MR NASH’S VIEWS ON SHORTAGES OF BUILDING MATERIALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 August 1948, Page 2

MR NASH’S VIEWS ON SHORTAGES OF BUILDING MATERIALS

A world-wide of steel was the main reason for the lack of building materials, which forced a Greymouth builder to give up his trade to enter a coal mine a few months ago. This is the view of the Minister of Finance and. Customs, Mr W Nash who replied, in a letter to the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce to an article in the Evening Star which the organisation forwarded to him for his comments. Referring to the references made by the builder to shortages of coal ranges baths, roofing materials, plaster ‘’and hardware, Mr Nash said that there was a world-wide shortage of steel manufactures which affected the availability of supplies, not only of steel for use in local manufacture, but also of completed articles it was desired to import. Normally,, he stated, the Dominion’s requirements of coal ranges would be obtained from the local manufacturers and it was unlikely that applications for licences to import such ranges would be made. The position with regard to baths, roofing materials, and plaster of parts, continued the Minister, was that licences for considerable amounts had been granted to merchants to enable them to import supplies to supplement the quantities available from the local manufacturers, who had been hampered in their production by shortages of essential materials. Plaster of paris had been imported even from dollar sources. “Licences have also been granted in respect of builders’ hardware lor amounts which would enable adequate .supplies of these goods to be obtained from overseas/’ concluded Mr Nash.