HOUSE BUILDING

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 284, 30 November 1944, Page 7

HOUSE BUILDING

SPEED-UP ADVOCATED

CONCRETE IN PLACE OF WOOD

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, this day. „ "We are not exploring the avenues available to us to build with alternative materials because of the shortage of timber," said Mr. Meachen (Govt., Marlborough), in the House of Representatives yesterday during the second reading debate on the Rehabilitation Amendment Bill. Urging the extended use of concrete, he pointed out that there was ample shingle available in the rivers and hundreds of men semi-trained in Public Works jobs in the use of concrete. Semi-skilled labour, under proper supervision, could build houses by the hundred at least up to ceiling level. He suggested that the Housing Department had too many plans. He did not see the need for 300 to 400 different designs of houses. A survey should be made of the houses built from the point of view of utility for the housewife, and an endeavour should be made to reduce the plans to six or twelve. Mr. Meachen said he was satisfied there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men prepared to undertake cooperative building if the materials were supplied to them. The profits would be shared by co-operative groups, instead of going into the pockets of those now building houses, some of whom appeared to be particularly "hungry." Mr. Findlay (Nat., Hamilton) said he believed the member for Marlborough had shown the way to obtain more houses. The Government had housing palsy—utter helpless- i ness. Before the general election | the Government said 10,000 houses I would be built this year, but only 479 had been completed. He advocated the treatment of timber to make it durable, and said that 1,000,000 feet of pinus insignis was grown every day in the year and the trees were fit for use. It was no excuse for the Government to say there was no timber. Experts would demonstrate what could be done with timber for house construction. As far as the shortage of workers was concerned, there were thousands of men in the Government employ filling up documents every day. They could be trained as rapidly for house construction work as the young men who were trained as precision engineers and pilots for the armed forces. Mr. Lowry (Govt., Otaki) said that if it were proved that pinus insignis was a success as far as building houses was concerned it should be adopted. If the Government were to build 12,000 houses a year it would be necessary to employ an additional 16,459 carpenters, bricklayers and other skilled workers. Mr. Sutherland (Nat., Hauraki) declared that there were carpenters still on buildings in military camps, but they should be taken away and put on house building and there should be a general survey of tradesmen who could build houses. He had been told by a large builder that carpenters would be taking 14 to 17 days' holiday at Christmas, and if the pace of house building was what had been described by the Minister of Works, that would mean that 200 houses fewer would be provided owing to these holidays.