Emphasis on housing

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34000, 14 November 1975, Page 14

Emphasis on housing

National’s spokesman on broadcasting, and member of Parliament for Papanui. Mr H. J. Walker, spent most of his time talking about housing when he addressed a small group of people at the corner of Moreland Avenue and Harris Crescent last evening. As with many other streetcorner election meetings this week, only about a dozen people stopped to listen. A few nearby residents came out of their houses when Mr Walker started to speak 'through a public address system mounted on his car but most of them went back inside after establishing what was going oh. During his 15-minute talk, Mr Walker attacked Labour’s

policies and* ['“economic mismanagement.” * , He said that average housing costs in the last few years! • had risen from $13,000 to' * $25,000. About 4000 new* [homes, valued at $120m.,| . were standing empty around P the country because people* p could not get the finance to' i buy them. 1 Mr. Walker said that; [ National would make avail-! able sufficient money. It; would guarantee first; . mortgages up to 90 per cent and would also make avails able second mortgages. Solo 1 mothers and single women I would be eligible for 5 mortgage finance. r National would establish a ' mortgage bank and would { provide incentives for s investors to put money into r it. The first $3OO interest < earned on money in the bank j.would be tax free. National would also; . encourage older people to; 5, vacate family homes that had.

become too large for their needs. If such people were prepared to leave 65 per cent of the Government valuation of their properties on first mortgage. National would guarantee those mortgages and would allow the mortgagees to earn the first $5OO interest tax free. Mr Walker said that National would also have an improved home savings scheme. People saving for their first home would be able to deposit up to $lO,OOO tax free in a home ownership account.

For State tenants and State servants, Mr Walker promised a six-year option to buy a State house. He said that anyone living in a State house would be able to have the accumulated difference between the basic rent (the minimum rent applicable to social security beneficiaries) and their actual rent credited as a deposit towards the purchase of the house.