FUTURE NEEDS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 145, 16 March 1931, Page 10

FUTURE NEEDS

Repairing Quake Havoc MR. COATES’S VIEW Town and Country Losses About £3,500,000 will probably be needed from the State during the next two or three years toward the rehabilitation of the Hawke’s Bay area affected by the earthquake. This is the opinion of the Leader of the Opposition, the lit. Hon. J. G. Coates, who thinks that a Minister of the Crown should be placed in charge of the task of reconstruction. He also urges the appointment of a negotiator or commissioner to assist in the settlement of difficulties between mortgagors and mortgagees. “A little over a week ago I paid a second visit to parts of the area of Hawke’s Bay damaged as a result of the recent heavy earthquake shocks,” Mr. Coates said. Not only has heavy loss occurred in all the towns, particularly Napier, but great damage has also been done to houses, sheds, fixtures, fences and bridge access to farms in Hawke’s Bay and Wairoa counties. Settlers’ Difficulties. “I have, in company with Mr. H. M. Campbell, M.P., personally inspected some of the damage done to farms, and at one point met many settlers, most of whom are Crown tenants. I have the names and particulars of 16 settlers whose houses have been more or less wrecked; that is to say, some will require pulling down and rebuilding, while others of the sixteen may be jacked back on to the house blocks. Some thirty other settlers in the same locality reported that all chimneys were down and the inhabitants were living out of doors. I have also seen estimates of losses sustained by some 100 settlers of Putorino, Mohaka, and as far north as Frasertown. .. “Damage of a severe nature to all roads and bridges north of Napier is selfevident, and the cost of repair will be very heavy. Much money will be required to bring these facilities up to a standard that will ensure safety to tbe travelling public and settlers. “It is most unfortunate that the visitation should have come at the time that it did. One of tbe worst droughts in the history of the province still prevails in Hawke’s Bay, and, further, prices for wool, mutton, lamb and beef are lower than has been the case for many years past. An indication of the difficulty that the Hawke’s Bay County Council is experiencing can best be realised, by the fact that the council in normal times has but a few hundred pounds of overdue rates out of a total collection of approximately £40,000, while at the due date of collection this year only some £5OOO of rates had been paid and about £35,000 remained unpaid. Provision by Loan. “It would be unwise at this stage to attempt to lay down a" strict formula as to how assistance should be apportioned or on what terms money for rehabilitation should be arranged by way of grant, gift or loan. In my opinion money provided by way of loan will meet by far the greater portion of requirements. “It is difficult to arrive at an estimate of the amount required immediately, and the amount that will be required for repatriation and rehabilitation in the course of the next 12 or 18 months, but as the result of inquiry from various sources it would appear that for immediate needs somewhere about £500,000 is required, allowing for rural areas £150,000, and for Napier and Hastings £350,000, while for rehabilitation, spread over the next year or so, about £3,500,000 will probably be needed, and should be made available at periods on suitable terms. “To make for smooth working and continuity of policy, it is very clear that no time should be lost in placing in the hands of a Minister of the Crown the administrative responsibility for repatriation and rehabilitation of the whole area affected. “The difficult problem of arranging satisfactory settlements as between mortgagors and mortgagees can only be met by appointing a well-trained and trusted man in whom all parties have confidence, but it -would be wise not to invest such a negotiator with arbitrary powers. There must be some. relative proportion ns between capacity of the lender and of the owner to lose. Advances should be made on a sliding scale, interest and repayments being arranged on a low scale over the first few years and increasing when business and industry are re-estab-lished. There can be no expectation of the individual making anything out of the assistance; that there will be losses is inevitable. Points for Consideration. “My points are:— “(1) That the task of reconstruction should be put in the hands of a Minister. “(2) That a negotiator or commissioner should be appointed to recommend and assist in settling difficulties between mortgagors and mortgagees, with power to make recommendations only. “(3) It is clear that money must be obtained. “(4) The Crown is the only satisfactory! agent for providing or raising money. “(5) Building regulations are urgently needed, and should be as comprehensive as possible and cover requirements for the future. “(6) Money should nob be advanced by the Crown unless differences between contending parties are first settled. “(7) State assistance will be needed for local bodies, and money should be made available both by grant and by loan to ensure safety to the travelling public. “I have read the Prime Minister’s statement embodying the Government’s proposals for the rehabilitation of the rural areas and towns in Hawke’s Bay, but with a full sense of the importance of his statement and of the source of information upon which it was made, I feel that my impressions and conclusions gained from'the investigations made during my two visits to the affected area should be of interest.”

NAPIER GRIEVANCE

Insurance Firms’ Action “ABANDONED CLIENTS” By Telegraph—Press Association. Napier, March 13. At a Chamber of Commerce meeting the chairman said that the way the insurance companies had run from Napier after the earthquake was absolutely disgraceful. as nil their clients had been abandoned. It was decided to ask the head offices to reopen their offices in Napier to attend to clients’ business. HELP FOR DENTISTS The Hawke’s Bay branch ot the New Zealand Dental Association acknowledges tbe receipt of £lOO, donated by the Australian Dental Association for the relief of dentists in the earthquake area. It is stated that this donation is particularly acceptable, as it provides a fund from which payment may ho made in il case where permanent injury was added to damage and loss.