GUARANTEED PRICE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 July 1939, Page 6

GUARANTEED PRICE

ATTITUDE OF THE FARMERS’ UNION. (To the Editor) Sir, —In view of the fact that the Farmers’ Union attitude in regard to the guaranteed price for dairy produce has been so distorted and misrepresented, I desire to place the facts before you. The annual Dominion conference of the Union was held a fortnight ago. At this conference all matters of importance to the farmers were discussed, but there was definitely no demand or suggestion that the guaranteed price for dairy produce be ended. The remit dealing with the guaranteed price dealt solely with the price to be paid for the coming season, and endorsed the standards and conclusions as reported by the Guaranteed Price Investigation Committee (set up by the Government). The remit further stated: “That the price to be paid for the 1939-40 season should be the price recommended by the 1938 Advisory Committee, plus ascertainable increases in costs since the date of the committee’s report; but in conformity with the Union’s policy of reduction of costs, and in order to co-operate with the Government, this conference supports the offer made by the Dairy Board’s Dominion Conference to forego any increases in costs and to accept for the 1939-40 season the standards and prices recommended by the 1938 Advisory Committee.” This remit was approved and carried by the conference. When the deputation from the conference waited on several Ministers of the Crown, the only mention of the guaranteed price was again dealing with the price to be paid. After the close of the conference the Prime Minister made a statement that the Government would have to give serious consideration to ending the guaranteed price scheme. In reply to this statement, Mr Mulholland, Dominion President of the Union, stated: — (a) That he personally would welcome the return to the industry of the control of marketing. (b) That he assumed that if the Government did decide to hand back the control of the scheme to the industry, it would also gave the industry facilities for credit, mass marketing, etc., to carry on a similar scheme (c) That if Mr Savage decided to

go ahead with the proposal to end

the scheme that he should call a conference of representatives of the industry in order that the position might be thoroughly discussed.

It should bo noted that the Dominion President made no attack on the guaranteed price scheme and the tenor of his statement was in the direction of suggesting that if the Government decided to make any alteration in the scheme that a conference of all interested parties should be called as soon as possible. —Yours, etc.,

A. G. DAWSON, Chief Organiser. N.Z. Farmers’ Union Masterton, July 24.