DAIRY BOARD

Hokitika Guardian, 7 September 1932, Page 8

DAIRY BOARD

EXPENDITURE IN DOMINION

REPLY TO MR lORNS

WELLINGTON, September-i-Sd

Statements made by Mr W, A. lorns, chairman of the New Zealand Dairy •Produce Board,; when, defending the admin'ntration and policy „ of : the board at Palmerston North, were replied to yesterday by Mr 0. H. Burnett, of Wanganui, who i$ a ca.ndidfctfe for election to the board 'as representative of Ward 5. Mr Burnett contended that, the annual coat of the board was out of all proportion ,to the vilue of the' work it performed, particularly in view of i,tfl present limited functions and the, existing circumstances of producers, iln an interview he said that; l.Vtr lorns ih.ad failed to give the produce™ any indication of the board’s, future policy. Farther, he. had failed to. justify the excessrv© Dominion . cost Of .bis board’s administrative policy,, under which some £28,000 of .the ljoard’s annual, levy revenue of £41,000 had been expended in the Dominio n last year. .Mr lorns had no defence to the criticism that large sums had ,been expended loca%, and which no doubt were quite meritorious, but unquestionably they covered matters that were never contemplated by th e Legislature, i>nd for iwhich the Act wag 1 never, designed. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE! The expenditure of some £28,000 in the Dominion was entirely dispropoiv tionate to the annual revenue of £41,000, in view of the fact that - the particular functions of the board were; to be devoted to selling the export over,-; seas 'in an effective manner in the interests of the Dominion. y::.;

Mr lorns, Mr Burnett continued,, wag' reported to, have said that the expenditure of £53,000 la*fc. year was most,’y non-recurring, but he had failed to give any indication of what the non*: iCOUrring. items were, or to generally: reconcile the fact that in last and past years they ordinary- expenditure of . s uch a, bpard—provided they always methodically carried 'out .. .-: th e functions ~ fob which they were elected, and-* for which : the Act contemplated—wou'lct .properly and necessarily be recurring items.- Mr Jqrns had made no reference to the fact that the reserves and accumulative account of gome £46,000 for _ the year ending July-, 1925, had been practically exhausted at an average rate of nearly £6OOO per annum, leaving only gome £SOOO of reserves available for thp board this year.

“EXCESSIVE -ANNUAL COST.

Mr Jorns was silent in regard to the excessive annual cost of the; board itself,-in view of <its (limited functions jrs ;a boamd and the existing circurh--stances of producers. Mr lorn’s statement that foreign markets were generally closed' against -New Zealand was to-worn©;.i «stewt • ‘recognised, but producers iwoiVd certainly be disappointed that th@ chairman of the board had no definite - message or.-policy- -for -producers in 'regard to future outlets for their, dairy produce, Mr 'lorns hhd indicated that it was- feasible that trade with- Japan * might eventuate, but that was gurely very, belated in- view of the detwitiea of Australia generally in the pMt. • ' ) The reserves of 46,000 held- in July, t 925; . might quite properly have been expended at the Tat© of sortie £6OOO per inniim in.; a subsidy- to a company trading In the East, without interfering with the ordinary revenues of the board. In < fact,'* .they* .could quite : wol 1 ' )|aye doubled v the . amount, and still parried on. the actual work of the board, ' j .

LEVY AND ADVERTISING

\ Mr loros had stated, that, it wad- not jtkely that the ilevy. would be increaeed ijjifa year .unless, it were for advertising, “My reply to that,” said Mr Burnett, <f is that producers will hay® to be thoroughly satisfied as to what the non-recurring items, of expenditure, are before they will,, be, convinced in regard to the position. A large business such as the Export Control Board shoufd have an eyer-increasing expenditure to cope with an eyer-increasing production, and not have to.. confess to. the position, that most, of- the expenditure- of 4153,000 last year wa 8 of a nen-recurring character,.”' .

(In, conclusion, Mr Burnett said .that both ,the Minister of Lands, Hen, E. Aj Ransom, and the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Hon. R.' pastern, had? made it clear that if export boards were unable to, establish fijrther markets a board of, r experts woiild inquire ,to be set up to do the ,'vork for them. In the meantime,; and •’t the. earliest moment, the ' producers : 'pro to have a. full* '-exposition of, the board’s stewardship and future pqlicy from, the, cha'irmair, in view „of ♦■he importance -of dairying industry to tlie producers and. the Dominion.