placed on the land, and it turned out that a number of them were not suited for farm W Mr. W. S. Goosman (Nat., Waikato): Weren’t the failures' worth the suecesses^ Mr. Cullen: They have been a great deal of help to the Rehabilitation Board. There is no doubt about that. A returned man should not be debarred from making application for land Mr. Cullen continued. These would be left in the hands of local committees in the men’s own districts to advise as to the capabilities of the applicants. If it were found that they were men who could go on the land without further training, the. onus would be upon the Rehabilitation Council and the board to get land for these men. If the selection committee considered that an applicant required more training or assistance, or even total training in farming, he woulq Ihen be sent to the'Wairarapa training farm or to a property at Tauranga. Use of Training Farms

Mr. Cullen said that the Wairarapa farm would be used for training men in dairy farming, sheep farming, wool • classing, and the raising of pigs and • poultry. The Tauranga farm would.be, used principally for training men for dairy farms, including the handling of a few sheep. . A fair amount of agricultural work would be taught and possibly poultry raising. When a farm was established in the'South Island it would be principally for training in diversified .farming. The best land was required, Mr. Cullen said. There were many areas in the Dominion which could be easily cut up.' In some places there were areas not being fully utilised, and it' was the responsibility of the Government to see that such land was put" to full use. This applied to properties owned by Maoris, the Crown, and by Europeans. Some of the best river flats in New Zealand, were growing rushes and weiwei. It was also necessary where men were placed on the land that they should be able to get an immediate income. Men in training, would be paid for the time they were under instruction. It was the intention of the board to develop land, returned men being employed and later placed . on the land so that they could get an income from the time of occupation. ’ No Exorbitant Prices

In stressing the fact that exorbitant prices would hot -be paid for land, Mr. Cullen said that land in Hawke’s Bay had been offered to the Government at £135 an acre, and'the whole" property would only run 30 No soldier could'make a living with land at. that price. Assistance was to be given 'to returned soldiers for the acquisition of land up to £3500, Mr. Cullen added, and for stock and chattels up to £ISQO, making a maximum of £SOOO, about £2OOO more than was given to the returned'soldiers after the last wgiyA" Mr. A. S. Sutherland (Nat., Haurakil strongly urged the right of returned servicemen to the freehold of the land which they were asked to .protect These men should not be settled under the small farms development scheme, as this was only introduced to cure unemployment. If the Rehabilitation Board took care in the selection of its loqal committees all difficulties over land values would :be overcome, but one problem to be tackled was that men would return tired •of city life and wish to go farming, though, they had no experience. They should be given training in the State’s development of lands scheme. Mr. A. S. Richards . (Lab., Roskill) declared that those who called for the freehold should not overlook the very small percentage of freeholders who really held a free title. After 16 years of Governments which professed to represent the farmer, a report was presented to Parliament disclosing that 90 per cent of the farming community was bankrupt. . Mr. Goosman: What was the percentage of leaseholders? Mr. Richards added that all the farmers got for their freehold was that hanks and capitalists got away with the results. ' 1 Mr. Sutherland: They doubled production in that time.