FARMING PROBLEMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 April 1939, Page 3

FARMING PROBLEMS

HILL=COUNTR¥ DETERIORATION RELIEF FROM TAXATION DESIRED. GOVERNMENT ASKED TO ACT. That economic reasons, not bad farming methods, was the cause of hill country deteriorating in the North Island, was the opinion expressed at a rally of farmers at Makirikiri at which representatives of the whole of the North Island, with the exception of the East Coast was represented. It was the opinion of the meeting that unless the Government did something to ease the economic burden on the farmer the standard of living in New Zealand would fall. “(a) That as a short-term policy to give immediate relief, land taxation, including hospital and county rating, be abolished. “(b) That as a long-term policy, internal costs be based on farming income.” “(c) That the Government be requested to undertake a comprehensive survey of the broken hill country and classify it, according to its quality, into: (1) Land that can be permanently held in production. (2) Marginal land that can be held with some measure of assistance.

(3) Areas that have gone, or will eventually go, out of production. “That with respect to class three, a policy of gradual abandonment of the areas should be adopted and the land either planted with exotic-trees of allowed to revert to native forest.” ~ ,

Speakers, who included the Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, Mr W. W. Mulholland, of Canterbury, said that the people in the cities and towns did not appreciate the position and looked upon the farmer as wanting something for himself. PLEDGE MOT CARRIED OUT. “The Government came into office pledged to put, the farmers’, position right,” said Mr Mulholland. “The Farmers’ Union claims that the Government has failed to, carry out that pledge. Not only has.it failed.in that, but it is untrue to its own policy and is neglecting the farming industry—shall I say deliberately. I almost feel that that word is justified.” The speaker said that some time ago representatives of the union met the Prime Minister and other Miriisters of the Crown to see if some remedy for the farmers’ plight could be found. The Prime Minister had given a sympathetic hearing, but others had spoken in a way not so satisfying. The Minister of Larids', for iristarice, had suggested something of a departmental enquiry into technical details., “The solution of those technical details can be found by the farmers themselves if their economic position is found,” Mr Mulholland stated. “The return from land today, especially the land held by the sheep farmer, is not sufficient to meet expenses. There is not sufficient income to allow him to meet his expenses and allow sufficient expenditure on the maintenance of his farm so that it will produce to the maximum of its capacity. There is a big section of the community, because of the Government’s policy, which is being forced into organisations. . That section is said to total 250,000, who, through force of necessity, are, organised. Unless the farmers are organised more and more of their gains will be taken to support that portion of the population which does, not add to the sum, of production. If those people, are to get more from the total pool of production we will get less.” COSTS TOO HIGH. Mr Mulholland said that the belief had grown up that the farmer was getting everything for himself arid that wrong view had to be corrected. “What is the cause of the present position of the farmer?” he asked. “Are prices so bad as to create a crisis? Over a standard measured by the years you have to admit that they are not. By a criterion of years our prices are riot at such a low ebb as to be critical. It is on the other side of the ledger that the trouble lies. Costs are at such a level that we cannot meet them. What are costs? They can be divided into three main items: (1) The things the farmer has to buy outside his farm; (2) the direct wages he has to pay; (3) his payments to the Government. Somebody will say that I have left out interest and rent. It is the fourth dimension in costs today, but there are sc many farms that cannot afford to pay one penny of rent or interest,

“There is the effect of Government policy on the things a farmer has to buy outside his farm, and there is an effect too on the wages he pays, but of all these increasing costs it is what the Government is taking from us that is the greatest burden and trial to the' farmer. Consider the position as you see it individuany, what you pay in direct taxation—rates, land tax, income tax —and you will find that it will pay a considerable portion of your wages bill. I would not be surprised if it exceeded 50 per cent of the wages you pay. If you were relieved of Government demands today you could pay 50 per cent of the wages, and I think 1 am understating the case. Some of the charges trie Government makes, of course, are justifiable, but there arc quite a number which are crippling the farmer and crippling New Zealand. “The position is so serious that these costs must be removed. This is not the only district to feel the strain and stress of the position. I have been sitting on the lid in some places to keep the steam from bubbling out, including your own district, and I am glad that you held your hand long enough to give the Government a chance to examine the position. Now you have held your hand long enough and you must demand that the Government get going. REAL ACTION WANTED. “It will not be sufficient if the Government is going to continue to find something that is just a platitude,” Mr Holland said. “We must have real action. We must make the Government realise that these are not just words, but that the position is serious for New Zealand. The whole community must be made to realise that also. We as farmers seem to be standing alone, the. rest of the community looking at us if not in a hostile manner at least with

indifference. Why? It is partly our own fault. When the depression came certain things had to be done to keep the farmer on the. land. The rest of the community looked on what .was done as gifts to the farmer . . . The mortgage adjustment commissions were still referred to as farmers’ adjustment commissions. As a matter of fact they are commissions for adjusting the mortgages of the whole country. The guaranteed price is looked upon as a gift to the farmers. So far it has not been a gift, and does not look like being one. , SIJ .... “The rest of the community! feels that it is being looted by the farmers. I do not think that is too strong a. term to use. We must so plan our actions and our words that we do not, perpetuate the idea, to show that when we are asking for these things we are thinking of the welfare of the whole .Dominion, not one section of it. If the farmer cannot produce at the high standard of the past the standard of living in this country is going to fall, and the public, itself will lose." Mr J. J. Lissette,, who presided, said that the swing of the pendulum during the past , four years had placed the sheep farmer almost in the position farm. Where previously the farmer’s income and welfare depended on overseas prices and internal costs. The hillcountry man had been suffering for some time and now the country was being hit. The flat country was rapidly reaching the position where it would be unable to obtain. breeding ewes for the black-face lamb trade, while at the same lime it would, have to pay the rates and taxes of the hill country as well as its own.