HOUSING SHORTAGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 July 1946, Page 2

HOUSING SHORTAGE

PROPOSALS BY, FORMER SERVICEMEN

HARDSHIP QUALIFICATIONS (P.A.) . WELLINGTON, July 31. Measures designed to meet the present housing shortage were decided on last night by a conference of former servicemen’s organisations. These included the abolition of the sales tax on all building materials, the enforcement of the timber and building permits and building materials, and the granting of the right to local bodies to take over empty houses. The Government will be urged to bring down legislation _ to give this authority to local bodies, and also to take the other steps suggested. The conference also unanimously passed a motion that all housing should be allotted in order of hardship, irrespective of whether the applicant was a civilian or a former serviceman, the allocations to be made by a committee composed equally of civilians and former exservicemen. This will be put before the Government on Friday in the form of a recommendation from the conference, with the other decisions made on the housing position. “This decision,” said the chairman, Mr. E. L. Thwaites, “typifies the spirit of the men of the second World War, namely, that we do not want to grab everything.” Mr. G. Kelly, of Christchurch, who brought the suggestions forward, said that the system of priorities was a menace to former servicemen themselves. Other speakers supported this view,- saying that public irritation at some former’servicemen’s demands for privileges over everyone else was noticeable. At an earlier stage of the conference the delegates decided _ that the Government had no alternative to declaring a state of emergency to meet the housing shortage.