RURAL HOUSING

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 2, 27 September 1939, Page 11

RURAL HOUSING

Members Approve Bill

COTTAGES ON FARMS

Advances At Six Per Cent.

“This, in my opinion, is a question that has been quite long enough deferred,” said the Minister of Housing, Mr. Armstrong, when moving the second reading of the Rural Housing Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday. Frequent reference had been made both in the House and outside of it to the need for better housing on farms, the Minister added, but it was seldom that constructive .suggestions were made.

“There is power under the existing

law to do a good deal to provide more adequately for the housing needs of farmers,” Mr, Armstrong said, “but one thing that prevents the State Advances Corporation from moving in that direction is the mortgaged Where private enterprise has the first charge on a security, it is not possible for the corporation to advance money unless the existing mortgagee agrees to give the State priority, but in cases where the ground has been clear the corporation has given considerable assistance to farmers in the past two or three years to improve their housing accommodation.”

Cottages for Workers.

More liberal provision should 'be made for the erection of housing for farm workers, the Minister said, and he thought that if farm cottages were provided on economic holdings it would enable farmers to obtain a more efficient and more regular supply of labour. Farmers would be able to secure advances from local bodies for this purpose, and the Government wanted, the locul 'bodies to tuke the responsibility of collecting the repayments as rates., If they would not do that, however, they might endeavour to arrange their work so that they could find employment for men when they were not wanted on the farms. Mr. Polson (Opposition, Stratford) : Just at the busy time on the farms there might be serious floods and slips. Mr. Armstrong: Those are more likely to occur in the winter, when fewer men are wanted on the farms. v»e know, however, that it won’t work without a hitch, but there are opportunities for mutual benefit in co-opera-tion of that kind. It would probably be necessary to build cheaper houses in the rural areas than those in the cities, Mr. Armstrong added, not because farmers and then employees were entitled to less than the people in the cities, but because the charges would be lower and the average farm labourer was not able to pay the rent necessary for a city type of bouse. Limit of Advance. “It is possible that, the limit advance of £750 stipulated in the Bill may not be high enough,” the Minister said, “and when the Bill is in the committee stage we may leave the limit out altogether. I suggest that the repayment period might be 25 years and that o per cent, should cover all charges on the loans to farmers, with the local bodies collecting perhaps one-half per cent, annually for their share of the work.” . . The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Hamilton, who followed Mr. Armstrong, said the Bill represented an effort by the Government to grapple with an important problem, and it was essential, specially today, that every .endeavour should be made to meet the needs of farm workers. Lack of accommodation forced many young men away from farms when they wished to get married, and the provision of better accommodation might also lead to the subdivision of estates by giving farmers sons an opportunity to acquire houses. “The Minister must see that the counties get into action on this,” Mr. Hamilton added. “I am glad he has left a good deal to the counties, because they are pretty sound bodies, and I think, it would be wise to ask. them to accept this as a duty. It might also be advisable to extend the Bill to enable farm workers to apply for advances by right and to empower the counties to look after them also. The Minister: That can be done now. Mr. Hamilton: But the.counties have no rating authority. “I want to thank honourable members generally for ths way in which the Bill has been received,” said Mr. Armstrong, in replying to the second reading debate. “There are one or two amendments that have been indicated and they are possibly very necessary and desirable. When we come to the’ committee stage I will seriously consider meeting honourable members in this respect.” The Minister said that there would be some cases where the mortgagee would stand in the way, and in these instances people would have to wait for a house.

An Opposition member: Or change the mortgagee. “As soon as we catcli up with the congestion in the cities I am going to push on as fast as possible in the rural areas,” Mr. Armstrong added. The Bill was read a second time.

THE UPPER HOUSE

Eleven Bills Considered A debate on the respective merits of freehold and leasehold tenure, along lines similar to that in the House of Representatives, took place on the second reading stage of the Small Farms Amendment Bill in the Legislative Council yesterday. Eleven Bills were considered by the Council and four of these were passed. The Local Legislation Bill, the Wages Protection and Contracts Liens Bill, and the Patents Designs and Trade Marks Amendment Bill were each read a first time.’

The Waikato Airport Bill and the Lower Clutha River Improvement Amendment Bill were each read a first time and referred to the Local Bills Committee.

The Native Purposes Bill was read a first time, a second time pro forma, and referred to the Native Affairs Committee.

Tlte Otago Presbyterian Church Board of Property Amendment Bill was read a second time.

The Small Farms Amendment Bill, the Agricultural Emergency Regulations Confirmation Bill, the Nurses and Midwives Registration Amendment Bill, and Hie Reserves ami Other Lands Disposal Bill were each read a second time, put through the committee stage and passed.