EQUAL PRIORITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 102, 2 May 1944, Page 6

EQUAL PRIORITY

HOME BUILDING

GOVERNMENT POLICY

It was a gross misstatement to say that only State housing permits were being granted, stated the Minister of Works (Mr. Semple) in an interview today. He was referring to criticism on the subject which had been brought to his notice. "The Government's policy is that a house built is an extra house, and it does not matter who builds it provided. it conforms to reasonable standards, is urgently required, and is not extravagant in the use of materials," said Mr. Semple. "The main point: is," continued the Minister, "that there -is a limited quantity of timber and other material* to go ■ round and' the Building Controller has the unenviable job of trying to satisfy the many thousands ot applications put forward by those wishing;to build ■ for various purposes. With ■■■ regard to dwellings, State houses, private houses for returned soldiers, arid urgently, required by private civilian owners are all accorded the same, priority. It might De considered that houses for returned servicemen should be accorded priority over State. houses, but it must be remembered that 50 per cent, of State houses, are allocated to returned men. "One of the difficulties today is that some few architects have been refused permits, for houses, in , which the materials required would build one and a half or two ordinary houses and they are inclined to take umbrage. There is also another case where an owner is already comfortably housed arid wants to build a better or larger house without any corresponding increase in his family. Surely these applicants should not receive the same consideration as those in the first category. , CRITICAL TIMBER POSITION. "The timber' position in Wellington is critical, so much so that it has been necessary to set up a-committee representing the various interests to allocate the timber according to the most urgent cases. Our timber commitments for overseas are still heavy. "It is quite contrary to fact to say that the returned serviceman is not getting assistance. The Building Controller's office has not only granted the permits, but has assisted him to obtain the best value for his money, helped him with material, and even assisted in finding a contractor for him when such difficulty has been experienced. NATURAL CONCRETE LIVE CORAL RUNWAYS An interesting method of constructing airfields on Pacific islands is being used by the Civil Engineer Corps of the United States navy. It was discovered that living coral provided surfaces far superior to those the Japanese had constructed from dead It was found that the dead coral of captured Japanese airstrips would not support the weight of the heavier American bombers, but that hard-top-ped runways could be obtained by using living coral, which has a natural putty-like quality that, gives it the necessary cohesive qualities and makes it almost as satisfactory as f oncrctG '...■'" ■ A Navy Department statement says that airstrips on.a score of Pacific bases are. alive and are kept so by continual applications of salt water, offsetting the effect of ram. Live coral for making -the airfields ;is dug from the sea with power shovels, carry-alls, and drag lines, mechanical means largely denied the Japanese, who have relied almost wholly on hand labour for the construction of airfields on the islands'they seized.. In some cases they used dead coral in combination with cement, but even these fields cajinot stand up under the heavier American aircraft. COSTLY STORM DAMAGE AT WESTPORT The storm which swept across part of Westport on Saturday morning caused more damage than earlier estimates indicated. . , Many residents and workers had strange experiences. A Salvation Army officer heard the noise of falling roofs and returned to sleep. When he woke he found only the wallpaper keeping the rain from his bed. The Buller Hospital escaped damage, except for broken windows. The "Westport News" was published on Saturday morning by torchlight and a petrol engine was used to drive the press, the electric power supply having failed. The Borough Council electrical stair was still working today to restore power in the affected area. The estimate, of the damage at £10 000 now appears conservative, the latest figures being £12,000. Sixteen houses are without roofs and about 40 •are otherwise damaged. It has been ascertained that carpenters are available, but the Borough Council is awaiting a Government statement regarding finance. INFANT SMOTHERED PA DUNEDIN, This Day. An infant named William Gibson Sinclair, whose parents live at Balclutha, was found dead in a cot on Sunday morning. The evidence at an inquest showed that death was due to suffocation. The child had apparently been trapped face downwards under the blankets.