Time Not Ripe for New Land Policy

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 155, 21 September 1927, Page 9

Time Not Ripe for New Land Policy

RAGLAN BY-ELECTION HON. A. D. McLEOD AT WAIUKU (Special to THE SUN.) WAIUKU. To-day. No purpose could be served by encouraging more men to go on the land until the position of those already there was improved, said the Hon. A. D. McLeod at Waiuku last evening. When that had been done it would be time to cast around for a new land policy. The Minister of Lands stoutly defended the Government’s land policy in his address in support of the Reform candidate for the Raglan byelection. He belaboured verbally those who made capital out of the stringency that was forcing men to walk off their farms. Had butter-fat been worth 2s a lb., some of the most mortgaged farmers would have had to give up. • But 816 out of 1,720 applications for revaluations since last season had been dealt with, and £237,000 capital value and £43,765 in rent and interest had been written off. Ordinary revaluations were giving satisfaction. In Waikato County there were only 73 objectors in 2,700 assessments.

LAND SETTLEMENT The valuation department was rapidly increasing its efficient staff, said Mr. McLeod, who stated his unwillingness to be hustled into the past error of having rush valuations made by an overworked staff. If he were able to find suitable men to make the investigation he would have appointed the commission advocated by the Land Settlement and Development League. The question would have to stand over until the end of the present session. One of the greatest problems to-day was the burden of local taxation. Farmers were paying in road maintenance rates far more than commensurate with the amount of their traffic. Cabinet was looking into the question for if a solution was not soon found the system would collapse under its own weight. STATE ADVANCES

In the last four and a-half years the State Advances Department had advanced more than in the previous 29 years. Since April 1, 1927, the department had made available £1,670,000. Loans for advances were a good inter-est-paying investment, better for instance than the Labour Government’ in Australia had gone in for. Attacking the Labour platform, Mr. McLeod accused that party of keeping a judicious silence about tlie five-day week of 40 hours, when Labour was wooing the rural voter, and with not carrying its gospel of 10s a week family endowment into the country.