HON. 0. J. HAWKEN PREACHES OPTIMISM

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 66, 9 June 1927, Page 6

HON. 0. J. HAWKEN PREACHES OPTIMISM

A BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR PRIMARY PRODUCERS (.Special to THE SUN.) ELTHAM. Wednesday. The Hon. O. J. Hawken, Minister of Agriculture, who has been paying a visit to his electorate, left for Wellington this morning. To THE SUN’S special representative he said he intended introducing a Fertiliser Bill during the coming session. “This is a Bill which I think is very important to the farming community,” he explained. It was a new Bill to protect farmers in buying their manure. He hoped .to have the old regulations under which fertiliser was sold amended so that the law with regard to the sale of fertilisers would be improved. Another Bill he will introduce will be an amendment to the Noxious Weeds Act. “It would take half a page to describe it,” said Mr. Hawken, “but it will certainly improve the law with regard to the better control of noxious weeds.” Questioned regarding the changes in the Egmont electorate he said it would not make much difference to him. “In a way it has destroyed the community of interest very largely. This is now a purely dairying electorate, whereas the part lost to Patea is largely sheep country.” Mr. Hawken takes an optimistic view of the prospects of the primary producers generally and condemns the pessimistic prophecies of a bad season. • People talk very wildly and foolishly about the payments for butter-fat,” he said. In reference.to pay-outs by the , Dairy Board, he thought it quite likely the season would end up very much better than had been anticipated. Meat and fruit prices were satisfactory and those industries were keeping up production well. There was no need to import much wheat. # It was foolish to prophesy a bad season before knowing the real position. So far as the dairy industry was concerned the board had cleared up mess of the carry-over, which was very good business. There was a certain amount of stock on hand, but not as great as last year, and the prospects for the future were more satisfactory.