FLATS AS BAR TO CHILDREN

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 13026, 3 May 1940, Page 2

FLATS AS BAR TO CHILDREN

Canberra, April 20

“Flats are the monument of a decadent people,” declared the Attor-ney-Generdl (Mr. .Hughes) to-day.

Australia’s rapidly-falling birthrate called for a bold encouragement of marriage and of child-bearing said Mr. Hughes. This could best be done by increasing the basic wage in accordance with the greater output of individual workers, which had - Increased between 25 and 50 per cent, since the basic wage formula was decided on 30 years ago. Superimposed on the basic wage, Mr. Hughes added, there should be a sum to provide not merely enough for a man to marry, but also to provide for the natural result of marriage. Houses Needed There should be a housing scheme which would provide a house which was not merely a place in which to sleep, but a home in which children could play. “Flats are designed for childless people, and it is only natural that young couples who are denizens of these monuments of decadence should adjust themselves to the circumstances which surround them. “In a flat, the suggestion is ever present that children are a nuisance and are likely to hamper the young couple’s lives.” Mr. Hughes said the Opposition Leader, Mr. Curtin, had misinterpreted him in, saying he wanted a reduction of the basic wage. An extension of the present system of child endowment on a Commonwealth basis was yesterday suggested by Mrs. Jessie Street, president of the United Associations, as a solution of Australia’s population problems. “Adequate endowment for every child of the earner of less than £ 500 a year is required,” she said.