GOVERNMENT DUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 172, 22 July 1940, Page 6

GOVERNMENT DUTY.

At the present time thousands of working people are forced to find exorbitant rents for flats and ro.ms, ovrin" to the shortage of houses. The Government, we know, are carrying on with the State housii';! scheme, but this does not sol.-e the present acute problem, e.g., the preseit plight of the. small wage earner lo.iii>cll.-.; to find these high r?nts. I notice that the Government need £(53,000 every three months to save the housewives paying an extra Jd per pound on sugar. Surely housewives would not mind finding this extra Id per noroid for sugar and thereby save that "extra taxation, provided they were able to save 10/ to £1, which now goes in extra rent. This is a problem wh'.ca mast be met immediately.

I have been reading with interest the recent letters regarding the letting of State houses. We are a married couple with no family as yet. We applied for a State house over 18 months ago, but are still condemned to live in rooms, where we share the '•conveniences." Repeated inquiries at the Housing Department produce the same reply that we will be notified as soon as a house is available, but that people with fanti. lies must be considered first. Certainly the ability to pay the rent does not help; in fact, it appears to be a hindrance as t*e Department seems to take the view that a man earning over £3 a week is in a position to pay for an expensive flat, and as long as the not is paid up weekly there is no danger of the tenant being put out. It would be interesting to know just what qualifier tions are required to make one eligible, for a State house. WOULD-BE PARENT.