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(iv) Compensation foe Land Taken We are dissatisfied with the position which exists when land is acquired by the Government and compensation is not paid till some considerable time after the land has been taken. When land is taken compulsorily from a farmer compensation should be paid before the man is deprived of the use of the land. When the taking of portion of a property upsets the economic balance of that property, the replacement of economic balance should also be effected if possible before any portion of the land is taken. To give effect to this we believe that land required by other Departments should be taken only by the Lands Department, which should satisfy itself that these conditions have been fulfilled before handing the land over. 5. AVAILABILITY OF LAND (i) Need for Good Tenure The conditions under which Crown land is held for farming occupation are important in the availability of land for sheep-farming. If the suggestions we have brought forward are incorporated into the Land Act, 1948, we feel that these conditions will be satisfactory, and that therefore a very large area of Crown land will still be preserved for sheep-farming. (ii) Land-development The next place from which land can be made available for sheepfarming is from the undeveloped land in the possession of the Crown. There are very considerable areas of these lands, the most important probably being the quarter of a million acres of developable lands in the central pumice plateau of the North Island. Here the Lands Department has adopted a successful policy of developing such small areas as it can handle satisfactorily, and it is concentrating on this development from the northern perimeter of the plateau to give the settlement continuous contact with the farming lands to the north. The policy adopted by the Lands Department is the correct one, and, considering all the circumstances such as the availability of materials, supply of labour, difficulties of supervision and of organization, and the shortage of superphosphate, we think that the Lands Department is doing as much as it could reasonably do at present towards land development in the area. We spent some time examining one of the blocks being developed by the Lands Department at Mangakino, and wish to say that we were impressed with what we saw there. The work being done is a very great credit to the Department. It must be pointed out that this work is being done at high cost under present conditions, and that as a result a substantial write-off is necessary before the land is let out for settlement. Nevertheless, the work being done is worthwhile even under such circumstances, although we do not think the rate of development should be expanded until costs are lower in relation to values and the supply of materials and labour is much better. There is little doubt that a quarter of a million acres of land can be brought in for farming in the central pumice plateau, although it is probable that a substantial proportion of this will become dairying land. There is also probably a quarter of a million acres of gum land in North Auckland which can be developed for farming purposes, but from the nature of the country and from the high costs involved this land will more probably be used by the dairy industry, for which it is best suited, and from which the cost will be more readily recovered.