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FEDERAL PLAN.
MR. LEMMON'S VIEWS.
Growers' "M1isunderstanding.'
Commenting on the Premiers'
decision to accept the principles
of the wheat stabilisation scheme,
Mr. Nelson Lemmon, M.H.R, said
yesterday that he was of the
opinion that it could only bring
satisfaction to the industry. He
could not understand the attitude
of many growers in this State in
opposing the scheme, as they lad
been advocating the stabilisation
of the Industry for the past 20
yeam.
This, he said, was because they did
not understand the plan, and the
leaders of the industry in this State
had not endIeavoured to explain the
advantages of the scheme. but, in
fact, had endeavoured to confuse the
:sition.
The secretary of the W. and'
W.G.U, in criticising the plan, bad
sitated that the alteration made by
the Government in relation to sor.
and Lot would be 3d. per bushel,
and, on 3,000 bushels, meant ap
proximately £1 a week to the farm
?s' income. First, at 3d. per bushel,
this would not amount to £52 per1
annum but to £37 and, secondly, to
stimate 3d. for the cost from for.
to L?b. was to -work on the extreme,
as the figure used by the depart
ment was one halfpenny, which was
the amount it cost at some of the
West Austmlian ports today under
high handling costs.
Mr. Lemmon said he used 7-8d.
per bushel, as that was the highest
cost of any port in this state, and,
as it was under wartime charges, it
would naturally be reduced. Using
the most conservative figure, the
cost on 3,000 bushels would be
£10/18/9, instead of approximately
£52 as claimed by Mr. Rooke.
The main reason the Government
desired to continue with the faob.
basis was because of legal advice
tended to the Government that, if it
became necessary to use certain of
its export powers to implement the
scheme, it would have to be worked
on an Lob. basis.
The Debt Quetion.
"Mr. K. E. Jones, president of the
wheat section of the Primary Pro
ducers' Association, raises the main
objection that the wheat industry is
heavily in debt and quotes the low
price years as the reason." Mr. Lem
mon proceeded. "This is what the
Government desires to avoid. Does
Mr. Jones consider the best policy
s to try to get out of debt in one
or two years, and then start another
process of getting into debt and 'have
a recurrence of wheat strikes, wheat
hold-ups, no cropping campaigns,
etc.?
"Mr. Jones refers to exploitation,
of soll fertility. The best means of
maintaining soil fertility is by
eady organsed production and
mixed farming. This is what the
scheme encourages, whereas without
ontrol, and with boom prices in high
price years, .farmers rush into
straight wheat growing and contin
ual cropping, which can only result
in exploitation of the fertility of the
soil. This is the worst thing that
could happen to Western Australi,
large areas of which carry such a
eail amount of top soil.
"For 10 yars prior to the war
during 1931 to 1940--the average
price was 3/44 per bushel ports.
Since Federation, the average price,
has been 4/5} per bushel ports,
whereas, under the scheme, the
lowest price to which It would be
allowed to recede is 5/2 per bushel
port.
"Mr. Jones further states that the
policy of wheat prices is, to a great
extent, controlled by exporting coun
tries,, and if they have not learnt
the lesson of low pleces, then the
future is black indeed. With this
entirely agree, and as Australia sup
plies 18 per cent of the world's ex
port wheat. we are vitall concerned
and are endeavouring to get an in
ternational agreement The scheme,
which guarantees a basic price, does.
not take anything away from the1
industry. When the price exceeds
5/2 the percentage paid into the
fund will be held in the growers'i
trust, and after two or three years,
when the Government and the in
dustry will have a better idea of the
world wheat position, and, in fact,
may then have an international
agreement, a review of the whole]
scheme can then take place. The I
payments into the fund may be
adjusted in accordance with the-cir-'
cumstances by agreement between
the growers and the Government.
Conusttattenam Aspect.
"r. Diver submits that It is un
constitutional to place the present
crop in the scheme," Mr. Lemmon
said. "This was agreed to by the
growers, and asthere are no de
ductions made by the Government
from the growers other than their
own trust account, which will remain
the property of the grower, I fall to
see any constitutional issue. Mr..
Diver infers that because the grow
ers of Western Australia received
£500,000 commensation they had lost
£2,o000,000. This is entirely without
foundation, for at no time since
acreage restriction has been in opera
tion have growers cropped the area
they were entitled to. The follow
ing sets out the licensed area grow-j
ers were entitled to crop, the crop
sown, and the ares which farmers
failed to crop.
Lcensed. Crop sown. Not crowed.
Acres. 9Acre. Acres.
1942-43 , LBI ..000 1,753.000 65.000
1943-44 .. 840888 1,632.000 308.888
1944-45 .. .. . . 1951453 1.505.23 446.316
1945-46 2.580.462 1.912.024 668.438
For the 1945 sowing, Mr. Lemmon
said, there was no restriction what
ever, and growers could apply for
whatever area they considered they
could crop. Although they applied
for 2,580,462 acres, they only cropped
1,912,024, which showed a deficiency
of 868,438 acres. In the three years
of restriction grower failed by
820,204 acres to crop what they were
permitted to do. Therefore, this
failure was not on account of acre
age restriction, but was caused
through wartime conditions, such as
shortage of manpower and super
phosphate, and seasonal coditions.
Mr. Diver was well aware of this,
yet he still desired to misrepresent
the position. Growers had nothing
to lose and, at the worst, to use
Mr. Diver's terms, it would be a
scheme of deferred payments with
a maximum price which could not
be removed.
In view of what he teruled "the
misunderstanding of the scheme and
the confusion being caused by in-i
iterests not sympathetic to thej
Sgrower," Mr. Lemmon proposes to
visit all the main wheat-growing
centres, commencing at Gnowan
gerup on February 11 and mnishing
at Carnamah on February 23, to
discuss the plan direct with the
growers
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