HOUSING SCHEMES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 107, 7 May 1937, Page 6

HOUSING SCHEMES

"SPOILS TO VICTORS"

NEW PLYMOUTH COMPLAINT

(By Telegraph—i'ress Assouwliou.) . NEW PLYMOUTH, May (5. "I hope I am not being unfair to anyone when I draw attention to the rather remarkable fact that 01 thirteen towns included in the Govern- 1 menfs latest list of projected housing , schemes, nine returned Government candidates at the last election and the remaining four were already represent- 1 ed by members of the same party," ( said the president of the Taranaki ] Chamber of Commerce, Mr. D. F. C. ( Saxton, to the council of the chamber - tonight. ' "Excluding Napier, which, owing to 1 the earthquake, must be regarded as , a special case, only two towns in New Zealand with a population of over 10,000 are excluded from the list. They J are the only two large towns that re- 1 turned Opposition members—Nelson ( and New Plymouth, the latter with a population of over 18,000. Of the thirteen towns mentioned six have a popu- s lation of Minder 10,000 and two of under i 5000. Surely it is asking too much t of our credulity to believe that all 1 these places have a greater need of « new houses than New Plymouth, where i there is an acute shortage. > "Whether there is any political sig- t nificance in this rather remarkable position is not the business of this ? chamber," added Mr. Saxton, "but we , are vitally ' concerned with the. facts, n that there is an acute shortage of ren- ■■ tal houses at New Plymouth; that the building trade has seldom been so „ stagnant; and that New Plymouth has so far been overlooked in favour of /! every other large town in the Doming ion excepting Nelson. We can b£. excused if we feel it has been a casfc of spoils to the victors." ;! The chamber decided to make strona; representations to the Housing Department, stressing the promise made fry Mr J A. Lee, Parliamentary Undersecretary in Charge of Housing, that work at New Plymouth would t jl>e "undertaken shortly." ;