PURCHASES OF ESTATES

Hokitika Guardian, 2 September 1929, Page 2

PURCHASES OF ESTATES

HEAVY LOSSES.

REFORM GOVERNMENT TRANSACTIONS.

WELLINGTON, Aug. 30

The Reform Government evidently lost heavily on the purchase of Walker Brothers’ Maruia estate and Messrs Balfour Kinnear and Davis’s Matakitaki estate. 1 ’’

During the sessions of 1927-28, the Hon. H. Atmore, as member for Nelson( repeatedly attempted to get a statement of the losses incurred in regard to the purchase of these estates for soldier settlement, but the Reform Party refused to give the particulars. Last evening, in the House of Representatives, Mi' Atmore gave the figures, and in doing so remarked that although the Reform Party in 1912 had stated that if they could get the pigeon holes for twenty-four hours they would stagger New Zealand, they had been in charge of all the documents for sixteen years hut had failed to discover one transaction discredihle to the Liberal Government. He further said that, although the present United Governmeiit had only been in power a tew months, a perusal of the documents revealed many serious blunders on the part of the Reform Government.

Reading from an official document, Mr Atmore showed that Walker Bros, estate was bought in 1920 for £40,000. Subdivision and other costs had added £4430. When the estate was thrown open for ballot, no applications were received and the cost of the estate had been repeatedly written down until to-day it stood on the books of the Lands Deportment as being valued at only £10,175. The Balfour, ICinnear and Davis estate was purchased for £25,714. Subdivision -and other costs increased this sum to £34,170. This was equally unprofitable as a purchase, and to-day this property, which had cost £34.170, stood on the books valued at £9910. The capital cost of these two estates amounted to £7B 600, said Mr Atmore. The amount written off the two properties was £58,515, and in addition to this must be added the interest on the purchase money. After giving these figures, Mr Atmore declared that he had ceased to wonder at the Reform Party being afraid to make these particulars public. He showed by a quotation from the Public Acounts Report that over £7,000,000 bad been written off the land purchases made by the Reform Government, and be suggested that, if honourable members would move for returns, similar cases of bungling and wicked waste of the people’s money in land purchases by the late Government would be revealed.