MR. DOWSE SPEAKS AT MOERA

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 190, 10 May 1938, Page 18

MR. DOWSE SPEAKS AT MOERA

Rates On Government Houses Mr. P. Dowse, Labour candidate for the Lower Hutt mayoralty, speaking at iMoera last night, referred to a statement by Mr. Andrews to the effect that during his five years of office debt reductions totalled £49,700. Mr. Dowse said that it was obvious that, if there was no extensive borrowing during that, period, and the overdraft at the bank had been reduced, the debt must be reduced. Surely Mr. Andrews did not take the credit for the loan conversion, as the result of which the borough would ultimately benefit by £39,000? Legislative action was taken in 1932 for this purpose of easing the burden of high rates of ntereet. The past council and Mr. Andrews could not expect credit for taking what was offering. The statement that the Government was owing about £3o<Ml to the borough for rates gave the impression that nothing had been received during the borough s financial year euded March 31, 1938. Ihe fact was that -the borough received more than £2OOO in the early part of the financial year for the 1936-37 rates. It had also 'been stated that the borough bad been given “the boot" by the Government as there had been a loss of rates caused by the Crown taking over rate-bearing land, and that until houses were erected and occupied the borough would be the loser. The position was that the owner of the land at. the time the rate was struck was responsible for that, year’s rates, after which the Government was responsible lor special rates until the houses were occupied. The loss suffered by the borough was the difference between full rates and special rates for a short period, probably a year at the most. The borough would be receiving much more than £2OOO in full rates for new houses erected upon Crown land, which hitherto paid no rates at all. Grandstand Or Streets. It had also been stated that the recreation ground grandstand had been built at no cof> - t to the ratepayers. It was- unfortunate, said Mr. Dowse, that the same vigour had not been displayed in reconstructing some of the older streets of the borough during the depression when labour was plentiful and prices were low. It was this condition, together with a Government subsidy, which helped to build the. grandstand. Would not the asset of perfected streets have been just as. valuable to the borough? The reconstruction of streets and roads should have been done when materials were cheap and men were scraping weeds from the streets. If half the streets in need of reconstruction were to be undertaken now if would cost at least £6OOO more than at the peak of the depression. This was only taking into account the difference in the costs of materia.s. The work could have been undertaken during those years at half the cost had advantage been taken of the low wages of Hint period. The grandstand had been built under these conditions.