NOXIOUS WEEDS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 371, 4 November 1932, Page 6

NOXIOUS WEEDS

FARMERS CONSIDER GOVT. IS SHIRKING ITS DIlTY SHELVING RESPONSIBILITY (From Our District Representative.) "The Government is deliberately trying to* shirk its responsibilities in passing on the working of the Noxious Weeds Act to the municipal and county authorities," said Mr. W. Bradshaw, at yesterday's meeting of the executive of the Opotiki branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. In outlining the position, Mr. Bradshaw quoted Section 11 of the Noxious Weeds Act which stated that the responsibility for having the weeds cleared from unoceupied land lay with the Minister. With the present attempt to shoulder the working of the Act on to the local bodies, contended the speaker, the Government was actually eating* its own words for it was endeavouring on the one hand to pass on more work to the local boddies and on the other was claiming that there were too many local bodies and was talking of amalgamating some of them. In any case, said Mr. .Bradshaw, the local bodies had too much to do already and they were overburdened. Mr. J. R. Jurd: "That'll mean another Royal Commission, I suppose." Mr. Bradshaw: "Well, I think the Government is doing its best to shirk its responsibilities and I think we ought to make'a protest." The chairman, Mr. A./ Martin, mentioned that he thought that the local bodies were already responsible for the supervision of the land which was already settled but that the action in connection with Crown lands lay with the Government. Mr. James Dunlop's opinion, was that the matter of the launehing of a prosecution under the Act lay with the Stock Inspeetor who referrod the question to the Minister. The chairman said that he would second Mr. Bradshaw's motion of protest for he thought that it would be a good thing for the union to make its voice heard over the matter. Mr. Dunlop averred that the question was becoming one of serious import to the district. It was absolutely essential that the noxious weeds must be kept down and he had noticed that where in the past there had oeen small patches, these were now spreading. It was decided to forward a remit on these lines to the sub-provincial executive which is to meet shortly in Te Puke.