DOMINION BUILDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1937, Page 9

DOMINION BUILDERS.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE HELD. GOVERNMENT HOI'SINt; < OKTS. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) , TIM ARC, Thursday. The annual conference of the New Zealand Federated Builders mid (mitractors' Association was o|m>hc<l In Timaru yesterday, .Mr. W. Mill, of Wellington, presiding. The delegate* \v»re welcomed hy the Mayor of Timaru, .Mr. I'. C. Vinnell. In his presidential address Mr. Mill referred to the Government housing scheme. He said the builders appreciated the action of the (iovernnienl in having associated with it the Institute of Architect*, in the preparation of plans, but. ho could not help thinking it would have been wiser had it sought, the co-opera-tion of builders and, through their executive, submitted an average design in order to ascertain the possible cost liefore committing itself to such an important and expensive policy. Private undertakings elsewhere had adopted a somewhat similar action liefore finally committing themselves to a major scheme, said Mr. Mill. The Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, tol.l thein in an address at the last conference that "a very decent house could be built for £750, and the man who lakes a more expensive proposition places hiin- *!' .'n a t n impossible position." If the Minister's words were worth anything at all, it looked as though the building venture of th« Government would menu failure. It appeared, added Mr. Mill, that the trouble lay not with the idea of t lie Government. to provide very necessary houses, but with an uncalled for and more elaborate thing than was justified. Jhe confurence decided to H sk t lie .ovcrnment, with a view to reducing building costs, to remove the sale* tax. Smaller Contracts Urged. The conference carried the following resolution: — "ThU conference views with concern the apparently alarming increase j„ building costs as revealed in the Govern inent's housing scheme, and is of opinion that the system of tendering, with one master schedule controlling the price* „f every individual article in each of .'{K.'i separate bills of quantities for recent, contracts has been largely conducive to this increase, together with the elimination of comjh*titive tendering from work ing home builders due to the fact that groups of 20 houses in each contract, were beyond the capital resources of those builders. In the interests of the public and the building industry the conference urges on the Government the desirability of reducing the si/.c of con tracts to a maximum of five houses in each and the abolition of the master •schedule."

Air. W. J'etrie (Tinmen) wni urmni inotisly eleetcil president. Other ollieprs elected were:— Nice-president, Mr. .1. W. Andrews (Lower Hutti; execut ivc Messrs. W. I'arkin, W. (lurk, a! Fletcher and <i. I)i< k (Wellington e\ oflieio member* .if the executive, A. Km Her (Wellington). V. Coyle (Auck Ih ikli, X. WcM) (('liri*(.church i. nn<l l>. O't onnell ( Duned in | ; honoiii rv auditors, Mes*r«. A. H. Kmscr «inl I'. ( . Wjiii ( Wellington 1 ; trustees. Messrs. W. I'arkin nnd W. Mill ( Wellington i ; repic scntativp on New Zealand Kmplo\pi*' Kedern t ion advisory hoard, Mr. W. Mill I Wellinjjt on I.

It was 14 ] <>< 1 to ac<-cpt fhc in til :i t ion of tin' I'ii Inier-t on N'ortli Wsnrja ti>'ii to hold tin' 11 <■\ t. t'oiifci I'lnr in t. hi) I ( it V.